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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/1250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
First
first cherry blossom in all of Japan, 2011
Well, perhaps not the first in all of Japan, considering that the cherry-blossom season can start in early January in the southern islands, and also not first considering that some varieties of cherry have been blossoming for weeks already here in Kyoto, but this morning I found the first cherry blossom in the local area, which is populated with Japan's “standard” Yoshino Cherry.
I was happy to have noticed the one single blossom among all the buds on all the trees around. By the time I returned from some errands, more had appeared, but this was the lone blossom at the time, so I feel “special” for having found it. 🙂
Other branches had a fractal vibe going on...
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Everyone Else
It's been cold since “Cherry Blossoms on the Verge” three days ago, even with a bit of snow the other day. Exactly one year ago today we had some snow (“Cherry Blossoms in the Driving Snow”), but with a temperature steady today at 14°C (57°F), it was short-sleeve weather if you were of a mind for it. Rain is moving in as I write this in the late afternoon... I wonder whether we'll get snow tonight.
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/1250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Enjoying the Day
some family that came along at a not-wholly-unphotogenic time
Looking at the photo in the year-ago post that I mentioned above, I'm struck at how full the blossoms were on March 29 last year (maybe 30%) compared to this year (0.0001%). Looking at my cherry-blossom timelapse from photos taken in 2007, it looks like last year was on time and this year is a couple of days late. In any case, next weekend and the week after should be glorious, and I'm definitely looking forward to some cherry-blossom Joie de Vivre if the weather is nice.
On a different note, yesterday Fumie's brother and his wife visited for lunch, and for dessert we had a variety of snacks, including some cherry-blossom laden sweets Fumie picked up at a local bakery....
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1000 — full exif
Seasonal Sweets
topped with a cherry blossom under glaze
I wonder where they get the blossoms? Maybe from some of the earlier-blooming varieties, or from some of the earlier-blooming regions...
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Anthony's Graduating Second-Grade Class
Just as last year, Anthony's class made their own yearbook, with the cover composed of self portraits by each kid and the teacher. The Japanese school year runs April to March, so now they're in the spring break between grades. Anthony starts third grade in a couple of weeks.
The quality of many kids' self portraits made a huge leap from last year. Especially noteworthy are the girls' drawings, all of which display higher artistic merit than anything I could draw.
Anthony's innate talents, like me, appear to be elsewhere, but unlike me, he makes up for it with cuteness...
Anthony's Self Portrait
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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 @ 50 mm — 1/640 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — full exif
Sleeping Giraffe
Anthony 2nd-Grade Art Project
We've had this giraffe sitting in front of the window in the living room for quite a while now, but now that Anthony's done with second grade, it'll probably be replaced soon with something from the new school year, which starts in a couple of weeks.
Anthony probably has more pure imagination than raw artistic skill, but more of me than both...
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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 560 — map & image data — nearby photos
Camo Duck
B & W version
Daniel Cutter asked whether I'd tried the “Camo Duck” shot on my previous post in black and white. The nature of the original shot had it almost all monochrome to begin with, except for the duck itself, but prior to Daniel's comment I hadn't thought to take it all the way to pure monochrome.
But, it's easy enough with Lightroom (as simple as the “v” keyboard shortcut). Wow. I then tweaked the B & W conversion a bit to melt the duck away a bit further, and here we are.
I'm not sure whether it's photography, but it's fun. Thanks for the idea, Daniel.
It's all the more fun in this case because I took the original shot in passing (literally, while walking) just because the duck happened to be there as I was going by. I knew instinctively that I'd probably just delete it as soon as I got home, but upon inspection, the patterns in the water and the uncharacteristically sharp focus on the feathers saved it from the bit bucket.
Serendipity.
And for a bit more serendipity, while I was typing up this post, the zoomed-up version was sitting on my screen, and it's nice enough that I'll tack a crop onto the end of the post for good measure...
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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cherry Blossom in Training
bud on a cherry tree over the river outside my place in Kyoto, earlier this afternoon
In a week the area of Kyoto around where I live will be packed with blossoms and packed with people enjoying them, but for the moment things are pretty sparse...
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/11, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Status as of March 25
cherry blossoms not out yet in Kyoto, but certainly on the verge of eruption
The cherry-blossom timelapse that I posted a few years ago starts on this date, and if the same schedule holds (which it normally does... the blossom season being early or late by more than a day is notable news) shows that by a week from now, the trees will be well on their way toward full bloom. Full bloom will likely hit in about 10 or 11 days.
At the moment, you do start to see some pink up close, though when they bloom it'll be all white...
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 900 — map & image data — nearby photos
Buds and Egret
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Spirit of Rebirth
In an effort to help myself feel better about enjoying the beauty of nature when so many people have so recently been crushed by its powerful and unforgiving side, this cherry blossom season I will consider each blossom to be the re-emerging spirit of an earthquake/tsunami victim. It's corny, I know, but makes me feel nice.
On a different note, walking past this duck, I caught the reflections of the overcast sky in a way that made for an interesting pattern with the duck...
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 560 — map & image data — nearby photos
Camo Duck
(good camouflage unless I bring out my polarized filter)
I enhanced the original vibe with full-hilt “positive clarity” in Lightroom. Lightroom's “clarity” brings out the local contrast, making for a gritter result like seen above, though I tend to use it more in its negative sense (“negative clarity”), which lends a dreamy soft feeling like seen in several shots here, or when taken to even further extremes, like this or this.