Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 60mm — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Patrick, Damien, and Valerie
in Shiga Prefecture, Japan
One reason that I don't blog so much these days is that when I do go out with the camera, the places I visit are so overwhelmingly beautiful that I get choice paralysis in deciding what to work on, and what to write about. I start to work on one set of photos, only to get drawn into a hundred side channels for things I want to share, and in the end I share nothing because nothing finds its way all the way to a blog post.
So with the intent to fight agsinst that, I set out this morning to quickly scan the 714 photos I took during a recent outing to some temples in Shiga Prefecture (an hour's drive from Kyoto), and quickly choose a few photos and blog them. What I had hoped would take 30 minutes has, to this point, taken two hours.
Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/50 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
at the Eigenji Temple (永源寺)
Part of the slowness comes from my desire to tie in today's photos with ones from the past. This helps make my blog a diary for my own consumption later in life, I guess, when my memory starts to.... what was I talking about? 🙂
For example, the lead photo above was taken very near where the lead photo of this post was taken, a couple of years prior during that year's same “Shiga temples tour”. But even closer is this photo, take during “Cycling to Nagoya for Coffee”, which was, at 260km, my longest ride to date.
Our first stop of the day, the Eigenji Temple, was not yet at its peak of color, but it was still lovely, and I hope to post much more from the day. When here two years ago, it had indeed been at peak color, as seen in “Anatomy of a Selfie” and a few others. Sigh, that day was so photogenic, there should be 20 more posts just from it. Maybe someday.
We then made our way to the jaw-dropping awe-inspiring emotionally-powerful Kongorinji Temple (金剛輪寺), as introduced a long time ago in “Deep Sorrow at the Kongourinji Temple’s Path of Jizou”, but perhaps better photographed half a dozen years ago in “Uncountable Sorrows: Path of Statues Dedicated to Children who Passed Before Their Parents”, or any of the many other posts that the “nearby photos” link under each picture brings you to.
Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 5000 — map & image data — nearby photos
at the Kongorinji Temple (金剛輪寺)
Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/125 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
on the purification basin's dragon
Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
at the Sakaejun Temple (栄順寺)
I've felt remarkably uninspired to photograph or write this year, but this was an inspiring trip, so perhaps some of its effects will linger and I'll write more soon. It's five hours after I started writing this post at home, and now I'm finishing it in the Osaka airport as I start a trip to Ohio to visit my folks.
Thanks for sharing!! There’s a saying that writer’s block isn’t when you’re sitting at your desk staring at a blank page (or screen). Writer’s block is when you’re doing everything EXCEPT sitting at your desk, staring at a blank page… It happens to all of us; be patient with yourself.
Hugs to you and your family…
Mike.
Given that Japan is a very north-south country (the very south being close to tropical), is it fair to say that each ‘region’ experiences the seasons very differently? The south probably wouldn’t have a “proper” autumn as shown above at all presumably.
Yes, the fall foliage season progresses from north to south, and the spring cherry-blossom season from south to north. —Jeffrey
Thanks again for sharing. I just spent 2 enjoyable hours chasing down your links and maps.
Kenmore,WA