Shrines, Cleansing and Peaceful Times (Japan – Autumn 2018 Day 18)
This morning when I woke I already knew what I wanted to do with my day… there was no question that I wanted to visit as many less-frequented temples as possible while I was in Kyoto… I already had a basic idea of which ones I wanted to see so I planned a tentative route to the three that stuck out as being the most interesting that I should see.
Near our rented apartment there were some small shrines and temples, so there were definitely no shortage of places to visit… over 1600 temples and shrines exist in Kyoto so you are bound to find some place to relax or worship that is very near where you are at any given moment – this was evident just in walking on the main road down the hill from the apartment, where I passed at least 5 minor temples on my way toward my destination.
Hoko-Ji Temple, not far from my Kyoto “home”
I wondered if the locals were jaded toward the existence of so many temples and shrines because they have just always been around or if they feel privileged because they know how special this place is. I found myself thinking that if I was given the choice to live in either Tokyo or Kyoto, I’d choose Kyoto.
In Kyoto you have big city things to do, neighborhood things to do and the added bonus of all of those temples. Plus, mountains surround three sides of the city so there is no shortage of outdoor activities that one can find to do, and if you know me then you know that I do love to hike and spend quite a bit of time in nature.
Theme of the day was definitely temples. I felt that this was the perfect way to continue the journey for peace and refreshment that I began the night before at Imakumano Temple… I wanted to fully embrace the tranquility that I have been seeking so diligently the past couple of months, to leave pain and sad thoughts in the wake of my determined steps toward healing.
On my way to some specific points, I saw all manner of temples, and I stopped at a few that seemed interesting. One such place was at Gojobashihigashi, which contains the Otani Mausoleum, Jippo-Ji Temple, Tsumyo-ji Temple, Myoken-do Temple, and Myoken Daibosatsu Myokendo… phew that’s a lot of important places!
The approach to Gojobashihigashi
At the first gate I found that there was the first stamp in a stamp rally! I learned that there were 4 stamps located throughout the complex and they supplied a leaflet to stamp each one… I ended up just stamping my Moleskine that I had with me.
Stamp rally stamp
Offery
The lady in the photo above was praying for such a very long time… I only understood words here and there but she sounded so sincere and thankful that I wanted to capture the moment.
Near the offery was another stamp. I waited until those around had finished making their offerings before I stamped my book, and then I moved on toward one of my destinations.
I see faces… everywhere.
Leaving… this lantern looked to be covered in gold leaf.
Onward I walked, and soon I found myself at one of the main destinations that I was seeking… Yasui Konpiragu Shrine. Located in the Gion district, this shrine is located on the grounds of Horyu-in Temple and is unusual because of it’s Power Stone…. it is said that if you wish to end a bad relationship and/or initiate new good relationships, then you make your wish, crawl through the center of the stone and back, bow, then adhere your wish to the stone on a slip of paper.
The long line to the stone was mainly filled with women, but also some families and a few men who were alone as well.
Yes, I did purchase a slip of paper, write my wishes and stand in line for 45 minutes… totally worth it.
Now, if you ask me, a stone really holds no power other than being good at standing still and in this case, holding thousands of papers on it’s surface (with the help of glue) . That, however, did not dissuade me from completing this ritual. It seemed an important thing for me to complete, an outward demonstration (at least to myself) of leaving some very unfortunate life altering situations behind me and moving on with the purpose of having a fulfilling life not dragged down with sadness.
It took a while to make it to the front of the line. Thankfully the sunny day was not too warm or too humid, so I did not mind things taking a little longer than would be optimal.
From a distance, the hole in the rock looked very very small and I had a growing concern that I would actually be able to make it through that hole without getting stuck! However observation told me that those with a waistline… erm, much larger than my own, were able to make it through so my fears were soon laid to rest.
Closer and closer I inched, and suddenly I found myself faced with this:
The Power Stone!
