@aniklasson @TuttleBooks

Houses and Gardens of Kyoto is a coffee table book with more than just gorgeous photos. The descriptions, history, and details provided next to the photos are excellent as well. While there is little to complain about, I do like to point out areas for improvement in even the finest books I review.

First, I would have enjoyed larger photos, even if that meant reducing the total number of photos. The full page photographs are lovely, but many of the postcard or (even worse) stamp-sized photos are simply too little to be much appreciated.

Second, I liked how the photographer (Akihiko “Alan” Seki) edited the images, straightening the distortions that photography creates when architecture is captured. He didn’t overdo things. The photos look natural and not HDRed (perhaps because this was published before the HDR era). However, (and most people who aren’t photographers won’t even notice this but) there are some blown highlights that didn’t have to happen and the occasional indoor flash usage is not nearly as nice looking as the naturally lit interiors.

This is a great book, especially if you have been to Kyoto or are going at some point.

Finally, if there are any authors out there who need a photographer to do a similar book (especially in Japan!) hit me up.

Posted on June 13th, 2019 under Japan. Tags: book review, kyoto, reviews. Comments Off on Houses and Gardens of Kyoto