Here’s a photo from the “star” of my upcoming book, Kiyosumi Garden! I went there on my first full day in Japan in 2012, and even though it was a mixture of sun and rain during the hours I was there, it still managed to be very beautiful, quiet and serene, even in the heart of Metropolitan Tokyo.
So, I finally have a few tools to help me with the workflow, the process of making a photo book. I decided to work on a few books from my Nerdtour 2012 excursion, one each on a different place, topic, or a single day. I took so many photos that it was hard to work on them individually, selecting each one, adjusting lighting, selecting which to use and not use. Fortunately technology has kept advancing and getting more affordable, so now with Adobe Lightroom and Blurb BookSmart I think I can start creating the books I want to write! Of course, the hard part will now be writing up stuff in the books, the photo part was easy! By the way, the first book will be about the Kiyosumi Garden in Koto Ward, Tokyo, which just happened to be a couple of miles from my apartment, and one brief subway stop away!
Here’s a couple of screenshots of the “work” in progress:
Well, after walking and walking and walking, I made it to the end of the parade route, where I was able to finally cross Constitution Avenue to the side where the matsuri was taking place. Then it was another 4 block or so walk to get to the nearest entrance to the matsuri, where I stopped to rest for a few minutes. I decided to pace myself after looking in on the huge crowds of people milling about (or trying to!) inside the matsuri fence, because there would be no sitting inside! I managed to spend about 4 hours there, got to see some interesting booths, inflicted my Japanese on some poor folks, and basically had fun. I saw a very high-energy J-Pop band called “M’sh”, and watched some friends perform in a cosplay “fashion show”. After that was over I decided it was time to start the long walk back to my car in the Potomac Park, so I headed back to the Tidal Basin, taking a few more photos along the way. I did stop at the Jefferson Memorial to buy a soft drink and take another short rest, but since I was so close to the car I figured it would be better to keep going. Finally I got to my car at about 5 PM, after starting at 8:30, drove home, unloaded my SD card, and promptly went to sleep!
So, one week later I managed to upload some more photos here! As always, click to see the full-size photo!
Enjoy!
There were a few people at the matsuri…
… just a few…
… thousand…
And you thought DC *traffic* gridlock was bad…
Dancers performing a traditional Hokkaido fisherman’s dance
DC Japan Model Railroad Club
Some cosplay friends at the NHKWorld booth
A couple of Cherry Blossom Queen candidates
I have a bag, it’s a pink bag, others may have other bags, but this one is mine. Any questions?
So, the last of the cherry blossoms are dropping their petals, and the primary colors are turning from pink and white to green, after a seemingly endless Winter. Here are photos I took during my walk from the Tidal Basin to the DC Sakura Matsuri (street festival) on Saturday.
I’ll have photos from the matsuri itself in a later post.
Here we go, a batch from Tuesday evening (the only time I can get down there is around 5:30. Dang job!). I got some pretty neat pictures of the blossoms, and especially pictures of people enjoying them! I also got some eerie effects by photographing cherry trees at night, lit by streetlights!
So, here are some more, and even more to come later! Enjoy!
Just a few scenes from Washington DC, near the Tidal Basin and along the Potomac River, near sunset Friday night. The cherry trees are just barely beginning to open, especially the “weeping sakura”, the willow-like species from Japan. The main trees, the Yoshino, will be in full bloom in a couple of days, now that our cold weather has (finally!) moved on, allowing the warm Spring air to coax the blossoms out. I will have some photos from the peak in a couple of days.
This past Saturday, as part of the DC Cherry Blossom Festival, they held a kite-flying festival on the grounds of the Washington Monument and on the National Mall. The day was perfect for kite flying, plenty of breezes in the morning, cool but not cold, with just enough puffy clouds in a crystal blue sky to make the kites stand out. I got some great photos of the kites and the flyers (there was as much color on the ground from people’s coats as there was in the sky) of all ages. I also managed to find a couple of early cherry blossoms, on three trees that just couldn’t wait to bloom. Most of the cherry trees along the Tidal Basin have yet to bloom, but they’re in the late stages of budding, so the coming weeks should have an explosion of petals!
Here are some of the photos, I’ll have them all on a photo page soon. Enjoy!
Two girls in their Springtime finest!
Wings Over Washington!
桜を見ãŸ! A few lonely little cherry blossoms peeking out of their buds early, getting the jump on their cousins (and getting a couple of early photographers, too!)
THERE you are! Another tree with a few handfuls of cherry blossoms
