For the most part, cherry trees here in Japan don't bear fruit in a meaningful way (normally just small bitter fruits that are usually unnoticeable to begin with), but at the start of yesterday's walk I came across a real fruit-bearing cherry tree in front of someone's house, with a note “Enjoy them once they become red”...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1600 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Enjoy!
the red ones

Sadly, they were not red, so I couldn't partake.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/500 sec, f/2.5, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Decidedly Orange
not yet red

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

Not far from the previous train-track pic, but a different train line.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/2500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Scruffy

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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/500 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Not Scruffy

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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/1250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cafe Lil Donkey

Lunch was at カフェちいろば (which, according to the “Lil Donkey” on their website, I take means “Cafe Little Donkey”). The food was very good... the cook has a real sense for quality.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/500 sec, f/2.5, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Fringe of Red

After lunch, I came across what appeared to be a maple-tree bush (short and bush-like, but the leaves seemed clearly to be momiji — Japanese maple) that was predominantly green, but with a few deeply-red elements splashed here and there...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/500 sec, f/2.5, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Slight Non-Fringe of Non-Red

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Momiji Alien

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Further along, the red level was escalated substantially with another fruiting cherry tree laden with cherries in their prime...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/500 sec, f/2.5, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
These are Red
but, sadly, lacking an “Enjoy!” sign

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And finally, some roadside flowers that turned the red up to “11”...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/500 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
What a Challenge
the red is, literally, off the charts
(where by “literally” I mean “figuratively”, unless, of course, you were to actually try to chart the reds)

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The challenge here is that the reds were so super deeply saturated in real life that display technology just can't handle them at the same time as handling the rest of the image properly. The camera (Nikon D700) itself did an admirable job of it, considering that the detail was there, but once the color data is squished down to the limits of my laptop monitor, the reds become an ugly, solid unrefined blotch. I complain about this technological limitation often, such as in “Why Does “Brightness” Wash Colors to White?” and “Brilliant Flower, Not-so-Brilliant Processing”.

So, in the picture above, I manually toned down the reds by painting negative exposure in Lightroom. This traded off the unnatural solid blotchiness for some unnatural darkness, a trade-off that seemed in this case to be the lesser of two evils.. It's an HDR-like processing that didn't result in an obvious unnatural “HDR look”.

This next closeup shot may illustrate the problem better...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/500 sec, f/8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Completely Fake HDR

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Here's the original shot out of camera, with defaults in Lightroom except the white balance, which has been set from a separate WhiBal shot...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/500 sec, f/8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Out Of Camera Washout

In Lightroom, I lowered the exposure and other develop settings enough so that the reds weren't clipped, so that they finally showed just a bit of the detail that was there a-plenty in real life, resulting in an image that was dark except for the red leaves...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/500 sec, f/8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Tamed Reds
at the expense of everything else

This shows how much brighter the reds should be compared to the rest of the image, but if I set the exposure so that the rest is reasonable, the reds are pushed brighter than display technology currently allows. And so the conundrum.

Flattening the contrast so that both the reds and greens are “reasonable” on their own can make for an okay result (as I hope “Completely Fake HDR” above is), but the completely unrealistic lack of red vividness is a limitation that drives me nuts.

First there was the walk to lunch (“On The Way To Lunch: Eastern-Kyoto Stroll”), then lunch (“Delicious Yuba Lunch at Junsei”), and now the walk home...

We came across an ultra-fluffy yaezakura cherry that comes out late (a variety seen five years ago on my blog in “10 Gallons of Blossoms on a 5-Gallon Branch”). It seemed all the more fluffy set off by the new-growth green of the trees around it...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 800 — full exif & map — nearby photos

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 720 — full exif & map — nearby photos
A Bit Overwhelming
I like this variety better from a distance

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
( the blossoms in the picture were much closer than Paul, who was aiming at something else )

It was a pleasant day in a pleasant area...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 560 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Random Street Scene
( photographically uninteresting, but hopefully conveys a sense of relaxed “pleasant” )

One property we came by had a bunch of trees that seemed to glow in an unearthly way that stopped everyone in their tracks... it was just amazing, but these photos capture none of it )-:

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 900 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Unearthly Phosphorescent
the new-growth leaves leave jaws dropped

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1000 — full exif & map — nearby photos

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I don't know whether this glowing effect was hindered or helped by the weird lighting we had all day, due to a particularly thick treatment of kosa haze, a fine yellow dust that blows in from China.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2000 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Green Reflection

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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 6400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
“I Heard You Like Doors”
well textured by the weather
( I would have liked to step a few paces further back for this shot )

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As we were approaching Maruyama Park, I thought to take a small street that I'd not really noticed before, and I was shocked to find a whole section of town I'd not known about. Here's the entrance to a temple I'd not known about, chorakuji, which judging by the name (“long fun temple”) may end up becoming my favorite temple.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1600 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Choraku-ji Temple
Kyoto, Japan

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We were in a rush so didn't stop in, but I plan to remedy that soon.

