Tamagawa Autumn

Every year in early November, I walk the 20 minutes or so to the Tama River specifically looking for this type of scene. It usually happens around 4-4:30 on a certain part of the river just as the sun's angle gets low enough to backlight only parts of the river and vegetation. It's an indication for me that fall has really begun in Tokyo.

Tamayakers

What th' hell?

As I have observed ad nauseum, there ain't a lot of nature---nature by US, Canada, Australian, and other Western countries standards*---in Tokyo, but there are still places where one can experience the outdoors. Sometimes it takes a little imagination, and you may have to ignore some inconvenient realities, but that shouldn't stop anyone.

On Thursday, I went down to the river and found a group of college-age kayakers, whom I'd guess belong to a kayak "circle" at their university. These sorts of clubs/circles are one of the most important parts of university life in Japan since it's said to be more about learning relationships and positions in society than actually studying academic subjects. I've friends who consider their university years as a four-year vacation. Folks need some time off after years of memorizing for the entrance exams for college.

Goth girls kayak too.

Heading toward the river for well-organized pre-kayaking stretching and running.

Don't tell anyone, but the girl was going faster with less apparent effort...

In the direction of Kawasaki.

*Japanese seem to tolerate and accept a lot more direct human involvement in nature and alteration of nature for improved aesthetics than Americans (US & Canada) and perhaps other westerners do. This is not only my observation, but something I have read or deduced from several sources.

An afternoon walk along the Tamagawa

I don't know how to describe the weather in Tokyo this year, but I would call it unusual to say the least.

The sky was beautiful yesterday after 2-3 days of wind and some rain which made for some interesting light and conditions. So I took a walk along the now intimate-to-me Tamagawa near my home.Lovers near Shinmaruko bridge.

This young fellow and I kept running into each other---literally.

"I can ride it myself, ma" he decided a little further up the river.

As he continued to ride, I went back to looking for photos in the amazing light.

And as I did, the young fellow with the unjustified-self-confidence circled around to where I was. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him approach and then topple off his bicycle-with-training-wheels at my feet.

"Excuse me," I said. He got up and said nothing while looking at me with a bit of concern in his eyes.

"Are you OK?" I asked as I handed him his mother's hat which had dropped out of the basket on the front of his bike.

"I'm OK," he said, relieved that I would not eat him. As I handed him another bag that he had dropped, his mother ran over and said "Thank you" in English.

I didn't know exactly what she was thanking me for, but since such events are never simple matters in Tokyo, I replied, "You're welcome." Thus ended this encounter between the young guy and his ma and the forever-foreigner.

Jogging along the river.

I got back to Denenchofu station a little earlier than planned, and the light was still excellent. In a month or so, there will be one main type of weather. Rain.

Summer Winds

Rainy season is officially over, I heard. It seems to have be a bit windier than usual recently and it ain't even close to typhoon season yet. It has made for some very interesting skies and clouds.

Spring monochrome

Like most places in central Honshuu above about 1000 meters, Nyohosan is still in natural monochrome in the spring. No cherry blossoms here. These were taken 24 April and it will be several weeks before much green returns.

Nyohosan late afternoon

On the way back down, not far from a some lessor visited shrines. The return to town is always a bit depressing, and the train back to Tokyo even more so. It had been a nice cool day with some snow flurries earlier in the day. I regretted not bringing my camping gear....

Not yet halfway up

but finally solitude---something not easy to come by so close to Tokyo. Nyohosan in Nikko Japan. Not one of the top 100 mountains to climb in Japan and thus fewer people normally around compared to more popular hill like nearby Nantaisan. That's why I chose it and this route. The first time, I did not encounter a single person. This time, only one and he was listening to a squirrel bark. I did find pheasant (unexpected in this area), and plenty of deer sign. I saw no bear tracks or droppings---never have around here, but I noticed the guy I met was wearing a bear bell.



Not a well-marked trail, either. Good.

No luck

There are always a number of fishermen along the Tamagawa. Some even fish during rare snowstorms in Tokyo. Some folks claim the fish are safe to eat as the river is claimed to be relatively clean, but others who live in the area cringe at the thought as the image of the river is anything but clean.

Nakimushiyama Trail

Last Saturday when it was supposed to be cloudly with snow and -5 Celsius at the most. They got the temperature right.

Trouble coming

From 2007 at Utsukushigahara in Nagano.

The end of the day

Tamagawa river between Tamagawadaikoen and Shinmaruko, Tokyo/Kanagawa, Japan. Taken with the D300 and Tamron 200-500mm@500mm.

So far, the latest firmware update has made the camera a different beast concerning autofocus. It isn't perfect, but finally I can feel confident using any autofocus mode under certain conditions. It also focuses much more quickly, even with the Tamron 200-500. Birds in flight are now much, much easier to get. It's almost like having a new camera. Knock on wood.

This spring has been the rainiest in 120 years. Things are becoming even more moss covered than usual. Rainy season has started 20 days early in Kanto.

This photo is from Kyoto, in Kansai. Still plenty rainy there too.

300,000 years old

The island that this heron (called a blue heron in Japanese, but looks like a grey heron) is said to be about 300,000 years old. Formed of lava, it is often underwater. According to an old guy I spoke to, it is believed to "have been the basis of the Tamagawa."

Daiya River at sunset

Saturday, 22 March. Nikko, Japan.

I could spend hours here near sunset. This one was not spectacular, but it was enjoyable, nonetheless.

D300 problems

As noted below, I had one instance of the D300 temporarily refusing to autofocus. At the time I was using the Tamron 200-500mm. I have not had a recurrence of the problem as of yet. SInce that time, I have taken well over 120 photos.

I did clean the areas contacts on all lenses as well as the camera. We shall see...

D300 problems start to appear?

Sunday evening after an afternoon of waterfowl photography on the Tama River. As you may notice in the upper photo, the birds were leaving at this time and so was I.

Unfortunately, I experienced an auto-focus failure with the D300. It stopped focusing with my Tamron 200-500mm while I was taking photos of an egret. First I noticed that the AE/L button suddenly started focusing my camera when I pushed it to lock exposure. I had turned off the auto-focus lock feature for this button in the menu. (It is possible that I accidentally hit the AF lock button)

Then the lens would try to focus---I could hear the motor---but nothing happened. I put in a fresh battery. Nothing. I removed and reattached the lens. Nothing. I put a Nikkor 18-70mm on and after failing for a few minutes it began to focus again. I tried with my Tokina 12-24 and it worked. I put the Tamron back on and it was working again.

There have been occasional reports on the internet of this problem. It doesn't seem to be widespread but it exists. I am hoping mine was just a one time fluke, but since I have been having a few other problems with it too, I wonder.

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.

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.