NOTE: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — ¹/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Komaki Dam
Tonamishi City, Toyama Prefecture, Japan

Just under three months ago, I ended my “Snowy New Year Trip Day Three: Dam Snow” post with the photo above, and a note that I hoped it would not take three months for the followup. Looks like I just made it under the wire.

We'd taken a walk during a heavy snow from our lodge (seen here) to the Komaki Dam (seen in the background behind Anthony in this picture; Wikipedia entry). This post picks up from when we arrived at the east side of the dam, and started walking across it.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 26 mm — ¹/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
A Foot of Fresh Snow
on the dam-top path

The photo above doesn't look much like it's anywhere special, but looking left and right really gave a clue...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/13, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
View to the Left
edge of the dammed up Shokawa River, during a brief let up in the snow

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 58 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/13, ISO 900 — map & image data — nearby photos
View to the Right
un-dammed valley of the Shokawa River
( our lodge would be in view if the snow were not so heavy )

The snow was at times extremely heavy almost to the point of whiteout, except that there was no wind...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 58 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/13, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Fuller Breadth of the Shokawa River
View of everything but the boat dock engulfed in the heavy snow

It was a fun (and quite safe) walk across, with me enjoying the views and Anthony enjoying all the undisturbed fresh snow (that didn't stay undisturbed for long in his presence).

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm — ¹/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Looking Back
where we'd come from

Along the whole walk, whenever we passed under a tree branch heavily laden with snow, he liked to stand under it while I knock the snow off (like this). This particular time he had a baby snowball pet “pu-chan”, as described here...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 280 — map & image data — nearby photos
Protecting
his baby snowball pet

The road back on the west side of the river was through a small sleepy community....

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
River Road
a couple of inches of water flowed down the road, keeping it free of ice and snow
( a fire-hose version of what's described on this post )

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Mud and Bamboo Storehouse
I can't imagine how the walls stand up to the weather, but they apparently do

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — ¹/320 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Room with a View
( and a cold hat )

All photos on this post are full-color photos, by the way, but many scenes, like that above, were simply devoid of all color.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 34 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/4, ISO 220 — map & image data — nearby photos
Roadside Mini Shrine

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 31 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/6.3, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Old House
buttoned up for the winter

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 56 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/6.3, ISO 720 — map & image data — nearby photos
Old Shed
somewhat less buttoned up

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 31 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lots of Work
a driveway runs from lower right, all the way to the left of the photo, ending at an old man with a snow shovel

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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/3200 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Path Around The Small Lake
on the grounds of Sunainosato, Shiga, Japan

Earlier in the year I wrote a few posts about a restaurant/cafe with large private grounds called Sunainosato (寿長生の郷) in Shiga prefecture, about an hour's drive from Kyoto. The expansive grounds are open to the public, and are quite pretty.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/800 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Far Side of the Lake

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/160 sec, f/7.1, ISO 280 — map & image data — nearby photos
Outside Seating
at the cafe

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/1600 sec, f/2.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lunch is Served
the beef curry was most excellent

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Small Dessert
ice cream and chestnut

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/500 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Exploring
getting muddy shoes after lunch, near the cafe

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/1000 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Unconvincing
pose after being asked to look like he was jumping across the gap
( after I had washed his shoes in the little stream running through the gap )

A photo of an actual jump did appear on the previous post in this series, and I like it a lot even though his head's cut off.

Also, this was about the time that I got the photo featured in “Anthony Growing Up: the Tipping Point”

After lunch it was time to explore more of the grounds...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/1250 sec, f/1.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Stylish as Always
my wife

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/2000 sec, f/1.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Walking Around the Lake

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Or Maybe Running Again

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/160 sec, f/7.1, ISO 360 — map & image data — nearby photos
Picturesque Hut of Unknown Purpose

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/1000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Random Pretty Flowers

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 cropped — ¹/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Random Curly Moss Thingy

Portrait-Mode Vertical Desktop-Background Versions
1050×1680  ·  1200×1920  ·  1600×2560     

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/1600 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Edge of the Lake

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/1600 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Impatient Pose
I had better luck the last time I had someone pose on a rock

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/250 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
More Fun Than Posing

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/200 sec, f/4.5, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Random Hanging Flower Plant Thingies

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/2500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Heading Back to the Car
through an area filled with many cherry-blossoms varieties

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
One of Many
cherry-blossom varieties

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Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 500 — full exif
Clearly Protected
My D700 with a GGS brand glass screen protector

This post is about the aftermarket GGS Glass LCD Screen Protector, and about the store I bought mine from. First about the protector itself...

Nikon cameras come with a cheap thick plastic LCD screen protector that easily scratches, scuffs, and just looks ugly. When it scuffs enough, it becomes cloudy and makes it worse than nothing. So a couple of years ago, I bought a GGS brand glass protector for my Nikon D200, and loved it. Along with a Katz Eye focus screen, they're the two must-have aftermarket changes to a new camera body.

When I got a D700, I immediately bought the same protector for it, and loved its clean looks and superior protection as before. A year later, my appreciation grew when I'd left the camera under a chair in a room frequented by a number of toddlers, and came back to find the protector cracked, but the underlying screen still in perfect condition.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 45 mm — ¹/25 sec, f/2.8, ISO 500 — full exif
Oops
the old one took one for the team

Off to my online store, and $12 later, I had a new one...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/125 sec, f/4, ISO 1800 — full exif

(It includes a glass protector for the camera-top mini LCD screen, but I don't think that screen needs any kind of protection, so I don't use it.)

Here's an article giving more details. They're made for a lot of specific cameras (including Nikon, Canon, Panasonic, Pentax, Sony, Olympus, Leica), and a number of generic sizes for point-n-shoots.

GGS glass screen protectors: highly recommended.