It kinda looks like it should be a Hobbit house, except… it’s too small for that. Phone at the ready to film myself go through, I got on my belly and slid through. Easy peasy! Now, to crawl back… I thought perhaps that I could crawl through with no problem since I’m a skinny person… left knee forward… uh oh… STUCK! I did not take into account that my legs are longer than the average person going through that hole, and so it was a big NOPE on crawling through! I had to back out a bit to get my leg un-stuck, and then I slid through on my belly again, quite embarassed already because I could hear laughter, but also people had their phones out and were filming me. Oh dear. Now I’ll be all over the internet, the gaijin who got stuck. Memes would be made of my ordeal and my embarrassment celebrated over and over. I turned to the stone, bowed, looked at the ground and hurried around back of the stone to apply glue to my wish-on-paper.
I adhered my paper to the stone, and still felt the flush of embarrassment. I could not bring myself to look anyone in the eye lest I catch someone mocking me. Hurry away I did not though… I paused to take more photos of the rest of the grounds.
On my map I noticed a park nearby that was not terribly far away, and decided to check it out. I had been near there back in 2014 but did not enter because time was limited and we were on the way to other things. On the way I passed by Yasaka Shrine and spotted these beautiful sisters:
I paused and offered to take their photo together – they happily accepted! I wish that I had remembered to also take a photo with my own phone so that I could have had the memory! They also took a selfie with me which was very sweet! Again, I forgot to get my own phone out… how sad!
Onward I went, but I diverted my route so that I could walk along the Shirokawa, which is quite a beautiful and simple neighborhood. No fancy houses… just older homes that have a lot of charm. I found the Furukawamachi Bridge, a foot bridge that is maybe one foot wide? I crossed it with a little concern, and made sure to take a video as I tried to keep my balance.
The Furukawamachi Bridge in the background.
The Shirokawa River (wait… isn’t “kawa” river in Japanese? Did I just type river twice?)
Once safely across the “scary” bridge, I continued my walk. Along the way I saw an old sign:
Everything about this worn sign screamed “make me black and white”… so I did.
I also saw a pair of tanooki in a stream – an out of place pyramid rests on the street above them. I cannot help but feel like I was in that exact same spot looking at the exact same items during July of 2014… now I have to go back through the photo archives and look (when I return to the US of A) because this will haunt me until I do.
Tanooki in a stream… seems like song lyrics.
Tanooki with the weird pyramid thing – it looked to be made out of granite or marble.
Next stop: Narnia, AKA Murin-An Garden. Built between 1894 & 1896 by Yamagata Aritomo, a Prime Minister during the Meji Period. His vision was realized by the Japanese master gardener Ogawa Jihee, who also designed a few other famous gardens.
410 Yen admission is a paltry sum considering the sheer delight that this garden brought to my eye and the solace to my spirit… pay at the window to the left of the entrance, and then you are directed through a small door, which even people shorter than I need to bow their heads to get through:
Murin-an doorway… the portal to a magical garden.
I stepped through and was dazzled by the sight that I beheld: A wonderfully landscaped garden with both Japanese and Western influences welcoming wanderers into it’s harmoniously peaceful scenes accompanied by a symphony of gently flowing water, lullabies of songbirds and the occasional faint trumpet of elephants, who live nearby in the Kyoto Zoo.
What joy sprang to my heart! I slowly meandered through the gardens, allowing myself to slow down and fully drink in every sight, smell, sound and feel that I was experiencing around me… I felt quite at home and relaxed… usually I feel a bit as if I have to behave a certain way in a formal garden but this seemed to be a more natural place, like walking in the woods, except that it was clearly a structured garden but artfully so, because so many nooks seemed so natural, as if they had always been there.
Paradise in the midst of Kyoto
The path to relaxation!
I took a few hundred photos in this beautiful garden and it was difficult to narrow it down to those that I included here. If these seem redundant, I heartily apologize to you, Dear Reader, if your eyes glaze over or roll back into your head for a moment… but I simply could not resist putting these choice photos here for my own pleasure. Thank you for your indulgence.
