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Ume (梅) in Arisugawa Memorial Park (有栖川宮記念公園 or Arisugawa no Miya Kinen Koen) in Tokyo
Boke or bokeh is a relatively new term (since the 90s) in the English language. It comes from the Japanese word 暈ける which means “to be blurred” or “to be out of focus”. Boke refers to the blurry portion of images which add a nice backdrop to the subject matter.
By the way, the plum blossoms will begin soon in Japan. I took this photo in early March, but some will be visible in January.
If one had to sum up Japan in three words, all three could come from this photo: beauty (the roof tiles), cement, and pets.
By request, this could be a scene out of Kafka on the Shore as well.
Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower (モード学園コクーンタワー)
According to the Yomiuri, a new train station is going to be created on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo for the first time in over 40 years! You can see the location of the new station (and neighborhood) in the lower right portion of this photo I took back in 2010. What once was JR’s rolling stock yard, located between Shinagawa and Tamachi stations, will soon be redeveloped with a train station at its center. I’m not sure where the stock yard of trains will be relocated.
Edo Period Japanese female
Depth of field is a wonderful photo effect when you can control it. Unfortunately, without the right camera, lens, and conditions it isn’t always possible to blur the background or at least not as much as you’d like.
When the photo below came up as my random background I thought, “what a great subject ruined by the tourists in the background.” So I did about five minutes of research, spent another two minutes in Photoshop, and came away with my very first Photoshop tweak, above, using a depth of field effect. Although it’s not perfectly executed (another 10 minutes and I could have come away with something much better), I’m happy with how quickly I was able to blur the “tourist problem” in this photo.
Before Photoshop depth-of-field application
Giant torii gate entrance at Toshogu Shrine in Nikko, Japan
The first visit to a shrine after the new year is called hatsumode. The shrines are packed for the first few days of a new year. I haven’t done hatsumode in Nikko, but I’m guessing it is pretty crowded. I have done hatsumode at Meiji Jingu twice and both times it was teeming with people.