So here’s an interesting building I came across the other day. What do you suppose those triangles on the roof are for? Continue Reading →
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Daily Photo: Breaking Through the Forth Wall [57/365]
I don’t know if I read it in a book or saw it in a TV show — maybe both (it does seem like a common sci-fi story idea) — but I recall the idea of a prison of the mind that someone was trapped in. Eventually he would figure out what was going on and that the “reality” he saw was all fake and when he did this reality would shatter into a new one. But it wasn’t just one fake reality, there were several, like layers of an onion all on top of one another.
Autumn Texture
Fall at the Oto River
Having grown up in a place without a river (well, we had one, but truthfully it could barely be called even a creek) I am always drawn to the Oto River and find myself walking along it frequently. Here is a shot from along side it that I took a few months ago when the leaves were just starting to change. I added some textures to make it a bit more interesting.
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Daily Photo: Shirakawago Farmhouse Woodblock [16/365]
I’ve visited a lot of places in Japan, but Shirakawago has to be one of my favorites. The farmhouses there are amazing, and it’s such a nice, peaceful area. Granted, this is made a little less so by the huge amount of tourists, but the area is so nice that you can overlook that. However, it does make photography a challenge. Most people were happy to move out of my way when I asked, but there were just so many, it proved impossible to get many shots without people in them. Oh well.
I was playing around with textures a bit again for this shot. Most of you know my feelings on textures: I like photos that use them well, but I am almost never happy with how I use them. Because of this, I normally avoid them, but occasionally I do get the urge to try my hand again. With this photo below I used a handful of textures that either were wood or had a wood feel, hence my use of “woodblock” in the photo title.
Check out other photos that use textures.
Other
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Gate to the Shogun's Shrine
Looking up at the gate of Rokusho Shrine, Ieyasu’s family shrine where only a few were allowed to enter in pre-modern times. Continue Reading →
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Into the Light
Daily HDR Photo — Into the Light
Today’s photo is a travel bus headed into a sunrise. Also, playing with textures again.
About
I took this last winter when the shorter days make setting up for sunrises a bit easier to do. Mornings are great times for photography. Everyone is still asleep, so it becomes much easier to take landscape shots or other kinds that you don’t want people in.
More texture play here. Like them?
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Mt Fuji, the most perfect mountain
Daily HDR Photo — Mt Fuji
Today’s photo is Mt Fuji, one the world’s most well-known mountains as well as a symbol of Japan.
About
The most perfect? I don’t know. But it is considered one of the most visually attractive mountains in the world due to it’s exceptionally symmetrical cone.
You all know about Mt Fuji, so no need for me to give any details about it. But perhaps some trivia: Did you know it is an active volcano?
It was a very nice cloudless day when I shot this photo, so the sky was a rich blue. Nice, but… skys without clouds are boring. This way is a little more interesting I think while still keeping the focus on the mountain.
What do you think?
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Mary’s Gold
Daily HDR Photo — Mary’s Gold
Today’s photo is a close-up of a marigold. Marigolds are just as popular in Japan as in the rest of the world, and even go by the same name (マーリゴールド).
About
I haven’t played with textures in a while, so I added some here. I like how it came out. What do you think?
Slideshow
Be sure to check out yesterday’s post for my HDR slideshow. It’s about 2 minutes long and includes some of my most popular shots.
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Golden Shrine
Daily HDR Photo — Golden Shrine
Today’s photo is of Shiratori Shrine, a relatively small neighborhood shrine. Shiratori actually means white bird, but the way the sunlight is hitting in this photo really gives it a nice, almost golden, glow, hence Golden Shrine.
Traditional formal shrine ritual
Once upon a time, there was pretty formal ritual one had to follow when visiting the shrine. Ready?
Approaching the shrine, you bow deeply (90 degrees) at the torii gate before entering. Remove your hat. As you approach the main shrine area, you must walk on the right or left side of the path — never the middle, as that is for kami-sama1.
When you enter the main shrine area, you must first head to the water basin and perform temizu, that is you must purify yourself. You can see this area on the far right in the photo. Bow respectfully, then pick up the ladle with your right hand. Wash your left hand, then your right, then rinse your mouth, rinse your feet, and finally hold the ladle upwards so that you rinse the ladle itself. This all has to be done with the same scoop of water, so don’t use a lot
All clean, approach the main shrine building. Pull the rope to ring the bell, give a donation (5 yen is popular to give, because the 5 yen coin is considered lucky), clap twice loudly to wake the kami if he is sleeping, bow deeply twice2, then put your hands together and pray. Never pray for money, which is considered very rude and likely to incur the wrath of the kami. But praying for success in business is ok. All said and done, you can leave. But be sure to turn and bow deeply one more time when you exit the final torii gate.
Whew… That’s quite a lot to handle! Don’t worry, most Japanese these days don’t know these steps either and no one follows them except for older people.
About the photo
This area is a bit tricky to photo because it is surrounded by trees, cutting off the sunlight most of the day. Midday light is much to direct and harsh for a good photo, so that leaves just a small windows of time to get decent light. Many photographers keep detailed notebooks with best times for best angles of light and so on. I’m not very good at keeping notes, though. Luckily, I happened to be in the area when I noticed the light was good. A mad dash and I made it. Yes!
I weaved some textures in to further enhance the lighting and give the sky a neat effect.
Comments/questions? What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
Misc Photo info
Click on the photo for a larger version, and go grab the original at flickr. It is completely free: Download it, share it with your friends, do whatever you want with it, just please give me credit and link back to this page.
- kami is often translated as god or gods. I prefer to translate it as spirit, in the Native American sense of the word. Some kami are indeed gods, but many have much lesser power. Think of them as a supernatural force with powers above man. ↩
- The reverse is also common. Bow twice and then clap twice. ↩
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