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.

Spring Maple in Moto-Azabu

This morning, the family was my children's elementary school annual family flea market. I have been borrowing my co-worker's Nikon D800 and used it along with my Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF to take photos of my son's taiko performance. None of the taiko photos struck me as exceptional, but this shot of a beautiful Japanese maple tree at the entrance to the school caught my fancy.

Nikon D800 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f1.4, ISO 500, 1/8 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.

Autumn is here (Part 3) - Rikugi-en Again

Here is another beautiful maple from Rikugi-en that that was taken several weeks ago. The color was boosted in Nikon Capture NX2. Hopefully, I didn't overdo it.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF @ 200 mm, f4.0, ISO 400, 1/320 sec.

Autumn is here

Autumn is finally showing it's full colors. Two weeks ago, the the Ginkgo Matsuri at the Meiji Jingu Gaien kicked-off and will be celebrating the golden goodness along Ichou Namiki (いちょう並木 or Ginkgo Avenue) until 16 December. We've also been though Yasukuni Shrine and Kitanomaru Park or Kōen (北の丸公園).

This maple was from Rikugien Garden.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f5.6, ISO 100, 1/160 sec.

This tree was spotted in Arisugawanomiya Park.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 35 mm, f5.6, ISO 100, 1/160 sec.

Autumn Colors at Rikugien

There's a lovely traditional Japanese garden a short walk from Komagome station on the JR Yamanote or the Namboku subway lines.  It's called Rikugien and was opened over three hundred years ago.  There are good directions and more information available at Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association website.

The family went for a stroll through the park on a beautiful lazy Saturday afternoon.  There were plenty of protests from my son and daughter who thought that this was not a proper park since there was no playground equipment .  They are 7 and 5 years old, respectively, so it is a valid point but my wife and I did not yield to their protests and we were able to make one circuit of the park and I was able to take a few photos.

There's a signboard at the entrance with enough information and to navigate and appreciate the history of the park.

The maples were putting on quite a display of vibrant autumn reds, oranges and yellows.

The reflections in the stream circling the park were beautiful.

Maple Leaves and my 20-year old Nikon lenses

I'm still taking photos of maple leaves. I find the light shining through the leaves incredibly beautiful.  This shot was taken with one of the older lenses in my kit.

I remember purchasing the Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 AF (non-D) that took this image in the late 80's from Precision Photo in Boca Raton.  I think I paid about $800 used for it and have gotten over 20-years of service out of it.  The aperture is starting to stick, so it can't stop down past about f5.6 without overexposing.  Oh well, maybe it's about time to consider retiring this one and getting the new two ring Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF?

This one was taken about a month ago when the new leaves were just opening. I used my even older 85mm f1.4 AI-S manual focus to take this image.  I remember buying this lens with a good friend at a used camera equipment show at the North Miami Armory.  I traded a Nikon 2002 SLR and $200 to get this beautiful piece of glass.

Maple Leaves and Nikon Lenses

I've been shooting a lot with my Nikon 16-35mm f/4G.  It's a lovely lens.  Sharp and contrasty, but heavy.  When you are shooting with it, the extra bulk and weight is not really noticeable.  The lens handles really well, balances nicely and focuses fast and surprisingly close on my Nikon D700.

However, this setup is too large to fit into my Kata KT DW-495 Digital Waist-Pack.  So if I am heading on a walk around the city with the camera and lens in the waist-pack, I usually have my Nikon 50mm f/1.4G or my Nikon 85mm f1.4 AI-S mounted with 16-35mm f/4 in a side pouch.  When I feel that I am going to get the most use out of it I'll switch to the bulky wide zoom.  The Kata waist pack makes it easy to access my camera and switch lenses when needed.

This past weekend, I was out with the family at Yoyogi Park.  I decided to pack light and mounted the Nikon 20mm f/2.8D AFinstead of the 16-35mm f4.  This prime can take amazing photos, but it has several limitations that will keep the 16-35mm f/4 on my camera most of time.

When the wife and kids took off on rented bikes, I took this photo of a maple with fresh spring leaves. The flare is little distracting, but the contrast and sharpeness are really good at f/5.6.  The 16-35mm would have handled the flare better and given me the option of a tighter shot.

Spring Trees

The parks in Tokyo aren't very big when compared to other cities, but they are very beautiful.

I spotted some beautiful spring trees at Himonya Park.  I thought that it was unusual to see the red and green varieties of the Japanese Maple in spring. 

Here are some green maple leaves.

Here are some of the red variety.

Here are some spring Ginkgo leaves.