Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/11, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
My Eyes Don't Know Where to Focus
Cherry Blossoms  ·  Kyoto, Japan

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/350 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Full Bloom

This is the same area whose blossoms were featured in last week's It Has Begun and this week's Sakura from my Kitchen Window. Digging around in my blog archives a bit, from 2006 I find Long Night Exposures and Cherry Blossoms and Cherry Blossom Finale, and even a few from 2005 before I moved here: Indeed, the Blooms have Bloomed in Kyoto and Poetry for the Season and More Cherry-Blossom Pics.

It's a pretty area, but photos would look much nicer without the cinderblock wall in the background (a wall one doesn't really notice until you look through the viewfinder).

I'm so busy these days that I can barely see straight, but it's a positively lovely day, so I had to head out for a bit in the early afternoon. Most trees are at the peak of their blossoms, combined with being a weekend and having wonderful weather, and you know it's crowded. But it was an exceedingly pleasant atmosphere, with the crowds creating more of a quite festive mood than anything resembling a madhouse. For the most part, it was everything that cherry blossom season in the city should be. Despite my ongoing cold, I was completely content.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 170 mm — ¹/320 sec, f/4, ISO 125 — full exif & map — nearby photos
First Picture I Took Today
(Actually, it was the sixth, but came only 18 seconds after the first, so that's close enough)

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — ¹/500 sec, f/4, ISO 125 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Sakura Chimping

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — ¹/1500 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Gate and Sakura

There are tons of cherry blossoms in view of the main gate of the Heian Shrine, so it's often a central theme in people's sakura photographs. I'm a sucker for the cliché, so I've done it myself plenty of times, such as in last year's Sakura and the Main Gate of the Heian Shrine (With Desktop Background) and Enjoying the Cherry Blossoms, and probably a hundred other times. (Heck, I've even done it with a can of coffee.)

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — ¹/2500 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Lotsa' White

After a few minutes in this area, I wandered around a bit between here and the shrine, filling my camera's memory card along the way. There was fluffy white in abundance, but just to add some color, I'll include this shot from a tree in the park where Anthony likes to ride his bike....

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — ¹/1250 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Less White, Still Fluffy

I've posted a number of pinkish blossoms in the last month:
  · Kyoto Plum-Blossom Preview
  · Late to the Party: Plum Blossoms at the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine
  · Kitano Tenmangu Shrine Part II
  · Pink Sakura, Green Fuzzies, some Brass, and a Motorcycle Cop
but I've got to say that the shade/intensity of pink in the photo above is by far my favorite. This particular tree was nowhere near full bloom yet, so I'll have to be sure to revisit it later in the week.

To be continued...