This was near the temple seen in “Some Temple or Other” on the earlier on-the-way-to-lunch post, a temple that also remains unexplored. I was stunned to find these places and some of the others seen later in this post because I used to live just a third of a mile away, but I never knew about it. Part of the reason might be that it's all behind Maruyama Park, a popular park that I have a strong dislike for because it's the poster child for the ugly side of cherry-blossom viewing. So, I have tended to avoid the area and proactively ignore anything I felt connected with it, but it seems I've thrown out some impressive babies with the ugly-crowd bath water.

Continuing on this “secret” (from me) road, we passed a number of inns, including one whose front “lawn” was certainly made more impressive by the kosa-induced lighting:

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Front Lawn
of sorts

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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 5000 — full exif & map — nearby photos

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2000 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Brilliantly Glowing Red
entrance to something or other

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 720 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Suddenly Monochromatic
rear view of the Chiyo-in Temple

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1800 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Nice Parking Spot

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 450 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Somewhat Foreboding

Descending back into the park to head home, I couldn't help but snap some low-hanging (in the literal sense) blossoms...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 3600 — full exif & map — nearby photos

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1000 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Dainty

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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 cropped — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 560 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Stroll
watching the geese and ducks

I was running quite late so had to high-tail it home, but the afternoon was an enjoyable walk followed by an enjoyable lunch followed by an enjoyable walk that only left me more hungry, so to speak, for more.

The other day in “On The Way To Lunch: Eastern-Kyoto Stroll” I ended with a few shots of the girls above taking advantage of a photogenic location, made more so for everyone else by their presence.

I was heading to the Kiyomizu branch of the most excellent Junsei Tofu Restaurant to have lunch with Paul Barr. The branch is so named because it's near the front gate of the Kiyomizu Temple, in an area that usually packed with tourists, so the quiet elegance of the restaurant is a welcome relief from the crowds. I learned of it from a friend who occasionally helps out with running the place.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 3600 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Exceedingly Fresh Yuba
At the Kiyomizu “Junsei” Restaurant (順正清水店)
Kyoto, Japan

The place is known for its tofu, always made that day, but having been there a couple of times in the last month, I've decided that I prefer the opportunity for extremely fresh yuba (湯葉) — “tofu skin” — which literally develops before your eyes on a heated dish of soy milk.

Once the “skin” forms, you lift it with a bamboo stick...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 450 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Bite-Sized Portion
skimmed from the top of a heated dish of soy milk

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Dip in a Light Sauce

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 450 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Ready to Enjoy

Tofu generally doesn't have much taste on its own, but can take on a wonderful range of tastes when artfully prepared. Yuba, on the other hand, does have its own very yummy taste.

The set yuba lunch comes with a lot of stuff besides the yuba itself, and at ¥2,150 is a great value. The entrance to the restaurant is here (but note that the building is too new to be shown on the satellite view.).

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2000 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Busy as a Bee

I had an amazing outing yesterday with Paul Barr and Nicolas Joannin, to a far-off temple in the mountains of north-west Kyoto. On the way home, we stopped in the “Mountain House” restaurant Yama no Ie Hasegawa (山の家はせがわ) that I wrote about a couple of years ago (here and here). Upon pulling in, we were immediately drawn to a row of blossoming trees that had quite a different vibe from cherry or plum. It turns out that they were peach.

They were on an embankment, so we could view them from above, below, and on the side... it was a target-rich environment made to order for the creamy-smooth shallow depth of field of my favorite lens, the Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Just. Too. Perfect.

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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2800 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Shy

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I'm not all too sure about that last one above... it might not be visually apparent enough to not annoy at first glance. At my first glance I really liked it, but when I came back to it later didn't like it at all. They say that you should trust your first instinct, so I'm at least giving it a shot.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2500 — full exif & map — nearby photos

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We eventually made our way inside to order...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 4500 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Vicks
watching our coffee being prepared

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Our Coffee

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2800 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Extra Stuff
Nicolas and Paul about to abuse their coffee

Back outside after I enjoyed my coffee (and Nicolas and Paul enjoyed what had been coffee), we couldn't help but give another go at the blossoms in the fading light.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 500 — full exif & map — nearby photos

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 640 — full exif & map — nearby photos

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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Kyoto Field Trip
I'm guessing these are high-school kids on a field trip to Kyoto.
small groups are roving all over

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 250 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Lunch Break
at a construction site

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1600 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Uprite and Stowed Position
complex business end of a retractable crane

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 280 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Not Quite
I was thinking to make this a desktop background, but the more I look at it,
the more I feel something is off balance

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 500 — full exif & map — nearby photos
On Patrol
meter maids on the prowl

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 500 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Ultra Fluffy

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Rest Break

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Duckie!

