NOTE: Images with an 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 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1600 sec, f/2.5, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Extremely Vivid

Vertical Desktop-Background Versions
1050×1680  ·  1200×1920  ·  1600×2560

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/2500 sec, f/2.5, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Almost
got the butterfly in focus

In our second drive through the rural mountains of Uji City (Kyoto Prefecture, Japan) that I most recently wrote about the other day in “Pleasant Little Village in Uji, Part 2”, after leaving that village we wound our way north for half an hour (for what turned out to be only a mile and a half as the crow flies!) and had to stop when we came across some extremely vivid flowers at the end of someone's driveway.

I didn't realize it until I went to check the photo times between the village and these flowers, to see how long it took between, that the first photo on this post was actually the last photo I took back in the village... it just happened to be of the same kind of flower. Just as pretty in both places.

While we were hovering about the flowers with our cameras, I noticed an elderly lady doing chores by the house looking at us with a strong “what on earth?” look. I suspect she hadn't seen many tall white guys at the end of her driveway. I called out in a cheery voice that we appreciated that her flowers were so photogenic, and she came down and we chatted for a while. It turns out that someone from Scandinavia had lived nearby about 17 years ago; she gave his name and asked whether I knew him. 🙂 (I didn't)

It turns out that the next place over was a cafe, so we stopped in for lunch...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1600 sec, f/2.5, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Inviting Sign
“Artist Sundries Shop · Stone-Kiln Pizza · Coffee · Lunch”

But sadly, being in the middle of nowhere, the cafe is open only on the weekend. They did have ice cream, so we availed ourselves of that...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Service With a Smile

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
we dubbed her
“Ice-Cream Girl”

The cafe is also the home and workshop of a lady who does various kinds of art, such as stained-glass windows and metal sculptures, and some outbuildings are other workshops for her and her students, one of which is ice-cream girl.

(We were intrigued enough to head back the next weekend to try the pizza, and had some Italian Fruit Pizza. It had various fruits, including bananas. It sounds disgusting, but was amazing to the point that I actually concentrated on it instead of the camera, so I have no photographic record.... a deficiency I intend to remedy.)

Like I said, it was the middle of nowhere, but there was a house across the way...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Across the Way

Inside the white triangle on the gable of the main building is the character for “water”. I'll have to ask what that might mean when I go back for more pizza.

Closer in toward the road, there was what appeared to be ruins of some sort, so yet another thing to ask about...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 450 — map & image data — nearby photos
Remnants of Something

One of the shrubs in front of the cafe was positively glowing with spring green...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
A Touch Ethereal

Vertical Desktop-Background Versions
1050×1680  ·  1200×1920  ·  1600×2560

Continued here...