Monthly Archive for April, 2009

Spring in Japan

Published on April 23, 2009 in Culture, Nature and Photography. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .


Spring in Japan, originally uploaded by jasohill.

There are many signs that spring has arrived in Japan. At first, the daffodils come out, followed by crocuses and tulips. Green grasses start to slowly cover brown fields. Finally, in a burst of white and pink, cherry blossoms awaken across the country from the end of March until the end of April.

You can see many signs that spring has come in people here as well. First comes the graduation ceremonies followed by the farewell parties(sobetestukai.) Then, new job assignments and High School placements are announced. After this, comes the first day and the welcome parties(kangeikai) and finally, to experience the explosion of cherry blossoms all over the country, there is a mass of flower viewing parties(called Hanami) all over the country. People in Japan take their cues from nature. It’s so timely, you could set your watch by it. This is spring in Japan.

Photo: Cherry Blossoms at Takamatsu pond in Morioka City, Iwate Japan. HDR with three exposures around sunset. Canon 350D 50mm f/1.8 ISO 100.

Spring is Around us

Published on April 10, 2009 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments


Table for two, originally uploaded by jasohill.

Spring has finally come to Japan. It was a long winter with a lot of snow, but it’s now just starting to pay off. The flowers started coming out today and that means the cherry blossoms aren’t far behind.

I went out after work to find some nice flowers that would work well with the setting sun. There was a lot of haze in the air, so I took this set of daffodils and flowers that haven’t even bloomed yet. The haze gave a nice diffusion. It’s difficult to shoot daffodils. They are a bright yellow that doesn’t expose well. What I did hear was turn down the brightness in Aperture and increase the black point until I had the contrast I was looking for. I never actually use the contrast lever in Aperture. It’s just too hard. Happy spring everyone.