How much time I spent in the garden I could not tell you, for I literally let go of all sense of time and just… existed for a while. A rare thing it is for me to let myself unwind to this point as I am always planning something or working out some puzzle in my head.
Before leaving, I paused at the teahouse to sit on the veranda – the last photo above is from that vantage point. Once sufficiently rested I moved on, unsure of exactly where I was going to next.
My feet ended up taking me deeper into the Gion District, a part of Kyoto that hither to fore I had not seen much of. Keep in mind that my previous visits had very short time constraints and were more like whirlwind tours of temples and shrines.
My feet took me to the grounds of Nanzen-ji Temple, I knew nothing about them except that they were a 15 minute walk away… I am very glad that I went there because there were more awesome surprises awaiting.
It turns out that there are a few temples on the ground, with the main Nanzen-ji being one of the Great 5 temples of Kyoto… I was surprised to learn this as there were very few tourists there… perhaps because it is more out of the center of town? I do not know, but having no crowds to deal with was again, exactly what I wanted and needed for this day.
Sammon
Nanzen-ji Temple offery.
Here I purchased an incense stick, lit it and put it into the censer, said a prayer and tossed a coin into the offery. This place had an overwhelming sense of welcoming, and I was surprised to see locals going right past and ignoring this wonderful place
One of the “feet” of the Shoin-an Temple offery – absolutely stunning metalwork.
Offerings and respects paid, I moved on further into the complex, where I saw what appeared to be a small grove of trees… I was indeed correct, there was a small grove of trees but I did not expect to find…
A western-style aqueduct?!?! Puzzled, I investigated further. It seems that this aqueduct connects to Lake Biwa, and used to bring water into the city! Parts of the aqueduct are under repairs after some years of neglect. It is a popular place for people to gather and take photos – this one above is from my iPhone, but I did get a few shots with my DSLR that are waiting to be edited – that will be in a later post.
I was delighted to find such a treasure on my wanderings and I spent a bit of time here taking photos.
Soon I moved on, for I wanted to catch a view of the setting sun from Kiyomizu-dera… through Gion I walked and found a parade? OH! It was theThe Jidai Matsuri—”Festival of Ages” which commemorates the founding of Kyoto as the Imperial capital by the Emperor Kammu in 794… this is quite the affair, as a procession of over 2000 people in costumes from every era of Japanese history leave the Imperial Palace grounds in the morning and walk along a route that is several kilometers long, ending at the Heian Jingu Shrine.
(I looked this up as I snapped the photos) – a total surprise and a very happy one at that!
I was near the Heian Jingu Shrine, so I was literally seeing the last 10 minutes of the procession – I am very happy that I was able to witness this!
As the last of the costumed people went by, I quickly took my leave in an attempt to get ahead of the throngs of people that would soon be flooding the streets. Up up up the hills I went, and I found the meandering streets of Gion charming…
A few more tourists and touristy stores were here, mixed in with stores filled with handcrafted goods and foods… then my eyes spotted a small coffee stand, and then my eyes spotted a sign that said “Portland Roasting Coffee” and I had to stop!
Grateful for a cup of really good hand poured coffee and thanked by an even more grateful shopkeeper, I was also welcomed by another customer, who heard me talking with the barista about me being from Portland, where the coffee was roasted.
This friendly face was from Australia, near Adelaide… I never did catch her name but I am inclined to think that she will never fade from my memory. I sat next to her on a comfortable wooden bench, coffee in hand and had a nice conversation… we talked about coffee, about our respective homes and lives… and even touched on some deeper things. I never did get her name. She had to dash off after our 40 minute conversation to return her bicycle rental, which was due to be turned in shortly as she was heading back to Australia the next day
I wasn’t terribly far from Kiyomizu Dera so I quickened my pace, determined to catch the setting sun but alas, too many interesting things were vying for my attention… stopping to snap a couple of quick photos turned into more photos, more stopping and delaying my arrival to a vantage point to view that sunset. Clearly it was more about the journey for me today, rather than an ultimate destination.
