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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Road Less Traveled
It's been months since I last wrote about our New Year trip to Toyama Prefecture, several hours' drive north from Kyoto. It was a pleasantly photogenic trip, yielding nice shots such as “Bridge Over Icy Water”, “Deceptively Clear: Snow-Covered Mountains in Exquisite Detail”, and “Snowy Mountains”, as well as visits to historic Shirakawago Village and Gokayama Village during a blizzard.
The story had ended with “Snowy New-Year Trip: Start of Day Three” and the start of a long walk that Anthony and I took, so that's where this post picks up....
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 60 mm — 1/200 sec, f/10, ISO 900 — map & image data — nearby photos
Steep, Snowy, and Snowing More
but luckily no cars
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/200 sec, f/10, ISO 360 — map & image data — nearby photos
Snowbanks
are meant to be destroyed by seven-year-olds
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/200 sec, f/10, ISO 720 — map & image data — nearby photos
It's a Big Job
but someone's got to do it
You can see from the slope on either side of the road how steep the mountain is, with the road simply notched into it. Looking over the edge, I found a bamboo grove bending under the weight of the sticky snow
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/200 sec, f/10, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Straining
not to buckle under
It was about this time that I took the photo labeled both “Boring” and “Powerful, Sort Of” on my “Stupid Tone-Curve Tricks: A Half Dozen Develop Presets for Lightroom” post in March. Here's the “Powerful, Sort Of” version:
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Powerful, Sort Of
Processed in Lightroom as described here
It looks all the more powerful when contrasted to most shots on this post because the others have an overall lack of contrast (they feel washed out / dull) due to the heavy snow that was falling.
Another look at the falloff....
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 27 mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
There's a Guard Rail Under That Snow
I hope
I'm always impressed at how much snow a thin branch can hold when the snow is wet and sticky...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/640 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Laden
That's nothing compared to this, but like I said, I'm easily impressed.
About this time the first car went by, followed a couple of minutes later by a second....
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 32 mm — 1/640 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Rush Hour
And then we reached level to the top of the dam that our lodge faced...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Contrasty B&W
because the straight-up shot is so very dull
( Is this one not dull? )
There's lots more to share... hopefully I can do so before another three months passes...
(UPDATE: I did, with a week to spare: story continued here.)
I don’t think that “Contrast B&W” is dull at all – I really like that one. The contrasts are good and the implied texture as the repeating segments of the dam make that picture.
Thanks for the kind words… I don’t think it’s dull either, but you never know. The original (before I upped the contrast) is, though. —Jeffrey
I like both photos you upped the contrast on (Powerful, Sort Of and Contrasty B&W). All of these photos are great but these 2 stand out to me and I really enjoyed them. I suppose that different people have different tastes but I like your taste in editing photos.