Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/1600 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Temple Pagoda

I've been posting a lot of the same stuff lately (snow, Heian Shrine, and shots from Amami), so I thought I'd mix things up and revisit some older files in my library. I often get caught up in new events, leaving many shots I want to share to languish in my library until I find a chance to get back to them. So today, I randomly picked a day from last year to revisit, and it turns out to be June 3rd, which was the first day of Aunt Jeannette's visit to Kyoto.

The shot above contains a temple pagoda – the Taisan Temple's Koan Pagoda – but in “Where's Waldo” fashion, it's not obvious until you see it the first time. Here's a zoom that might help:

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos

These are views of the pagoda from the Kiyomizu Temple, which was the first stop on the first day of Aunt Jeannette's tour in Kyoto. Other shots were included here and here.

On the way out, I came across these two school pals with matching Hello Kitty purses:

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 45 mm — ¹/640 sec, f/4.5, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Friends Forever

Later, the tour went to the Heian Shrine, and visited the gardens that I mentioned in yesterday's post about the amazing snow the other day. The gardens don't cover much area, but are very nicely done, and they feel huge.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 34 mm — ¹/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lakeside in the Gardens

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — ¹/320 sec, f/5, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Random Quaint Bridge #27

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/320 sec, f/5, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Bridal Photoshoot in the Garden
That's the groom with the tiny camera at right

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/350 sec, f/5, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Sisters?
(I particularly like the birds in the kimono at left)

The Heian Shrine is a popular place for wedding ceremonies; there are a few related pics in my Weddings and the Heian Shrine post.

Later in the day, the tour group visited a tea house in Gion where they were treated to sweets made and served by Master Sweet Maker Ji'ichiro Kunieta. I took this picture of a lady on a bridge from the window of the second floor of the tea house:

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 52 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Oasis in the City

It's right in the heart of Gion, but it looks like the middle of nowhere. The lady in the picture above is standing pretty much in the exact spot that the first picture on Night Cherry Blossoms in the Gion area of Kyoto was taken. Two other night shots taken in the immediate vicinity are here.

Outside the tea house by the side of the road, I found this flower...

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Pretty Flower

Generally, photography can be difficult in Gion (and most of Japan) due to all the utility poles and wires. Ugly.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 26 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/9, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ugly

On the walk home, I passed the site where a house had been taken down, and you could see in the old, dilapidated side of the house next door the shape of the roof where some part of the razed house had been attached.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — ¹/180 sec, f/4, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Not Quite Watertight

As Zak explains in his History in (of) a Roof post, you can read a lot of history in the shapes, colors, and construction of old walls.

The construction in this case is the same wood veneer over bamboo and mud walls seen in my Old House of Bamboo and Mud, but you can see much of the same kind of history in a brick wall as well.

Continuing on the walk, I came across these flowers growing wildly on the bank of the stream that runs by our place, among the weeds. The photo isn't particularly great, but the flowers are pretty.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — ¹/500 sec, f/3.2, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Weeds, Etc.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 26 mm — ¹/400 sec, f/5, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Conditions of Entry

When I went to the Heian Shrine yesterday morning during the brief spell of amazing snowfall, it was with the intention to enter their gardens to take pictures, as I did during a snowfall two years ago. Most of my pictures from the Heian Shrine, such as yesterday's, or of the intense burn, or the Setsubun events, are from the large areas of the Shrine that are open to the public without cost. There are other areas, including a large and beautiful garden that costs 600 yen (about US $6) to enter.

Unfortunately, it wasn't yet open when I was there so I couldn't go in, but while looking for a sign indicting their hours, I noticed the sign above (with the closed entrance to the gardens in the background).

The bottom sign lists things you can't do in the gardens: smoking outside the designated smoking areas, bringing in food or drink, hunting fish, foul, or clams, or picking flowers or felling trees.

The top sign says that a permit is required to use a tripod or monopod, and that they are available for 2,000 yen (about US $20); enquire at the entrance.

If you read the open forums at Digital Photography Review and elsewhere, you'll find that some people get very angry with such restrictions; they feel they should be able to take pictures anywhere they want, in any way they want (or, at least, in any way that they themselves feel is reasonable). They're offended and indignant when, for example, a mall security guard enforces the “no photography” policy that's stated at all the mall entrances.

On the other side of the spectrum, you'll find people who feel photography should be much more restricted, and that it's wrong for a stranger, for example, to photograph children in a park.

Much of the angst that both camps feel is likely related to their ignorance of the applicable laws, so they're surprised when they unknowingly run against it. In America, at least, a private landowner can set pretty much whatever conditions they want for entry to their land. Just as the owner of a house can set conditions for your being in his living room, the owners of a mall (or sporting venue or a restaurant or hotel....) can set conditions for your being there. I don't know that it would make much sense for a mall (or a shinto shrine) to stipulate “photography allowed only while wearing red socks”, but I believe they should have the right to do so if they wish. It's their land.

In the case of the shrine and the $20 fee, a knee-jerk reaction would claim “it's just another revenue stream!” but again, it's their land. Sure, it's a revenue stream. So what? It's their right. I understand the need for permits, because it's a tangible way for them to restrict the number of obstructions (tripod/monopod-using photographers) during busy times. They may have found that people poking these things in the ground has increased their maintenance costs, and so picked a $20 fee to cover it. Or, it may just be another way to line their pocketbook. It's their land...don't enter if you don't agree to the conditions.

On the other side, a lot of Americans are surprised to find that if it's visible from public land, it's generally legal to photograph. There are a few exceptions related to child pornography, but pretty much anything else is legal, including a stranger taking photographs of your child at the park, or of you picking your nose in rush-hour traffic. In America, there are no “expectations of privacy” in public.

