Ninna-ji Temple – Various views of cherry blossoms taken in conjunction with the five-story pagoda [finished work after RAW development] Camera: Nikon Z9
Lens: NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S
Shutter speed: 1/160 sec.
Aperture value: f11
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure compensation: +0.3 stops
ISO: 200
White Balance: Sunny sky [Before RAW development: Mr. Hoshino’s adjustment points] ① Brighten the overall impression of the photo.
(2) Brighten shadowed flowers
(iii) Emphasize the colors of cherry blossoms and blue sky [Hoshino’s comment].
Ninna-ji Temple is called Ninna-ji Temple because it was built during the period from 885 to 889. Someiyoshino cherry trees and weeping cherry trees are located in the precincts of the temple, but the forest of short cherry trees is called “Omuro-zakura” (Omuro-zakura) and is designated as a national place of scenic beauty. It is also called “Otafuku-zakura” (Otafuku cherry blossom) because of its short nose. It is also said to be the late-blooming cherry tree in Kyoto. Because Omuro-zakura are short, you can take pictures of the five-story pagoda over the head of the cherry tree, or, conversely, you can bend down to look at the five-story pagoda from under the blossoms. The blooming status is posted on the Ninna-ji Temple website, so it is best to use that as a guide when visiting the temple. Ninna-ji Temple
https://ninnaji.jp/
Entrance fee for Omuro Flower Festival: Adults 500 yen, Free for high school students and younger
The Omuro Flower Festival in 2023 was held from March 18 to May 7. Adjustment by Lightroom STEP1 Brighten the overall impression of the photo First, brighten the overall impression of the photo. Although the cherry blossoms in the shadows may be of concern, the first step is to adjust the overall brightness, which greatly affects the impression of the photo. Here, “Shadow” is used to brighten the entire dark area that is in shadow. STEP2 Brighten the flowers in the shadow Next, brighten the cherry blossoms in the shadow near the center of the image. The “Mask” function is used to adjust a specific area. However, since the clouds and blue sky tend to brighten at the same time as the cherry blossoms brighten, be careful about the range of adjustment and the degree of adjustment. STEP3 Emphasize the colors of the cherry blossoms and the blue sky. The first is to make the magenta color of the cherry blossoms visible to bring out their cuteness. The second is to deepen the color of the sky, which is too bright.
Gion Shirakawa River – A must-see area with a typical Kyoto townscape [Finished work after RAW development] Camera: Nikon Z9
Lens: NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S
Shutter speed: 1/40 sec.
Aperture value: f8
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure compensation: -0.3 stops
ISO: 400
White Balance: Clear sky [Before developing RAW: Mr. Hoshino’s adjustment points] ① Correct the angle tilted to the right.
(2) Adjust the hue to create a post-sunset atmosphere
(3) Light the lanterns [Mr. Hoshino’s comment].
Gion Shirakawa” is one of the places whose streetscape is typical of Kyoto. A small river called “Shirakawa” runs through the town, and the streets of machiya townhouses with distinctive red-latticework and cobblestone pavement give the area a distinctly Kyoto flavor. The area attracts many tourists and often appears in movies and TV dramas. Geiko and maiko sometimes pass by, adding to the Kyoto atmosphere. The cherry blossoms of someiyoshino cherry trees and weeping cherry trees along the Shirakawa River add even more color to the typical Kyoto scenery. The cherry blossoms blend in perfectly with the Kyoto-like cityscape. The daytime glamour of the sunlight and the nighttime glamour of the lights of the streets are both very atmospheric. The photo above was taken near Tatsumi Shrine. I was expecting to see lanterns, but they were not lit, perhaps due to the time of day, so I processed the photo in Lightroom to make them glow. By the way, as mentioned above, the Gion Shirakawa River is crowded, so people will be in the shot. To avoid this, it is a good idea to get close to your target scenery and take pictures with a wide-angle lens, or take pictures with a telephoto lens from a distance, looking for a moment when there are no people in the scene. Adjustment with Lightroom STEP1 Correcting an angle tilted to the right In landscape photography, even a slight tilt can be bothersome. Let’s make the photo more stable by making it horizontal and vertical. STEP2 Adjust colors to create a post-sunset atmosphere You want to create a post-sunset atmosphere according to the time of day when the photo was taken. In particular, the color of the cherry blossoms should look bluish rather than white as it did before the adjustment. In addition, I want to make the vermilion color of the lanterns and the tamagaki a little darker to create a more tranquil impression. STEP3 Lighting the lanterns Let’s light the dark lanterns. This is more like processing than adjusting a photo, but I will introduce it here as an example of how Lightroom can be used to do this. The impression of the photo changes dramatically when the lanterns are lit. Before the lights were lit, the photo only evoked a sense of quietness, but with the lights lit, the photo gives a sense of the atmosphere of the town.
