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three-photo panorama with Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — map & image data — nearby photos
You'll Appreciate
that I went to the trouble of having a helicopter get in there, for scale

I spent a wonderful day yesterday being introduced to some amazing temples in the Takao area, in the mountains of north-west Kyoto. The partially-cloudy day was punctuated at times with small cells of very light mist/rain, and this made for really dynamic light. Almost back home to eastern Kyoto in the late afternoon, the combination of everything resulted in an intense rainbow that I stopped to snap a few photos of to make a vertical panorama.

The rainbow aside, the light was really gorgeous, with both because the low angle of the sun made for a deeper orange (because the longer path through the atmosphere strips the blue, which is why sunsets are deeply colorful) and because the clouds blocked much of the blue from the sky that normally fills in what had been stripped in the first place. The whole day was punctuated with moments with this kind of glorious light. Just wonderful.

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Other than tying my shoes and a necktie, I don't often come across a situation where I need to tie a knot, but when I do, I usually feel stupid trying to come up with something appropriate. The one exception is when I want to cinch something tight (a clothesline, a tent guy string) and keep it tight, because I happen to know how to tie the-most excellent tautline hitch.

But mostly I feel stupid when it comes to knots, and I'd like to not pass that on to nine-year-old Anthony, so I'd like to teach him (and myself) a few useful knots.

Suggestions on which knots to learn, and why?

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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Busy Bridge
Eikando Temple (永観堂), Kyoto Japan

So, after yesterday's post of Anthony's surprisingly good photography at the Eikando Temple, here are some of my own.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Less-Busy View

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/4, ISO 2500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Susuki Grass

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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Moss and Rock

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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Wider View

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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Branches, Leaves, and Pagoda

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Spinning
( yes, he smoothed the stones back before leaving )

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Stone Sombrero
in the dark shade of a well-canopied garden area

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Break
for mitarashi dango and tea

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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1100 — map & image data — nearby photos
“One for You, One for Me”

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/1250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Just Chillin'
(literally; it was cold)

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 5000 — map & image data — nearby photos
That Bridge Again

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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/100 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
From the Pagoda

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Rest Area
with the red parasols slightly visible through the trees

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Quiet

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Not really, at least not completely.

A couple of months ago in “Saga of Frustration: Developing (and Abandoning) a Lightroom Plugin for 500px” I vented about my horrible experience with the folks over at 500px.com, and said that I would not be developing a plugin for their service (as I have for many photo-hosting services) until they got their act together. A lively discussion followed here on my blog and on Google+.

I noticed today that they finally released their long-promised plugin and I took a look. It seems that they use a bunch of my code under the hood, such as my libraries for SHA-1 Secure Hash computation and HMAC-SHA1 secure signature computation, and for JSON-encoded data consumption and production. The former, in particular, is extremely difficult to do in Lightroom, so without it they may not have been able to do the plugin at all.

I mention this only because it seems somehow ironic, and I wonder whether they even notice the connection between the developer they alienated during the summer and the source of the libraries they later chose to use. If so, did they use my libraries with sheepishness, a smirk, appreciation? It's sort of amusing to wonder.

To be clear, I'm not complaining... I made that code available with the express hope that it would be helpful to those who might want to use it, and it seems that's exactly what's happening here. I did not make its use conditional on attribution or even a kind word of thanks, so I can't fault 500px there, either.

Anyway, I'd given up writing my own plugin because I couldn't get support from them, and I'd needed support from them because their plugin API simply didn't work. I suppose I could take today's events as an indication that at least they finally got their API working, and give my own almost-done plugin another try.... but nah, I don't think so.

I'm not a 500px customer so I didn't actually try the plugin, but if you're their customer and a Lightroom user, give it a try.

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Panasonic DMC-TS3 at an effective 133mm — ¹/125 sec, f/5.9, ISO 125 — map & image data — nearby photos
Anthony's First Shot of the Day
photo by Anthony Friedl
Eikando Temple (永観堂), Kyoto Japan

I got a call today that the nearby Eikando Temple was bathed in some gorgeous late-afternoon peeking-through-some-storm-clouds sun, so I thought I'd go and take a look. It's always absolutely amazing during the fall-foliage season, even in the rain, so I knew I couldn't lose, but it became all the better when Anthony said he wanted to join me. Normally he couldn't care less about anything like that, but for some reason wanted to try taking pretty pictures.

