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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Peaceful
We had a most wonderful day yesterday.
It was a combination of:
- My cold finally getting mostly better. (It turns out it was a common upper-respiratory infection, for which antibiotics seem to be working).
- It was shorts-and-T-shirt weather, the first such day this year.
- It was the first day in ages where no school event was scheduled or on the immediate horizon.
We celebrated by venturing out to a place we'd heard of but had never been, a small (180-acre) 30-year-old man-made island in the south of Lake Biwa with the imposing name yabasekihantou (矢橋帰帆島 – website).
Perhaps a third of the island is taken up by a sewage treatment plant, and the rest is for recreation... a huge playground, golf, soccer, campgrounds, parks, etc. It's quite pleasant. Other than the unlikely shape of the island as seen on a map or satellite photo, it all seems quite natural.
Upon arriving at the island over a small bridge, there's a small visitor center with a pleasant little park behind it, and so we stopped to enjoy it....
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lots to Explore
A lot of the decorative rocks, such as those to the left of center above, had odd patterns on them. Here's a close up...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 56 mm — 1/400 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
You Can Almost See It Oozing
a bazillion years ago
Of course, Anthony's interest in the rocks is quite different...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — 1/1000 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 82 mm — 1/1600 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Anthony was in the mood for “dinosaur play”, where he pretends he's a velociraptor hunting for prey....
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 170 mm — 1/400 sec, f/9, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Dino on the Prowl
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/1600 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Velociraptor / Boy
You can tell by how he's holding his hands in the photo above that he's doing dinosaur play, but the smile on his face is decidedly that of a 6-year-old human boy leaking through the scaly veneer.
We then moved on one minute down the road to the main park. Here's Anthony checking out the map...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/1000 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
The blue water droplet seems to be the mascot for the island. Moving from the parking lot and cresting a hill, you're greeted with this seizure-inducing sight for a kid:
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 32 mm — 1/500 sec, f/8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Huge Expanse of Fun
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/1600 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Slide
made of rollers
As Dave answered correctly in the first comment (first comment.... drat!!) to yesterday's “What am I?” Quiz, the “bunch of bars” are rollers making up the bed of a slide. These are not uncommon in Japan, but having never seen them anywhere else, I thought I'd be able to stump everyone.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/640 sec, f/8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Many Miles Before I Sleep
It was almost sensory overload, with so many different areas of play to check out. He first gravitated over to an obstacle-course type zone...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/400 sec, f/6.3, ISO 280 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/1250 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nice set of photos again.
I was just wondering how often you change lenses for a trip like this; I see you’re using the D700 and 24-70 and 70-200 2.8 – do you swap much or just once or twice? Or have you two D700s?
I have a D700 for each of my many lenses, as well as two hands for each, and a staff of leprechauns to manufacture pots of gold to pay for everything. 🙂 I dislike swapping lenses, but it’s a necessary evil. I swapped among the 24-70, 70-200, and 70-200+1.7TC. Maybe a dozen swaps total all day. —Jeffrey
It’s not unusual.. When I go out to shoot, I usually have my 17-35mm, 50mm and 70-200mm…
*I* want to play on that playground.
I can’t believe that awesome playground is so close to us and I’ve never been there. What a waste! I think we’re going to go there every single weekend until the kids get married (knock on wood) to make up for lost time.
Jeffrey, Do you know if this park is still open? My family is headed to Kyoto (we lived there pre-children) from Florida next month and we would love to do some things that will be uniquely Japanese and fun for my 5 and 6 year old outdoors. I also found your posts on the mushroom-picking spot, which sounds really cool. I’m a Nikon shooter, too, so I’m most excited about photographing our adventure.:) Love your photos and info!!
I’ve no specific knowledge one way or the other, but I’d be surprised if it’s not just as I last saw it. —Jeffrey