{"id":2492,"date":"2014-11-29T22:36:44","date_gmt":"2014-11-29T13:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2014-11-29\/2492"},"modified":"2014-11-29T22:36:44","modified_gmt":"2014-11-29T13:36:44","slug":"photographer-introspection-amidst-the-serenity-at-kyotos-rurikoin-temple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2014-11-29\/2492","title":{"rendered":"Photographer Introspection Amidst the Serenity at Kyoto’s Rurikoin Temple"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 35mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 3200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nA Moment<\/span> of Quiet Introspection<\/span>\nat the Rurikoin Temple (\u7460\u7483\u5149\u9662), Kyoto Japan\n
Desktop-Background Versions<\/b>\n1280×<\/span>800<\/a>  ·  1680×<\/span>1050<\/a>  ·  1920×<\/span>1200<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 2500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nYour Seat Awaits<\/span>\nthis is absolutely what you'll find if you visit this weekend\n
Desktop-Background Versions<\/b>\n1280×<\/span>800<\/a>  ·  1680×<\/span>1050<\/a>  ·  1920×<\/span>1200<\/a>  ·  2560×<\/span>1600<\/a>  ·  2880×<\/span>1800<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 4000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSerenity Incarnate<\/span>\nand other lies\n
Desktop-Background Versions<\/b>\n1280×<\/span>800<\/a>  ·  1680×<\/span>1050<\/a>  ·  1920×<\/span>1200<\/a>  ·  2560×<\/span>1600<\/a>  ·  2880×<\/span>1800<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Some friends and I paid a morning visit to the Rurikoin Temple (\u7460\u7483\u5149\u9662)<\/span> in north-east Kyoto on Thursday. It was my<\/span> second visit, after the first two years ago when\nDamien introduced me<\/a> to the place.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 125 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nWaiting For the 10AM Opening<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Two years ago it was probably about 500 yen (US $5) to get in, but I\nheard<\/span> that they stopped being open to the public for a while.<\/span> This year\nthey're back, but it's 2,000 yen (US $20) to get in. It's a Buddhist<\/span> Temple\nand so ostensibly a religious<\/span> place (whose income is tax free), but during\nthe fall-foliage season their business is all about photography: the vast\nmajority of visitors are folks like me who want to take pretty\npictures.<\/p>\n\n

It's probably safe to say that 100% of the folks lined up that morning\nto pay their 2,000 yen were there for photos.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 110 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHeading In<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 720 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPath Up to the Buildings<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

After entering, you're first funneled to the 2nd-floor room with the\nmoney view (so to speak) of the foliage. It's where<\/span> I took<\/span> the “<\/span>serene”<\/span>\nshots that open this post, but it was far from serene. The scene<\/span> as it\nappeared when I first<\/span> turned the corner at the top of the steps:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>40 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 6400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nScurrying for Shots<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

(The photo above has its color balance set for the incandescent lighting\nin the room, rather than for the sunlight outside. Other photos are\nbalanced for sunlight.)<\/p>\n\n

The room is intended for meditation and the writing of sutras. The table<\/span> in the background had pads of blank papers,\nink, and brushes, so that you can copy the provided sutras. The seat pillows<\/span> away from the table are for quiet contemplation of\nthe beautiful scene outside.<\/p>\n\n

But nobody here cared about any of that stuff. Everyone was there to\ntake pictures, and I immediately<\/span> became embarrassed about it for reasons I\ncan't<\/span> quite put my finger on.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 4000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

When visiting a temple or shrine, I never<\/span> forget that I'm visiting a\nreligious<\/span> place, and that indeed I'm a visitor<\/i> among people using\nthe place for its religious purpose. But this time<\/span>, there was not even the\nslightest pretense by anyone that the sole intent of the location and its\nvisitors was anything other than photography. This made me sad a bit.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Yet, at the same time, since everyone had the same purpose, the same\n“<\/span>unwritten rules”<\/span> were followed, so, for example, the photogenic corner of\nthe room was left empty so that it could be part of a good<\/span> shot. People\nwould sometimes try to creep in a bit<\/span> on one corner or the other to catch a\ndifferent<\/span> angle, but for the most part it was sort of amazing how the\n“<\/span>crowd mentality”<\/span> worked for the common good:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 450 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAbsolutely Teeming<\/span>\nwith rabid photographers all over the place just out of frame\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

In the shot above, one person had snuck a bit<\/span> forward, only to soon\nretreat back to the scrum after she took her picture.<\/p>\n\n

As I said, I felt a bit bad\/embarrassed for nondescript reasons, and I was<\/span> acutely aware of\nthe old saying:<\/p>\n\n

“<\/span>You are not stuck in traffic. You are<\/i> traffic.<\/b>”<\/span><\/center>\n\n

