Over the years I've posted many sunsets from the Shogunzuka Overlook (将軍塚) in eastern Kyoto, from spectacular to quiet but nice to the most common: downright bland. It's been a source of occasionally dynamic views for a long time, but the practical reality is that for every one time I show something from up there, I've visited and returned empty-handed many times.

Overall, the median experience is, basically, a waste of time.

I tend to keep track of the sky's potential for a nice sunset throughout the day, all while mentally juggling my schedule to see whether a trip up [...]

I'm still overwhelmingly steeped in Lightroom plugin development of late, but did get out with the camera a few times over the weekend. On Friday I met some friends visiting Kyoto, and in the shot above one is taking a photo of a stuffed bunny at the Heian Shrine (平安神 宮), as part of a project for a friend's daughter, showing the bunny in various situations around Japan.

Over Saturday and Sunday, I took a family trip to Iwakuni in western Japan to visit some relatives, and as part of the trip stopped by Miyajima Island (宮島) and its famous [...]

I paid a visit today to the Shouren'in Temple (青蓮院) in Eastern Kyoto for a repeat of the Ikebana (生花; flower-arranging) event that last year produced all these posts:

Today's visit won't produce so much, but this post is a first run at some of the shots I took...

The light was really harsh today; somehow, it was better last year.

I've tried getting this post done every day since "Little Pink Flowers" 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 days ago, but I keep getting caught up with Lightroom plugin work. I guess the balance between plugins and blog varies over time, with "blog" on the short end these days.

Anyway, the "Little Pink Flowers" post was from an outing a couple of weeks ago when I showed a visitor a bit around some of the fringe countryside areas of Kyoto. Our first stop was the Nishimura Stonecarver's garden, an amazing place that has its own category on my blog...

The Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 macro lens certainly does love itself some tiny flowers, and in this regard I can only encourage it. I found these dainty pink things yesterday in a garden at the Sanzen-in Temple (三千院) in Ohara, a mountain suburb of Kyoto.

The flowers looked quite different depending on what angle you viewed them, and on what stage they were in life.