On the winding streets of the mountain that lead up to Kiyomizu-dera, I found the Yasaka Kōshin-dō, whose full name is Daikoku-san Kongō-ji Kōshin-dō – one of Kyoto’s most colorful shrines… yet another surprise! I paused here for a bit and people watched.
A little investigation told me that these multi colored fabric “balls” are actually in the shape of Kukurizaru, a monkey with bound feet and hands.In Kōshin belief, it represents the control of the playful and desire-driven creature everyone has inside his body, according to Wikipedia. One writes their desire on the ball and by tying this ball with their desire to the shrine, a sacrifice is made… the desire vanishes, and thus a wish can be granted… it is said that desire keeps one’s wishes from coming true.
Many selfies and portraits being taken at the shrine.
I unintentionally followed these two up the path toward the Yasaka Pagoda… It wasn’t until I snapped this photo that I realized it was the same couple!
Onwards to Kiyomizu-dera I went – by this time I knew that I’d miss watching the sun go down, but would be able to witness at least the afterglow:
The sun had already set at Kiyomizu-dera, but it was still beautiful.
Tired and incredibly hungry, I message my Swedish friends… the guys wanted to do their own thing but Paulina was willing to grab some dinner.
We met up at home and then walked to the downtown area and a Yodobashi… we proceeded to the floor with all of the restaurants and ended up choosing a Chinese place for dinner, which was pretty good. Soup dumplings were had, but frankly didn’t have much broth in them, which was disappointing. I could not help but wish that it was Din Tai Fung!
… aaaaand since we were in a Yodobashi, we HAD to check out their extensive selection of Gashapon!
Walking home, near the Kamo-gawa river I spotted this shrine… which seemed really really familiar and then it hit me that I had passed by and observed this very same shrine on my first visit in 2014… I had remarked at the time how out of place this shrine seemed, and it still seemed so… but definitely a nice thing to find!
Turns out that I walked for almost 13 miles that day… around 20 kilometers – on my feet there were a few blisters as a physical reminder, and and in my heart, memories that will last me a lifetime. Indeed, I did find what I was seeking that day, and much much more. Peace was welling within and confidence that the tender bud of hope was starting to grow, a promise that healing would soon bloom.
Dropbox vs Google Drive – A Frustrated Photographer’s View
As with anyone who deals with a large amount of photo and video media I have a fair amount of trouble managing all of my files, especially since disciplining myself to properly sort said files once I am home from whatever photography excursion I have been on has largely been a task that I have failed in.
Often I am not intending to go on an excursion with the express purpose of taking photos and video but inevitably this is what I do… I have that wonderful device called a smartphone with me everywhere I go…. lo and behold, I return from wherever with many photos and videos. “I will just sort these out later” I say to myself and the digital files upload to my iCloud and Dropbox.
I was pondering this very conundrum this past weekend as I had holed up at home because I was not feeling well and was exceedingly bored. I decided that whilst resting I would be productive and finally sort all of my photos and videos into properly dated files, and perhaps also by subject matter or location. Little did I know that I was about to embark on a journey that would lead to nowhere but frustration.
Dropbox has been a tool that I have used for years and thought nothing of sitting down at my PC to do a little folder housecleaning. I logged on to the website and began my task, quickly noticing that everything was taking a LONG time to click through. Checking a box of a file to move… 10-30 seconds for a checkmark to appear… okay, well perhaps my computer is lagging for some reason… click out of the browser and into a program – no problem. Try another website… fast as fast can be… go back to Dropbox, click “move files” – two minutes before any sort of indication that there was something affected.
