Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Anthony Rides a Police Horse

Another day, another 826 pictures. Thank goodness that I decided to catch up a bit on email this morning rather than photograph the start of the Kyoto City Half Marathon, or I would have had even more photos to deal with.

As part of the festivities surrounding the half marathon, which starts and ends right here south of the Heian Shrine, the Kyoto Prefectural Mounted Police allowed kids between 4 and fourth grade to get a horse ride. Fumie's mom, who watched Anthony while Fumie and I were in Kanazawa took him over. Unbeknownst to him, I followed along with my long lens to capture the event. It was right in the park where Anthony likes to ride his bike, shown all snowy at the end of this post from two weeks ago.

He was excited about the prospect of a horse ride, but I knew that he'd be apprehensive. Indeed, you can see the consternation on his face as his turn approaches...

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 170 mm — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
You're Next

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 95 mm — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Mounting the Mount

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Still Apprehensive

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 98 mm — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Officer's Reassuring Words

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 102 mm — ¹/640 sec, f/4.5, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
All Smiles

From start to finish, his time on the horse lasted 60 seconds. Chatting with him later, he said that he wasn't scared of the horse, but of falling off the horse. I pointed out that the police officer had been holding on to him, to which he replied (rightly, I see, now that I review the photos) “yeah, but only a little bit.”

A moment after dismounting, he had to cross the path of the horse to get out, and being a police program, good traffic safety was being observed. I rarely see it any more, but all kids used to raise their hands as they crossed the street, to make themselves more visible. Seeing them have Anthony do this was a throwback to the days of old....

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 78 mm — ¹/750 sec, f/4.5, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Traffic Safety

At this point I came out of stealth mode, and Obaachan saw me and pointed him my way, and when he saw me he broke into both a run and a smile...

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 105 mm — ¹/1000 sec, f/4.5, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Daddy, Daddy!

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — ¹/4000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Guilty Pleasure
(the street was closed to traffic)

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — ¹/4000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
New Trick
(standing while coasting; still hasn't tried standing while pedaling)

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — ¹/3000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Marathon Runner

The little kid ran by as we watched Anthony ride his bike. I figured that I should show at least one picture of a runner, so there you go. All runners received a bottle of water and a banana at the finish, so the kid went to his dad to get his banana.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — ¹/4000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Awaiting his Banana

Finally, my obligatory shot-down-the-middle-of-the-road-with-a-shrine-in-the-background, essentially an identical shot to this Road to the Heian Shrine picture from two weeks ago, but with more zoom, less snow, and a lot more people:

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 155 mm — ¹/640 sec, f/7.1, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Finish Line
– or –
Crowded Road to the Heian Shrine

Similar shots also appear on last fall's Anthony at the Kyoto Intercollegiate Festival post.

In the afternoon, I attended a ballet recital of a bunch of kids ranging from four years old through high school, including one of Anthony's classmates, Monet. It was adorable, and the resulting 584 photos accounts for the bulk of the day's images.

Then, for my third photo event of the day, I photographed some pages from Monet's great great great grandfather's bible that record the births, deaths, and marriages of several generations of her ancestors on her dad's side. After not getting satisfactory results on his own, Arthur (Monet's dad) asked me to give it a shot. We'll see how they came out....