{"id":1178,"date":"2009-04-05T23:48:25","date_gmt":"2009-04-05T14:48:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2009-04-05\/1178"},"modified":"2010-11-27T21:23:05","modified_gmt":"2010-11-27T12:23:05","slug":"evening-cherry-blossoms-and-some-white-balance-gymnastics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2009-04-05\/1178","title":{"rendered":"Evening Cherry Blossoms, and some White-Balance Gymnastics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\nNOTE<\/b>: 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.\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 20 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nCherry Blossoms at Dusk<\/span>\nover the Biwako Canal, Kyoto Japan\n<\/div>\n\n

So, unlike yesterday's gloom and rain<\/a>, today was clear and sunny. The cherry<\/span> blossoms are not yet near full, and they don't seem to be\nparticularly good this year anyway (we had an extended cold snap just as\nthey were starting to blossom, which seems to have messed them up in\nvarying ways), but nevertheless, I took the<\/span> tripod and headed out for the\nlast evening of the local cherry-blossom lightup.<\/p>\n\n

Last\nyear<\/a> I took<\/span> shots from closer to my place, but this year I wanted<\/span> to\ntry the long view, from where the canal bends, so I made<\/span> the arduous\n60-second trek down there. (What burdens I endure<\/span> for my readership! \ud83d\ude42 )<\/p>\n\n

I'd shot the evening cherry-blossoms, sans lightup, from this same spot\ntwo years ago (see Nighttime Long-Exposure Cherry Blossoms<\/a>), so I thought<\/span>\nit'd make for a nice<\/span> comparison, to see whether I've learned anything\nsince.<\/p>\n\n

(I like this spot anyway, as the nearby photos<\/a> links under the pictures illustrate; they\nshow the many other photos taken from near this spot that have appeared on\nmy blog over the years.)<\/p>\n\n

Anyway, I arrived<\/span> at about sunset (6:20pm) to find a few<\/span> other\nphotographers looking bored, waiting for the lightup to start at 7pm.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 4 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/11, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n6:36pm<\/span>\n15 Minutes after Sunset\n<\/div>\n\n

The lights were turned on earlier last year, which made for much better\nphotos because (as I discussed<\/span> in last-year's\npost<\/a>) you could get a nice<\/span> balance between the deepening sky and the\nlit-up blossoms. This year, I knew that<\/span> the sky would be too dark to matter\nby the time the lights came on, so I actually<\/span> expected to get the best\nshots before then, without the lights.<\/p>\n\n

As the clock ticked away toward 7pm, I kept trying<\/span> test shots, looking\nfor that perfect balance of sky\/ground light. The crowd<\/span> grew thicker, but\nI seemed<\/span> to be the only one taking photos.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 42 mm — 3 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/10, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFive Minutes Later<\/span>\n6:41pm\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 31 mm — 25 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/13, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nGetting Closer<\/span>\n6:47pm\n<\/div>\n\n

In this last one, I changed<\/span> the white-balance setting to give it more of\na daytime<\/span> look (removing the extremely blue cast one gets during dusk), but\nbecause it's such a long<\/span> exposure, the lights along the road and beyond the\ntrees really get a chance<\/span> to glow, giving it a surreal<\/span> look that I like<\/span>\nmuch better than the dreary dull reality of the view at that point.<\/p>\n\n

Ten minutes later, just before the lights came on, I took this<\/span>\nfairly-overexposed shot...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 20 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOverexposed and Dramatic<\/span>\n6:57pm\n<\/div>\n\n

This is just how it came out of the camera, and I think<\/span> it's got some\nunearthly (but appealing) aspects to it. The overexposure, though, robs the\nsky of the richness a long<\/span> exposure at this time of dusk should give, so I\nplayed<\/span> with Lightroom's develop settings on a copy<\/span> of this image to come up\nwith a version<\/span> with more “punch”. The resulting<\/span> image is what I led<\/span> this\npost with.<\/p>\n\n

As a point of further comparison, here's a third<\/span> version of the same image,\nthis time with a wild<\/span> white-balance setting perhaps more appropriate for a Venusian<\/span> landscape...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 20 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nWhoa, Cool<\/span>\n
Desktop-Background Versions<\/b>\n\n\nStandard: 1024×<\/span>768<\/a>  ·  1440×<\/span>1080<\/a>  ·  1600×<\/span>1200<\/a><\/small>     <\/span>\nWidescreen:  1280×<\/span>800<\/a>  ·  1680×<\/span>1050<\/a>  ·  1920×<\/span>1200<\/a>  ·  2560×<\/span>1600<\/a><\/small><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

It's completely unreal, but I like it, so I threw<\/span> some desktop-background versions in there as well.<\/p>\n\n

