Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/80 sec, f/4.5, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Plum Blossom Desktop Background

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After Easter mass, we made the 15-minute drive over to Kitano Tenmangu, a Shinto shrine in north-west Kyoto that dates from 947, famous for its pink and white plum blossoms. It was my first visit.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Most Trees Were Like This

We didn't realize just how past their prime the plum blossoms were: the trees were mostly bare. I see now that they have their plum-blossom festival in late February, so we're a month late to the party.

Still, there were a few bunches of blossoms here and there, in deep pink, bleached white, and various colors in between.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/80 sec, f/9, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Pure White

I'm sure it's breathtakingly spectacular during full bloom, but the lack of crowds and the resulting relaxed atmosphere that we found today made the blossoms that where there thoroughly enjoyable.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Bride Being Prepped for a Photo Shoot

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/5, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Extra Pink

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 40 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/7.1, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Main Building From a Distance
with mostly-bare plum trees everywhere

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 30 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/7.1, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Impromptu Family Portrait

Behind us you see what looks like a little bell with a tassel hanging from it; it's actually a couple of feet across, and the rope is as thick as my arm. (Large Shinto shrines have such a bell, used to draw the attention of the gods to your petitions.) Here's a shot of the bell and the detail under the eaves...

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 40 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Sumptuous

I took that shot with the intent to compare against the eaves of the Tanigumisan Kegonji Temple, a temple which seems too busy doing whatever a temple does to be so pretty. (As for me, my camera enjoys both the sumptuous and the plain.)

Here are a few more nice shots from the main part of the temple. (We also entered the gardens, but pictures from that will have to wait for a different post....)

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/320 sec, f/4, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/45 sec, f/8, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 26 mm — ¹/400 sec, f/4, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos