Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Mt. Kintoki

今日のテーマは、静岡県の「金時山」。

撮影スポットの写真撮影しながら、カメラ・撮影技術・撮影スポットの英会話を楽しもう！

 ぜひＩＤＣＳ英会話の『Pix & English』をご参考ください！


I left home early in the morning in hopes of catching a clear shot of Mt. Fuji with some snow on the peak. 

The climb up Mt. Kintoki (金時山 Kintokiyama), which also goes by the name of Mt. Ashigara (足柄山 Ashigarasyama) for some reason have yet to understand. Google Maps show the name of Ashigara, but when you reach the peak, the sign says Kintokiyama. A bit confusing to say the least.

At the trailhead, there is a nice parking lot with an even nicer restroom with faucets outside that you can use to wash your boots when you come back down the mountain. There were only about 8 parking spaces (free), so you need to arrive early enough in the morning to catch a space.

The mountain is not that high at only 1,212 m (3,976 ft). However, most of the trail consists of short, steep switchbacks, which require some stamina and decent hiking shoes. If you are a seasoned hiker, this peak would be relatively easy to reach.

From the top of the mountain, the weather was incredibly clear, and warm although the occasional breeze was bitter cold.

I set up the camera for 4 shots as noted below. All the shots were taken from the peak. I was in a bit of rush to avoid running out the clock and having to hike down in the dark after sunset.

Google Maps Links:
  • Parking Lot & Restroom:
    • 72H3+62 Hakone, Kanagawa
  • Peak of Mt. Kinotoki  (Mt. Ashigara):
    • 72Q3+VW Hakone, Kanagawa
  • Suruga Bay:
    • 3RXQ+PV Numazu, Shizuoka
  • Lake Ashi (Ashinoko):
    • 72Q3+VV Hakone, Kanagawa
  • Owakudani:
    • 72Q3+VV Hakone, Kanagawa
  • Mt. Fuji:
    • 9P7M+VF Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi

Reflections on the Bay

Late afternoon sun reflecting off of the ocean waters of Suruga Bay (120 km / 75 mi) located southwest of Tokyo as seen from summit of Mt. Kintoki, Japan.

Ashinoko Lake (芦ノ湖): Crater lake in Hakone Mountains
Mountain Lake

View of Lake Ashi (elev. 723 m / 2,372 ft) in Hakone mountains as seen from summit of Mt. Kintoki (elev. 1,212 m / 3,976 ft) in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.

Active Volcanic Zone

View from peak of Kintokiyama of Owakudani, an active volcanic zone where sulfurous fumes escape into the air as cable cars pass overhead, and is a major source of natural hot spring water for onsen resorts in Hakone.

Mount Fuji

View of Mt. Fuji, located 26.28 km (16.33 mi) northwest from peak of Kintokiyama.

Below is a list of the equipment I take with me on photo shoots.

Camera Gear:

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 Gear:

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
RODE Road Wireless GO Wireless Microphone System WIGO

Filters & Filter Systems:

PolarPro QuartzLine ND 64 Filter - 67mm (ND64 6-stop reduction in light)
PolarPro QuartzLine ND1000 Filter - 67mm (ND1000 10-stop reduction in light)
PolarPro QuartzLine ND100k Filter - 67mm (ND100K 15-stop reduction in light)
PolarPro QuartzLine Circular Polarizer - 67mm
PolarPro Summit | Landscape Filter System Custom Kit (Core, Thread Plate, ND4-GR filter, ND8-GR filter, Circular Polarizer)

Pack:

F-stop Tilopa 50L Adventure and Travel Camera Backpack (Essentials Bundle: backpack, rain cover, internal camera unit)
F-stop Tripod Bag (large)

*Links to Amazon are affiliated links, which means that if you choose to purchase an item that I may get a small commission, which has no effect on your purchase price whatsoever.

Music Tracks Licensed for this video through Epidemic Sound. Visit this link to subscribe: 


"I Remember Well" composed by Cody Butler and performed by Cody Francis.
“Cotton Dreams” composed by Niclas Gustavsson and performed by Elm Lake.
“Just Look at You” composed by Erik Häusler and performed by 369.
“Bermuda” composed by Henrik Olsson and performed by Ooyy.

Creative Commons License
Pix4Japan by Iketani, Daisei is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license are available at Pix4Japan.
at No comments:
Location: Mount Ashigara, Kuwagi, Oyama, Sunto District, Shizuoka 410-1315, Japan

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Yokohama MM21

今日のテーマは、横浜市の「みなとみらい」。

撮影スポットの写真撮影しながら、カメラ・撮影技術・撮影スポットの英会話を楽しもう！

 ぜひＩＤＣＳ英会話の『Pix & English』をご参考ください！


For this photoshoot, we take a walking tour of the Yokohama waterfront district called Minato Mirai 21. The first shot was taken from a pedestrian bridge next to the newly built Yokohama city hall. 
  • Google Maps Plus Cod: CJXM+X9 Yokohama, Kanagawa
In the foreground we have the Ooka-gawa River leading up to the main subject being the Landmark Tower rising high above the cityscape.

