Visiting the Stonecarvers’ Gardens with Mike Bennett
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Mike Bennett with my new old broken 50mm f/1.2 -- Reina de Reina -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 — 1/160 sec, f/1.2, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Mike Bennett
with my new old broken 50mm f/1.2

As I wrote last week, my former manager at Yahoo!, Mike Bennett, visited town. After seeing his girlfriend and her family off in Tokyo, he returned to Kyoto for a couple of days of touristy stuff with me.

I took the opportunity to try out a slightly-broken Nikkor 50m f/1.2 that I'd picked up on Yahoo! Auctions (which is the eBay of Japan). Even after I add the cost to repair the heavy aperture ring and slight rattle of unknown origin, it'll have been cheaper than buying a new one, but truth be told I bought it because I'd confused it for another f/1.2 Nikon lens (the Noct-Nikkor 58mm) that normally runs for about 15× what I paid. Silly me.

I'd used an f/1.2 lens only twice that I recall, once as seen in “Artsy-Fartsy in Kyoto, at f/1.2” about 3½ years ago, and again six months later in “Impossible Photography: No Light, No Tripod, No Hope. D700 and a 50mm f/1.2”. Today's use would be much less challenging than the latter example, though the rattle of unknown origin brought wisps of unexpected tilt/shift to my imagination.

Mexican Pizza at the most delicious Reina de Reina in eastern Kyoto -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 — 1/125 sec, f/1.2, ISO 320 — map & image datanearby photos
Mexican Pizza
at the most delicious Reina de Reina in eastern Kyoto

We made our way to Nishimura Stone Lanterns to check out their back garden, and found them busy working on a variety of projects.

Getting On Top of His Work Apprentice at Nishimura Stone Lanterns -- Nishimura Stone Lanterns (西村石灯籠) -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/ -- This photo is licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ (non-commercial use is freely allowed if proper attribution is given, including a link back to this page on http://regex.info/ when used online)
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 — 1/400 sec, f/1.2, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Getting On Top of His Work
Apprentice at Nishimura Stone Lanterns
Vertical Desktop-Background Versions 1050 × 1680   ·   1200 × 1920   ·   1600 × 2560 -- Nishimura Stone Lanterns (西村石灯籠) -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 — 1/250 sec, f/1.2, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
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Above is one of the apprentices sitting on what will be the main “roof” of a huge stone lantern. It's partially burred in the ground to stabilize it during this work.

The 5th-generation Daizo Nishimura was in the main workshop, working to restore a 650-year-old lantern that had been damaged in the March-11th earthquake. He was also taking the opportunity to redo some repairs that had been carried out in the Edo period (during the 1600s-1800s). Unfortunately, no photos of that were allowed.

Mike and I headed out to the back gardens (click on any of the “nearby photos” links under the images to see plenty more from these amazing gardens) where he was suitably impressed. Still, this was the first time I'd come during the summer; it's really much nicer in the fall with a carpet of colorful leaves.

Smooth -- Nishimura Stone Lanterns (西村石灯籠) -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 — 1/400 sec, f/1.2, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Smooth
A Bit Too Much Isolation I'd like to see a bit more lanternness in the background -- Nishimura Stone Lanterns (西村石灯籠) -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 — 1/160 sec, f/1.2, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
A Bit Too Much Isolation
I'd like to see a bit more lanternness in the background

A wide aperture can really isolate the subject from the foreground and background, but in the test above, I think f/1.2 was a bit too wide.

In the shot below, the background of sunlight filtering through the forest trees is exceedingly “busy”, but somehow I think it really works... I really like this next shot of Mike...

This Seems Better -- Nishimura Stone Lanterns (西村石灯籠) -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 — 1/125 sec, f/1.2, ISO 250 — map & image datanearby photos
This Seems Better
desktop background image of an old stone bowl in the back gardens of Nishimura Stone Lanterns, in Kyoto Japan -- My Favorite Stone Bowl -- Nishimura Stone Lanterns (西村石灯籠) -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 — 1/160 sec, f/1.2, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
My Favorite Stone Bowl
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The bowl above is the same one seen in “Paul Barr + Stonecarver's Garden + Lightroom”.

Surrounded in the side garden -- Nishimura Stone Lanterns (西村石灯籠) -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 — 1/200 sec, f/1.2, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Surrounded
in the side garden

Next door is the Nitenji Temple, which also serves as a shrine (and hence all the orange). I thought I'd posted about this place before, but it seems I've only posted some pretty outtakes. It's on a steep hillside, so is visually interesting...

Entering the Nitenji Temple and the Hachidairyuuoo Shrine -- Nitenji Temple (日天寺) and Hachidairyuuoo Shrine (八大竜王) -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 — 1/200 sec, f/1.2, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Entering the Nitenji Temple
and the Hachidairyuuoo Shrine
Special Delivery max weight 120 kg -- Nitenji Temple (日天寺) and Hachidairyuuoo Shrine (八大竜王) -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 — 1/125 sec, f/1.2, ISO 280 — map & image datanearby photos
Special Delivery
max weight 120 kg
Top of the Steps -- Nitenji Temple (日天寺) and Hachidairyuuoo Shrine (八大竜王) -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 — 1/125 sec, f/1.2, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Top of the Steps

The elevator-cart thing is not meant for people... just packages, groceries, etc., for the family that lives at the top.


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