4-1/2 hours later and I had barely made a dent in my organization – I was left with frustration and a long but friendly email to Dropbox was written. In the meantime, I am not one to let grass grow under my feet as I wait so I looked to my Google Drive account, where I also have a few files stored.
Three years ago I had moved away from a trial run with Google Drive to Dropbox again because at the time Drive was not an effective way for me to move my digital media from my phone or my camera – it was unreliable and tedious, with the app often hanging and then crashing which made it un-usuable for my particular needs. I had hopes this time that perhaps a few things had been improved and I was not disappointed!
Google made a Drive app specifically for photos and videos and oh my have I been pleasantly surprised! Fast reliable transfers and it even sorts things by date and location, along with a proper way to search for your photos whether it be by that date or location but also by person! It finds photos of people and asks you for their names so you can search by name too! That part is simultaneously awesome and a little creepy as well.
After the app backs up all of your photos, it asks you if you would like it to also delete the media from your phone – 32,524 media files still remain there because I cannot bear to delete a one of them… maybe tomorrow!
Addendum: There is so much more to the Google Photos App that I want to talk about, so look for a proper review soon!
Boo is BACK!
WELL HELLO THERE!
Last year my domain lapsed… a long and uninteresting story for you, Dear Reader and I will spare you that misery.
Sufficient to say that what seemed to be a minor miracle happened in the form of my BEST FRIEND and SWEETHEART Chris revealing that he had retained my domain AAAAAND had my archived posts! JOY OF JOYS! My backups had been lost on an external hard drive that failed two years ago and ever since this domain lapsed I had been lamenting the loss thereof, but now NOW I can relieve all of those memories in blog form once again!
My plan going forward is to update here weekly and possibly more often if I feel inspired to wax long about some topic or post a bazillion photos. Speaking of photos, I do have a Mini Rant: Instagram is starting to displease me more and more as they have introduced more of the Facebook-like features such as only showing you the most popular photos in your feed and not having photos in chronological order. My own photos visibility has DRASTICALLY shrunk as well… my posting habits had slowed down quite a bit and for the first few photos I posted in the past couple of months my photos were receiving above average likes… mostly from random people and not my followers. Now, I am receiving BELOW average… usually I receive around 20 likes but for the past two or three I have had… 7 – 15 likes.
Seeking attention or popularity is not what I am all about regarding Instagram… I just want to connect with other photographers but it seems that the algorithm is specifically designed to under-expose your posts to prompt you to post more content which would in turn might motivate users to open the app more often, thus increasing the probability that you will interact with their advertisers. Shady in my opinion, but effective because human nature is, if nothing else, quite predictable.
Aside from FaceBook’s disagreeable tactics in regard to Instagram, that app has also become a place where everything is a cookie-cutter copy of certain styles and content. I am tired of the buildings, food and fashion all under white-washed filters. To be fair, when this style was first gaining popularity (particularly with VSCO app users) I did give it a fair shake and it wasn’t for me… I know that some very much like that aesthetic. The intent of mentioning this style is not to poke fun at people’s preferences but rather to point out that there is more and more of the same sort of photos being published on Instagram and not the creative variety that was prevalent in the early days of the app.
Noticing the sameness has caused me to take a thoughtful look at my own Instagram grid and I think that perhaps my own photography could use a boost of creativity so I am making it my challenge this spring and summer to push my creative boundaries in regard to my photography and video editing along side regular blog posts – keep your eyes peeled for more content here soon!
Day #76 – A Photo A Day 2013
It’s late! I’m just now getting around to posting today’s pic, one that I snapped two weeks ago when I was roaming around San Francisco. (I miss my new home! Returning there in two days yay!)
San Francisco has no shortage of interesting things to look at and in turn, for me to photograph. 😉
The Holy Cow Mascot
This cow hangs above the door of The Holy Cow Nightclub – when I first moved to San Francisco, this cow was one of the first things that greeted me but then he was a metallic gold! I walked past here hoping to get a better pic than I did last time, but now he’s such a lovely shade of neon pink that I didn’t mind that the gold was gone. 🙂
I used Tangled FX and Photo FX to edit this photo.