This shot was taken late in the evening and had to be timed to when there were no pedestrians walking across the bridge, since anyone walking by would generate slight vibrations that would cause the image to become distorted, especially since this was a long 30-second exposure. 

Waterfront Skyline

View of the Minatomirai waterfront district skyline in Yokohama, Japan featuring Landmark Tower standing at 296.3 m (972 ft) high with 70 stories above ground. On a global scale, it’s a small skyscraper, but remarkably tall considering the amount of engineering required to withstand Japan’s numerous big earthquakes.

For this composition, we visited this ship, which is moored at an old dock that is located near the base of Landmark Tower.

I had arrived a bit late after the lights on the ship had been turned off. In the end, I think this worked in my favor since it allowed me to achieve a more even exposure without having to worry about blown out highlights caused by lights on the ship. Fortunately, there were no winds close close enough to the ground to cause the ship to move or cause ripples on the water surface, which allowed me to take this 180-second exposure with only cloud movement.
  • Google Maps Plus Cod: FJ3J+7P Yokohama, Kanagawa
Nautical Training Ship

Built in 1930, the Nippon Maru nautical training ship sailed an equivalent of over 971 thousand nautical miles (approx. 1.8 million km/1.1 million mi). After 54 years of service to nearly 12,000 cadets, she was retired and moored to the historical stone-built No. 1 Dock in the Port of Yokohama and currently serves as a floating museum.

For the final composition, I visited the Red Brick Warehouse No. 2 for a simple shot where I wanted to convey the beautiful architectural elements of an old building constructed for utilitarian purposes. 

A modern warehouse is typically boring, nondescript, and solely focused on utility and efficiency. Should a modern warehouse ever face destruction or abandonment, there would never be an attempt to preserve it for posterity. 

In a future photoshoot, I want to come back to this building and create a collection of up-close shots featuring the various beautiful brickwork and metalwork that was incorporated into this building at the time of its birth.
  • Google Maps Plus Code: FJ3R+4X Yokohama, Kanagawa
Red Brick Warehouse No. 2

Built as a customs house in 1911, the structure survived the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, which destroyed most of Yokohama and Tokyo. After WWII, the warehouse became part of the U.S. Army Port Command until 1956. Yokohama city acquired the buildings and renovated the entire waterfront with shopping, entertainment, and cultural facilities. In 2010, the building received the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award for Culture Heritage Conservation.

Gear used for this Photoshoot

Camera Gear:

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 Gear:

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
RODE Road Wireless GO Wireless Microphone System WIGO

Filters & Filter Systems:

PolarPro QuartzLine ND 64 Filter - 67mm (ND64 6-stop reduction in light)
PolarPro QuartzLine ND1000 Filter - 67mm (ND1000 10-stop reduction in light)
PolarPro QuartzLine ND100k Filter - 67mm (ND100K 15-stop reduction in light)
PolarPro QuartzLine Circular Polarizer - 67mm
PolarPro Summit | Landscape Filter System Custom Kit (Core, Thread Plate, ND4-GR filter, ND8-GR filter, Circular Polarizer)

Pack:

F-stop Tilopa 50L Adventure and Travel Camera Backpack (Essentials Bundle:  backpack, rain cover, internal camera unit)
F-stop Tripod Bag (large)

*Links to Amazon are affiliated links, which means that if you choose to purchase an item that I may get a small commission, which has no effect on your purchase price whatsoever.

Music Tracks Licensed for this video through Epidemic Sound. Visit this link to subscribe: 


"Paradigm Shift" composed and performed by Gavin Luke.
“Globe Trekking” composed and performed by Philip Ayers.
“Through Stormy Weather” composed and performed by Philip Ayers.
“Deviation In Time” composed by Johannes Bornlöf and performed by Epidemic Sound.
“We Still Have Courage” composed by Johannes Bornlöf and performed by Bonnie Grace.
“Bermuda” composed by Henrik Olsson and performed by Ooyy.
Creative Commons License
Photos used with permission.
Pix4Japan by Iketani, Daisei is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license are available at Caubarrere Piché LLC.
at No comments:
Location: Minatomirai, Nishi Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 220-0012, Japan

Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Fuji Sengen-Jinja

今日のテーマは、山梨県の「北口本宮冨士淺間神社」。

撮影スポットの写真撮影しながら、カメラ・撮影技術・撮影スポットの英会話を楽しもう！

 ぜひＩＤＣＳ英会話の『Pix & English』をご参考ください！


The Kita-Guchi Hongu Fuji Sengen-Jinja Shrine, originally built in the 17th century, was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2013. 

Back in the day, this shrine was where worshippers of Mt. Fuji would first visit to purify themselves before making their ascent to the peak of Mt. Fuji, which was viewed as a God.

The original trail head is located behind this shrine and is still used today by some climbers.

However, in the modern era, Mt. Fuji has been promoted more as a tourist attraction. Nowadays, climbers can drive or take a bus part way up the mountain to one of several different stations, and start their climb from there.

I chose this site for this week’s photo shoot because of the grand trees and stone lanterns that line the path to the shrine.

