Black and White gives me a very different view of things. There is an air of cinema about an ordinary, modern train station, seen this way, a hint of love affairs and daily dramas that the bright colours conceal. Simplicity strips away the maya of everyday life. The emotion lingering in the 'living space' that is a train station, is more apparent when seen this way.
Kashiwa is one of those 'cities that never sleep' and i tried to capture this with the liquid light of a swishing camera. Somehow neon with it's messages is just too literal and garish until you swish it around a bit. This is the kind of 'Impressionistic', sensual photo I am aiming for- perhaps with a long way to go before perfection, but escaping the domain of cliches.
Here's something you'll probably only ever see in Japan- a bonsai exhibition, being lovingly cared for after-hours by the attendants. This was taken in the Tokyo Metropolitan Arts Center, in Ueno park, Tokyo, just after seeing an exhibition there of articles from the French Louvre.
What I love about being in Japan is the chance of seeing something like this at any moment. Yet the real meaning- in which one of those bonsais is definitely superior and worthy of the top prize- is lost in translation on me. It is a mysterious world that I will never understand, but at the same time it is all enticingly familiar.
Sometimes the simplest things are best- I spent ages looking at and trying to capture these strands of straw and the drops forming on them. It's a kind of 'tiny universe' all of it's own. Sometimes the simplest things are best- I spent ages looking at and trying to capture these strands of straw and the drops forming on them. It's a kind of 'tiny universe' all of it's own. Look through Flickr and you'll see the delicacy of water-drops are a popular subject. Like any beauty, they are momentary and stunning. In many cases, the photo may be all that remains of them.
What I love about the snow is how it transforms everything. There is a sense of fantasy to the place, of fairyland come to life. The rich colours here are typical of the D300's photos, which loves a varied, contrasty scene. Later on, I'll post an HDR version.
This flower stood out from the snow, despite looking something like a cabbage. I suppose, seen another way, it resembles a rose!
I may have been the only human in the garden, but I definitely wasn't the first being to visit that day. These were cat-prints, left by one of the many logers there (for some reason, wild cats are to be found in Japanese temple gardens- maybe something to do with catching the temple mice before they eat the rice, from years gone past?)
... but this scene impressed me the most- the pond was transformed into what looked like a rock garden, the shadows of trees making a gravelluy appearence and the stones jutting out all the more clearly.
Just yesterday I was lucky enough to have snow and also a day off, so I whizzed off to Hondoji temple, camera in hand. It was fairly early in the morning and I was the only one there, so I could tread the freshly-fallen snow in pure silence.
Like something out of Narnia, this friendly, mythical dog-like being guards the shrine in the winter snows.
Just a couple of days ago it snowed here- something that only happens a few times a year, if at all. This was taken in Suwa Jinja, where everything was transformed by the white blankets.
Using the D300's vivid colour mode, I captured this sunset reflection on an ancient rock. The colours aren't really quite like this, at least seen with the human eye; but who ever said that what we see is any nearer to reality than our wildest fantasies?
One of the lightening-bolt-shaped prayer flags so common in shrines in Japan. Yes, I like simple and with the low aperture of the 35mm F/2 this is what you can get. What's your prayer for the new year?
Light falls in Suwa Ginja, just as we paused to speak to some other visitors there. No, it isn't coming from that lantern, but it may as well be!
New life with a new lens! No sooner had I got my new 35mm F/2 AF lens, then I was in Suwa Ginga using it, along with someone I met on the train back. What you see here is a circle of purification, which you traverse in a ritual figure-8 pattern, much like the symbol for infinity, to get ready for the coming year. This is the only place I've seen one and fortunately not too far from my place- 10 minutes to be exact!
I love the place and also this new lens- which will probably spend a lot of time on my camera in the years to come.
