Beyond the Tamagawa: February 2008

Monday, February 25, 2008

Daiya River, Nikko

I cannot get this photo right. I liked the sky, but rest just seems a bit off to me no matter what. (The tree on the lower right doesn't help, but I don't particularly mean that.)

It doesn't help that my RAW software--Capture One 4 is not as good as its predecessor. Taken 17 February on one of my monthly trips to Nikko. The memory is nice even if the photos weren't.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Nakimushiyama, Nikko Japan

Close to Nikko station---about a 10 minute walk to the trailhead. The "mountain" itself is only 1104 meters high, but is a very steep climb for the last 1/3.

Nikko Japan

In the mountains about 2 hours from Tokyo. Nakimushiyama Trail. (What happened to the color in this? I guess my monitor calibration has gone off again?)

February "Blizzard" in Tokyo

Or as close to one as we get in Tokyo. It was quite cold for the area that morning. I actually got numbed fingers even though I was wearing mittens. I have not been that cold in the Tokyo area in years.

A Rare Tokyo Snow

It may only snow once or twice a year in Tokyo---or not at all. On February 3, we had the first of two snowfalls this year. This was taken in Okusawa Tokyo.

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When I was in high school, I found a photography book in the library about Japan. This was no ordinary Japan photo book as there was little in it that would would have been identified with the stereotypical Japan. As I recall, there were seascapes, landscapes, and other types of photos, but no temples, no shrines, no festivals, no geisha, and no shots of the intersection in front of Shibuya station. I was disappointed.

I wish I could recall the name of the book for I'd love to see it again. It comes close to my view of Japan. I don't think of the country or its people as weird, uniquely unique, Zen-like, or anything like that. It is a country, a people, and a culture that differs only by degree---when it does actually differ---from other countries. Just like every other country and culture on earth.

I no longer bother much with the typical "Wow, it's Japan" photos. I try to photograph things which for some reason interest me, or represent something to me, or perhaps I just like the colors, tones, shapes, or light. Perhaps disappointing for anyone looking for photos of Kinkokuji Shrine (though some are here), but those types are readily available anywhere. If nothing else, I will amuse myself with an expensive hobby.

(Since I am occasionally asked, I generally use Nikons: D300, D70s, or borrow my wife's D40. I occasionally use an old Olympus OM-1 for film, as well as Oly digicams, and a now sadly deceased Oly 35ED rangefinder.)