I do believe that what should be legal is a valid subject for debate (unlike some militant photographers, I don't feel that photography in public is an unalienable, basic human right). Some countries do have restrictions on public photography, such as making it illegal to photograph someone at “embarrassing times” (e.g. picking their nose). But a debate about what should be legal is different than what is legal, and a lot of people's anger seems to stem from ignorance of the latter.

Of course, on either side of either debate, the old adage “having the right doesn't make it right” certainly holds.

As for myself, I maintain my right to look like an idiot, chasing after my kid with my camera shutter on rapidfire.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — ¹/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
This Morning

Today was one of those “Why I Hate Living in Kyoto” days.

We awoke to a touch of fresh snow this morning, so Anthony and I headed out to play in it for an hour before he had to go to school. His play involved knocking snow off of anything that held it, and mine involved a Nikon D200 and a 17-55 f/2.8 zoom.

I took 249 pictures, of which 228 avoided the cutting room floor (including the iffy crow and snow shot I posted earlier). Of those that survived, there must be about 50 that are – to me – just stunning.

I include the shot above in the “stunning” category, so perhaps you can use it as a benchmark to decide whether my comments are realistic or blinded by narcissism (but do click on it to see the larger version before making your decision). We were at the Heian Shrine when the snow really started to come down, and I just snapped away as Anthony played.

Of course, it's been two years since I got my D200, so by now, “snapping away” means that I did put some thought into it, such as composition to include the ornate shrine sub-building behind him, and the framing to include the trail left when he rolled a snowball for a snowman.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Intense Snow
(crop from a larger photo)

For a while, the snow was as intense as the burn was two weeks ago at the exact same spot he's standing (see Intense Burn: Shinto Rite at the Heian Shrine). The picture above is just a crop; here's the full width of the frame:

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Wow
(click through to the huge version, and view at full size)

Maybe I'm just enamored with snow, or Kyoto, or Anthony, or my own photography, but I think the shots from this morning are amazing. As I was looking through them, my head almost exploded as I tried to decide what to share. I couldn't very well post all 50ish despite a strong desire to do so, and I went around and around with ideas before I punted and decided to post just the two of Anthony (and the extra crop). I figure people are probably getting sick of snow pictures by now; I'll post more from today at a later date.

A few hours after all that snow, it had all melted away. After school, Anthony wanted to go for a bike ride (having ridden by himself for the first time yesterday). I needed to go to the post office, so he accompanied me.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/80 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Heading to the Post Office

After that, we headed to the park with the oval walkway...

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 17 mm — ¹/320 sec, f/3.5, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Heading to the Park

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Concentration
(he was pretending to be in a race)

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 190 mm — ¹/80 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Far Side of the Park

You can see some of the tree snuggies on the trees behind him.

It's hard to believe that just nine hours earlier, the park looked like this:

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/640 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Center of the Park, Earlier in the Day

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos

Is this shot at all interesting?

We awoke to a pretty layer of snow this morning, and I'm now going through the 249 shots I took on a short outing with Anthony. I was about to add this shot to the reject pile when I had second thoughts. I converted it to grayscale, futzed with the grayscale mix in Lightroom, and now it has some appeal to me, although I can't put my finger on exactly what.

Maybe the grayscale makes it interesting? I had a grayscale shot on my Artsy-Fartsy in Kyoto af f/1.2 post, which was met with overwhelming silence, so maybe I'm off track.

While writing this post, I first captioned the photo “Winter”, which was fine but bland. I then tried “Urban Winter”, but that casts a very different mood that doesn't really work here. So, I removed the caption. (If I were to be frank, I'd use “Big Nasty Crow Sitting On Ugly Utility Line”, but that also casts a different mood than I'm hoping for :-))

Anyway, I probably should just go with my first impression.

(This post's title is one of the “cute” titles that, as I wrote yesterday, I normally try to avoid; now you know why I try to avoid them.)

Too Fast for my Cell-Phone Camera

As I wrote last week, Anthony has learned to ride a bike. Today we went out for a ride on the sidewalks around town, and he rode for extended periods without my direct help. I wanted to be right there, so I trotted/ran alongside him like a Secret Service agent running alongside the President's car. It was quite a workout.

Nearing home, we stopped by a park with a big oval walkway, and I told him to go around it all by himself. He wasn't keen on the idea of me not being beside him, but I told him I'd remain in the park, so he gave it a try. He started off all by himself, and did one circuit without problem.

As he approached, he was all smiles and said he wanted to continue, so he did for another circuit. Approaching the end of the second time around, he told me that I didn't have to stand there, and that I could go sit down. So I did, and watched him go around, and around, and around.

Circuit #8
(or so)

He wanted me to pretend it was a race, so each time he passed, I talked like an announcer, saying that Anthony was winning the race and going “super fast.”

I lost exact count, but he went 17 or 18 times around the thing – well over two miles' worth – without touching his feet to the ground. Coincidentally, that's pretty much exactly what he did the first time he rode the bike (with training wheels). This time, though, I got to enjoy it from the comfort of a park bench.

After that 17th or 18th circuit, he said he wanted to go to the playground, so he just continued no-stop in that direction as if he'd been riding all his life.

After a while on the swing, we went back to the oval-track park and he rode again, this time in the snow.

Neither Rain, nor Sleet, nor Dark of Night...

George Hitches a Ride

As the snow was letting up, he decided to head home, but first I asked for his “I'm Proud That I Can Ride a Bike” pose...

“I'm Proud That I Can Ride a Bike”