I left home shortly after midnight and arrived about an hour after sunrise, which unfortunately, made it a bit difficult to shoot due to the sharp contrast of shadows and bright backgrounds. 

I should have left home earlier so that I could arrive and shoot during the blue hour, or tried to time my visit during a rain storm or at least under cloudier conditions where there would be more diffused light and maybe even some fog.

With that said, I tried to take a few shots in spite of the harsh light. 

For this first composition, I set the camera on a tripod across the street from the first torii gate. Once there was a break in car traffic, I took several shots.

Long Path to Shrine

View of the the 275-meter path (903 feet) that is lined with very old cedar trees and stone lanterns leading to the main entrance of the Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine's main dark vermillion torii gate, which sits at the base of Mt. Fuji.

Aside from the stone lanterns and the tall old cedar trees, I like how the light breaks through the trees creating thin layers of light and shadow across the gravel path leading up to the main torii gate of the shrine. 

In this composition, the path to the shrine approaches the main torii gate at an angle. From a technical standpoint, the lanterns on  the right create a leading line up the vermillion torii gate. But at the same time, the photo is unbalanced with nothing on the left side to help anchor the whole scene. Regardless, I like the light playing on the moss of the stone lanterns and how it contrasts with the vermillion gate in the background.

Approaching Fujisan Otorii Gate

Standing at 18 m high (59 ft), the torii gate is one of the largest in Japan. The gate is where you enter the realms of the Gods. This shrine (originally built in 1615) houses three deities of which one is the goddess of Mt. Fuji. She is also a god for the safe delivery of newborn babies.

For the 3rd composition, I spent a lot of time trying to compose this beautiful old maple tree. I knew I wanted to include the moss in the bottom of the frame, the most on the tree, and try to capture how the limbs branch out in creating weblike structure. The background was busy, with harsh highlights, so I cropped this shot to minimize reduce the number of distractions and try to even out the light and amount of exposure.

Web of Branches & Limbs

Wide shot of an old Japanese maple tree supported with crutches to prevent damage from the heavy snowfalls occurring around the base of Mt. Fuji.

Here are some other shots taken during this photo shoot:

Stone Lantern Corridor

Originally built to guide visitors along the path to the shrine, electric lights tucked back among the trees have replaced the use of live flames.

Seven-Colored Maple

The foliage of this Nanairo-Okaede (七色大カエデ / seven-color large maple) is said to change seven colors from spring to autumn. This particular tree standing next to the Kita-Guchi Hongu Fuji Sengen-Jinja Shrine is very old and needs crutches to prevent its branches from breaking during the heave snow falls that occur near the base of Mt. Fuji.

Moss-Covered Tree

Early morning light reflecting off of a trunk and limbs revealing tones ranging from faint yellows to hard blackish greens.

Border Collie at Shrine

Border collie at the main torii gate of the Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine's located at the base of Mt. Fuji.

Access Details:

Kita-Guchi Hongu Fuji Sengen-Jinja (北口本宮冨士淺間神社):

If you avoid tolls, it is a 3- to 4-hour drive from Tokyo. If you take toll roads, it is only a 90-minute to 2-hour drive via the Chuo Expressway.

Fortunately, the shrine is easily accessible by train and bus. Depending on which line you take, it is about a 3-hour train ride to Fujisan Station on the Fujikyu Line.

Access by Train & Bus + Detail Info about Shrine:

Fujiyoshida Sengen Shrine (Informal Name of Shrine)

Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine

History:

Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine

Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Jinja (Official Site):

World Heritage List:


Gear used for this Photo Shoot

Camera Gear:

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 Gear:

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
RODE Road Wireless GO Wireless Microphone System WIGO

Filters & Filter Systems:

PolarPro QuartzLine ND 64 Filter - 67mm (ND64 6-stop reduction in light)
PolarPro QuartzLine ND1000 Filter - 67mm (ND1000 10-stop reduction in light)
PolarPro QuartzLine ND100k Filter - 67mm (ND100K 15-stop reduction in light)
PolarPro QuartzLine Circular Polarizer - 67mm
PolarPro Summit | Landscape Filter System Custom Kit (Core, Thread Plate, ND4-GR filter, ND8-GR filter, Circular Polarizer)

*Links to Amazon are affiliated links, which means that if you choose to purchase an item that I may get a small commission that has no bearing on your purchase price whatsoever.

Music Tracks Licensed for this video through Epidemic Sound. Visit this link to subscribe: 


"Remove The Complexities" composed by Peter Sandberg and performed by Epidemic Sound.
“Summer Memories” composed and performed by Gavin Luke.
“Breath Of Life” composed and performed by Gavin Luke.
“Threads” composed by Anders Schill Paulsen and performed by Ebb & Flod.
“Bermuda” composed by Henrik Olsson and performed by Ooyy.
Creative Commons License
Photos used with permission.
Pix4Japan by Iketani, Daisei is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license are available at Caubarrere Piché LLC.
at No comments:
Location: 5558 Kamiyoshida, Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi 403-0005, Japan
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)