Toji Temple – Five-story pagoda said to be the tallest pagoda in Japan [Finished work after RAW development] Camera: Nikon Z9
Lens: NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S
Shutter speed: 8 sec.
Aperture value: f11
Exposure mode: Manual
Exposure compensation: -1.3 stops
ISO: 200
White balance: white fluorescent light [Before RAW development: Mr. Hoshino’s adjustment points] (1) Make the reflection of the water surface clear.
(2) Calm the highlights and make the color clearer.
(iii) Make the dark night sky look like the evening sky [Hoshino’s comment].
To-ji Temple is personally associated with beautiful weeping cherry trees (fujizakura), but you can also take pictures of other typical Kyoto cherry blossom scenery. For example, the combination of someiyoshino cherry trees in full bloom in the spacious precincts and the five-story pagoda, said to be the tallest pagoda in Japan, is a scene unique to Kyoto. The photo above was taken during the lighting-up period, when someiyoshino cherry trees and the five-story pagoda are reflected in the pond. At night when I visited, the scattered petals were floating on the surface of the water, adding to the beauty of the scene. If it is daytime, you can get a sense of scale by approaching the cherry blossoms from an angle as if looking up at them and photographing the cherry blossoms and the five-story pagoda together. The five-story pagoda is 55 meters high. A wide-angle lens is necessary to capture the entire five-story pagoda at a relatively close distance. Although there are many visitors, the temple grounds are spacious and not crowded, so you can take pictures from various places and angles. First, circle around the temple grounds to find a good spot to take pictures, and then take your time to enjoy the collaboration of the cherry blossoms and the five-story pagoda. Toji Temple
https://toji.or.jp/
Admission: 1000 yen for adults and high school students, 500 yen for junior high school students and younger
Cherry blossoms illuminated at night” from March 18 to April 16, 2023 Adjustment by Lightroom STEP1 Make the reflection of the water surface clearer Contrary to the impression at the time of shooting, the pond is too dark. We want to make the reflection of the illuminated five-story pagoda and cherry blossoms on the pond and the cherry blossoms floating on the water surface appear more vivid. I adjusted the “Shadow” setting in the “Light” panel to a positive value to see how bright it would be, and was able to create a sparkling water surface reminiscent of the impression at the time of shooting. STEP2 Calm down the highlights and make the colors clearer Here, let’s slightly darken and calm the white of the illuminated cherry blossoms and five-story pagoda, and further increase the saturation to make the colors clearer. STEP3 Make the dark night sky look like the evening twilight. Finally, we want to make the night sky a little brighter to create an atmosphere of darkness rather than night. To do this, we need to adjust only the sky. By using the “Sky” option in the “Masks” section of Lightroom, we can easily brighten or change the color of only the sky.
Bishamondo Monzeki – Spring scenery colors where the cherry blossoms and the temple’s vermilion complement each other [Finished work after RAW development] Camera: Nikon Z9
Lens: NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S
Shutter speed: 1/160 sec.
Aperture value: f11
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure compensation: -1.7 stops
ISO: 200
White Balance: Clear sky [Before RAW development: Mr. Hoshino’s adjustment points] ① Brighten dark areas in shadow.
(2) Reduce the white splash of the cherry blossoms in the center.
(3) Increase the color of the cherry blossoms in the center [Hoshino’s comment].