With this in mind I was trying to be extra reserved and deferential to others, but I was<\/span> still\nthere clicking away, as the photos on this post prove.<\/p>\n\n

At one point a lone man ventured boldly into the open space to “<\/span>enjoy”<\/span>\nthe view, but he was clearly irked by the photographers and, by the way he\nacted, it seemed he had planted himself there merely to spite them.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 2500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRebellion<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I felt bad for him because he had a right<\/span> to enjoy the place for its\nintended purpose. These kind of scenic spots are deluged by folks with\ncameras during Kyoto's glorious fall-foliage season, but usually everyone\nenjoys the area in harmony, each for their own reasons. Sometimes you get\noccasional\nbottlenecks<\/a> when folks' manners are temporarily overcome by their\nenthusiasm (an offense I try<\/span> not to be guilty of, but I'm sure I am<\/span> from\ntime to time). But here, in the rush just after the temple opened to\nthe scrum of photographers, there was no harmony.<\/p>\n\n

I also feel bad for him because it seems his intention was to ruin the\nview for photography, but standing there alone, he actually added a nice<\/span>\nhuman focal point. A photo<\/span> of him leads this post, but that photo and the\none directly above are the only I took<\/span> of him. I didn't<\/span> want to be the\ntraffic he was stuck in, so I moved<\/span> to another room for a while.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Eventually he moved on, and again the photo-crowd mentality took over and\nthe most photogenic part of the room was left open...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 220 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nDeserted<\/span>\nat least until you get one pixel out of frame\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I often use creative composition to take advantage of the easiest way to\nlie with the camera (“<\/span>If It\u2019s Not in Frame, It Doesn\u2019t Exist<\/a>”<\/span>),\nand in this room with these “<\/span>photographer crowd mentality”<\/span> rules in play,\nit was quite effective.<\/p>\n\n

But all good things must come to an end. One of the<\/span> photographers, after\nwaiting for a while,<\/span> sort of asked the crowd whether he could move forward\nto take a picture.<\/span> One of the<\/span> temple worker said yes, of course, go ahead\nby all means don't hesitate, and he very quickly and apologetically moved\nforward to take a shot.<\/span>..<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 50mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 3600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nNabbing a Quick<\/span> Snap<\/span>\n
Desktop-Background Versions<\/b>\n1280×<\/span>800<\/a>  ·  1680×<\/span>1050<\/a>  ·  1920×<\/span>1200<\/a>  ·  2560×<\/span>1600<\/a>  ·  2880×<\/span>1800<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

But with that the spell was broken and the dike burst. Here's the scene 10 seconds later:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>80 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 6400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

And another minute and a half later, as I was<\/span> on my way out for the last time...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 2200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I have some interest in these places as historical sites, to imagine who\nbuild them and who maintained them over the years, but 99% of my interest\nis in the ability to take and share photos. I have no<\/span> qualms or embarrassment\nabout that, but something about that morning made me very uneasy.<\/p>\n\n

It could be that the hefty admission price filtered out (almost)\neveryone but those serious about getting nice photos, and the\nresulting scrum\/mood just didn't fit the setting in my mind. I've\nhad the occasion to take photographs during a Catholic<\/span> Mass\n(examples\nhere<\/a>,\nhere<\/a>, and\nhere<\/a>), but even though\nin each case I had<\/span> the explicit permission from the priest, I still<\/span> felt uneasy because\nthe intention of Mass lies elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n

And then on top of that, to see someone who didn't get the “<\/span>cameras\nrequired”<\/span> memo bristle against the rainfall of shutter clicks made me feel\nbad for being part of the problem.<\/p>\n\n

I'd like to think that I and my friends were more respectful and\ncourteous than the bulk of the scrum there, but perhaps that's just\nme looking at myself through autumn-colored glasses.<\/p>\n\n

Anyway, that's why there will be no wigglegrams<\/a>\nfrom this room. To make one<\/span> requires a high<\/span>-speed shutter burst (10 frames\nper second for a second<\/span> or two), and given the particulars of the setting\nand my feelings, I just couldn<\/span>'t allow myself to be that much traffic.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some friends and I paid a morning visit to the Rurikoin Temple (\u7460\u7483\u5149\u9662) in north-east Kyoto on Thursday. It was my second visit, after the first two years ago when Damien introduced me to the place.<\/p>

Two years ago it was probably about 500 yen (US $5) to get in, but I heard that they stopped being open to the public for a while. This year they're back, but it's 2,000 yen (US $20) to get in. It's a Buddhist Temple and so ostensibly a religious place (whose income is tax free), but during the fall-foliage season their business is [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8,14,1,2,6,10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2492"}],"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=2492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2492\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}