Jeffrey Friedl's Blog » A Slightly Early Visit to Kyoto’s “Fallen Leaf” Ochiba Shrine

A Slightly Early Visit to Kyoto’s “Fallen Leaf” Ochiba Shrine

by Jeffrey Friedl Wed, November 14th, 2012 10:06pm JST (12 years, 2 months ago)

Towering Trees of Yellow Iwato Ochiba Shrine (岩戸落葉神社) Kyoto Japan -- Ochiba Jinja (落葉神社) -- 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 + Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 @ 14mm — ¹/80 sec, f/13, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Towering Trees of Yellow
Iwato Ochiba Shrine (岩戸落葉神社)
Kyoto Japan

Paul Barr arrived in Kyoto last night for the fall-foliage season, and so today for our first outing we made a return trip to the aptly-named Ochiba Jinja (落葉神社), meaning “fallen-leaf shrine”. This is my (our) second trip, the first having been documented two years ago in “Carpet of Yellow Deep in the Mountains of North-West Kyoto”.

Not Much of a Carpet compared to how it will be in a week or two -- Ochiba Jinja (落葉神社) -- 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 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Not Much of a Carpet
compared to how it will be in a week or two

The first trip had been on a Dec 2, two weeks later in the season than our trip today, so most of the leaves that time had already fallen; this time most were still on the trees, and the color hadn't even fully turned. We'll have to pay another visit next week.

Still, it was nice.

I'm not a big fan of wide-angle lenses, but I brought the 14-24mm zoom along on this trip and forced myself to give it a try.

desktop background image of a fall-foliage scene at the Iwato Ochiba Shrine (岩戸落ち葉神社), Kyoto Japan -- Side View Iwato Ochiba Shrine (岩戸落葉神社) -- Iwato Ochiba Jinja (岩戸落葉神社) -- 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 + Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 @ 14mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 140 — map & image data — nearby photos
Side View
Iwato Ochiba Shrine (岩戸落葉神社)

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Mostly I didn't care for the results with the wide-angle lens, but I'm in a silly mood this evening while looking them over, so here are a few shots with some pretty-far-out stylized processing...

Blank weather had worn all writing off the sign -- Ochiba Jinja (落葉神社) -- 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 + Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 @ 14mm — ¹/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Blank
weather had worn all writing off the sign

desktop background image of a styalized fall-foliage scene at the Iwato Ochiba Shrine (岩戸落葉神社), Kyoto Japan -- Airy the magnitude of the trees' towering doesn't really come through, unfortunately -- Ochiba Jinja (落葉神社) -- 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 + Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 @ 14mm — ¹/80 sec, f/14, ISO 280 — map & image data — nearby photos
Airy
the magnitude of the trees' towering doesn't really come through, unfortunately

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Bright -- Ochiba Jinja (落葉神社) -- 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 + Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 @ 14mm — ¹/125 sec, f/14, ISO 4000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Bright

Canopy and Lantern Ochiba Jinja (落葉神社) -- Ochiba Jinja (落葉神社) -- 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 + Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 @ 14mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Canopy and Lantern
Ochiba Jinja (落葉神社)

I eventually got rid of the 14-24mm and moved to my favorite lens, the Voigtländer 125mm, which quickly found a moss-covered rock strewn with leaves and such...

Ochiba Jinja (落葉神社) -- 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 — ¹/125 sec, f/2.5, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos

desktop background image of delicate curves of a yellow ginkgo leaf on a bed of moss -- Curves This one is okay, but I feel I could have (should have) done better -- Ochiba Jinja (落葉神社) -- 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/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Curves
This one is okay, but I feel I could have (should have) done better

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desktop background image of yellow ginkgo leaves and acorns on a bed of moss -- Ochiba Jinja (落葉神社) -- 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/2.5, ISO 1400 — map & image data — nearby photos

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I've still got plenty more photos to go through, mostly with the Voigtländer and a 50mm, but for the most part I didn't feel too photographically inspired on this trip (though the visit was quite enjoyable in its own right). I think part of the problem is that I just didn't have good enough equipment to take advantage of the situation. Others came better prepared...

