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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/6400 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cherry-Blossom Snow
all out of focus, sorry... another frame is here
We have finally had some short-sleeve weather to go along with the cherry blossoms... no snow for a week, though it was cold enough to snow just three days ago. I had an errand near the Kiyamachi area of eastern Kyoto, an urban hip night-life concrete jungle where I shot much of “Impossible Photography: No Light, No Tripod, No Hope. D700 and a 50mm f/1.2” a year and a half ago. It has a small river lined by cherry blossoms, so I brought along the camera.
I've a great sequence of shots of the two girls launching small blizzards of cherry-blossom petals that I'll post when I find some energy. I actually have a few sequences like that, and it's not only kids... just those who are kids at heart, as we'll see later in this post.
Despite yesterday's post about Anthony growing up too quickly, he's still very much a kid in this cherry-blossom-petal respect....
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Fist Full of Petals
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/1000 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
You Just Know Where Those Petals Will Be Launched
Even without the aid of kids, the river was awash in petals. I braced the camera against a tree to get a longer exposure to try to show the movement of petals in the river...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/10 sec, f/16, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ducks and Blossoms
The errand was to visit a photo exhibit with Zak, who had headed to the area early to play his shakuhachi among the blossoms....
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/3200 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Zachary Braverman
As he was packing up his stuff, a kindly-looking couple stopped by and peeked into his case to ask what the instrument was, and when they found out, they looked quite disappointed that they missed it. Zak had already told me how tired and hungry he was, but I still had enough energy to volunteer his talents, so said (more or less translated as) “geez, just go ahead and play something for them!”.
So he did, some old classic, and they loved it. The man then asked him to play it again so that he could sing along...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/4000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Impromptu Duet
under the blossoms, in front of a 7-11 convenience store
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/5000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Bonus Photo Op
for someone behind the singer
It was a really nice moment. Zak's written about the day as well over on his blog.
I was happy to expose Anthony to this slice of culture, but he didn't have all that much interest... taking a daring excursion on the wrong side of the bridge barrier was more along his interests...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/4000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Putting Away the Shakuhachi
again
For lunch we opted for a pizza buffet here. While we waited for a table, Anthony checked out the pizza production...
After our visit to the photo exhibition, we headed back via a route that brought more blossoms...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/1600 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Easy Handfuls
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Photo #6
in a sequence of 13
( more from the sequence on The Hope of Cherry Blossoms in Japan )
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Kid at Heart
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Launch
it's probably difficult to see in the small version, but there's a cloud of petals there
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/1600 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
“Let There Be Petals”
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Intense Burst
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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Tipping Point
7 years, 5 months, 13 days old
I was suddenly struck today by a profound realization that Anthony's “young man” factor has started to encroach on his cuteness as a kid. Until today, I would see his mental and social advances (such as taking the city bus to school all by himself a year ago) as a cute kid doing big-boy things, which makes the kid in him all the more cute.
Today we had an event where he dressed a bit nicer than normal, after which we went to a park for lunch, and I kept doing double takes at how good he looked. Yes he's my kid, and yes I think he looks good all the time, but even within that biased world he stood out today, and while looking at the many pictures after we got home, I realized it's because a true young man has just started to emerge.
Make no mistake, he's still cute and still himself thinks “cute” to be a desirable characteristic to aspire to, at this point on par with “cool”, but the reality that neither will last forever hit home.
