{"id":1720,"date":"2011-03-13T21:38:50","date_gmt":"2011-03-13T12:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2011-03-13\/1720"},"modified":"2011-03-13T21:41:23","modified_gmt":"2011-03-13T12:41:23","slug":"the-hope-of-cherry-blossoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2011-03-13\/1720","title":{"rendered":"The Hope of Cherry Blossoms in Japan"},"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 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 195 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 6400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHope<\/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

March is a time of hope in Japan... hope for a good<\/span> cherry-blossom\nseason, hope for a nice<\/span> spring, hope for the coming new school\/fiscal year\n(the school year and most companies' fiscal year start in April). Maybe\nthis week has more\nworry<\/a> than hope, but hope will return.<\/p>\n\n

I mentioned the other day in “Surprising Early\nCherry-Blossom Preview Hits Kyoto<\/a>” (about a snowfall<\/span> that made the\ncherry trees look as if they are in bloom), it's about time for a\n“Cherry-Blossom Preview” type post, and I linked<\/span> to some preview posts from\nearlier years. I'd still<\/span> like to do one, but when it comes down to it, I don't<\/span> have all that many good cherry-blossom pictures in my archives.<\/p>\n\n

Still, I rummaged<\/span> through some folders from the last few years, and\ncollected some pictures that look interesting to me, perhaps after some\nfutzing in Lightroom. The one above<\/span>, from this outing two years\nago<\/a>, has a bit<\/span> of the “Funky Joy<\/a>” treatment,\nwhich we can all use a bit<\/span> of right now.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>6400 sec, f<\/span>\/1.4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nChildhood Joys<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

An almost identical shot led this post<\/a> last year. It's such a<\/span> joy to see well-behaved children play, so I'm posting this shot from the sequence.<\/p>\n\n

Here's one that's been processed to exaggeration, but I like<\/span> the result,\nespecially when viewed close up. Sort of “artsy”... a bit<\/span> like the prints I hung<\/span> in my room<\/a>,\nbut bolder...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 42 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1250 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nCanal and Blossoms<\/span>\nKyoto Biwako Canal, Kyoto Japan\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The cherry-blossom season two years ago wasn't very good, with a lot<\/span> of\nrain and gloom<\/a>, but\na clear<\/span> dusk with good timing<\/a> can make even half-hearted blossoms look good, so a few<\/span>\nshots similar to the sequence seen in “Evening Cherry Blossoms, and some White-Balance Gymnastics<\/a>”....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 32 mm — 20 sec, f<\/span>\/13, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPrior to the Lightup<\/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
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 56 mm — 2 sec, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLightup<\/span>\nit would have been nice if they turned the lights on earlier, when the dusk was still vibrant\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
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 42 mm — 1.6 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFull Coverage<\/span>\nlots of us camped at the bend in the canal\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 4 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOther Direction was Pretty, Too<\/span>\nbut not as<\/i> pretty\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The long view down the canal from the elbow bend is the best view, but other areas are not without merit...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 38 mm — 2.5 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Later that same season, after Anthony started first\ngrade<\/a>, on the way home from the ceremony we stopped to view the river\nof petals continually laid down by the now-past-their-prime cherry\ntrees...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/11, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nUnending Flow<\/span>\nor so it seemed\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 300 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 6400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAlmost Weeping<\/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\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>8000 sec, f<\/span>\/1.4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nCarpet of Blossoms<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I think I like the whole “carpet of blossoms” effect of cherry blossoms\nmore than their fluffy-tree effect. There's just something uplifting about\nwatching the blossom petals get thrown about by a light<\/span> breeze.<\/p>\n\n

Of course, sometimes something decidedly more naughty than a light<\/span> breeze does the throwing...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBIG handful<\/span>\n7½-year-old Anthony\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nThere They Go<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAftermath<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Another from this sequence, just before “Aftermath”, is shown here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Here's hoping for a good<\/span> cherry-blossom season.... and more.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

March is a time of hope in Japan... hope for a good cherry-blossom season, hope for a nice spring, hope for the coming new school\/fiscal year (the school year and most companies' fiscal year start in April). Maybe this week has more worry than hope, but hope will return.<\/p>

I mentioned the other day in \"Surprising Early Cherry-Blossom Preview Hits Kyoto\" (about a snowfall that made the cherry trees look as if they are in bloom), it's about time for a \"Cherry-Blossom Preview\" type post, and I linked to some preview posts from earlier years. I'd still like to do [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,8,1,2,3,6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1720"}],"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=1720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1720\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}