Shichi-go-san is a festivity held every year in Japan on November 15th, and it is a very special day for 7 year old girls and 3 and 5 years old boys, a day of transition of the youngest ones into a middle childhood. This tradition goes back to the Heian period (8th century), and the idea behind the ages 3, 5 and 7 is linked to the ancient numerology, as those numbers were considered lucky. This is the day when the boys wear their first hakama, and girls replace the cords with an obi (belt) to tie their kimono. I shot the photo of this lovely little lady last year in Meiji Jingu (明治神宮) shrine in Tokyo, but I re-edited it today in black and white. I think it looks more dignified. The Japanese calligraphy in clerical script is also written by me, and it reads 大和撫子 – i.e. a woman who displays the virtues of old Japan.
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You cannot beat the magic of black and white photography. There are images that do look much better in colour, like an amazing sunset, or a photo of tropical beach, but there is a reason for most of the urban and architecture photography to be post processed as monochromatic images. They seem to be more dignified, more sublime, and they also portrait the geometrical details of a city's life without deceiving our eyes with colours. I have another photo shot from the same spot at the same time, but I left it in colour. Both images are HDR photographs, so you can compare them, and decide which one you prefer better.
if you are into photo editing, and HDr photography, please have a look at my HDR image post processing videos on YouTube. I cannot get enough of this building. I am definitely going back there to shoot some more photos, possibly spend more time outside and see if I can get some interesting perspective. In any case, enjoy the view, guys! If you want to see my other HDR photo of Tokyo International Forum, just type its name into search box at the top of the site. If you are into photo editing, then feel free to check my HDR tutorial, in which I am post processing one of those shots in photoshop.
Although Tokyo Dome is a baseball stadium, and the home of Yomiuri Giants, with its 55.000 seat capacity it is often used for concerts, martial arts events, car racing, and so on. I purposely shot this photo from such perspective, to show you a bit more of the crazy Tokyo infrastructure, with trains going through the buildings. Bear in mind, that we have more or less 1500 earthquakes in Tokyo each year ... some mad architecture.
On a side note, I am dropping my watermark, and will be releasing clean photos without a watermark. I think they will be much more enjoyable that way.
Here is a panorama photo of Tokyo that I took last year during a beautiful winter afternoon. On summer the air is too hazy and too humid for panorama shots in central Japan, so the best time to take pictures of distant horizon in Tokyo is from late November till March. Also the Rainbow Bridge is a really windy place, so make sure you wear some warm clothes and a hat. Good hunting!
Here is another photo of the modern structure of Tokyo International Forum. You can see my other shots by typing in "international forum" in the search box at the top. I decided to edit each photo differently, so even though they were all taken on the same day with the same camera settings, every photo looks differently. If you would like to see me editing one of the HDR images of the Tokyo International Forum, please follow this YouTube link to my channel.
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Ponte Ryuurui (品天龍涙)
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