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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 @ 24 mm — 1/30 sec, f/1.4, ISO 6400 — full exif
Waiting for Santa
with tree lights creating a natural vignette
Posting about Christmas now is a bit late, but I'm still trying to recover after watching the last week of the year evaporate, so here we are.
We started things off with a present from my folks for Anthony, which turned out to be a little Curious George ornament in which George is reading a George-related Christmas book.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 50 mm — 1/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 280 — full exif
Getting Started with George
It turns out that we actually own the George book featured in the little ornament, so I tried to grab a quick snap of the two, but it was difficult to zoom up close enough to make the page in the ornament clearly visible while still being far enough back to get the page of the real book in view...
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1250 — full exif
George Book and Miniature
with some concentration you can realize that the miniature page is the same as the big page
We had a nice time opening up all the presents.
The highlight for Anthony was the Star Wars® LEGO™ set from Santa, but he also enjoyed the present from my folks to Fumie, a Teaposy “blooming tea” set that we put to use with the cake we had after the presents were all opened.
I'd never hear of “blooming tea”, but it's apparently popular considering the number of people who answered my aquatic “What am I?” quiz the other day.
The dry “bulb” is placed in a pot...
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1600 — full exif
Watch It Slowly Unfurl
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1400 — full exif
Realize You Didn't Put Enough Water
( this step optional )
And now we're to the point of the quiz photo:
The various parts of the “posy” have been stitched together with some kind of natural(-looking) thread such that it looks like a complete (if not other-worldly) whole. It was quite the hit, and the tea was actually tasty, too. Thanks Mom!
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1800 — full exif
A Hit With Anthony Too
using the LEGO™ camera that Fumie got me for Christmas
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1800 — full exif
Checking Out His Results
Tea can hold an 8-year-old's interest for only so long, especially when new toys are waiting for his attention...
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — full exif
Working the Lego
one of many new ones
Hours later, the toy from Santa was built...
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 5600 — full exif
Success!
Star Wars AT-TE Walker
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On January 1st, we made a visit to the Heian Shrine for hatsumode, a ritualistic “first visit to a shrine in the new year” that's a religious experience for some, but a cultural event for all. The shrine was open all night, but even at noon it was still crowded...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 — 1/250 sec, f/16, ISO 720 — map & image data — nearby photos
Street Fair
streets near the shrine were closed to traffic
(The shot above was taken from under the big orange shrine gate that straddles the road... view the “nearby photos” link under the pic to see area views.)
Inside the shrine courtyard there was a long line waiting to get in...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 — 1/250 sec, f/16, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
from the
End of the Line
The line looks long, but it moved briskly and we were in and out in just five minutes.
There was snow on the ground, but because of the crowds it wasn't particularly pretty, unlike previous times I'd visited the shrine after a snow (such as this, this, and my personal favorite, this).
But what I really noticed was the snow on the roof of the main building, in the left half of the photo above. Kyoto had a huge (for it) snowfall the previous two days, but today the sun was out and it was getting warmer, so I knew that snow would be sliding down at some point soon, and anyone heading in or out of the main building would be a potential target for a few seconds each way.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 — 1/250 sec, f/16, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Reverse-Angle View
from the top of the steps, looking back at the main gate building from the opposite side as seen in the first photo
As we were leaving, a bunch of slushy snow fell in a big wet sploosh to one side of the step, making quite a sound and an impressive splash. It had started, and every so often some snow would give way and slide down the grooves of the roof, launch off the end, and sploosh down on whatever was below.
Fumie and Anthony eventually returned home, but I stuck around to witness the splooshing. (I had only one medium-size zoom with me, so most of the photos below are heavily cropped from larger frames.)
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 — 1/400 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Wide View
with a line of wet slush starting to fall center frame
Once it started, the pace picked up quickly, with hunks falling at random locations every 10 or 15 seconds. Judging from the amount of snow on the roof in this photo compared with the second photo of this post, it seems that half the snow has already plopped down.
In the two shots below, a shrine worker makes an ill-timed excursion to fetch a dropped umbrella when a vertical grove of snow from the tiled roof all slides down in unison, dropping a dozen big wet hunks of slush in quick succession right next to him...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 — 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Splat
two small hunks of snow caught mid-air to the right of the worker
following a bunch that had already splatted moments before
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 — 1/800 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Well and Truly Splattered
at least he got that third umbrella
Temporary guards hired for the season soon set up shop on the three sets of steps with an umbrella in each hand, trying to protect the people as they filed in and out...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 — 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
3, 3, 6
three sets of steps, three guards, six umbrellas
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 — 1/400 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Not Too Effective
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 — 1/320 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Here Comes One
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 — 1/400 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Snow: 1, Guard: 0
The umbrellas weren't very effective because the snow was heavy enough for the most part to collapse the umbrella, plowing right through it. Or, like an air-burst bomb, allowed the splat to happen high up, thereby covering a wider area.