Shooting with an iPad -- Ochiba Jinja (落葉神社) -- 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 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/100 sec, f/4.5, ISO 360 — map & image data — nearby photos
Shooting with an iPad

Continued here...

July	13th,	2010	Cosina Voigtländer Macro APO-Lanthar 125mm F2.5 SL
December	6th,	2010	Carpet of Yellow at the Iwato Ochiba Shrine, Deep in the Mountains of North-West Kyoto
November	5th,	2012	Temple-Hopping with Damien Douxchamps: a Few Desktop Backgrounds from North-East Kyoto
November	15th,	2012	Annoying or Interesting? “Special” Photos From the Iwato Ochiba Shrine
November	30th,	2012	A Wigglegram from the Well-Named “Fallen Leaf Shrine” in Northern Kyoto
December	4th,	2012	A Long But Photogenic November in Kyoto
May	13th,	2015	Visiting Kyoto's Fushimi Inari Shrine with Matt Campagna and a Super-Wide-Angle Lens
November	13th,	2015	Great Day in Kyoto's Colorful Northern Mountains, and at Strava's Kyoto Office
November	18th,	2016	Checking On the Carpet of Yellow at the Ochiba Shrine

You can submit a comment below | Posted under: Desktop Backgrounds, Fall Colors, General, Japan, Pretty Photos, Temples and Shrines, Vertical Desktop Backgrounds | Comments via RSS | Trackback

All 3 comments so far, oldest first...

Nice pics again Jeffrey:), I specially like the one named ‘Bright’, because of the angle, i mean it looks nice because its not like a random picture from the side of the building . I like it because you shoot it from the corner.
There is one other with the Ginkgo biloba leaves and some sort of nuts on it. I am using it for background now:)
It’s always refreshing to come here, and forget the never ending work in my office.

Endre
from Hungary

— comment by Endre György Tóth on November 15th, 2012 at 12:34am JST (12 years, 2 months ago) — comment permalink

Nice fall photos! A question: Do the shrine gardeners sweep the leaves up frequently? Or do they tend to wait for all of the trees to drop their leaves?

In the case of this shrine, which I got the impression is tended by local followers rather than any kind of owner/management, they leave the leaves (hence the name 😉 ) until local folks like me have gotten their photographic fill. I have the impression, though, that most places clean the leaves daily (they make the leaves leave, hence the name ;-)). —Jeffrey

— comment by Tom in SF on November 15th, 2012 at 2:15am JST (12 years, 2 months ago) — comment permalink

Well – you had the lens and you took the shot…
I can see why you are not a fan as the super wide angle shots do make me feel a bit as though I’ve got vertigo or slightly travel sick – but the trees are just wonderful so please do carry on with posting your nice 50mm shots when you can.!

Still this place is breath takingly-beautiful and your post really captures that. Pics 1 and 2 are pretty good as far as I am concerned. I wonder what her iPad produced? Will you try it with yours as well on the return trip?

I’ve returned to look at your previous “carpet” posts from this temple many times – but actually I think I love the colour best before it drops.
Annie
PS Just a query – did you shoot the fallen leaves, nuts and moss as Nature Landed It – (and then processed it) or did you re-arrange subject matter pre-shutter click. Am only asking and this is not at all intended to be a loaded question !

My iPad has no camera, so no iPad shooting for me. Most shots are as Nature Landed (though with the brisk wind, Nature was clearly still working things out), but I did help a bit with the fine placement of the tiniest of the three stacked leaves in the nunts-n-leaves-on-moss shot, which had been on the other two, but not centered quite so nicely. —Jeffrey

— comment by Annie in London on November 15th, 2012 at 5:47am JST (12 years, 2 months ago) — comment permalink