Prince Arisugawa Taruhito at Arisugawa Miya Kinen Kōen

Not much to say about this photo, but this is the statue of Prince Arisugawa Taruhito in the plaza at Arisugawa Miya Kinen Kōen. I took a photo of him early in spring surrounded by bare trees, soon this scene will look very similar.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f.0, ISO 400, 1/250 sec.

Thanksgiving Walk and Autumn Maple Leaves

Although I live in Japan, my office follows the US holiday calendar. "American" Thanksgiving Day on the fourth Thursday of November is off, vice "Japanese" Labor Thanksgiving Day which was on Monday. My wife and kids get neither holiday and have to go to work and school, so I get a free autumn day to enjoy.

Although it has been wet the last few days, Thanksgiving morning was beautiful. After dropping of the family at school visited Arisugawa Park to enjoy the fall colors. There are many ginkgo and maple trees showing their beautiful autumn golden yellows and iridescent reds.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f4.0, ISO 800, 1/250 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f4.0, ISO 100, 1/80 sec.

Red and Green Points on One Japanese Maple Leaf

While enjoying a fall afternoon with my daughter in Arisugawa Park, I happened across a Japanese Maples withe leaves that were just starting to turn from green to shades of orange and red. However, there were several leaves on this tree that appeared to be changing colors one point at a time. Very curious and very unusual. I had never seen a leaf do this before.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f5.6, ISO 100, 1/40 sec.

It was strange, since I had never seen one like this before; however, there were several more on this tree. Here's another one...

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f4.0, ISO 100, 1/80 sec.

More Invaders in Shibuya!

I was walking around north of Shibuya Station on a beautiful Saturday morning waiting for my son to finish his Aikido lesson, and came across more work from the street artist known as the Invader. This wasn't the first time I had see this particular work, but it was the first time I had my Nikon with me.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f8.0, ISO 100, 1/30 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f4.5, ISO 100, 1/250 sec.

Concert for three

In September, my family visited Inokashira Park (井の頭恩賜公園 Inokashira Onshi Kōen) located in western Tokyo, Japan. It's famous for it's cherry blossoms in the spring and a large pond with row boats and paddle boats. We were there in late September, so no cherry blossoms. The paddle boats, a small zoo and assorted musicians, artists and street performers were the primary attractions for us and our children.

We encountered this gentleman performer really working it even for such a small audience! He had great spirit and had great character. I should have taken more photographs, but had to move along.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF @ 200 mm, f3.2, ISO 200, 1/12500 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF @ 200 mm, f3.2, ISO 200, 1/3200 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF @ 120 mm, f3.2, ISO 200, 1/600 sec.

The Great Eggfly (or Hypolimnas Bolina)

On a previous trip with the family to Saipan in 2011, I spotted the Great Eggfly (or hypolimnas bolina) and captured some images of several with my trusty but now retired D700.

Nikon D700 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f3.2, ISO 800, 1/320 sec.

Nikon D700 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f3.2, ISO 800, 1/200 sec.

Another Spectacular Saipan Sunset

Hope that you don't get bored looking at sunsets. There are only so many you get to witness in a lifetime. Hopefully, many will be as spectacular as this Saipan sunset. With only a few distant clouds this one had amazing colors and produced beautiful crepuscular rays. There's a similar photo posted from Michigan at the APOD website (Crepuscular Rays Over Lake Michigan).

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f5.6, ISO 400, 1/25 sec.

Papilio Polytes in Saipan

There are many varieties of tropical butterflies in Saipan. They are always flitting about the resort from flower to flower at all times of the day. I've spotted several varieties of the Common Mormon (or Papilio Polytes). This is a common species of swallowtail butterfly found in Asia.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f4.0, ISO 100, 1/80 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f4.0, ISO 100, 1/200 sec.