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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/400 sec, f/6.3, ISO 900 — map & image data — nearby photos
Today was a wonderful day in Kyoto... warmer than it's been lately, and sunny. And with spring break over and kids heading back to school, it wasn't crowded in our area. The cherry blossoms are almost at their peak, so today was perhaps one of the nicest days of the year in one of the nicest areas of Kyoto (which is one of the nicest cities in Japan).
So, of course, we left, and spent the day elsewhere.
The cherry blossoms seen above were on a tree next to the parking lot of where we had dinner, more than a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Kyoto. We didn't go looking for cherry blossoms, but they were a little bonus.
Here's what we did go looking for...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/2000 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Anthony Among the Flowers
at the Awaji Hana Sajiki, the “Awaji Flower Review” Park
Awaji Island, Japan
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/800 sec, f/5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/1600 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Yours Truly
Photo by Anthony Friedl
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 116 mm — 1/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Pause for a Bit of Play
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 190 mm — 1/2500 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Mommy Calling
the parking lot was about to be closed
We got home late and so I don't have much time to prepare a proper post, so just these few pictures for now. You see mostly yellow and purple flowers above, but there were all kinds... it was beautiful. And almost empty... it was just amazing to have the place almost to ourselves.
Are those yellow flowers nanohana?
The yellow ones are, yes. The name means, literally, “field flowers”. —Jeffrey
Oh, I’m so glad that Diane (from somewhere?) asked about the yellow flowers. I didn’t recognize them. From the photos they appear to be the common mustard plant we have here in Ohio that grows like a weed (since it is considered such) and carpets fields the same way. Yet it doesn’t seem credible that someone would sow fields of mustard like that, though those flowers seemed quite a bit larger than the ones here. The effect is lovely, though. Peter, your thoughts?
From Portland, OR: I started following your blog when it was linked to as a photography site. Then I noticed you were the author of “Mastering Regular Expressions”, a book I reference several times a week. Great book, by the way! I do enjoy your photography and watching your son grow and enjoy life. The nearby tulip fields should be blooming any day now to provide us with some color to enjoy and photograph. The weather here is about what you are experiencing and we are getting “spring fever” with folks taking “mental health days” to enjoy the beauty of Oregon.
Hi Jeffrey,
This post shows a great example of your choice to use a very shallow depth of field. (I’m talking specifically about the 1st photo that has the close up of the sakura blossoms.) I don’t want to ‘gas you up’ too much but that is a very beautiful shot. Words like Rococo and post-impressionist come to mind. Very feminine. Very beguiling. Nicely done.
Also the photo of the photographer (you) is interesting too. (The one Anthony took) While you are what he meant to be the ‘direct object’, your eye can’t help but get drawn to the upper left by the converging lines of the road, and the yellow/green/purple flora. This causes your eye to have to shift between the subjective target (you ) and the instinctive target (the vanishing pt. of the converging lines). -That and your Mona Lisa-esque expression /stance. You look happy, reluctant, impatient but relaxed, defensive, contrived and yet natural. Maybe I’m reading into it and I apologize because I don’t want to be offensive, but I’d love to know what was going on when that photo was taken.
Many thanks again for your sublime posts.
Thanks for your kind words, but I think you’re reading way too much into the photo of me. I’d just taken a similar shot of Anthony, and he wanted to take my picture. The look on my face was probably a combination of sun in my eyes combined with a slight concern for the $5,000 worth of camera in the hands of a six year old (he’s used my camera before, and shown that he can be trusted with it, but the combination of “expensive” and “six years old” leaves a bit of concern nevertheless). Anyway, anything about a photo of me that draws your attention away from the primary subject is probably a good thing…. I’m better behind the camera. 🙂 —Jeffrey
Grandma Friedl,
According to Wikipedia, nanohana is rapeseed and is a member of the mustard family. The cooked leaves are sometimes available as side dishes at Asian restaurants and delis here but I can never find fresh ones at the markets.
Aloha –
Grandma Friedl: like Diane, I tracked down nanohana in Wikipedia. Oilseed rape (Seiyouaburana seems to be another Japanese name) is an important oil crop, but also a very decorative one, though I think you may call it canola in the US?
I do want to know what the purple thing is, though! All I can think of is something called Orychophragmus violaceus (O-oaraseitou or Hana-daikon), a Chinese plant cultivated and I think sometimes naturalized in Japan (also occasionally cultivated in the West).
The combination of yellow and purple is pretty wonderful: I’m hoping for some more photos from this park!
Nice shots. But, do I detect a little bit of sucking in of stomach in A’s shot of you?
Just a little? I must be getting good at hiding it. —Jeffrey