Jeffrey Friedl's Blog » Picturesque Bridges Leading to the Nagaoka Tenmangu Shrine

Picturesque Bridges Leading to the Nagaoka Tenmangu Shrine

by Jeffrey Friedl Wed, October 3rd, 2012 10:35am JST (12 years ago)

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desktop background image of small stone bridges on the path to the Nagaoka Tenmangu Shrine (Nagaokakyou City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan). 京都府長岡京市の長岡天満宮 -- On The Way To The Shrine Nagaoka Tenmangu Shrine, Nagaokakyo City, Kyoto Prefecture Japan 京都府長岡京市の長岡天満宮 -- 長岡天満宮 -- Nagaokakyo, Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, https://regex.info/blog/ -- This photo is licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ (non-commercial use is freely allowed if proper attribution is given, including a link back to this page on http://regex.info/ when used online)

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 280 — map & image data — nearby photos
On The Way To The Shrine
Nagaoka Tenmangu Shrine, Nagaokakyo City, Kyoto Prefecture Japan
京都府長岡京市の長岡天満宮

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The other day while my wife was preparing for her ballet recital, I wandered around the shrine complex across the street from the venue. That's where I snapped the “Cute Little Melodrama in Five Photos” sequence that I posted the other day.

The direct sun made for harsh lighting that I just didn't have the skill to deal with well, so from a technical point of view these photos are crap, all lacking a certain richness. I'll have to head back on a lightly-cloudy day. Still, it's a pretty area, so even crappy photos are not too bad to look at....

View from Across the Lake difficult to believe we're in the middle of a city -- 長岡天満宮 -- Nagaokakyo, Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, https://regex.info/blog/ -- This photo is licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ (non-commercial use is freely allowed if proper attribution is given, including a link back to this page on http://regex.info/ when used online)

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/8, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
View from Across the Lake
difficult to believe we're in the middle of a city

Nagaokakyo (長岡京) has been around for a long time... it served as the capital of Japan for short while, before the imperial court was moved 10km northeast to Kyoto, 1,218 years ago. Not in the year 1218, mind you, but 1,218 years ago, in 794.

Prior to being in Nagaokakyo, the capital had been in Nara for a while, and prior to that had bounced around quite a bit, but it finally stayed put in Kyoto for a good long while, for 1,074 years, before moving to Tokyo in 1868.

I lived and worked in this city in the early 1990s, and walked by this area every day on my commute, but never once stopped in to check it out. I have no idea what I was thinking, but I guess it just shows how much photography has opened my eyes to the beauty and interest of things around me.

Confusing What in the heck is going on here, beside the little kid feeding fish? -- 長岡天満宮 -- Nagaokakyo, Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, https://regex.info/blog/ -- This photo is licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ (non-commercial use is freely allowed if proper attribution is given, including a link back to this page on http://regex.info/ when used online)

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1600 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Confusing
What in the heck is going on here, beside the little kid feeding fish?

I was half way thinking to make this one of my “What am I?” quizzes because the jumble of curved stone seems so implausible.

There are actually three of those short highly-arched bridges right next to each other on the three immediately-adjacent parallel paths that bifurcate the lake, as can sort of be seen in the lead photo. The middle path is surrounded by hedges and is closed to the public; I suspect it is reserved for the emperor should he visit, which I would suppose might happen a few times each millennium.

Northern Bridge the two orange lanterns flank the unused central path -- 長岡天満宮 -- Nagaokakyo, Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, https://regex.info/blog/ -- This photo is licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ (non-commercial use is freely allowed if proper attribution is given, including a link back to this page on http://regex.info/ when used online)

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/8, ISO 560 — map & image data — nearby photos
Northern Bridge
the two orange lanterns flank the unused central path

On The Southern Path -- 長岡天満宮 -- Nagaokakyo, Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, https://regex.info/blog/ -- This photo is licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ (non-commercial use is freely allowed if proper attribution is given, including a link back to this page on http://regex.info/ when used online)

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
On The Southern Path

Heading Out photographed across the middle path from the southern path ( Fumie's ballet recital was in the large building in the background ) -- 長岡天満宮 -- Nagaokakyo, Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, https://regex.info/blog/ -- This photo is licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ (non-commercial use is freely allowed if proper attribution is given, including a link back to this page on http://regex.info/ when used online)

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Heading Out
photographed across the middle path from the southern path
( Fumie's ballet recital was in the large building in the background )

Southern Bridge -- 長岡天満宮 -- Nagaokakyo, Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, https://regex.info/blog/ -- This photo is licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ (non-commercial use is freely allowed if proper attribution is given, including a link back to this page on http://regex.info/ when used online)

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 110 — map & image data — nearby photos
Southern Bridge

Another Angle with tea houses in the background -- 長岡天満宮 -- Nagaokakyo, Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, https://regex.info/blog/ -- This photo is licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ (non-commercial use is freely allowed if proper attribution is given, including a link back to this page on http://regex.info/ when used online)

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 140 — map & image data — nearby photos
Another Angle
with tea houses in the background

Fail I really wanted a vertical desktop to work, but the washed out sky just kills it -- 長岡天満宮 -- Nagaokakyo, Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2012 Jeffrey Friedl, https://regex.info/blog/ -- This photo is licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ (non-commercial use is freely allowed if proper attribution is given, including a link back to this page on http://regex.info/ when used online)

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 220 — map & image data — nearby photos
Fail
I really wanted a vertical desktop to work, but the washed out sky just kills it

I'll end with two more views similar to the lead photo, but this next one has focus on the tea houses instead of the bridge, and the one after that has a person, for scale...

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Tea Houses

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Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Parasol

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Luckily, the water is shallow and I am very tall, so I could get shots from this vantage. 😉

September	22nd,	2012	Flowers for a Job Well Done
September	23rd,	2012	Cute Little Melodrama in Five Photos

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All 3 comments so far, oldest first...

I especially like the last photo! 🙂

— comment by zoomingjapan on October 3rd, 2012 at 11:01am JST (12 years ago) — comment permalink

Dear Jeffrey,
The most inspiring for me while reading your blog was your great love and commitment to your son. I can relate, especially as our son is also an only child, almost the same age and “ha-fu”. I ALWAYS love reading about close relationships among parents and children! It was a pleasure for me to read your blog. Thank you very much!
Anne

— comment by Anne on October 3rd, 2012 at 5:12pm JST (12 years ago) — comment permalink

I also like the last photo, as it draws me into the scene. Tom

— comment by Tom in SF on October 4th, 2012 at 10:57am JST (12 years ago) — comment permalink