Pretty Girl in Cherry Blossoms
I started riding the wave of the cherry blossom bloom in Osaka before ending up here in Kyoto. All the news stations in Japan have a long nightly report that shows a fluttering line of pink cherry blossoms that flow across the map from the west to the east.
It's a huge national celebration -- and it's really fun to be part of the sensation. There are hundreds of tiny and large parks all over the country that have cultivated gardens of these special trees. I visited a few dozen, and I enjoyed wandering around taking photos while the blossoms fell down like gentle pink snow. Millions of Japanese people also go out to enjoy the event. This girl was standing alone under a tree, taking photos and just sort of smiling, enjoying everything. I gave her the international sign for "mind if I take a photo???" She gave me a little bow along with a mouth-covering giggle before relaxing into a smile.
from the blog www.stuckincustoms.com
Tags: Japan Kyoto stuckincustoms treyratcliff HDR high dynamic range photography photograph stuck customs stuckincustoms.com trey ratcliff blog travel travelblog photographyblog hdrtutorial world asia 祇園 district Kyōto Honshu Osaka-kobe-kyoto okk 梅宮神社 Honshū kansai prefecture 京都府 Kyōto-fu portrait girl pretty smile eyes bokeh cherry focus blossom blossoms cherry blossoms festival celebration pink white delicate flower tree april 2010 Nikon d3s
Japan Charity Week!
The bidding started at $49, and now it's up to over $600. Get in there and bid! All the revenue goes to the Red Cross for Japan.
Girl in Japan
While walking down a busy street in Kyoto, most of the people were in regular clothes. And, by "regular clothes", I mean that the Japanese are often quite stylish dressers. There is something unique about the Japanese style that varies from other Asian cultures. They have a different kind of fashion sense, and it's usually very smart. They dress in a lot of layers, fine cloths, nice textures, and somewhat fanciful. Maybe you know what I mean.
On occasion, I would see traditional girls wearing kimonos, drifting in and out of various shops. This girl was taking small steps while leaving the shop,
from the blog www.stuckincustoms.com
Tags: Japan Kyoto stuckincustoms treyratcliff HDR high dynamic range photography photograph stuck customs stuckincustoms.com trey ratcliff blog travel travelblog photographyblog hdrtutorial world asia 祇園 district Kyōto Honshu Osaka-kobe-kyoto okk 梅宮神社 Honshū kansai prefecture 京都府 Kyōto-fu girl kimono traditional kanji lamp lantern paper purple lavender april 2010 Nikon d3s
A Silent Evening in Kyoto Under the Cherry Blossoms
The beautiful white cherry blossoms were in full bloom and their gentle petals would fall down like snow, collecting on the ground.
To get here to Kyoto, I took the bus from Osaka -- and this was not the most simple thing in the world ...
Read the rest of this entry, including an interview with Michael Zhang from PetaPixel, here.
from the blog www.stuckincustoms.com
Tags: HDR high dynamic range photography photograph stuck customs stuckincustoms stuckincustoms.com trey ratcliff treyratcliff blog travel travelblog photographyblog hdrtutorial world japan asia 祇園 Kyoto district Kyōto Honshu Osaka-kobe-kyoto okk 梅宮神社 Honshū kansai prefecture 京都府 Kyōto-fu street quiet evening night flowers flower cherry blossom cherry blossoms sakura 桜 櫻 さくら hanami mono no aware Somei Yoshino 花見 桜前線 sakurazensen yozakura 夜桜 lamp lantern traditional modern confluence shops Nikon d3x april 2010
Why are the stairs green in this? Anyone, Anyone? Bueller? Voodoo economics is the answer.
Instead of answering directly, I'll let you clever readers figure out the answer and put it down in the comments... I have faith in you guys to figure it out!
This was taken in Kyoto, Japan on a rainy evening. This is one of the main temples that stay open late into the night. It's one of my favorite times to come, because the crowds are gone and everything is extra-eerie. It makes it even more special while I'm listening to my special playlists on my ipod. It really gets me in the mood to make these sorts of shots.
from the blog www.stuckincustoms.com
Tags: Japan HDR high dynamic range photography photograph stuck customs stuckincustoms stuckincustoms.com trey ratcliff treyratcliff blog travel travelblog photographyblog hdrtutorial world asia 祇園 Kyoto district Kyōto Honshu Osaka-kobe-kyoto okk 梅宮神社 Honshū kansai prefecture 京都府 Kyōto-fu Fushimi 伏見区 Fushimi-ku ward honden 本殿 shinden 神殿 shōden 昇殿 Shinto haiden heiden fushimi inari-taisha 伏見稲荷大社 kami 稲荷大神 Inari Ōkami Oinari September 2009 Nikon d3x
This was my second trip to Kyoto, and I decided to return to this amazing treetop temple. At night, the delicate lights turn on and everything comes alive. It's really brilliant... one of those scenes that makes you think the world is really a wonderful place.
This was right in the peak of the cherry blossom season. The soft pink of the blossoms grabs and reflects the light into an unbelievable prism. It's all like something out of a dream, and I've done my best to bring it back to life here and on the blog.
Read more, including some exciting info on the upcoming Burning Man photowalk here at the entry at stuckincustoms.com
Tags: Japan Kyoto stuckincustoms treyratcliff HDR high dynamic range photography photograph stuck customs stuckincustoms.com trey ratcliff blog travel travelblog photographyblog hdrtutorial world asia 祇園 district Kyōto Honshu Osaka-kobe-kyoto okk 梅宮神社 Honshū kansai prefecture 京都府 Kyōto-fu cherry blossom tree traditional history evening sunset surreal otherworldly calm scenic trees foliage growth burningman april 2010 Nikon d3x