So, I grabbed my Nikon D700 for me and a point-n-shoot compact for him, and we rode our bikes over.

He took that first shot just before going in, showed me the sun-streaming-in look on the back of the camera, then cautioned that it would take him a while to warm up. Hah! Where does a nine-year-old come up with this stuff?

Panasonic DMC-TS3 at an effective 133mm — ¹/200 sec, f/5.9, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
photo by Anthony Friedl

It turns out that we had missed the glorious light, and even in the shots above the sun was mostly obscured by clouds; we never did see it, having stayed until after sunset without it making another appearance.

Still, it was very nice.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Anthony in Action

Panasonic DMC-TS3 at an effective 133mm — ¹/125 sec, f/5.9, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Photo He Took
photo by Anthony Friedl

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2800 — map & image data — nearby photos
In Action #2

Panasonic DMC-TS3 at an effective 133mm — ¹/30 sec, f/5.9, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Shot He Took #2
photo by Anthony Friedl

He felt stifled with the compact camera and wanted to use mine, so we switched...

Panasonic DMC-TS3 at an effective 43mm — ¹/60 sec, f/4.2, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Anthony With the D700
plus the vertical grip, which I eventually took off

Panasonic DMC-TS3 at an effective 68mm — ¹/25 sec, f/5.3, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Shooting Daddy

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/1000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Daddy
photo by Anthony Friedl

I had a cold last week and didn't shave, but got come compliments on the slightly scruffy beard, so since then have merely been trimming it, but wow, it seems to make me look homeless in photos. Earlier today Stéphane Barbery sent me a photo he took of me yesterday after I'd hiked up a hill with a very heavy lens (as I described yesterday), so I was a mess to begin with not even considering the homeless-esque beard.

Anyway, Anthony went off with the camera, taking care with each shot, thinking about focus and composition. I have no idea where he learned any of this, except perhaps from his photography of his own Lego play.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/1000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Pagoda Entrance
photo by Anthony Friedl

Panasonic DMC-TS3 at an effective 29mm — ¹/60 sec, f/3.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
In Action #3

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/2000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Shot He Took #3
photo by Anthony Friedl

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/2000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Garden's Main Bridge
photo by Anthony Friedl

As nice as it was, this year's colors have been much weaker, and you can compare with this shot last year to see that today was nothing compared to a sunny day during a year with stronger colors.

Panasonic DMC-TS3 at an effective 40mm — ¹/60 sec, f/4, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
In Action #4

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Shot He Took #4
photo by Anthony Friedl

He seemed to know what he was doing (he was showing me his shots), so I asked him to take a portrait, but I should have adjusted my hoodie, and I should have shaved.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/1000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Daddy Portrait
photo by Anthony Friedl

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ripples
photo by Anthony Friedl

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/2500 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Depth
photo by Anthony Friedl

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/1000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Sign
photo by Anthony Friedl

Panasonic DMC-TS3 at an effective 29mm — ¹/125 sec, f/3.3, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
In Action #5

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/1250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Shot He Took #5
photo by Anthony Friedl

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/3200 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Parasol
photo by Anthony Friedl

Panasonic DMC-TS3 at an effective 29mm — ¹/125 sec, f/3.3, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
In Action #6

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/1250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Shot He Took #6
photo by Anthony Friedl

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Setup
I gave him the idea, but he set it up and took the shot
photo by Anthony Friedl

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Half & Half
photo by Anthony Friedl

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Half & Half
with a bonus green cone
photo by Anthony Friedl

I'm just amazed at what he did with focus and composition... like I said, I have no idea where it came from. I posted about half of the photos he took, so it's not like he was carpet bombing and just lucked across some that seemed nice. I missed not having my own camera, but I want to encourage him, so I hope he'll want to do this again.