{"id":1851,"date":"2011-09-18T14:30:54","date_gmt":"2011-09-18T05:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2011-09-18\/1851"},"modified":"2011-09-18T14:34:21","modified_gmt":"2011-09-18T05:34:21","slug":"visiting-the-stonecarvers-garden-with-mike-bennett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2011-09-18\/1851","title":{"rendered":"Visiting the Stonecarvers’ Gardens with Mike Bennett"},"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 50mm f\/1.2 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/1.2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMike Bennett<\/span>\nwith my new old broken 50mm f\/1.2\n<\/div>\n\n

As I wrote<\/span> last\nweek<\/a>, my former manager at Yahoo!, Mike Bennett, visited town. After\nseeing his girlfriend and her family off in Tokyo, he returned to Kyoto for\na couple<\/span> of days of touristy stuff with me.<\/p>\n\n

I took the opportunity to try out a slightly<\/span>-broken Nikkor 50m f\/1.2\nthat I'd picked up on Yahoo! Auctions (which is the eBay of Japan). Even\nafter I add<\/span> the cost to repair the heavy aperture ring and slight rattle of\nunknown origin, it'll have been cheaper than buying a new<\/span> one, but truth be\ntold I bought<\/span> it because I'd confused it for another f\/1.2 Nikon lens\n(the Noct-Nikkor 58mm) that normally runs for about 15× what I paid.<\/span>\nSilly me.<\/p>\n\n

I'd used an f\/1.2 lens only twice that I recall,<\/span> once as seen in “Artsy-Fartsy in Kyoto, at\nf\/1.2<\/a>” about 3½ years ago, and again six months later in “Impossible Photography: No\nLight, No Tripod, No Hope. D700 and a 50mm<\/span> f\/1.2<\/a>”. Today's use would be\nmuch less challenging than the latter example, though the rattle of unknown\norigin brought wisps of unexpected tilt\/shift to my imagination.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.2 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.2, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMexican Pizza<\/span>\nat the most delicious Reina de Reina<\/i> in eastern Kyoto\n<\/div>\n\n

We made our way to Nishimura Stone Lanterns<\/a>\nto check out their back garden, and found them busy working on a variety<\/span> of projects.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.2 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/1.2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nGetting On Top of His Work<\/span>\nApprentice at Nishimura Stone Lanterns\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.2 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/1.2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n
Vertical Desktop-Background Versions<\/b>\n\n1050×<\/span>1680<\/a>  ·  1200×<\/span>1920<\/a>  ·  1600×<\/span>2560<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Above is one of the apprentices sitting on what will be the main “roof”\nof a huge<\/span> stone lantern. It's partially<\/span> burred in the ground to stabilize\nit during this work.<\/p>\n\n

The 5th-generation Daizo Nishimura<\/a> was in\nthe main workshop, working to restore a 650<\/span>-year-old lantern that had been\ndamaged in the March-11th earthquake. He was also<\/span> taking the opportunity to\nredo some repairs that had been carried out in the Edo period (during the\n1600s-1800s). Unfortunately, no photos of that were allowed.<\/p>\n\n

Mike and I headed out to the back gardens (click on any of the “nearby\nphotos” links under the images to see plenty more from these amazing\ngardens) where he was suitably impressed. Still, this was the first time\nI'd come during the summer; it's really much nicer in the fall with a\ncarpet<\/span> of colorful leaves.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.2 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/1.2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSmooth<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.2 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/1.2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nA Bit<\/span> Too Much Isolation<\/span>\nI'd like to see a bit more lanternness in the background\n<\/div>\n\n

A wide aperture can really isolate the subject from the foreground and\nbackground, but in the test above, I think<\/span> f\/1.2 was a bit<\/span> too wide.<\/p>\n\n

In the shot below, the background of sunlight filtering through the forest trees\nis exceedingly “busy”, but somehow I think<\/span> it really works... I really<\/span> like this next shot of Mike...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.2 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.2, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nThis Seems Better<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.2 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/1.2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMy Favorite Stone Bowl<\/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

The bowl above is the same one seen in\n“Paul Barr + Stonecarver's Garden + Lightroom<\/a>”.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.2 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/1.2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSurrounded<\/span>\nin the side garden\n<\/div>\n\n

Next door is the Nitenji Temple, which also serves as a shrine<\/span> (and\nhence all the orange). I thought<\/span> I'd posted about this place before, but it\nseems I've only posted some pretty outtakes<\/a>. It's on a<\/span> steep hillside, so is visually interesting...<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.2 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/1.2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nEntering the Nitenji Temple<\/span>\nand the Hachidairyuuoo Shrine\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.2 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.2, ISO 280 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSpecial Delivery<\/span>\nmax weight 120 kg\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.2 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTop of the Steps<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The elevator-cart thing is not meant for people... just packages, groceries, etc., for the family that lives at the top.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I wrote last week, my former manager at Yahoo!, Mike Bennett, visited town. After seeing his girlfriend and her family off in Tokyo, he returned to Kyoto for a couple of days of touristy stuff with me.<\/p>

I took the opportunity to try out a slightly-broken Nikkor 50m f\/1.2 that I'd picked up on Yahoo! Auctions (which is the eBay of Japan). Even after I add the cost to repair the heavy aperture ring and slight rattle of unknown origin, it'll have been cheaper than buying a new one, but truth be told I bought it because I'd confused [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,1,2,23,6,10,25],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1851"}],"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=1851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1851\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}