Pleasant Sunday: Family Bike Ride in Kyoto
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Off for a Bike Ride along the Kamo River, Kyoto Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/8000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 280 — map & image datanearby photos
Off for a Bike Ride
along the Kamo River, Kyoto Japan

It was a supremely wonderful day today, with perfect sun and temperatures. The hysteria from the swine-flu plague is mostly past, so we went out for a family bike ride, our first in ages... perhaps the first since last summer in Whistler, Canada.

Just prior to taking the picture above, I discovered that it's possible – though not particularly easy, and certainly not becoming – to change the focus selector switch on a Nikon D700 body with your teeth. (I was riding a standard mamachari Japanese bicycle, which is inherently unstable, and so unlike the bikes I rode growing up, it's almost impossible to ride with no hands, so I had only one hand free to hold the camera.)

Anyway, it was just a wonderful day, with people out and about. You can see in the background of the next photo kids playing in the river, which has stepping stones running across...

Hustle and Bustle of a Relaxing Sunday -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — 1/4000 sec, f/7.1, ISO 1000 — map & image datanearby photos
Hustle and Bustle of a Relaxing Sunday

We made our way to the grounds of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and found a nicely wooded trail to enjoy...

Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/320 sec, f/7.1, ISO 1000 — map & image datanearby photos

We'd brought along some lunch, so stopped at a nice, quiet area to eat. One of the benches was just an old, large, slab of wood:

Well Aged -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 40 mm — 1/200 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1000 — map & image datanearby photos
Well Aged
Anthony and a Friend -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 58 mm — 1/100 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1000 — map & image datanearby photos
Anthony and a Friend
Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1000 — map & image datanearby photos

After lunch, and a game of catch with a baseball (Anthony's getting much better at catching with the mitt, something he did for the first time just last month.)

We then took off for another part of the Imperial-Palace grounds...

Sunny Day in Kyoto Gosho -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm — 1/4000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1000 — map & image datanearby photos
Sunny Day in Kyoto Gosho

We stopped when Anthony spotted a tree that he thought he could try to climb. He's pretty much a scaredy-cat when it comes to stuff like this, so I was happy he wanted to give it a try...

A Bit Stuck -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1000 — map & image datanearby photos
A Bit Stuck
Like a Cat -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/2000 sec, f/3.5, ISO 1000 — map & image datanearby photos
Like a Cat
“Okay, This is High Enough for Me” -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/250 sec, f/11, ISO 1000 — map & image datanearby photos
“Okay, This is High Enough for Me”
Return to Earth -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/60 sec, f/22, ISO 1000 — map & image datanearby photos
Return to Earth

We played catch a bit more, but met somewhat of a roadblock when the ball got caught high up in a huge evergreen with wide, thick branches. The roadblock became a bit more troublesome – and substantially more amusing – when the mitt I was throwing to try to dislodge the ball also got stuck.

Luckily, we had a small plastic bottle of water, which dislodged the mitt on the first try, and, with the mitt pressed back into service, we soon had the ball back as well.

I decided to take a break on the ground, and Anthony decided to take a break on me....

Photo by Fumie Friedl, with her cell phone -- Copyright 2009 Fumie
Photo by Fumie Friedl, with her cell phone

Eventually we moved off....

On The Move Again -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/4000 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1000 — map & image datanearby photos
On The Move Again

... and ended up at the playground in the far corner of the grounds, where Anthony played on a huge fallen tree, and swung on a swing, and did other random assorted play.

Getting late, we headed home via a different route, passing over the Kamo river above the path near where the first picture of this post was taken...

Kamo River, North from Marutamachi Street Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 48 mm — 1/6400 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1000 — map & image datanearby photos
Kamo River, North from Marutamachi Street
Kyoto, Japan

All 4 comments so far, oldest first...

Nice pictures but didn’t you forget to change the speed? It seems there was enough light to be at ISO 100, not ISO 1000 🙂 I have no doubt the D700 is quite comfortable but 1/6400e + ISO 1000… 🙂 Ollivier, from France.

Yes, I noticed that myself, after I got home. I’d set the base ISO to 1000 some while back, for something, and apparently forgot about it. Doh! —Jeffrey

— comment by Ollivier Robert on June 1st, 2009 at 7:10am JST (14 years, 10 months ago) comment permalink

Ah, outside of Autum, the best time of the year- before the Tsuyuu starts.

— comment by Bob on June 1st, 2009 at 10:50am JST (14 years, 10 months ago) comment permalink

I like is the way you give credit to the photographer, and the type of camera used, -sometimes even the location , even when its with a cellphone. Thats an interesting contrast to the Battleship Yamato capabilities of the D700.

Also that first shot, Off for a Bike Ride is reminds me of Tonari no Totoro. And growing up in the states, do you giggle at the site of those Arm-sleeve things that Japanese women wear? My wife wears those and this big Oh-ba-ba sun visor. Then again, she’s the one with the porcelain skin.

— comment by Ron Evans on June 2nd, 2009 at 2:43am JST (14 years, 10 months ago) comment permalink

What a gorgeous child… Love the bike photographs. So you are the lucky owner of a D700 huh?
I have the D300, and will only upgrade to a pro camera from here on.
Wished I could visit Japan with you, I am sure you know lots of fantastic untouristy spots…
Thanks again for the Lightroom plugin, much appreciated!

— comment by catherine lucas on June 4th, 2009 at 5:09pm JST (14 years, 9 months ago) comment permalink
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