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This post shows some example effects of a polarizer filter on vegetation, specifically, the moss and fern laden garden of the Gioji Temple in Kyoto, Japan (祇王寺). On the topic of polarizers it follows from “A Few Polarization-Filter Examples” where I first brought up the topic four years ago, and the fall-foliage followup last year: “Heading Out To Photograph The Fall Foliage? Don’t Forget The Polarizer Filter”.
On the topic if the Gioji Temple, this post follows from yesterday's “Gioji Temple Photo Shoot: Nicolas's White Little Mushrooms” and the slightly earlier “Tag Along With Me on a Photo Shoot at Kyoto's Gioji Temple”.
Here's a pair of shots of Gioji's garden, with and without polarizer:
mouseover a button to see that image
As in my previous posts on polarizers, the “without polarizer” really means “with polarizer set for least effect”. I'm taking these without a tripod, so snap a picture and quickly turn the filter 90° and snap another. I should use a tripod, but I'm generally too lazy (but in the case of this temple, tripods are not allowed, so I have a good excuse. This time.)
Like a pair of good sun glasses, the polarizer cuts the reflected light from the leaves of the ferns. In person it's a stark, highly-impactful change for the better, making everything look deeper and richer. In the resulting photo, the difference is apparent but I'm not quite sure whether it's so clearly better. Perhaps it's a matter of taste.
Here's another set of examples:
mouseover a button to see that image
So, in this case, which do you prefer?
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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/200 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
What am I?
I was thinking to use this as one of my “What am I?” quizzes
Picking up from where “Tag Along With Me on a Photo Shoot at Kyoto’s Gioji Temple” left off, after the initial moss shots, I turned to the thatched roof of a small gate.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 2200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Small Gate
The first photo is looking up the slant to the reeds making the top layer of the roof.
Here's looking at the evenly-sliced bottom face, which perhaps would be considered the eaves if there were walls...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/100 sec, f/1.4, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Protected Underbelly of the Roof
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Roof
Nearby a set of ferns seems to be springing from the base of a tree and have a real “presence” (I'm not sure what that even means for a plant), but whatever “it” these ferns had was lost in the photo, but FWIW, here it is:
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ferns and Moss
Olympus E-P2 + Leica DG Summilux 25/F1.4 at an effective 50mm — 1/50 sec, f/2, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Me Taking “Ferns and Moss”
photo by Nicolas Joannin
Nicolas then found some mushrooms the size of the head of a pin...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 4000 — map & image data — nearby photos
The Mushrooms are There
the little white dots next to the moss
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 2800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Better View
Voigtländer 125mm mounted on his Olympus E-P2
The white dots in the lower left are the mushrooms in question. He's using my Voigtländer 125mm with an adapter on his Olympus E-P2. Here's one of the shots he got:
I like the pictures of Nicolas wielding the big lens to shoot the little mushrooms, so a few more of that...
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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1800 — map & image data — nearby photos
After the Typhoon
Tumultuous Sunset Over Kyoto
京都の夕焼け、東山の将軍塚から
Typhoon #4 of the season blew nearby on Tuesday, the first one to have any impact on Kyoto. It wasn't particularly eventful, but as I discovered after 2007's Typhoon #4, the air can be quite clear and the clouds quite dramatic after a typhoon blows through, so yesterday after a photogenic hike in western Kyoto, I went up to Shogunzuka in eastern Kyoto to catch the sunset.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 155mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 450 — map & image data — nearby photos
As usual, I was hoping for a jaw-dropping display, but as usual, I didn't get it. Still, it was better than most. And as usual, the deep color of the sunset (this time an orange with a strong pink tinge) gets completely lost in photographs... it turns into a totally unrealistic yellow in the brightest areas.
