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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1100 — map & image data — nearby photos
More Of Those Weird Greenish Cherry Blossoms
御衣黄桜 (gyoikou sakura), similar to those seen here
First there was the walk to lunch (“On The Way To Lunch: Eastern-Kyoto Stroll”), then lunch (“Delicious Yuba Lunch at Junsei”), and now the walk home...
We came across an ultra-fluffy yaezakura cherry that comes out late (a variety seen five years ago on my blog in “10 Gallons of Blossoms on a 5-Gallon Branch”). It seemed all the more fluffy set off by the new-growth green of the trees around it...
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 720 — map & image data — nearby photos
A Bit Overwhelming
I like this variety better from a distance
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2200 — map & image data — nearby photos
( the blossoms in the picture were much closer than Paul, who was aiming at something else )
It was a pleasant day in a pleasant area...
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 560 — map & image data — nearby photos
Random Street Scene
( photographically uninteresting, but hopefully conveys a sense of relaxed “pleasant” )
One property we came by had a bunch of trees that seemed to glow in an unearthly way that stopped everyone in their tracks... it was just amazing, but these photos capture none of it )-:
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 900 — map & image data — nearby photos
Unearthly Phosphorescent
the new-growth leaves leave jaws dropped
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
I don't know whether this glowing effect was hindered or helped by the weird lighting we had all day, due to a particularly thick treatment of kosa haze, a fine yellow dust that blows in from China.
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Green Reflection
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
“I Heard You Like Doors”
well textured by the weather
( I would have liked to step a few paces further back for this shot )
As we were approaching Maruyama Park, I thought to take a small street that I'd not really noticed before, and I was shocked to find a whole section of town I'd not known about. Here's the entrance to a temple I'd not known about, chorakuji, which judging by the name (“long fun temple”) may end up becoming my favorite temple.
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Choraku-ji Temple
Kyoto, Japan
We were in a rush so didn't stop in, but I plan to remedy that soon.
This was near the temple seen in “Some Temple or Other” on the earlier on-the-way-to-lunch post, a temple that also remains unexplored. I was stunned to find these places and some of the others seen later in this post because I used to live just a third of a mile away, but I never knew about it. Part of the reason might be that it's all behind Maruyama Park, a popular park that I have a strong dislike for because it's the poster child for the ugly side of cherry-blossom viewing. So, I have tended to avoid the area and proactively ignore anything I felt connected with it, but it seems I've thrown out some impressive babies with the ugly-crowd bath water.
Continuing on this “secret” (from me) road, we passed a number of inns, including one whose front “lawn” was certainly made more impressive by the kosa-induced lighting:
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Front Lawn
of sorts
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 5000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Brilliantly Glowing Red
entrance to something or other
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 720 — map & image data — nearby photos
Suddenly Monochromatic
rear view of the Chion'in Temple
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nice Parking Spot
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 450 — map & image data — nearby photos
Somewhat Foreboding
Descending back into the park to head home, I couldn't help but snap some low-hanging (in the literal sense) blossoms...
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 3600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Dainty
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 cropped — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 560 — map & image data — nearby photos
Stroll
watching the geese and ducks
I was running quite late so had to high-tail it home, but the afternoon was an enjoyable walk followed by an enjoyable lunch followed by an enjoyable walk that only left me more hungry, so to speak, for more.
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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/50 sec, f/9, ISO 6400 — full exif
The Attack
photo by Anthony
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/125 sec, f/9, ISO 6400 — full exif
Counter Attack
photo by Anthony
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1400 — full exif
Replete With Gas Mask
photo by Anthony
Anthony still really enjoys his LEGOs, making “mockups” like the Clones vs. Droids Battle I posted last year. It's been fun to see his play progress from simple add-ons to toys when he was three years old, to mimicking airport security after some flights when he was four, to car repair and advanced flight design and intergalactic speeders to a full cityscape to complex combinations of Lord knows what.
Now at nine years old, he still enjoys his LEGO and saves almost all his allowance for it.
A month or so ago he was very happy to find Swedish retailer Warehouse19. They sell small LEGO sets, as well as custom pieces not made by LEGO but designed to fit into the Legoverse. They have all kinds of hats, helmets, guns, armor... all stuff to whet a 9-year-old boy's imagination.
Anthony ordered three tough-looking minifigures and enough kit to deck them out in an appropriately “cool” style, as well as a bazillion flowers and other plant pieces. He had a specific mockup in his mind that he intended to make for them, involving the overgrown grounds of an abandoned castle. (Because it's abandoned and overgrown, he needed a lot of plants to sprinkle around, so a large portion of his allowance went toward that.)
He was so excited about it that he built most of the mockup just after we ordered, so all that remained was to insert everything from the order once it arrived. However, when it came less than a week later, Anthony was crushed because I had mistakenly forgotten to order a light-colored helmet, and that one missing piece caused everything to grind to a halt. (His imagination was pretty well fixed on what he wanted, so the missing piece was a show stopper.)
There was another problem with the order... Warehouse19 had sent too many of the flowers. But since I was going to place another order for the helmet, I thought I'd just pay for the flowers rather than go to the hassle of returning them, so I wrote Warehouse19 a note about the helmet (please send) and flowers (I'll pay; just send the five needed stems) and immediately got a reply that they'd be happy to just send it all For free.
