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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cherry Blossoms in November
at the Kongourinji Temple, Shiga Prefecture, Japan
I'm guessing the sparse white puffs in the foreground are cherry blossoms, the jyuugatsuzakura (十月桜, “October Cherry Blossoms”) I first ran into at the Himukai Shrine a year ago. I'd not seen them since.
Today I accepted an invitation from Kyoto friend Stéphane Barbery to accompany him on a visit to the Kongourinji Temple (金剛輪寺) in Shiga Prefecture, an hour's drive away on the far side of Lake Biwa. As I mentioned yesterday, I wanted to continue to give the pain in my arms a rest from computer work, so I joined him and ended up having a deeply emotional experience at this temple. I'll write another time about why this particular temple can be so evocative, but while the 619 photos I took are loading in Lightroom, I thought I'd share a few from the very front of the batch.
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Paying My Way
Stéphane kindly pre-pays for me
Even though the fall foliage season has come and gone for much of the Northern Hemisphere, it's always much later in Japan; for us, the colors have just started to turn. A few trees are fully engulfed, as we saw in the background of the first picture, but the shot above reflects the current status better: most maple still haven't even started to turn, punctuated by fiery sections of those that have.
We were quite the early birds at the temple; it was very uncrowded, to the point of being deserted. Stéphane had been here before and so went ahead at his own pace, and for much of the time I was completely alone. (In future posts when you see how spectacular this place was, even this early in the season, you'll be amazed it could be so empty.) It was very peaceful.
The weather was much better today than yesterday, but the sun was still mostly absent. When it did pop out from behind the clouds, there was much rejoicing and shutter snapping. Here's an early burst of light...
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Splashed in Sunshine
... and moments later, the sun was gone, leaving everything with a vastly different feel...
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 560 — map & image data — nearby photos
Splashed in Shade
It was unfortunate that the sun was so shy today, but it was still an amazing place to visit, and to photograph.
Like yesterday, I brought only three lenses, all primes: Nikkor 24mm f/1.4, Nikkor 50mm f/1.4, and a Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5. Judging from the image data, I changed lenses 65 times. I hate the bother of changing lenses, but c'est la vie. My camera bag was a Think Thank Speed Racer and I just kept the lenses sitting in it without front or rear caps, so I could change lenses in a quick jiffy.
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Overwhelming
where does one even start to focus?
( clicking through to the large version reveals the fiery leaves at right are in focus )
You won't see it in this short post, but this place blows away anything Kyoto has, including even the stunning Eikando Temple (seen in many previous posts, including “Holy Cow, the Gardens at Kyoto's Eikando Temple are Gorgeous!”, “Teeming Throngs Enjoying the Colors at Kyoto's Eikando Temple”, “More From Yesterday's Trip to the Eikando Temple”, and “More From the Eikando Temple Foliage Lightup”). Like the many dynamic views at Eikando, here at Kongourinji one finds numerous scenes with many visual layers.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 @ 50 mm — 1/500 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Path
one of many
( in a week or so, this will be a stunning tunnel of color )
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 @ 50 mm — 1/400 sec, f/1.4, ISO 360 — map & image data — nearby photos
Scene of the Autumn Cherry Blossoms
the tree is really sparse, save a few blossoms here and there
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Start of a Very Long Path
300 meters of sorrow and anguish await
Prior to this visit I'd never even heard of Kongourinji, and had asked Stéphane not to tell me what it was like, so at this point I didn't know what to expect. Still, I would have been plenty happy even if what I'd seen so far was all there was, because even these ancillary areas were gorgeous.
But it turns out that the large temple complex has two main areas of beauty, and I had yet to reach either. I'll post more once my photos have loaded and I have a chance to actually look at the rest of them.
To be continued....