Video tutorial on how to digitally blend images in photoshop - full workflow with many great tips
Buy fine art photo prints at my store on SmugMug.
Photography workshops in Tokyo - click for more details.
I took this photo last year during one of my visits to Kamakura. I re-edited it from scratch, and gave it a completely new and fresh look. Those traditional Japanese houses that you see here, are buildings surrounding one of the gardens in Kamakura. The garden itself was not bad, but I found those structures far more interesting. It was a sunny morning, so the dynamic range between the sky and the shadow areas was huge, so I had to blend two layers together to be able to get all the details back into one photo. So I manually blended two exposures in photoshop, and actually made a short video on how to mask in and extract difficult items in photoshop, which will be posted on my Youtube channel soon.
Video tutorial on how to digitally blend images in photoshop - full workflow with many great tips Buy fine art photo prints at my store on SmugMug. Photography workshops in Tokyo - click for more details.
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Wearing a traditional wedding kimono is a full time job. That is a lot of fabric. Japanese service is usually over the top, but during wedding ceremonies it is completely bananas. One has to see it to believe it, 7 people fixing the kimono, 2 photographers and 6 assistants, and the list goes on. Come to think of it, there are more organisers than guests. No wonder that a wedding at Meiji Jingu in Tokyo costs up to $100,000.
All craziness aside, wedding kimono is a piece of art. They are extremely expensive, for which reason brides rent them for a wedding day. If you are visiting Tokyo, make sure to visit Meiji Jingu on Sunday for the endless parade of wedding ceremonies. It is quite a sight. I went ahead and re-edited last year's photo of this beautiful Buddhist temple in Kamakura, and since my last version was black and white, this time I decided to present it in full colour. This is a quasi HDR image, created from one exposure. The photo was taken with an ND filter so this way I managed to remove all the who were people passing by.
Here is another shot that I took for the owner of Basshodo, a traditional Japanese calligraphy supply store. They have a quite a selection of calligraphy brushes, of which some are extremely expensive (up to $15,000 USD for one brush). I always have a great time when I visit the store, choosing paper, ink, and whatever I need, while having a conversation about calligraphy and other things. On a side note, their signboard was written by my teacher's teacher, who was a very well-known and respected calligrapher in Japan.
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.
Today I visited my favourite calligraphy supplies store, Basshodo. The store is located in Ichikawa, and I love everything about it, including all the amazing people who run it. If you need calligraphy supplies, they can ship it outside Japan, so make sure to visit their online store, or mail them with inquiries. Below photo is a true monster, I took 35 exposures, from which I created this humongous HDR image. Full size photo is 15,000 pixels wide and 6000 pixels tall. I crashed my photoshop a few times while trying to save a 2GB file. Great fun.
I took this photo last year, during my visit to Hamarikyu Imperial Gardens (浜離宮恩賜庭園) in central Tokyo. I actually went there with the intention of photographing landscapes, but I got lucky and bumped into a wedding photo shoot, so I could not resist. Traditional Japanese wedding kimono is a true masterpiece. It is hand-made, and painfully expensive. Prices can go as high as $30,000 USD. For this reason, most of the couples rent kimono for for their wedding.
I shot this lavishly decorated pagoda last year, during my visit to the Narita Temple. The temple grounds are massive, and there are thousands of places and vistas to photograph. It is like a candy store for a photographer. The temple is located near Tokyo, so it is easily accessible for anyone visiting the metropolis. Narita temple and its architecural details is one of the most amazing places I have seen in Japan.
This is a view of a hallway of Hojo, which is the Kencho-ji (建長寺, lit. temple of longevity and good health) abbot's living quarters. Hojo is also a place where special Zen ceremonies are being held. Behind my back there is a Zen garden with a small pond, of which photo I will post in a separate article., and just to the right, behind the Hojo main structure, there is a small yard with a Chinese golden gate. You can see it here.
This is yet another photo that I took yesterday in the early morning, at about 6am, and it is the same tree as this one here, I simply waited 20 minutes and turned around, facing the sun. The Japanese kana script ball pen calligraphy reads: あさひ (asahi), which has several meanings. One is morning sun (朝日), and another is rising sun (旭).
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