Since it's going to render unrealistically in photographs anyway, I thought I'd go ahead and “artify” it a bit in post processing (sort of like I did the other day in “Bland Sunset Over Kyoto: They Can't All Be Amazing”), but this time had a much nicer base from which to work.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/320 sec, f/6.3, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Closer To Reality
but still heavy with unpleasant HDRish artifacts from trying to rein in
the bright clouds, which, in reality, were not the least bit yellow
The reality was quite nice (other folks were oohing and ahhing nonstop), but my photos (as taken) weren't particularly compelling, so I'm going the “artsy” route. I've done this a number of times recently, and am a bit worried to let it become a habit, but for now I'll just enjoy it when the mood strikes.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 110mm — 1/320 sec, f/6.3, ISO 4500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ridgeline
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/320 sec, f/6.3, ISO 5000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/320 sec, f/6.3, ISO 2000 — map & image data — nearby photos
This Pink
is the real color of the sunset
(at least if your browser shows you the same pink I see in Lightroom)
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/125 sec, f/6.3, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Meanwhile in Osaka...
Osaka Skyline at Dusk, from 30 miles away in Kyoto
or click through to a somewhat larger version
It's not quite the huge Kyoto panoramic that I posted last year, but I like the dusky vibe. The original photo had quite a bit of sensor noise, so I went with that vibe by adding some grain effect in Lightroom. (A much larger panorama of an orange-sunset Osaka skyline, appears on this post.)
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 86mm — 1/320 sec, f/6.3, ISO 2800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Night Settles on Kyoto
The Sun (and typhoon #4) say goodnight
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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 0.4 sec, f/22, ISO 2500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Kuuya-taki Waterfall (空也滝)
Kyoto, Japan
Did some hiking today. Took some pictures. Here's one.
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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 5000 — map & image data — nearby photos
First Picture of the Day
Path to the entrance of the Gioji Temple (祇王寺), after parking the scooter
Kyoto, Japan
As I mentioned yesterday in “Rich Colors: A Good Start to an Amazing Day in Kyoto”, I started a wonderful day of exploration and photography with a visit to the Gioji Temple (祇王寺) in western Kyoto.
In keeping with my “spray and pray” approach to photography 🙂 I ended up taking almost 600 photos over the course of the day, but maybe my approach is not quite as unskilled as I thought, because most of my shots came out nicely. Or maybe Gioji is just that photogenic and inspiring.
So, as somewhat of an exercise in showing my thought process for the first part of the day, I thought I'd share the first dozen or so shots of the day.
Except shot #2. I bumped the shutter button while walking through the entrance, so deleted it right away.
A few moments later, just inside the gate....
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
shot #3
First Shot of the Garden
My first inclination was apparently to go vertical
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
shot #4
Light Reference Check
with my trusty WhiBal card
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
shot #5
Lumps and Bumps
make for many unique views
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2000 — map & image data — nearby photos
shot #6
Nicolas' First Visit
Kyoto University geneticist Nicolas Joannin
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1400 — map & image data — nearby photos
shot #7
“Winding Path” Vibe
Not sure whether it works, but that's what I had in mind
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
shot #8
“Subtle Detail” Vibe
It's not much in a thumbnail, but full screen it has a lot of nice detail
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/500 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
shot #9
Hermitage Roof
I love this kind of roof, but I can never do it justice
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1800 — map & image data — nearby photos
shot #10
Little Stream
you can barely tell what it is
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
shot #11
This One is Nicer
because it doesn't rely on the stream
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2200 — map & image data — nearby photos
shot #12
Getting Ready
for some moss-detail shots
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1800 — map & image data — nearby photos
shot #13
But First...
this lower-angle view is nice
I tried a detail shot at f/5.6, but I like the following almost-identical f/2.5 shot better...
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
shot #15
Moss Detail #1
E-P2 + LEICA DG SUMMILUX 25/F1.4 at an effective 50mm — 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Me and the Moss Detail
photo by Nicolas Joannin
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
shot #16
Moss Detail #2: A Bit Closer
I'd tried “Detail #2” at f/5.6 as well, but again, liked the f/2.5 result better.
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/160 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
shot #18
Moss Max Detail: Full 1:1 Macro
After this I started shooting detail of a thatched roof, so this seems as good a time as any to stop this post.