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Shibuya (Tokyo, Japan) on a rainy November evening
After checking out Opeth at O-East, I headed out into the rain to catch my train home. The darkness, coupled with the sea of umbrellas, made the scene too cool to merely walk through on my way home so I went up in Starbucks to get a better view of things.
Bride and groom exit Hie Jinja 日枝神社
The sign in the back has nothing to do with the wedding. It says Sanno Soreisai (山王祖霊祭) which is a festival of sorts for ancestral spirits. You can see photos of that event on the Hie Jinja website here.
Huldra emerges from the forest to dance next to Kjosfossen Falls
On the Noway in a Nutshell tour, in the summer anyway, tourists get to experience a Huldra. She appears near Kjosfossen Falls, does a dance, and then disappears into the forest once again.
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
Members of Japan's Imperial Family (including the emperor--third from left)
This is the scene should you ever visit Japan’s Imperial Palace in Tokyo on January 2. Most of the Imperial Palace is normally off limits. The exceptions are January 2 and the Emperor’s birthday when the public is allowed in this area.
巣鴨とげ抜き地蔵
Sugamo (巣鴨) is famous for being the old ladies’ Harajuku. However, when I captured this image of the well known and popular statue which cures ailments, it was young ladies looking for a little supernatural help.