Context for the Bamboo-and-Leaf Photo, and Some Crazy Post-Processing
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a fall-foliage scene near the Ryoanji Temple (龍安寺), Kyoto Japan
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/400 sec, f/1.4, ISO 250 — map & image datanearby photos
Weathersealing With Leaves
one more to go
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I included a pretty bamboo-and-leaf photo on my previous post, even though it wasn't related to the post, just to have something pretty, but I tend to like to share stories/context instead of just photos, so this post fills in that gap for that photo.

Just outside the Ryoanji Temple is a path/sidewalk that leads to the nearby suburban sprawl, and along it was a nice little area lined by bamboo fences separating the pedestrians from a small area of leaf-covered grass. Here's a picture I happened to have snapped from the same location I took the bamboo/leaf photo:


Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/1600 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
This Little Area
was, like most in the neighborhood, quite photogenic

You can see the same kind of bamboo fence on the opposite side of the path, and a fuzzy Paul Barr at left.

a fall-foliage scene near the Ryoanji Temple (龍安寺), Kyoto Japan
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/400 sec, f/1.4, ISO 560 — map & image datanearby photos
Dangling By a Thread
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The photo above is captioned literally: check out the largest desktop-background version, and you'll just be able to make out the wisp of spider web holding up the leaf.

In the background of these you can get a feeling for a solid bed of orange maple leaves, and that's exactly what it was. I put the camera on autofocus, reached straight out across the fence, aimed the camera blindly, and....

a fall-foliage scene near the Ryoanji Temple (龍安寺), Kyoto Japan
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/500 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Nature's Bed
would probably be fairly uncomfortable, and really noisy
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Here's a similar shot as the one on the previous post, but now with the context established, a bit closer up....

a fall-foliage scene near the Ryoanji Temple (龍安寺), Kyoto Japan
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/400 sec, f/1.4, ISO 320 — map & image datanearby photos
Detail
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Now, for something completely different...

a fall-foliage scene near the Ryoanji Temple (龍安寺), Kyoto Japan
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 4500 — map & image datanearby photos
Big Blustery Ball of Autumn
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I tend to shy away from heavy post processing, though I've dabbled in it more and more lately, such as in “Impressionism in Lightroom” and its followup post, or this shot from a week ago, camo duck from March, or “Dabbling in Some Fine-Art Printing for My Office” from February.

Well, the big blustery shot above takes the cake, but the effect caught my eye while futzing around in Lightroom, so I spent a few minutes playing with it, and here we are. I like how it evokes (in me, at least) the sense that autumn gives way to winter. It was a really cold/blustery day when I took the shot, so maybe that colors my view.

Along the same heavy-processing lines, with this next one I tried to go for a plastic/fake look, almost as if the leaves were made out of some kind of candy. You can't necessarily see the effect in the thumbnail, but if you click through to the larger version, a certain fake feeling should become apparent...

a fall-foliage scene near the Ryoanji Temple (龍安寺), Kyoto Japan
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 4500 — map & image datanearby photos
Plasticy
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I can't rightly tell you why I had a plastic look in mind, but there's a whole lot of crazy Lightroom develop settings that went into it.

And now for something really surprising: the previous two photos are identical except for the fake vignette applied in Lightroom, a heavy/tight white vignette in the first, and a slight/thin dark vignette in the second. Surprised? I was.

Back to reality, near the bamboo was a tuft of the susuki grass I like so much. I'd already gotten plenty of the grass earlier in the outing (such as this one seen the other day), so here I went a bit more on the artsy-fartsy side...

a fall-foliage scene near the Ryoanji Temple (龍安寺), Kyoto Japan
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/1250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
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I would have liked a bit more contrast, but it's got an interesting mood.

A bit later, Paul moved to the grass, so I took another “context” shot...


Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600 — map & image datanearby photos
Context

But it was hard to ignore the beauty... the light and the area were just gorgeous...

a fall-foliage scene near the Ryoanji Temple (龍安寺), Kyoto Japan
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 2200 — map & image datanearby photos
They Really Were
glowing this vibrantly
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But like I said on the first post from this outing, it was also really cold and I wasn't dressed well for it, so I was moving a bit faster than normal...


Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1250 — map & image datanearby photos
Rushing to Catch Up

Sorry to make you rush, Paul.


All 3 comments so far, oldest first...

I’m glad you did this follow up post. I saw the previous post and thought the image was superb. I had guessed it was some Japanese temple thing (hey its you – of course its a temple thing!). The colours and focus were just superb.

And talking of focus I’m so envious of your Voigtländer lens. It always seems so super sharp.

— comment by Nick on December 15th, 2011 at 2:17am JST (12 years, 3 months ago) comment permalink

Just love that bokehed maple leaf on post image. Gorgeous. “they really were” is also really nice. Thanks for posting these.

— comment by Jao on December 15th, 2011 at 1:33pm JST (12 years, 3 months ago) comment permalink

Which 50mm f1.4 (AFS, AF -D) are you using for your photo? I am looking to get one too.

It’s the modern one currently available from Nikon. It’s a great lens —Jeffrey

— comment by Felix on December 16th, 2011 at 12:20am JST (12 years, 3 months ago) comment permalink
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