Jeffrey Friedl's Blog » Some Desktop Backgrounds from Kyoto’s Koumyou-in Temple

Some Desktop Backgrounds from Kyoto’s Koumyou-in Temple

by Jeffrey Friedl Fri, June 8th, 2012 11:20am JST (11 years, 11 months ago)

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desktop background image of a peaceful garden view, at the Koumyou-in Temple (光明院), Kyoto Japan -- Breezy -- Koumyou-in Temple (光明院) -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/160 sec, f/8, ISO 2800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Breezy

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Here are a few shots from the Koumyou-in Temple in Kyoto (光明寺, 京都) taken on the same outing as the photos accompanying my Lightroom 4.1 post the other day.

desktop background image of a peaceful garden view, at the Koumyou-in Temple (光明院), Kyoto Japan -- Simple -- Koumyou-in Temple (光明院) -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Simple

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desktop background image of a garden-side veranda, at the Koumyou-in Temple (光明院), Kyoto Japan -- Veranda -- Koumyou-in Temple (光明院) -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Veranda

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desktop background image of a garden-side veranda, at the Koumyou-in Temple (光明院), Kyoto Japan -- Subtle -- Koumyou-in Temple (光明院) -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Subtle

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desktop background image of a garden-side veranda, at the Koumyou-in Temple (光明院), Kyoto Japan -- Rare -- Koumyou-in Temple (光明院) -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 900 — map & image data — nearby photos
Rare

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One of the verandas consisted of a single plank of pine more than a yard wide (94cm by my foot-measuring estimation). I'd never seen anything like it; I assume that all the trees big enough to allow this big a plank were harvested long ago.

I talked to a lady that I took to be the owner of the place, who said that the temple building itself was not all that old... within the last couple of hundred years, so it's likely that the wide plank was repurposed from an older building. She didn't know, nor really seem to care.

Unusual Comparison I'm not used to anything making my US-Size-13½ (Japan size 32) feet look small -- Koumyou-in Temple (光明院) -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/400 sec, f/3.2, ISO 2200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Unusual Comparison
I'm not used to anything making my US-Size-13½ (Japan size 32) feet look small

desktop background image of detail of a very wide plank of pine, at the Koumyou-in Temple (光明院), Kyoto Japan -- Knot Uncommon -- Koumyou-in Temple (光明院) -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 900 — map & image data — nearby photos
Knot Uncommon

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desktop background image of a peaceful garden view, at the Koumyou-in Temple (光明院), Kyoto Japan -- Garden View -- Koumyou-in Temple (光明院) -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/500 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Garden View

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I lead the previous post with a similar shot, but of a different door in a different room, looking out at the same garden from a different angle.

The entrance to the place included a painted cement floor that included leaf patterns seemingly-etched into the surface...

Koumyou-in Temple (光明院) -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 4000 — map & image data — nearby photos

They were so detailed and lifelike that I have to think they were made by leaves being pressed into the cement before it dried, but that really doesn't seem plausible for something as delicate as a leaf. Maybe someone carefully crafted a bunch of stamps?

desktop background image of what seems to be a leaf imprinted in a cement floor, at the Koumyou-in Temple, Kyoto Japan (光明院) -- Koumyou-in Temple (光明院) -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos

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desktop background image of a rope woven within a rope, at the Koumyou-in Temple, Kyoto Japan (光明院) -- Yo Dawg I heard you like ropes -- Koumyou-in Temple (光明院) -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Yo Dawg
I heard you like ropes

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Incongruous Gate the modern gate was a notable exception to the high-class low-key style of the place -- Koumyou-in Temple (光明院) -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Incongruous Gate
the modern gate was a notable exception to the high-class low-key style of the place

May	30th,	2012	Hidden Gems in Lightroom 4.1; Hidden Gems in Lightroom Plugin Development
February	3rd,	2013	Impossible Shot at Kyoto's Enkoji Temple: Garden and Garden-Viewing Room at the Height of Fall Colors, Devoid of People
March	2nd,	2013	Priceless: Candy and Pottery in a Surprisingly Tasteful Display

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All 3 comments so far, oldest first...

Wonderful. I like the leafs.

— comment by Boris on June 8th, 2012 at 3:10pm JST (11 years, 11 months ago) — comment permalink

Wow! I’m not only vastly impressed with the width of that plank, but amazingly, it stayed straight. Usually one wouldn’t use an extra-wide board without re-sawing because of the great danger of warping. Especially when it’s used outside.
Perhaps it was re-purposed from an older building, in which case it was well-dried, but still….it didn’t warp back then either, Absolutely amazing.
I wonder how it’s attached to the joists…from underneath?

— comment by Grandma Friedl, Ohio, USA on June 8th, 2012 at 9:58pm JST (11 years, 11 months ago) — comment permalink

Near Sendai, Japan, in the mountains around the city, there are giant cedar trees that are the largest I have ever seen. A friend of mine was from a logging family back in Minnesota and he said he had not seen anything that large in his lifetime. You might be able to find them online.

I learned the leaf impression when I was there in the early 1950s and made all my stepping stones with leaf impressions

— comment by Abraham Lincoln on June 8th, 2012 at 10:42pm JST (11 years, 11 months ago) — comment permalink