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 360 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Some Temple or Other

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 500 — full exif & map — nearby photos
“Nene-no-Michi”
Quaint “Ne-ne Street”

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 560 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Dress Up
Ladies dress as geisha and hit the town

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 450 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Green-Tinged Cherry Blossoms
Pink splash over a greenish-white base
These are 御衣黄桜 (gyoikou sakura)

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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Fellow Photographer
She took photos of the blossoms while I admired her simple and elegant kimono

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 220 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Touristy
but quite pleasant when not crowded

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Neighborly Assistance

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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Photo Op
while she hides an SLR behind her

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 450 — full exif & map — nearby photos

Both lunch and the walk back will be their own posts...

This seemed particularly evident to me the other day on the outing with Paul Barr that produced “Photographer's Low-Hanging Fruit: a Pretty Flower”, which this post is essentially a continuation of.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Discards
cherry-blossom petals lying where they fell

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1600 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Target-Rich Environment

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Still Plenty in Reserve

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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Fish in a Barrel

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 220 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Really Really Really
orange

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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Little Hopper

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/3200 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Oh Hai

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/3200 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos

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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Random Detritus
and a buttercup

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Moving On

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 450 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Plan and Elevation

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Lantern
not much larger than a grain of rice

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To be continued...

Picking up from yesterday's intro post on the Ishiyama Temple (石山寺) half an hour away in Otsu, Japan, here are a few more shots from early in the visit to the large mountainous grounds...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2500 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Group-Entrance Ticket Window

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1600 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Hopeful Carp

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Big Trees
everywhere

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Random Pretty Flower

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Colors

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 3200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Crew Cut

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Azalea
三葉躑躅 (みつばつつじ) — rhododendron dilatatum

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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Streetlights

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

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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Distant Garden
behind a backdrop of nearby cherry blossoms and azaleas

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To be continued...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 250 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Petal-fall
light flurry of blossoms in a sudden breeze

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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2000 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Without Context
ornamental rope as thick as a my arm

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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 720 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Cherry-Blossom Petal on Moss
I wonder how many of these petals an average tree produces

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These were all at the entrance to a temple in Otsu that Paul Barr introduced me to today. I haven't yet looked at the rest of the photos, but it was quite an impressive place, so I have hope that at least a few good shots came of it.

Continued here...

Taking pictures of growing flowers is about as challenging as I imagine it would be to photograph animals caged in a zoo... the only thing easier would be pictures of non-growing flowers, e.g. cut and arranged flowers, as I've done many times (including here, here, here, here, and here, among others), which is perhaps comparable to photographing animals after the taxidermist has finished.

Still, pretty is pretty, so here we are.

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

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I discovered this particular flower along a path while I was out in Kyoto with Paul Barr today. My discovery came right after he pointed at it and said “wow, check out this flower”. It and its friends obligingly stayed put while we photographed them.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos

The other day after a short stroll through the Chishaku-in Temple in eastern Kyoto, we made our way behind it to search for a set of stairs that Stéphane had suggested. We found it.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 280 — full exif & map — nearby photos
First Steps
just a few baby ones

At the top of the small set of steps was a park with cherry blossoms and kids playing, beyond which was a large wooden gate building...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Gate

Paying a scant 50 yen (US$ 0.60) to pass through, we found the main set of stairs....

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Now Those are Some Steps

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 5000 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Challenge

Just as we started up, someone came to jog the stairs, reminding me of north-east Kyoto's Tanukitanisan Fudouin Temple where athletes train by running the stair-filled path.

At the top of this very long set of stairs is another little park and little gate...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Mid-Level Gate

... followed by, you guessed it... more steps...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 3600 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Lots More Steps

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2800 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Looking Back Down
this is the only photo I got that seems to capture the steepness

There's nothing much to speak of at the top... a large but remarkably-boring grave monument of some kind... so the attraction is the 523-step trip, not the destination.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Fence
about the only interesting thing at the top

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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/500 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Heading Down @ 125mm

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Heading Down @ 50mm
represents the scale more realistically

Photographically speaking, this post so far has been free from the burden of color and quality, but I'd like to inject at least a bit of color (though not quality) via some less-than-thrilling tsubaki blossoms, if for no other reason than it gives me the opportunity to refer to this utterly-perfect blossom, a related tsubaki variety at a temple a mile or so away.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 220 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Tsubaki
not such a great specimen

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 720 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Tsubaki Bud
also not so great

Better than the sad tsubaki was the sunshine and cherry blossoms, though it's sad that this is the best photo I can share:

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 280 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Cherry Blossoms and Shrine Gate

Also sad is that when researching the location in writing up this post, I realized that the grave monument at the top is for a decidedly-vile person from 400 years ago in Japanese history, which greatly lessens the appeal to me. Oh well.