And they did.
They merely asked that we tell our friends about them... good word of mouth, you know... so I let them known that I'd certainly be doing a blog post about it because I like to capture Anthony's creativity.
However, I'm still my lazy self, so it took a month before getting around to taking the pictures. I suppose it's a testament to Anthony's happiness with the result that the mockup has lasted that long. I'm prompted to make this post now because he's ready to place another order with Warehouse19, and I feel we should give this public thanks for their kindness before we move on to another order.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/80 sec, f/9, ISO 6400 — full exif
Heavy Armor
photo by Anthony
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/160 sec, f/9, ISO 6400 — full exif
Overgrown Steps to the Abandoned Castle
( you should see the castle in your imagination )
photo by Anthony
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/160 sec, f/9, ISO 6400 — full exif
Prior Tenant?
photo by Anthony
I had taken a bunch of photos for this post, but then Anthony wanted to as well, and his were just great, so I used them instead. Of mine, I'll just show two wide views....
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2000 — full exif
Bird's-Eye View
I really should have used a polarizing filter
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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 450 — map & image data — nearby photos
Just Because
girls in kimono with nice cameras
The other day in “On The Way To Lunch: Eastern-Kyoto Stroll” I ended with a few shots of the girls above taking advantage of a photogenic location, made more so for everyone else by their presence.
I was heading to the Kiyomizu branch of the most excellent Junsei Tofu Restaurant to have lunch with Paul Barr. The branch is so named because it's near the front gate of the Kiyomizu Temple, in an area that usually packed with tourists, so the quiet elegance of the restaurant is a welcome relief from the crowds. I learned of it from a friend who occasionally helps out with running the place.
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 3600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Exceedingly Fresh Yuba
At the Kiyomizu “Junsei” Restaurant (順正清水店)
Kyoto, Japan
The place is known for its tofu, always made that day, but having been there a couple of times in the last month, I've decided that I prefer the opportunity for extremely fresh yuba (湯葉) — “tofu skin” — which literally develops before your eyes on a heated dish of soy milk.
Once the “skin” forms, you lift it with a bamboo stick...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 450 — map & image data — nearby photos
Bite-Sized Portion
skimmed from the top of a heated dish of soy milk
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Dip in a Light Sauce
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 450 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ready to Enjoy
Tofu generally doesn't have much taste on its own, but can take on a wonderful range of tastes when artfully prepared. Yuba, on the other hand, does have its own very yummy taste.
The set yuba lunch comes with a lot of stuff besides the yuba itself, and at ¥2,150 is a great value. The entrance to the restaurant is here (but note that the building is too new to be shown on the satellite view.).
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I like heading off on my scooter into the mountains of Japan to explore
and take pictures, but am often out of cell range, so the map on my iPhone
can't update. I like the idea of having maps with me, and until someone can
invent a way to make a map on paper or some other high-tech solution, I'm happy to have recently discovered the Galileo Offline Maps (Name changed Feb 2019 to Guru Maps) iOS app.
After installing the free base app and purchasing the $1.99 “import maps from PC” feature, I could import maps made on my laptop by following these instructions. I made maps for large areas of Kyoto using both Google and Yahoo! Japan Maps (and was surprised to find out that somewhere along the lines the Yahoo! Japan maps have become superior).
The resulting 2GB database files are then copied to the app, and voila, I have wonderfully-interactive no-WiFi-required maps of the area. I love it.
I also spent a whopping $1.99 extra to enable the bookmarking feature. $4 for this app is amazing to me.
Sadly, when I bought my iPad a couple of years ago, I didn't realize that the WiFi-only models had no GPS antenna, so when I'm out in the mountains I have to actually read the map and look at my surroundings to figure out where I am. I may not survive. Perhaps this is sufficient reason to get a new iPad, being sure to get the GPS (and now presumably GLONASS) antenna. 🙂
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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Pretty as a Peach
peach blossom in the mountains of Kyoto, Japan
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Busy as a Bee
I had an amazing outing yesterday with Paul Barr and Nicolas Joannin, to a far-off temple in the mountains of north-west Kyoto. On the way home, we stopped in the “Mountain House” restaurant Yama no Ie Hasegawa (山の家はせがわ) that I wrote about a couple of years ago (here and here). Upon pulling in, we were immediately drawn to a row of blossoming trees that had quite a different vibe from cherry or plum. It turns out that they were peach.
They were on an embankment, so we could view them from above, below, and on the side... it was a target-rich environment made to order for the creamy-smooth shallow depth of field of my favorite lens, the Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5.
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Just. Too. Perfect.
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Shy
I'm not all too sure about that last one above... it might not be visually apparent enough to not annoy at first glance. At my first glance I really liked it, but when I came back to it later didn't like it at all. They say that you should trust your first instinct, so I'm at least giving it a shot.
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2500 — map & image data — nearby photos
We eventually made our way inside to order...
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 4500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Vicks
watching our coffee being prepared
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Our Coffee
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Extra Stuff
Nicolas and Paul about to abuse their coffee
Back outside after I enjoyed my coffee (and Nicolas and Paul enjoyed what had been coffee), we couldn't help but give another go at the blossoms in the fading light.