The lights started coming on at 7:00, but it's\nnot any kind of big dramatic thing. Some lights come on, then more, then\nmore, and you can easily imagine some low-level worker somewhere hurriedly\nmoving from switch to switch trying to get them all on.<\/p>\n\n

The camera, however, can make it seem much more dramatic...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 10 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLights On!<\/span>\nstill a touch of blue in the sky at 7:00pm\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 56 mm — 6 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/13, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMuch Nicer than Reality<\/span>\n7:03pm\n<\/div>\n\n

I often complain that my photos don't do such-and-such a beautiful<\/span> scene\njustice, but this evening lightup is definitely a case<\/span> where the images are\nmuch nicer than the reality. If you enjoy<\/span> the evening with someone special,\nwell, that's a different<\/span> story, but from a wholly<\/span> practical level, a\ncherry<\/span>-blossom lightup is much less impactful than many of the other\n“lightup events” on the calendar.<\/p>\n\n

Much more interesting in person are some of the fall-foliage lightups\n(such as this one at the Eikando Temple<\/a> and this train-line\nfoliage tunnel<\/a>), and the Kyoto\nHigashiyama “Hanatoro” Lightup<\/a>. (Arashiyama, on the other side of\nKyoto, also has a lot<\/span> of lightup events, but I've never been to them\nbecause they tend to coincide with those near home, and I'm too lazy to\nmake the trek and fight the crowds.)<\/p>\n\n

I also tried a portrait orientation...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 52 mm — 6 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/13, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n7:04pm<\/span>\n
Portrait-Mode Vertical Desktop-Background Versions<\/b>\n\n\n1050×<\/span>1680<\/a>  ·  1200×<\/span>1920<\/a>  ·  1600×<\/span>2560<\/a><\/small>     <\/span>\n<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Soon after, some ducks came in for a landing<\/span> and messed up the\nrelatively smooth water, and with the sky approaching total darkness, I decided<\/span> to pack it up.<\/p>\n\n

There were a good 30 people in the immediate area when the lights came\non, but the crowd thinned considerably soon after, as those who had\nwaited got their shots did so, then ran off in search of brighter pastures.\nSome remained, and others were continually joining the churn, so I thought<\/span>\nI'd snap a shot<\/span> that included them to place my vantage point into some\nadditional context. I turned<\/span> the camera 90 degrees toward the left, looking\ndown the canal as it flows away from the right-angle bend I was<\/span> standing\nat...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 0.4 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n7:10pm<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The camera's auto-whitebalance did a nice<\/span> job here, ignoring the\nhorrendous green of the street lights (which you can see on the ground under\nthe fencing).<\/p>\n\n

Like most shots on this post, the one above is much brighter than it\nactually was. This next shot give a better<\/span> feel for what it was actually\nlike at that time...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 0.6 sec, f<\/span>\/11, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPretty Dark<\/span>\n7:10pm\n<\/div>\n\n

The tall building with the bright top at left is a wedding<\/span> venue, with a\nglass<\/span>-enclosed top floor reception hall. On weekends<\/span> you can always look up\nand see a wedding<\/span> reception going on, as was the case this evening.\nCongratulations to whoever it was.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 58 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>4 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPretty in Pink<\/span>\ncrazy white-balance settings can be your friend — 7:18pm\n<\/div>\n\n

Before leaving, I stepped<\/span> back to take another “context” shot. This\ntime, I “corrected” the white balance for the foreground, but I have<\/span> to put\n“corrected” in quotes because you can never really correct for the\nhorribly-uneven light from most street lamps. The really<\/span> wonky compensation\nneeded to restore the foreground colors to some sense of normalcy turns the\nmostly-incandescent fine-was-it-was background wonky.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 0.4 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nWonky Color and<\/i> Overexposure<\/span>\nlet's file this one under “artistic license” — 7:21pm\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 56 mm — 1 sec, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMini Hanatoro<\/span>\nOkazaki borrowing some of Higashiyama's lanterns — 7:37pm\n<\/div>\n\n

Walking back home, I came across<\/span> a short<\/span> string of lanterns, the same\nkind used during the Higashiyama Hanatoro Event<\/a>\n(Hanatoro<\/i> combines “flower”, “lantern”, and “road”; Higashiyama is\nthe neighboring ward), as shown\nhere in detail<\/a>. The big building<\/span> in the background is the National\nMuseum of Modern Art.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So, unlike yesterday's gloom and rain, today was clear and sunny. The cherry blossoms are not yet near full, and they don't seem to be particularly good this year anyway (we had an extended cold snap just as they were starting to blossom, which seems to have messed them up in varying ways), but nevertheless, I took the tripod and headed out for the last evening of the local cherry-blossom lightup.<\/p>

Last year I took shots from closer to my place, but this year I wanted to try the long view, from where the canal bends, so I made the [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,8,1,2,6,25],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1178"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1178\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}