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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 116 mm — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Firing Off Three Frames
to mark the scene
I was washing the windows in the living room this afternoon, and happened to glance out to see a small troupe from yesterday's movie shoot for “Mother Water” 「マザーウォーター」 setting up shop just below my balcony, to get a short scene of the water flowing over a waterfall (the very tiny... two or three inches... waterfall seen here). I put the Windex™ down and grabbed my camera, hoping to get a better look at theirs.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 360 — map & image data — nearby photos
Big, Tasty Lens
Panavision 24-275 T2.8 11X Primo Zoom
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Too Big to Grasp
I was able to see that it's a Panavision 24-275 T2.8 11X Primo Zoom, which is apparently quality of the highest order. Despite extensive searching, I was not able to find a price on it... I think Panavision simply doesn't sell them... they rent them. Prices around the world ranged from US$460 in Hong Kong, to US$960 in Australia. To rent. For one day. Just the lens.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 105 mm — 1/320 sec, f/8, ISO 900 — map & image data — nearby photos
“The Water is There”
I thought that the lady in the light-colored hoodie (at right in the photo above) might be the 34-year-old writer/director due to the deference others showed her, but I didn't get a good picture, so it's hard to tell.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/320 sec, f/6.3, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
YO!
( the marker says “Shirakawa Canal” )
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 190 mm — 1/320 sec, f/7.1, ISO 720 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lens Sans Hood
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/320 sec, f/7.1, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Gently Putting Baby to Down for a Nap
I went down and chatted again with the lead production assistant, who told me that today was the final day of filming. I had the impression from his tone that this was the last shot, but I didn't hear any kind of “That's a wrap!” or other celebratory words, so maybe they still had another shot elsewhere in the evening.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 50 mm — 1/320 sec, f/7.1, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
The Script
Mother Water
The movie is scheduled to come out in October, and he said he try to send us some tickets. Fumie really likes the other movies in this series, so we're looking forward to seeing it, if for no other reason than the novelty of seeing our neighborhood on the big screen.
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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 98 mm — 1/400 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Stroll Among the Blossoms
Some Lady · Some Kid · Some Blossoms
It's been an absolutely horrible cherry-blossom season in Kyoto, with constant cold and rain (and snow!). Today was still cold and windy, but at least it was finally sunny, so the tourists were out in force.
Most had cameras...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 110 mm — 1/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Enjoying the Cherry Blossoms
the way that seems to be the standard these days
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Tour Group
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Couple Focusing on Togetherness
Some people had better equipment than others. The overall winner was clearly this group:
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/320 sec, f/6.3, ISO 220 — map & image data — nearby photos
“Mine is Bigger than All of Yours, Combined”
attaching a lens that most certainly costs more than the GDP of some small countries
Update: more on the lens in this followup post
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 80 mm — 1/320 sec, f/4.5, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Their “Camera Bag”
one of four
( I was shooting almost directly into the sun, so the image is fairly foggy )
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — full exif
Big Production
quite a bit bigger than a different movie shoot at the same spot a year and a half ago
It is, of course, the same movie shoot that I posted about the other day, for the film 「マザーウォーター」 (“Mother Water”, whatever that means), which has been filming in Kyoto for the last week. (At least that was the plan before the horrible weather.) I thought that they had finished up the other day, but apparently not.
