icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/6400 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cherry-Blossom Snow
all out of focus, sorry... another frame is here
We have finally had some short-sleeve weather to go along with the cherry blossoms... no snow for a week, though it was cold enough to snow just three days ago. I had an errand near the Kiyamachi area of eastern Kyoto, an urban hip night-life concrete jungle where I shot much of “Impossible Photography: No Light, No Tripod, No Hope. D700 and a 50mm f/1.2” a year and a half ago. It has a small river lined by cherry blossoms, so I brought along the camera.
I've a great sequence of shots of the two girls launching small blizzards of cherry-blossom petals that I'll post when I find some energy. I actually have a few sequences like that, and it's not only kids... just those who are kids at heart, as we'll see later in this post.
Despite yesterday's post about Anthony growing up too quickly, he's still very much a kid in this cherry-blossom-petal respect....
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Fist Full of Petals
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/1000 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
You Just Know Where Those Petals Will Be Launched
Even without the aid of kids, the river was awash in petals. I braced the camera against a tree to get a longer exposure to try to show the movement of petals in the river...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/10 sec, f/16, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ducks and Blossoms
The errand was to visit a photo exhibit with Zak, who had headed to the area early to play his shakuhachi among the blossoms....
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/3200 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Zachary Braverman
As he was packing up his stuff, a kindly-looking couple stopped by and peeked into his case to ask what the instrument was, and when they found out, they looked quite disappointed that they missed it. Zak had already told me how tired and hungry he was, but I still had enough energy to volunteer his talents, so said (more or less translated as) “geez, just go ahead and play something for them!”.
So he did, some old classic, and they loved it. The man then asked him to play it again so that he could sing along...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/4000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Impromptu Duet
under the blossoms, in front of a 7-11 convenience store
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/5000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Bonus Photo Op
for someone behind the singer
It was a really nice moment. Zak's written about the day as well over on his blog.
I was happy to expose Anthony to this slice of culture, but he didn't have all that much interest... taking a daring excursion on the wrong side of the bridge barrier was more along his interests...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/4000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Putting Away the Shakuhachi
again
For lunch we opted for a pizza buffet here. While we waited for a table, Anthony checked out the pizza production...
After our visit to the photo exhibition, we headed back via a route that brought more blossoms...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/1600 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Easy Handfuls
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Photo #6
in a sequence of 13
( more from the sequence on The Hope of Cherry Blossoms in Japan )
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Kid at Heart
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Launch
it's probably difficult to see in the small version, but there's a cloud of petals there
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/1600 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
“Let There Be Petals”
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Intense Burst
These shots are all so great! I miss the cherry blossoms over there! I also need to get me an 85mm, love the results! Oh and thanks for the exif button for the toolbar, that’s a genius tool.
Thanks for the kind words, but I had a hard time keeping things in focus today. Most of these shots are out of focus… but I include them because I don’t have a photo blog (I have a “Jeffrey blog” that includes photos of whatever story I’m wanting to tell). I’ve been planning on getting the Zeiss 100 f/2 that should be out Any Day Now, after having borrowed the previous generation from Zak, but thought that perhaps I should get the Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 instead, to replace my Nikon 85mm f/1.4 (to get the better manual-focus interface), but in discussing this with Zak, he suggested that the 100mm is the prince of Zeiss’ line, and that the 85mm’s IQ is not as good as Nikon’s. Sigh. Must look into it. —Jeffrey
Pizza in Japan, very funny!
I’m a German who lives in Italy, here is Pizza everywhere.
But in my neares neighborhood there are also 3 or 4 Sushi Bars, only the cooks they all are Japanese.
And the Pizzaioli (who are baking the Pizza) all are Italians. Japan seems to be more international…
Pizza is big in Japan… they’ve taken it to quite their own level. See here and here for opposite ends of the spectrum. —Jeffrey
The song they requested (and the song I played later at the gallery) is Kojo no tsuki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kojo_no_tsuki
A very, very popular Japanese song they all learn in elementary school, and which is appropriate for the season.
Was just wondering, what eventually happens to all those petals that fall on the streets and sidewalks? Does someone come and sweep them away at some point? I can’t imagine decaying petals on Japan’s immaculate streets.
Immaculate streets? In Japan? Your imagination is working just fine! —Jeffrey
My favorite of these shots was “Kid at Heart”. It’s not a photo I’d set as wallpaper, but I like EVERYTHING about the story and the sentiment it portrays.
I thought I should finally mention to you how much I appreciate your online exif tool. I use it regularly. I should have said thank-you for making it available long ago.
Take care.
Doug
Photo #6 is my absolute favorite and I particularly like the pizza shop shots. Very well done.
I’ve always found that my most incredible photos were completely unplanned and that if they came out “right” it was completely accidental. To me, that’s what makes them incredible….
Just a point of curiosity – my daughters are half-Korean and we live in the States. I moved here from Seoul when my oldest was very young because I noticed other mixed heritage children were having social problems that I thought were inordinately severe. Discriminatory behavior is not curbed by the adults and in some cases is apparently encouraged. Your boy seems to be having a good time, but has he ever reported this sort of problem to you? It’s bad enough here in the U.S. without the problems that are apparently caused by having such a homogenous population base.
No problems that I know of. Maybe Kyoto is enlightened, or maybe it’s just a more modern era. We often don’t get a second glance. Of course, the real test will be once the kids start to reach the age of cruelty (from young adolescent to about 99). People can be horrible. We’ll see. —Jeffrey
The first photo is terrific. Don’t apologize for focus! For photos that are that good, focus is irrelevant.