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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 160 mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 5600 — full exif
Ready and Waiting
Tea and Cookies for Santa
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 110 mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — full exif
“Please leave a letter. Please don't use kanji.”
Kanji are the complex “Chinese characters” of Japanese writing, as opposed to the two simple phonetic Japanese alphabets that he uses mostly at this point.
While wrapping presents this evening, I thought of a great response to when, inevitably, he'll hear from a classmate that Santa is not real, that it's really the parents. I'll affect an air of grave concern, then in a low voice confide that Santa brings toys only to kids that have been good, and so parents secretly get up early to check, and if Santa didn't bring a toy, they feel bad for their kid, so they quickly put one. So that (snot-nosed inconsiderate jerk of a) friend must not have been good. Oh my! Don't mention it... don't make him feel bad.... don't tell anyone...
....and so preserve a bit longer the magic that is Santa.
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Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Smooth Curves
Like a big sheet of plastic melting in the sun, sagging under its own weight
Among the seemingly infinite variety of objects in the gardens behind the Nishimura Stone Lanterns stone-carving workshop in the mountains of north-east Kyoto, Japan, I was particularly taken with the curved pieces. And of these, there was quite a variety, including water basins, pedestal tops, lantern-top adornments, and sloping roofs like the one in the photo above.
The roof of this piece looks thin and delicate, but the original block of stone it was made from must have necessarily been thick and substantial, only to surrender most of its mass to the carver's chisel. The bulk of that original block is now dust on the floor of the workshop, and I find that amazing: the carver works on a huge piece of stone for ages, but in the final result you don't see a single thing they did, only the small part they didn't do.
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/200 sec, f/2, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Looks So Cute
but it's actually quite large
It looks so small in the shots above, but as I mentioned after the “lack of scale” photo in a previous post, it's huge.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 32 mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 900 — map & image data — nearby photos
Expansive
( I'm 6'4"; my hands are not tiny )
I also love how the stone is almost impregnated with moss and lichen. From a distance it looks like oddly green stone, but when you look closely you find an expanse of fine splotches of lichen and the occasional tiny tuft of moss.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 31 mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2500 — map & image data — nearby photos
“Sagging Roof” Foreground
“Three Kings” way in the background
The shot above is just a segue to a small section on the trio of large stone lanterns that I labeled “Three Kings” in a previous post.
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 360 — map & image data — nearby photos
Three Crowns
I love the detail in the carving on the base of the middle one... the delicate leaves and such...
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 360 — map & image data — nearby photos
Obligatory Context Shot
Moving along...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 @ 16 mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Start of it All?
The thing at the far left that looks like a cross between a cinder block and an outhouse appears to be quite new, but otherwise everything in this shot seems to be old.... really old.... including the path. I don't even know what to make of most of them... the small water basin at foreground right appears to be paired with the larger whitish stone under it (which itself has a square water basin cut into it), but its use escapes me.
Just behind it is another water basin with odd notches cut in, as if someone was making a gear and gave up halfway. (I wonder whether they're intended to cradle small bamboo ladles, somewhat like the ones seen in this picture.)
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3600 — map & image data — nearby photos
And Now For Something Completely Different
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/160 sec, f/4, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Restraint
I did not scratch “Fix Me” into the moss
I don't know how fast moss grows, but once it covers the scar, the thing will look good as old again.
Finally, the garden had some of the red berries that are found everywhere in Kyoto during the winter, so to end the post with a Christmasy feel, a bonus desktop-background image....
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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 @ 14 mm — 1/80 sec, f/5, ISO 1800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Warp Speed Ahead!
Darth Vader's Imperial Star Destroyer in Stone
Well, my previous stone-related “What am I?” quiz was apparently too difficult for everyone, so here's a softy....
I found this stone lantern among the hundreds of odd-shaped and beautiful stone carvings in the gardens behind the Nishimura Stone Lanterns workshop. Those familiar with the Star Wars™ world (or with the vast array of Star Wars™ toys their kids might leave underfoot) will likely find that these photos call to mind the Imperial Star Destroyers from the original movies.... especially after I write “Imperial Star Destroyer” several times. 🙂
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 @ 14 mm — 1/80 sec, f/10, ISO 5000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Bearing Down
I would assume that this was carved before any of the Star Wars™ movies were made, but even if it's more recent, no one's going to carve an Imperial Star Destroyer from solid stone. In any case, I can tell you for sure that this is not an Imperial Star Destroyer, or anything from the Star Wars™ world.
So, what is it?
And yes, Marci, I realize that “warp speed ahead” is from Star Trek.™
As I often do with these “What am I?” quizzes, I'll keep comments in the moderation queue until I reveal the answer.
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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/1600 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — full exif
Darwin might have been right, but
Being The Fittest Goes Only So Far
— we all die sometime —
Goodness, that sounds morbid, but I mean it to be witty. (Note to self: if you have to explain that you're being witty, you're not.)
Walking by the shared garden area of my condo today, I was impressed that there are still quite a few colorful leaves left on the tree, and with the lateness of the season and the inevitable march toward winter, the Darwin thought came to mind.
My first thought was to take a picture of a dried, curled leaf surrounded by vibrant colorful ones...
It was difficult getting a good angle because I was limited in where I could shoot from. After a while I realized that a better expression of the thought was a lone vibrant leaf surrounded by withered leaves and bare twigs, but the tree offered few opportunities for such a shot, so I had to stretch...
Not having much opportunity composition wise, I threw some vignettes on there to look “artsy”. 🙂
It's been dipping down to freezing at night, which is pretty much as cold as it gets during the winter in my area of Kyoto. No snow yet, and there was no snow last year, but we had plenty of snow the previous year, so I've got the snow tires on the car (to avoid this hairy situation). Kyoto is pretty after a nice snow, at least until traffic turns it to a dirty mush, so here's looking forward to some snow this season...
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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Almost Molten
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Helpful Baseboard Light
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 4500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Simulated Faux Stone
Replete With Movement Sensor
The answer to the Stone Puzzle “What am I?” Quiz is “lamp”. It's made of simulated faux stone (that is, real carved stone) with a lamp and sensor inside.
It's in the garden behind the Nishimura Stone-Carving Workshop in north-east Kyoto, Japan, and was visible in the “Gazebo” photo on that post.