Sunrise at the Lake Chuzenji

Sunrise at the Lake Chuzenji, Japan. Click at the image for a full size.

 

A story behind: This is a scenic lake in the mountains above the town of Nikko, Japan. It is located at the foot of Mount Nantai, Nikko's sacred volcano, whose eruption blocked the valley below, thereby creating Lake Chuzenji about 20,000 years ago. Now it is a famous spa regions with a couple of nice hotels.
We spent there two wonderful days.
 

Location:  Above the town of Nikko, Japan.
 

Gear: Nikon D610, Nikkor 16-32 mm, tripod, ND 0,6.

Aperture: f/20


Shutter:  15 sec.
 
Exposure bias: -0,33 EV

Focal Length: 24 mm

ISO: 50

Date: Saturday, 12th of April 2014, 06.45 a.m.

Maciek.

 

 

A floating Torii on the Biwa Lake

 

 

 

A floating Torii gate on the Biwa Lake, Japan.

Click in the image for a full size.

 

A story behind: Very early morning, 30 minutes before the sunrise at the bank of the Biwa Lake (Japan´s largest lake), central Japan.  The Torii gate of the Shirahige-jinja Shrine. A wonderfully calm morning. A moment to remember forever.
 

Location:  Lake Biwa, Japan.
 

Gear: Nikon D610, Nikkor 16-32 mm, tripod, ND 0,6.

Aperture: f/16


Shutter: 6 sec.
 
Exposure bias: -0,67 EV

Focal Length: 16 mm

ISO: 50

Date: Friday, 11th of April 2014, 04.45 a.m.

Maciek.

 

Geisha and blooming Sakura tree

 

 

Date: 7th of April, 2014.

Place: Kyoto, Japan.

 
Maciek.

The mount Fuji sunrise

Click on the image for a full size.

An early morning at the lake Shoji, Japan.

A story behind: 4.45 in the morning. Temperature: - 2ºC.
Mount Fuji, 3,770 meters, the highest mountain in Japan. Almost a perfect volcanic cone. A large part of the mountain is still buried under the snow ( April 2014). According to recent data, the pressure in the main lava camber of the volcano recently overpassed the limit of 1.6 megapascals. Professor Masaki Kimura believes that until 2015 we will see a significant increase in the activity of the volcano with the possible eruption of a small degree.

Location:  Lake Shoji, Japan.

 

Gear: Nikon D 610, Nikkor 16-33 mm.

Aperture: f/14

Exposure bias: -0,3 EV

Focal Length: 16 mm

Date: 1st of April, 2014. 4.45 a.m.

 
Maciek.

Hanami or cherry blossom time in Japan

Click on the image for a full size.
A late evening photo of the Hanami festival in Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan.

A story behind: Hanami is an important Japanese custom and is held all over Japan in spring. When we booked our trip to Japan we were hoping to see cherry tree blossom. Every year it happens at a slightly different time. Usually it begins in late March or early April and depending on the weather conditions it can last from a couple of days to three weeks. Hanami literally means viewing flowers, but it generally indicates cherry blossom viewing. It's said that the origin of hanami dates back to more than one thousand years ago when aristocrats enjoyed looking at beautiful cherry blossoms and wrote poems.
Nowadays, especially young people in Japan have fun viewing cherry blossoms, drinking and eating. It is like a picnic under the trees.

Location:  Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan.

 

Gear: Nikon D 610, Nikkor 70-300 mm.

Aperture: f/5,6

Exposure bias: -0,3 EV

Focal Length: 100mm

Date: 1st of April, 2014.

 
Maciek.

Shibuya at night

Click on the image for a full size.
A normal night at the famous Shibuya Crossing.

A story behind: Shibuya is a sakariba (party town) for the Japanese youth.

This is a huge and loud intersection decorated by a sea of neons.
When the lights turn red and traffic stops completely, pedestrians from all sides surge into the crossing. This is a moment of incredible chaos when everybody moves into a different direction but after a minute when the traffic lights change again all this madness and scramble stops.

Location:  Tokyo, Japan.

 

Gear: Nikon D610, Nikkor 16-32 mm.

Aperture: f/8

 ISO: 3200Exposure bias: -0,3 EV

Focal Length: 16mm

Date: 1st of April, 2014.

 
Maciek.