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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cherry Blossom in Training
bud on a cherry tree over the river outside my place in Kyoto, earlier this afternoon
In a week the area of Kyoto around where I live will be packed with blossoms and packed with people enjoying them, but for the moment things are pretty sparse...
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/11, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Status as of March 25
cherry blossoms not out yet in Kyoto, but certainly on the verge of eruption
The cherry-blossom timelapse that I posted a few years ago starts on this date, and if the same schedule holds (which it normally does... the blossom season being early or late by more than a day is notable news) shows that by a week from now, the trees will be well on their way toward full bloom. Full bloom will likely hit in about 10 or 11 days.
At the moment, you do start to see some pink up close, though when they bloom it'll be all white...
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 900 — map & image data — nearby photos
Buds and Egret
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Spirit of Rebirth
In an effort to help myself feel better about enjoying the beauty of nature when so many people have so recently been crushed by its powerful and unforgiving side, this cherry blossom season I will consider each blossom to be the re-emerging spirit of an earthquake/tsunami victim. It's corny, I know, but makes me feel nice.
On a different note, walking past this duck, I caught the reflections of the overcast sky in a way that made for an interesting pattern with the duck...
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 560 — map & image data — nearby photos
Camo Duck
(good camouflage unless I bring out my polarized filter)
I enhanced the original vibe with full-hilt “positive clarity” in Lightroom. Lightroom's “clarity” brings out the local contrast, making for a gritter result like seen above, though I tend to use it more in its negative sense (“negative clarity”), which lends a dreamy soft feeling like seen in several shots here, or when taken to even further extremes, like this or this.
The cherry blossoms in Washington DC are on the same schedule this year. We had a few days of warm weather last week which spurred them along. An early-blooming cherry is already in full glory in my garden. I’ve read that the focus of the upcoming sakura matsuri here will be earthquake/tsunami relief efforts this year.
Love the picture of the duck. The contrast is perfect. You need to come back to the states and do a few competitions. I know you would do fantastic.
I appreciate the vote of confidence, but doing competitions and such would turn it into something other than fun… work/competition. I like not being a pro, not having to do well, being able to freely put up bad pictures if they are good for the story, etc. Basically, I’m enjoying photography without responsibility 🙂 —Jeffrey
Camo Duck: Great shot, thanks for sharing. Did you have a look at it in black and white? Overwhelming!
Why, yes I have (thanks to you 😉 ) —Jeffrey