{"id":768,"date":"2008-03-18T23:54:37","date_gmt":"2008-03-18T14:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2008-03-18\/768"},"modified":"2008-03-18T23:54:37","modified_gmt":"2008-03-18T14:54:37","slug":"kyoto-higashiyama-hanatoro-lightup-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2008-03-18\/768","title":{"rendered":"Kyoto Higashiyama “Hanatoro” Lightup Event"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f\/1.4 — 0.3 sec, f<\/span>\/2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nRiver of Bamboo Lanterns<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I thought today was going to be a continuation<\/span> of being overwhelmed with photo\nopportunities<\/a>, but luckily, my subconscious saved me from too much\ndamage by arranging for me to forget to charge my camera batteries before\nheading out to the target-rich environment (photographically speaking) that\nis the Kyoto Higashiyama Hanatoro night lightup event.<\/p>\n\n

It's going on every evening for a week<\/span> or so in the Higashiyama\n(“Eastern Mountain”) district of Kyoto just south of where I live,<\/span> where\nquaint streets are closed to all but pedestrians and rickshaw, and lined\nwith lanterns and the occasional brightly-lit display of ikebana<\/a>. To add to<\/span> the\nglow, temples along the way illuminate themselves with their own lanterns,\nfloodlit trees, etc. It makes<\/span> for an exceedingly warm and nice atmosphere,\nat least during this weekday evening that wasn't heinously crowded. (The Wikipedia\npage<\/a> for the event says that over a million<\/span> people will visit during\nthe 10-day-run, and I believe<\/span> it.)<\/p>\n\n

Here's scans from a four-page pamphlet about the event:\n\n\nthese scans: page\n1<\/a> · page\n2<\/a> · page\n3<\/a> · page\n4<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

The light-up area is just south of me, so when I\nvisited<\/span> with my friend Britto this evening, we entered into the lightup\narea from the north. Unfortunately, the north third of so of the area is\nreally lame (relatively speaking; it's still wonderful, but nothing at all\nlike what follows after you pass south through Maruyama park).<\/p>\n\n

Unfortunately2<\/sup>, I didn't<\/span> realize how much nicer it would be\nlater on, so I wasted<\/span> a lot<\/span> of time in the lame area at the beginning,\nonly to find that it got better and better (as my battery got lower and\nlower). The big “doh!” moment came when I found<\/span> that my spare battery was\nnot charged. Oops, that's a first.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

I have a visceral dislike for Maruyama Koen Park (mostly because it is\nthe poster child for the ugly\nside of cherry-blossom viewing<\/a>, but it was really nice this evening. It had a<\/span> lot of displays of “modern ikebana” (\u73fe\u4ee3\u751f\u82b1),<\/span> which would normally\nhave me running in the opposite direction, but because most dealt with warm\nlights in interesting ways, it was really nice.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 31 mm — 1.1 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nBamboo and Clothespins<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 20 mm — 2 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nStack of Small Wooden Blocks<\/span>\n(perhaps eight feet tall)\n<\/div>\n\n

I really hope that the wooden blocks that make up the item shown above are glued together.<\/p>\n\n

The “River of Bamboo Lanterns” were clusters of cut bamboo with candles\nin them, filling much of a small<\/span> stream that runs through the park. Toward\nthe start upriver, they were spaced out and washed in soft green light from\na lanterns<\/span> along the banks. Here's a three<\/span>-second exposure...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 38 mm — 3 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nNot a Whitebalance<\/span> Problem<\/span>\nit really was that green\n<\/div>\n\n

As it progressed, the green lanterns got fewer and the\ncandle-filled-bamboo became more. There was a stepping<\/span>-stone bridge cutting\nthrough at one point; in the photo below, you can see a man<\/span> crouching on\nthe bridge, trying to get a shot<\/span> with his point-n-shoot...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 55 mm — 1.5 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

This next photo is (to overuse a word<\/span>) lame compared to the glow of\nseeing them. It was nice<\/span>; this photo is bland.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 17 mm — 2.5 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nLights and Twigs<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The blue thing you can sort of see in the background was either\nsomeone's “modern ikebana” display, or a bug<\/span>-zapping light. I'm not sure<\/span>\nwhich.<\/p>\n\n

I would have liked to show more of the pieces on display, but my camera\nbattery died. Oh well. Britto and I continued<\/span> south sans camera, and found\nthat it just kept getting nicer and nicer.<\/p>\n\n

\n\n

The car in this next photo (which I took<\/span> in Maruyama Park) had nothing\nto do with the evening's events, I think,<\/span> but was parked off in one corner\nof the, er, park. I guess<\/span> if you have enough money to afford a custom<\/span> car\nlike this, you're allowed to use a famous<\/span> thousand-year-old public park as\nyour private garage.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 17 mm — 6 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\n“I Have<\/span> More Money Than You”<\/span>\nMuch much<\/u> more<\/i>\n<\/div>\n\n

This is a six-second exposure of a scene<\/span> that was very dark. The only light<\/span> was the wash from one of the ikebana displays. I can see<\/span> much more in\nthis photo than I could<\/span> when I took<\/span> it. This was a very<\/span> stylized modern\ncar meant to evoke a feeling<\/span> of the old 1930s (?) classics. I should<\/span> go\nback tomorrow when I can<\/span> actually see it clearly. (My batteries should be\ncharged by then.)<\/p>\n\n

Finally, here's the first shot I took<\/span> this evening, albeit somewhat stylized:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f\/1.4 — 6 sec<\/span>, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nStylized Row of Lanterns<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The original photo was unexpectedly bland, so on a whim<\/span> I applied<\/span> a\nLightroom<\/span> preset I'd made by following these instructions on a Scott Kelby blog\npost<\/a> that attempts to reproduce the\n“Dave Hill” look<\/a>. The results<\/span> were highly<\/i> dependent on the\nwhite-balance setting I chose,<\/span> because the wall wash washed at some points\nwith incandescent floodlights, and at others with yellow street lights. In the end<\/span>, I chose<\/span> to leave it at whatever the camera's auto setting\nselected. I think<\/span> it's at least a little<\/span> interesting.<\/p>\n\n

Continued here...<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I thought today was going to be a continuation of being overwhelmed with photo opportunities, but luckily, my subconscious saved me from too much damage by arranging for me to forget to charge my camera batteries before heading out to the target-rich environment (photographically speaking) that is the Kyoto Higashiyama Hanatoro night lightup event.<\/p>

It's going on every evening for a week or so in the Higashiyama (\"Eastern Mountain\") district of Kyoto just south of where I live, where quaint streets are closed to all but pedestrians and rickshaw, and lined with lanterns and the occasional brightly-lit display of ikebana. [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768"}],"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=768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}