Day #75 – A Photo A Day 2013
Pre-existing image templates provide a world of creativity that really sparks my imagination. It’s fun to see what other photographers have captured and it is a challenge to incorporate those photos into my own to make a blending of two people’s creativity.
So many apps have these images available either for free or for a nominal download fee but so far my favorite has been Filtermania 2 from Dropico. I used images from their library on today’s photo, which began as some stormy clouds that were outside of Ultrazone when I was there on Friday evening:
Into the Woods
Using pre-existing image templates for enhancing or completely changing an edit is something that I have frequently done but I think it’s time that I start making my own templates. I’m having fun with these pre-existing templates and they are a creative tool that is wonderful to have at my fingertips, but I would like to add more of myself into my projects, and I feel that this is one way that I can accomplish this.
Day #74 – A Photo A Day 2013
Another quick post for the day!
I snapped a quick photo as I was driving east on Hwy 14 in Vancouver, WA – Mt. Hood is in the distance:
Tangled FX with multiple effects layered, then I did a bit of a tilt-shift effect to soften the clouds and bring the focus down to the vanishing point.
Day #73 – A Photo A Day 2013
A quick post for today – a snap I took on Mount Sutro last week:
Mount Sutro Sunshine
I used Tangled FX layered with a couple of effects and then altered the trees and tree tops with ElastiCam. I obsess over the details, so this edit took quite a bit of time.
Day #72 – A Photo A Day 2013
Gosh, being sneaky with your iPhone to take pictures is HARD sometimes. Today’s shot is a perfect example of this. I found it to be one of the most difficult shots that I have edited lately.
Adorable Boy Riding on BART
This little guy was SO ADORABLE and he kept playing peek-a-boo with me… everything in me wanted to set up the shot and leave his Mom out of the picture – I felt like her white shirt was going to be really distracting in the frame. Also, I didn’t want the boy to lose his un-inhibited playfulness by putting the phone up to take a photo.
After I got on the plane at SFO I started looking at all of the shots that I got – the boy’s mom had on that annoying white shirt, and it was ruining this shot!!! What should have been a simple edit took a better part of the flight to do because I just could not seem to find a way to diminish that shirt enough to my liking.
A ton of masking and layering went on. I wanted to age the photo but not make him get lost in the edit. I’m only half liking the results but I could not think of anything further to rescue this photo. In the end I suppose what matters is that I captured a sweet and cute moment and treasure that rather than obsess over what I feel is lacking in the composition of the photo that captured it.
Day #71 – A Photo A Day 2013
Trains are a never ending source of fascination to me and in particular I really like the BART Powell St. Station in San Francisco. Part of this may be a connection to it since my very first BART ride destination after leaving SFO was to that particular station.
I also really like the lines of that particular stop – so many textures and since the tunnel is so long at that point it gives me a chance to get really nice lines in the (excessive amounts of) photos that take of the station.
Warped Speed – at the Powell St. BART Station
This was taken as I was waiting for BART to take me to SFO last weekend. I really wanted to capture the motion of the train as it was coming in for a stop and I felt inspired to not only run it through Tangled FX but also played around with it in ElastiCam, made by Lucky Clan. I only warped the windows of the train to give it a sense of faster motion while maintaining the integrity of the lines of the rest of the train.
ElastiCam takes a bit of getting used to, not that it’s difficult to use – quite the opposite actually, but fine-tuning just how sensitive you do or do not want the effect to be to the touch of your finger takes a bit of time. At first I found myself over-applying effects, but once I got used to gently dragging and adjusting the strength of the effect, I found it to be extremely fun and satisfying to watch the transformation to my photo.
Day #70 – A Photo A Day 2013
Quick post today – I have much left to do today (I’m in Portland visiting family and friends!) but I’m still committed to making my daily posts!