But splats on the ground were pretty effective as well...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 — 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Haze of Splatter
I didn't feel too bad for the victims because by this point everyone had had a front-row view of the splatterings while approaching the steps in line, so everyone knew the situation clearly. The smart ones took a glance up before venturing through the kill zone, but not everyone is smart.
Here's a guy that's either smart or lucky, as he held up his descent and saved himself from being a target...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 — 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Near Miss
The next pair of photos is of another near miss...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 — 1/640 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
First Splat
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 — 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Escape!
I had my hand down on the eight-frames-per-second rapid fire frame release, so I got a nice sequence of the dad and his daughter. I gave him my card with an offer for the photos, as I sometimes do (such as to the dad in this photo), but no one has ever taken me up on it. Sorta disappointing, 'cause they'd be fun memories for the folks in the photos.
Not all memories are necessarily “fun” (at least not for everyone ;-)). Consider this photo...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 — 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Foreboding
Notice the blobs of white snow mid-fall in the top of the frame, and the lady in the long white jacket heading down the steps....
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 — 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
This Won't End Well
another blob mid-fall just above her as she doesn't pause her descent
The lady continued her descent of the stairs, and the snow continued its descent toward its own destiny, splatting right in front of her...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 — 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
We Have a Winner!
I would have liked to stick around, but was running late, so with that shot in pocket, headed home. A parting shot shows that most of the snow was gone from the roof anyway...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 — 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Parting View
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Here's a “What am I?” quiz for the new year. Leave your guess in the comments; as with my other quizzes, I'll keep comments hidden until I reveal the answer in a few days.
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Our 2011 New Year's Card
Japanese culture has people sending New Year's cards en masse just before the end of the year, with Japan Post holding them until the morning of January First, at which point they then deliver them in accumulated bundles to households across Japan.
The card above is what we sent this year, with pictures we took in the middle of an (almost) deserted road near the ancient but far-removed Sokushouji Temple in rural Shiga Prefecture, on the same outing when we made a family visit to the temple in November.
Here's the English version we used for our Christmas cards last week...
Our Christmas 2010 Card
To take the photos, I set the camera up on a tripod and set for a photo to be taken once every second, and we just stood for a while as the shutter clicked. The area is so off the beaten path that moss actually grows on the road. In the half an hour we were there, three cars came by, so it must have been rush hour.
For reference, here's our card last year...
Last Year's Christmas Card
... and from the archives: our New Year's cards for: 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2006.
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This past week has made quite an appropriate ending for the year.
I'm grateful for generally good health, in the grand scheme of things: I don't have Alzheimer's, cancer, or other big health issues. But in the less grand scheme of things, 2010 was a horrible year for my health, with multiple bouts of fairly extreme arm pain, and other stress-related ailments along with the random “getting old” issues that seem to beset me, like bouts of back pain and such.
So, how was this last week an appropriate ending? Let's look at the day-by-day playback...
| Dec 25th | Christmas Day. Had a wonderful day. In the evening, got slammed by a sudden cold. |
| Dec 26th | Don't remember the day. Had fever and slept, apparently. |
| Dec 27th | More fever and more sleeping, but had enough energy to be beset by a sudden attack of crippling back spasms. |
| Dec 28th | Getting more energy as the cold starts to subside. Back very painful. Spent the day being a zombie in front of the boob tube. |
| Dec 29th | Recovered enough from the cold to decide to go ahead with a short trip we'd been planning, which involved a few hours of driving and a two-hour boat ride. Arrive in the evening feeling mostly better (both the cold and my back) and hit the sack exhausted.... that good kind of exhausted. |
| Dec 30th | Get only one hour of sleep despite crushing tiredness. My cold seems to have been replaced by insomnia. Fade in and out from being a zombie all day, and in the evening take NyQuil to try to put myself to sleep. |
| Dec 31th | Got five hours of sleep, which is not enough but a heck of a lot better. Feel mostly okay all day. |
I really hope 2011 is a better year, healthwise.
But the last week was also an appropriate ending for the year on the non-health front as well. Christmas (prior to the cold) was wonderful, the trip was fun and included things like looking at the stars from the middle of nowhere on a frozen mountaintop with Fumie and Anthony, and we returned to Kyoto this evening to find more snow than the city has seen since at least WWII. We dumped the luggage in the house and Anthony and I went out for play in the snow, including a snow fort, snowball fight, etc.
The snow's still falling, so I'd like to head out early in the morning to see the Heian Shrine with a pristine snowfall (such as this, this, and this from prior years' snowfalls). However, tomorrow being January First, the shrine will be open all through the night and nonstop for the next few days for hatsumode (“first shrine visit of the year”), so it will be crowded and anything but pristine, so I'll sleep in. Sounds like a wonderful start to 2011!