And now about where I buy them: I buy them from the GreenLife Style store on eBay, where I've bought a number of things over the years. They're an eBay store with a stellar rating (positive feedback of 99.2%, though my personal experience has been 100% positive).

I've been meaning to write about them for two years; that I'm doing it now illustrates how far behind on stuff I am. Two years ago I posted about a Surreal (and exceedingly unpleasant) PayPal Experience where PayPal had approved a payment from me to a merchant, the merchant replied “got your payment; we'll ship your order soon”, and then half an hour later PayPal “un-approved” the payment and locked my account.

Anyway, it took a week for me to get the PayPal situation cleared up (and ended up getting an apologetic phone call from an executive at PayPal), but throughout the ordeal, the merchant, GreenLife Style, was 100% reasonable. All emails were answered within minutes, by a human. They were extremely accommodating to the situation, and they worked with me to get around the issue. Due to the PayPal silliness, at one point they had been paid twice for the same order, and immediately refunded the overpayment. PayPal wasted a lot of their time during this ordeal, but they were always cheerful and professional.

I've bought a bunch of small things from them over time... the screen protectors, Nikon MC-36 SLR remote-control knockoff ($30 instead of $150, and works just perfectly), rubber eyecups, etc.

They're an eBay store so they present their products in the form of auctions, and sometimes there are multiple auctions for the same product, with different prices (sometimes in different currencies), so if you want to buy from them, use their store's search feature and pick the result with the lowest price.

GreenLife Style's eBay Store: highly recommended.

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

As I mentioned the other day in “A Couple of Striking Photos”, we went bowling the other day with Zak and his kids.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1400 — map & image data — nearby photos
This Form: Not So Great

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Bowling with a Three Year Old
is pretty far removed from bowling

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Yup, From This Angle, Too

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

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Warp Attack!
this attempt ended as badly as the photo leads you to suppose

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 @ 24 mm — ¹/500 sec, f/1.4, ISO 2500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Somewhat Isolated
24mm @ f/1.4 can get the job done even with a busy background

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 @ 24 mm — ¹/4000 sec, f/2.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Same Lens, Same Day, Same Creamy Bokeh
not, however, in the same place

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 @ 24 mm cropped — ¹/500 sec, f/1.4, ISO 900 — map & image data — nearby photos
Perspective Distortion
can be fun, even when you miss focus by a mile

The 24mm prime wasn't really appropriate for the bowling alley, so I mostly used the Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5. It came in handy when Zak's kids, Gen and Zoe, were playing. (They fight so little that I think they don't realize that they're siblings....)

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/100 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Snuggly Moment

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/125 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Gooshy Gooshy Gooshy

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Awaiting Greatness
watching the ball head down for what turns out to be the strike mentioned last time

Gen, 22 months younger than Anthony, eventually started picking up some good form himself...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos

... though my inability to get even remotely close focus remained.

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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/200 sec, f/4, ISO 450 — map & image data — nearby photos
Anthony and Fumie Being Silly

Yesterday we went for a short drive in the northern mountains of Kyoto to visit the Jakkoin Temple (寂光院). First we had lunch at a nearby restaurant, and Anthony made the picture of a little Japanese kid drawing in his notebook while we were waiting for our order...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/100 sec, f/6.3, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Passing the Time
authoring comic strips

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/4, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Old Building
of some sort, near the temple entrance

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/2500 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Entrance to Somewhere

Across the street from the restaurant was what I thought was the photogenic entrance to the temple, but it turns out the temple entrance was one door down...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 900 — map & image data — nearby photos
Heading Up
the real entrance

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 560 — map & image data — nearby photos
Roof
moss-covered roof of an outlying building

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Iron Lantern
Usually, they're stone lanterns like this

I didn't realize it at the time, but the iron lantern was given to the temple by a man who died in 1598. The same man also gave Japan its first Catholic martyrs, and ordered the death of the great great great great great great great great great great great great great great grandfather of one of Anthony's friends. Knowing this now I don't think I'll want to go again, but if we do, I'll not mention that little tidbit to Anthony.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/11, ISO 2000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Temple Roof

I love these traditional roofs, made of thick stacks of thin bark shingles (such as this and this), but this one is not as old as most. The temple was completely destroyed by arson in 2000, which is why it was closed for renovation when we first tried to come here about five years ago.

The temple's name 寂光院 at first glance might look to mean “temple of the forlorn light”, which considering its recent history and past patronage may be appropriate, but the intended meaning probably relies on a less common use for the first character, along the lines of “temple of the timelessly elegant light”.

I took a full-on shot of the shingles, thinking I might make desktop background out of a slightly cropped version. It looks like nothing in this small version, but when you click through to the big version, it looks like sharply-rendered, high-detail nothing....

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/11, ISO 2000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Whole Lot of Nuthin'

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 900 — map & image data — nearby photos
Colorful Carp
with just a touch of funky joy added in Lightroom

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/8, ISO 1800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Moss
fairly boring from a distance

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 4500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Moss Up Close and Personal
with the Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5

With my recent vexations I found my desire to get out with the camera had disappeared, so it was wonderful to be back in the saddle, out enjoying the camera again.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Anthony With His Camera
he can have an interesting eye for things

The temple area was pretty but small, which explains why it was almost deserted. The nearby Sanzenin Temple is much more popular, and now having visited both, it was easy to see why. (One of my favorite all-time photos was taken at the Sanzenin Temple, by the way, “Serenity at the Sanzen-in Temple”.)

Having been left underwhelmed by the temple, we checked out the aforementioned photogenic path next to it...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Youthful Impatience
or if I'm being honest, “Youthful Energy”

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/500 sec, f/2.5, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos

It all led to a single underwhelming grave maker, but the view was nice...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1600 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos

Then it was time to head home...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Leading The Way Again