The area around here turns into a parking lot during this time of year, and as I returned from an errand on my scooter, it was even more crowded than usual, due, I soon found out, to the shoot. I don't know how long they'd been shooting here, but they finished up soon after I arrived.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/320 sec, f/6.3, ISO 220 — map & image data — nearby photos
Crowd Watching the Action
It made for an interesting logistical problem for the filmmakers... it's a crowded public place, made more crowded by gawkers watching what they're doing, and at the moment they were trying to film long shots without the crowd in them, so they have to find a time when no one is anywhere in the background. That will never happen on its own during this time of year (they were smack dab in the middle of a prime photogenic cherry-blossom zone), but they had a staff of 40+ people, half of which it seemed were for crowd control, politely shutting down the sidewalk for a minute at a time while a shot was made after a flurry of “;本番!” shouts (“real thing!”) up and down the area to let everyone know that a real shot was about to be made.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
The Talent
with one of the staff member's kids
I didn't recognize the actress at the time, but when I got home and looked at my shots, I recognized her as Satomi Kobayashi (小林聡美). Or, I should say, I recognized her as the shopkeeper in Kamome Diner (かもめ食堂), but even that was only due to the context, so I guess I just don't have much star-struck mojo.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/320 sec, f/4.5, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Enjoying the Blossoms During a Break in Filming
with the producer in the background
The guy in the background of the shot above was the staff member that I'd had a nice chat with the other day. While I was there today it turned out that I was able to do a favor for the lead production assistant, and while chatting with him I asked who the guy was that I'd talked to before, and it turns out that he's the producer. That explains why he appeared to not actually be doing any work during the shoot :-), but I can't imagine that a Hollywood producer would ever chit-chat at length with a random stranger at a movie shoot like that, so I thought it was nice.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/320 sec, f/6.3, ISO 220 — map & image data — nearby photos
Boom
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 82 mm — 1/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Wrapping Up
those are some big dead cats
Did you notice the big mic boom and “dead cat” (big fuzzy microphone windscreen) in the first shot of this post? I lead with that as a cookie for the observant. 🙂
And while I do like taking pictures of people taking pictures (as evidenced here and many other posts on my blog), I'm not immune to the charms of the blossoms themselves. Heck, I've even written poetry about cherry blossoms. So, here's a shot I snapped in passing that I sort of like... it's got an odd 3D effect to it, at least when viewed at full size...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/1600 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Some will find the out-of-focus branch in the foreground to be a distraction, but for me, it adds depth. I like it.
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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 0.4 sec handheld, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cherry Blossoms over the Shirakawa River
Kyoto, Japan
Considering the wild, freaky presentations I've been posting recently, I thought I'd lead off today with something quiet and simple.
I had stepped out earlier this evening to check out a movie shoot going on near my place, and snapped the shot above on the spur of the moment. It was well after sunset, so the sky was a deep, rich blue, and the main gate of the Heian Shrine a deep, rich orange, and the reflections in the water a mix of rich colors (blue from the sky, green from the street lights). All and all it was “rich”, but seeing as I've posted that kind of shot before (both from around this same location and from the nearby canal), I thought I'd give this one a try as black & white.
It's not too bad for a half-second exposure at 70mm, hand-held, freestanding.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/80 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Evening Movie Shoot
They were shooting scenes from a movie to be called 『マザーウォーター』 (“Mother Water”, whatever that means). It's the same group that did the slightly eccentric comedy 『かもめ食堂』 (“Kamome Diner”), which we liked.
I didn't want to be in the way, so went off some distance to grab a shot of the scene (the shot you see above, with a guy in the middle of the river holding a big microphone, and the camera at the edge of the water on the left). It was dark so I couldn't really see what was going on, but in looking at the shot now, I see that the camera is pointed right at me, along with the gaze of everyone, with smiles on their faces.
This explains why moments after taking the shot, someone came up to me and asked very politely whether I might stand a bit off to the side for a minute or two while they filmed a shot... doh! During that time the same guy stopped a few random passers by, also requesting very politely that they pause for just a minute. (Judging by when they did/didn't do this, they seemed to have filmed for only about two minutes during the half hour I was there... a lot of effort by 40 people for so little!).
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 0.3 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
( it was really quite dark; this shot is highly overexposed )
They were actually shooting on real film, not digital, but they did have some kind of digital recording going as well, so they could check out framing and such in real time. In the shot above, they're sitting in front of a local shrine that was decommissioned a few years ago, checking out framing on a monitor for their next shot.
I chatted with one of the staff members for a while (the tall blur in the shot above) who said that they use film for its wider dynamic range. He did say that they also do shoot stuff with Red digital movie cameras, though I don't know whether he was referring to this project specifically. (This group was friendlier and more conscientious than the previous movie shoot in this area... I guess it comes with being more professional.)
While standing around, I snapped another shot of the river as it passed by some old buildings I posted last fall. This is looking in the opposite direction, from a bit further downstream, as the lead shot in this post....
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ripply