今日のテーマは、箱根の「芦ノ湖」。
This weeks photo shoot brings us to the shores of Ashinoko Lake in the Hakone mountains located about 100 km (approx. 62 miles) south of Tokyo.
Access by car to a parking lot that is free (as of this blog post):
If access by train, I would recommend this route which will bring you to the southeastern shore of the lake:
The lake was formed after the eruption of a volcano over 3,000 years ago. The lake is popular for fishing, sightseeing, and is home to many historical sites:
- Hakone-Jinja Shrine
- Former Summer Palace for Imperial Family
- Hakone Tokaido Checkpoint & Old Tokaido Highway
There are many more attractions in the area around the lake including hot spring resorts, famous restaurants, cafes, souvenir shops, western hotels, Japanese style inns, museums, ropeways, and much more.
The cedar trees lining the route to the shrine are about 350 to 400 years old. A wide angle lens in a portrait orientation is needed to capture the full height of these trees. This was the widest I could get without including distractions on the sides using a standard kit lens. I chose an aperture of ƒ/25 to maximize depth of field while trying to maintain a minimum amount of sharpness. The smaller aperture combined with a cloudy sky right after sunrise necessitated a 30-second exposure.
Staircase to Shinto Shrine
Early morning view of staircase leading to Hakone Jinja (箱根神社), which sits halfway up the side of a large hill that borders on the water’s edge of Lake Ashi (芦ノ湖). Originally founded in 757, the current site dates back to 1667. My favorite parts of this shrine are the rows of huge, majestic cedar trees that line the staircase and the line the old Tokaido Highway that runs nearby.
This shot did not turn out as I had expected. I chose a larger aperture to soften the tree in the background which introduced too much light from the sky behind the tree. In hindsight, I should have used an ND filter or at least an 8-stop ND grad.
Stone Lantern at Mountain Shrine
A common feature at Shinto shrines are the stone lanterns that guide visitors to the shrine. Less common are stone lanterns that have wooden parts or have parts painted in vermillion. This particular design of lantern with a square opening is called the Kasuga Style (春日型 lit. spring-sun-style), however, this lantern is bit more refined in that it has a vermillion wooden frame fit into the opening called a higuchi (火口 lit. fire-mouth) where a flame is traditionally lit.
This was another shot that proved disappointing as well. I think the original concept was good, but there were too many objects along the edges of the frame that were blurred by the breeze, the autumn colors were dull, and water surface reflected too much light in spite of using a circular polarizer. This photo was heavily edited in Lightroom. Pixel peeking will review the the awful results. Photo is OK I guess if viewed on a tiny mobile screen.
Volcanic Crater Lake and Early Autumn Foliage
Early morning shot of far coastline of Lake Ashi (Ashinoko), a lake formed by two major volcanic eruptions thousands of years ago. This shot was taken along a path that was once part of the old Tokaido “highway” linking Kyoto and Edo (former name of Tokyo).
This shot was taken at a different angle in relation to the sun, so the circular polarizer was much more effective at cutting reflected light. Unfortunately, if you zoom in on the shot, you'll notice that the foliage is not sharp since this is a 30-second exposure, which softened the water and clouds, but there was a light breeze that shook the foliage on the right.
Early Autumn Foliage
Long exposure shot in early morning at shoreline of Lake Ashi (Ashinoko). Mid-October is still a bit too early to see bright autumn colors in the Hakone Mountains.
I struggled with this composition. I wanted to convey the age of this historical building and felt that the mist in the mountaintop added to the mystery or mood of the building. Unfortunately, I don't think this emotion is conveyed to the viewer. This photo just might appear to be some random old building to the viewer. Maybe if I should have zoomed in on a particular architectural element, such as one of the lamps hanging from the corners of the roof eaves.
Historical Hot Spring Resort
View of the southern wing of Ryuguden, a hot spring resort built in 1938 as a guest house for high society visiting the shores of Ashinoko Lake, which was only accessible by boat. Now, it is open to the public and accessible by bus and car. The resort is known for serving exquisite traditional Japanese dishes and is famous for being the only resort where you can simultaneously enjoy a view of both Ashinoko Lake and Mt. Fuji while soaking in hot springs.
Finally, this is probably the only photo I feel good about from this photoshoot. The sun had risen to a height and angle that allowed the polarizer to do its job at cutting out reflections of light from the water surface. Although there is a lot of noise in the top of the frame, photo most closely expresses the ethereal emotion that this scene invoked in me.
Lake Ashinoko Shoreline
Moody and peaceful early morning long-exposure shot of a moss-covered stone on the shore of Ashinoko Lake in the mountains of Hakone, Japan.
Gear used for this photo shoot:
Camera: Pentax KP
Standard zoom lens: smc Pentax-DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 ED AL[IF] DC WR
Telephoto zoom lens: HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE
Tripod: Manfrotto MT190CXPRO4 (carbon fiber legs with quick locking clamps)
Ball head: Manfrotto Cloud XPRO Series Ballhead BHQ2 with 200PL locking plate
Video camera: Canon EOS Kiss M/M50 Double Zoom Kit
SIGMA 16mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary C017 (Canon EF-M Mount, APS-C Size, Mirrorless Only)
PolarPro 67mm QuartzLine Circular Polarizer Filter
Zhiyun Weebill-S Gimbal
Synco Wireless Microphone
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Music Tracks Licensed for this video through Epidemic Sound. Visit this link to subscribe:
"Morning Traffic" composed and performed by Raymond Grouse.
"Solemn Nights" composed and performed by Placidic.
"You Can See Us From the Moon" composed and performed by Christian Andersen.
"Noble Heart" composed and performed by Placidic.
"True Self" composed and performed by Jon Björk.
"Vivid Memories" composed and performed by August Wilhelmsson.
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