The Bishamondo Monzeki (hereafter Bishamondo) is the main hall, the temple gate, the walls surrounding the temple grounds, and other buildings are painted in a particularly vivid vermilion color. The temple was built during the period of the Taiho era, known for the Taiho Ritsuryo (Laws of the Empire), but was rebuilt by the great priest Tenkai and his disciples after it was destroyed by fire and war. Temples where a member of the imperial family or a noble family serves as the head priest (abbot) are called “monzeki,” and in Kyoto there are five “Tendai-shu Kyoto Gokamuro-monzeki,” and Bishamondō is one of them. Bishamondo is famous for its magnificent autumn foliage and “shikimomiyo-ya,” or “leaves on the floor” that cover the steep stone steps leading up to the temple gate, but the spring season when the cherry blossoms are in bloom is also exceptional. The weeping cherry tree, which is over 150 years old, has 30-meter-long branches, and its volume is overwhelming. The cherry trees are also someiyoshino and yaezakura, and when they are in full bloom, the vermilion color of the building makes for a photogenic sight. The cherry blossoms can be seen from the corridor of the main hall, so it is fun to find the best angle and composition to take pictures. Bishamondo Gate Ruins
https://www.bishamon.or.jp/
Entrance fee: ¥500 for adults, ¥400 for junior high and high school students, ¥300 for elementary school students Adjustment by Lightroom STEP1 Brighten dark areas in the shadows I set a high negative exposure compensation when shooting to prevent the cherry blossoms in the center from turning white, so the hall, walls, and green forest in the shadows appeared dark. The shadowed areas of the hall, walls, and green forest appeared darker. Brighten these shadowed areas in the center of the image. STEP2 Suppress the white outburst of the cherry blossoms in the center of the image. Focusing on the cherry blossoms in the center of the image, I suppressed the white pops and restored the texture and three-dimensionality that had been lost. STEP3 Increase the color of the cherry blossom in the center of the photo. The cherry blossom is whiter than the image, so we want to increase the color slightly. The “Color Grading” function is ideal for adding color to bright areas of the photo, such as the cherry blossoms. I added reddish colors to make the cherry blossoms more colorful.
Kodaiji Temple – Edarezakura Cherry Blossoms with Projection Mapping [After RAW development: Finished work] Camera: Nikon Z9
Lens: NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S
Shutter speed: 1/30 sec.
Aperture value: f5.6
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure compensation: -1.0 stop
ISO: 1600
White Balance: Sunny
April 2022 [Before RAW development: Mr. Hoshino’s adjustment points] (1) Brighten areas that are not lit up.
(2) Use masks to further lighten the surroundings
3) Adjust colors based on the image of “cherry blossoms” [Mr. Hoshino’s comment].
As the temple is called “the temple of Hideyoshi and Nene,” it was built by Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s wife, Nene (Kita Masasho), for her late husband, Hideyoshi. Nene was later called “Kodai-in,” which is also the origin of the name of Kodai-ji Temple. In the Hojo-mae Garden, a karesansui (dry landscape garden), weeping cherry trees of good shape adorn the temple grounds during the blooming season. While the cherry blossoms can be enjoyed during the day, nighttime is also recommended when the temple is illuminated. Each year, a different projection mapping is shown in the garden and the cherry blossoms are spectacular with music playing in the background. The photo was taken from the corridor overlooking the garden. It was crowded, so I waited my turn from the last row and took the photo from the front row (laugh). The grounds of the temple, with its elevation differences, are filled with photogenic sights such as a pond with beautiful reflections and a walking path surrounded by bamboo groves, as well as cherry blossoms. This temple is recommended not only in spring, but also in spring, summer, fall, and winter, in all seasons and at all times, for photography, sightseeing, and as a relaxing space. From the parking lot, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the city of Kyoto, including Yasaka-no-to (Yasaka Pagoda) and Kyoto Tower. Kodaiji Temple
https://www.kodaiji.com/
Admission: Adults 600 yen, Junior high and high school students 250 yen
March 17-May 7, 2023: “Spring Night Special Viewing” Adjustment by Lightroom STEP1 Brighten the area not illuminated STEP2 Brighten the area not illuminated The cherry blossoms and other flowers illuminated by the lights are darkened (minus exposure compensation) when photographed so that they are not blown out, and their surroundings are quite dark and The surrounding area is very dark and sunken. Since we want to show a little more of the surrounding scenery, we first brighten the image using the basic functions. If you want to brighten mainly the dark areas, use “Shadow” in the “Light” panel as the main function. STEP2 Using a mask to further brighten the surroundings The surroundings have been brightened to a certain extent in STEP1, but the effect is not enough. It is not necessary to make the image extremely bright, but we would like to show the temple gate and walls in the surroundings, even if only faintly. So, we will adjust the brightness of only the outside of the cherry trees. This can be done by using the “Circular Gradient” function of the “Mask” function. STEP3 Adjusting colors based on the image of “cherry blossoms” The brightness has been adjusted to a good level. One more modification is the color of the cherry blossoms. We would like to increase the reddish color a little more. Here, I used more magenta to create the alluring effect of cherry blossoms illuminated by light.
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