More Autumn Colors in Yoyogi Park

I have more photos from last fall and some from the winter and New Year that I have to share. Perhaps one day I'll catch up...

Here's shot from a autumn walk through Yoyogi Park. It's always refreshing to take a walk in the park!

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ f8, ISO 200,1/200 sec.

Autumn Cocoon

I have a special fondness for the Cocoon Tower in Shinjuku. It just pushes the right visual buttons and is one of the many iconic buildings in Tokyo designed by Tange Associates, founded by Kenzo Tange.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f4,.0 ISO 100, 1/800 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f4,.0 ISO 100, 1/320 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f4,.0 ISO 100, 1/60 sec.

Autumn colors comes to Yoyogi National Gymnasium and Yoyogi Koen

Still posting photos from my backlog while I've been laid up with my broken ankle. Tonight, I've made it to my photos from November.

Autumn colors came to Yoyogi National Gymnasium and Yoyogi Koen in early November. There will be more autumn colors from 2016 coming in future posts...

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f8.0, ISO 100, 1/320 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f8.0, ISO 100, 1/320 sec.

Two More Autumn Higanbana, Photography Insecurities about White Balance

Here are two more higanbana that were blooming along a residential back alley in my Yoyogi neighborhood. Although in Japan these flowers may be associated with death and the dead, I've always enjoyed these flowers and look forward to their autumn arrival.

On a separate note, I have many insecurities about my photography, and am always looking to improve my in-camera and post-processing technique and workflow. Looking at my higanbana posts, white (and color balance) varies a little more than usual although some of these shots were taken at approximately the same time (this post). The slightly different angle of light result in a slightly different "color" balance due to the clouds, shade and nearby reflective surfaces. The camera and post-processing software may try to auto-balance but usually fail without human assistance and result in unnaturally warm or cool colors, and sometimes unusual color casts (perhaps due to a nearby green wall or ceiling). Although I generally like neutral to slightly warm images, I try to limit my post-processing and strive to reproduce a natural color palette that that reflects the actual conditions.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f8.0, ISO 100, 1/80 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f5.6, ISO 100, 1/60 sec.

Last Autumn's Higanbana

As summer fades, green stems break the soil and by late-September, Red Spider Lilies or Higanbana are blooming in my quiet Yoyogi neighborhood.

Back in the present, there's beautiful light and a sunny winter day waiting outside in Tokyo; however, I'm still hobbled for another 3-weeks due to my fractured ankle. Perhaps, I'll make my way outside later on crutches even for a short hop, but until then I'll spend some time editing and re-processing my backlog and posting. Just don't get used to it. My bloggin productivity will probably taper off again once I'm on my feet and the sakura are in bloom.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f2.8, ISO 100, 1/160 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f4.0, ISO 100, 1/320 sec.

Lake Kawaguchi Kappa Statues

At Lake Kawaguchi I spotted this strange pair of kappa statues amid the warm autumn foliage.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ f8, ISO 200,1/200 sec.

Golden Gingko Tree in Yoyogi Koen

Last week at the entrance to Yoyogi Koen, I spotted the first gingko turning yellow. Autumn colors on a gingko in Mid-October are not the norm here especially with the warm and pleasant autumn weather in Tokyo the last week or two. This specimen looked relatively young, so perhaps it was looking to get an early start on its elders?

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f4.0, ISO 100, 1/50 sec.

New Otani Gardens in December

The last few weeks have been very busy and I haven't had the chance to take photos at leisure. So I am revisiting photos that I took at the end of last year, and making tweaks in Capture NX2 to make them presentable. I usually like to have photos well composed in camera and exposure setting just right to minimize the amount of post-processing required. Due to the flat lighting or other issues back in December, I didn't post; however, with a few tweaks they look pretty good.

These two photos were taken after the very delicious Sunday brunch in the Japanese Gardens at the New Otani Hotel in Chiyoda.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ f2.8, ISO 100, 1/50 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ f4.0, ISO 100, 1/15 sec.

Daibutsu Hiking Trail - Kita-Kamakura, Tōkei-ji and Jōchi-ji - Part 3

This set of photos from my New Year hike reveals some behind the scenes processing. I used to use Adobe Photoshop, but for the last few years I have been using Nikon NX2 to process the RAW files (NEF) from my Nikon. Usually I avoid over-processing since it slows down my workflow, and try to get the final shot in camera. However for first shot of the bell at Tōkei-ji and the two shots from Jōchi-ji, I wasn't satisfied and needed to bend the digital pixels to my will.

The temple bell or Bonshō at Tōkei-ji just didn't "pop" as I thought in would. The usual adjustments to curves and levels, contrast, and exposure, left this image a little too flat. However, I then tried B&W and finally selected a sepia version as the preferred version of this image. What do you think of my choice? Does this have more impact than the color version?

Nikon D600 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 16 mm, f4.0, ISO 800, 1/125 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 16 mm, f4.0, ISO 800, 1/125 sec.

The next shot is some colorful autumn maple leaves. The leaves remaining on branches were thinning out and starting to lose their vivid fall colors. The colors in the original RAW file were also a little flat. The processing was a little more straight forward, curves were adjusted, color saturation boosted and contrast increased.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 35 mm, f4.5, ISO 400, 1/20 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 35 mm, f4.5, ISO 400, 1/20 sec.

The last shot is of Hotei, god of happiness at Jōchi-ji temple. The highlights in the original are almost blown out; however, since I shoot in RAW, there is still some hidden detail that can be coaxed out of the digital pixels in the file. The work on this image is basically a straight forward dodge and burn job. Darken the highlights, but not too much, and keep the shadow areas from receiving any additional exposure. In NX2, it is fairly easy to select and mask the areas to be dodged or burned-in using color control points.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 31 mm, f5.6, ISO 400, 1/1250 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 31 mm, f5.6, ISO 400, 1/1250 sec.

Midtown Maple Leaf Illumination

The Christmas Illuminations are up at Tokyo Midtown. Not sure if I fully understand the theme this year, but according to the Midtown event website the theme is "Midtown Cruise," allowing you to journey away from Earth and out into Space!

Although the contrast and sharpness are good considering the challenging conditions, the colors tend to blend a little and the maple leaf takes a back seat to the bokeh from the Christmas lights. The performance by the 24 mm f2.0 AI Nikkor is amazing considering this glass is about 35-years old.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ f2.8, ISO 1600,1/80 sec.