Holy Cow, the Gardens at Kyoto’s Eikando Temple are Gorgeous!
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desktop background image of a scene of fall colors at the Eikando Temple, Kyoto Japan -- Autumn Eikando Temple Gardens, Kyoto Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/1000 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Autumn
Eikando Temple Gardens, Kyoto Japan
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I visited today the Eikando Temple gardens, nestled in the base of the mountains at the far east of Kyoto, about a 15-minute walk from our place. I'd been there before and thought it was really pretty, but I must have been stupid or blind (or on parenting duty with an impatient kid to look after) because today it was FREAKING MIND-BLOWING AMAZING.

Just *WOW*.

My photos don't even come close to doing it justice.

Expansive view above the temple's preschool -- Eikando Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Expansive
view above the temple's preschool

The temple is famous for its fall colors, as I found out the first time I drove by during the proper season, posted in “Colorful Leaves and Colorful Kimono”, of kimono-clad ladies congregating at the entrance to the temple's preschool. Visiting the preschool was my main goal today, as we were again invited to their “Fall-Color Festival” by one of Anthony's friends (the same festival is the subject of “Anthony and Friends Among the Colors” from two years ago).

Apex -- Eikando Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/400 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Apex
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The visit two years ago resulted in “Bonanza of Fall-Foliage Desktop Backgrounds”, but we were with Anthony and some of his friends, so I couldn't really spend much time in the temple gardens during that visit. This year, we spent some time at the festival in the morning and then left for mass, after which I left Fumie and Anthony at home and returned to explore the gardens at my leisure.

Nap -- Eikando Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/800 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Nap

It was heavily overcast in the afternoon, eventually starting to rain while we were there (in the afternoon, I met a camera-toting friend visiting from The States). But the cloud cover made the photography all the better, I think.

Overlook -- Eikando Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/2, ISO 320 — map & image datanearby photos
Overlook

The temple is the most expensive to visit that I've ever seen (1,000 yen – about $12 – to enter), and on a day like today was worth every single yen.

Emerging -- Eikando Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/2, ISO 280 — map & image datanearby photos
Emerging

In the evening they light up everything with flood lamps, which brings out the crowds yet again, but it, too, is pretty, as I wrote in last year's “How I Spent My Saturday in Kyoto” and “More From the Eikando Temple Foliage Lightup

Verticals -- Eikando Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 58 mm — 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 3600 — map & image datanearby photos
Verticals
Neapolitan -- Eikando Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/2, ISO 1250 — map & image datanearby photos
Neapolitan
Canopies -- Eikando Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/2, ISO 1400 — map & image datanearby photos
Canopies
“Mini Sanctuary” hey, that's what it says -- Eikando Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/2, ISO 640 — map & image datanearby photos
“Mini Sanctuary”
hey, that's what it says
Peeking, Peaking -- Eikando Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/2, ISO 640 — map & image datanearby photos
Peeking, Peaking
Calm Above the Fray -- Eikando Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm — 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 2800 — map & image datanearby photos
Calm Above the Fray
Secluded -- Eikando Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 3600 — map & image datanearby photos
Secluded
Big Bang -- Eikando Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 44 mm — 1/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 900 — map & image datanearby photos
Big Bang
Kusaridoi Holy Cow, This is Beautiful rain-spout type things, like these and these -- Eikando Temple -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/2, ISO 360 — map & image datanearby photos
Kusaridoi
Holy Cow, This is Beautiful
rain-spout type things, like these and these

These 15 photos are just about the first 15 photos I took. Not quite, but almost, save for a bout of testing the exposure.... I still feel I'm fighting the D700's desire to overexpose, and most of these were taken with -1EV exposure compensation.

I haven't even gone through most of the 157 photos from the day, but even just these, full size on a high-quality (high-gamut) monitor... wow, my head wants to explode.

I wanted to include Desktop-Background versions of most of these, but gave up after spending a couple of hours trying to get the requisite Photoshop script working on my new Mac. Must eventually figure it out and revisit these.

Continued here...


All 2 comments so far, oldest first...

Great post, wonderful pictures!

— comment by Gianluca on November 24th, 2009 at 6:31pm JST (14 years, 4 months ago) comment permalink

Your photography is inspiring me, not just in photography and gardening, but intensifying my longtime desire to visit Kyoto. Your photos remind us all that there is so much beauty in the world as well as people who create and admire beauty. I am enjoying your photographs immensely. Thank you so much for the inspiration and joy today.

— comment by Michael Therrien on August 1st, 2011 at 7:29am JST (12 years, 8 months ago) comment permalink
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