Today’s is #3 from the #7faceless challenge that Sumsion challenged us to on Instagram:
Day #3 of the #7faceless Challenge
Day #69 – A Photo A Day 2013
My hike to/on Mount Sutro yielded more shots than I originally thought. As I have gone back to look at all of the pictures that I snapped that day I was pleased with more shots than I anticipated so that means that I’m not done posting photos here from that day. 🙂
Lupine Leaves on Mount Sutro
I used a subtle effect from Tangled FX to give those lupine leaves just a little more definition and then converted the picture to black and white. Simple, quick and easy! The leaves already looked really fuzzy (and in reality were really really soft!) but I wanted that definition to really stand out in the photo since the tactile sensation is impossible to actually transmit through the viewing of a picture.
Day #68 – A Photo A Day 2013
Since I posted a rather serious picture yesterday it seemed fitting that I post Day #2 of Sumsion’s #7faceless challenge – it’s a much more light hearted post!
Yesterday’s photo was all about a time in my life when things seemed dark and un-fixable, a very sad time for me. Today’s picture is all about where I am today – joyful and content, rejoicing in my life and in the wonderful blessings that I enjoy every day:
Dancing With Joy = #7faceless Challenge
I really didn’t do much editing to this one – just added a vignette and toned down the colors a teeny bit.
It took SO MANY TAKES to actually capture my dancing without having my face in focus! I finally just twirled several times to get the effect I wanted and even then I took a lot of photos before I finally found one that seemed suitable within the confines of this challenge.
Life is good!
Day #67 – A Photo A Day 2013
Instagram has been one way that I have been sharing my photography for two years now and in those two years I have found quite a few amazing artists that have greatly encouraged me to continue pushing the envelope of my creativity.
One of people who has influenced me the most is Sumsion – I was going to link to his Statigram page, but he’s turned off public viewing, which is disappointing to me because I would love to share his work here as well. (he is simply amazing!)
Sumsion’s latest challenge is a self-portrait challenge but the trick is to not have your face in focus. So far, this has been a very difficult challenge for me!
This is my first submission:
Blown Away – for the #7faceless Challenge on Instagram
When I uploaded this to Instagram, some people that know me in “real life” were concerned because it seemed a bit dark. I explained that this is not representative of me now, but rather that it was how I felt at a certain point in time in my past – I felt like who I was had been completely blown away, destroyed and empty. I was having difficulty deciding just how to begin this challenge until a conversation I had earlier that day reminded me of that dark time and inspiration hit me.
I knew immediately what I wanted to do with my self-portrait, and after a couple of hours of experimentation, I found the right combination of app layering to actually achieve what you see here. This was a difficult one to actually upload for public consumption on Instagram – I felt like I was revealing quite a bit of myself without telling all of the personal details and I felt a bit of trepidation as I hit that upload button.
Immediately after, I felt almost a feeling of relief akin to happiness in that moment.
These challenges that Sumsion has presented to his followers have not only been pivotal points that have pushed me creatively but have also been instrumental in self-exploration and have taught me quite a bit about myself, even as far as really revealing to me how I view myself both externally and as a person.
Day #66 – A Photo A Day 2013
On my walk on Mount Sutro two days ago there may not have been a view of the ocean, but there were quite a few eucalyptus trees and many wild flowers. The smell in the forest was so invigorating and it was so quiet and peaceful – it didn’t even feel like I was in the middle of San Francisco.
Along the trail in many places there were Forget-me-nots, which are one of my favorite old-fashioned flowers. I tried out the macro lens that I won from Photojojo and was very pleased to find that I could get less than an inch from the flower for a nice bokeh effect.
Forget-Me-Nots on Mt. Sutro
Again, I’ve run it through Tangled FX using two effects and blending the two pictures. I was lucky to have the sunlight actually show up for the few seconds that I was on my knees taking this photo.
I was disappointed that I didn’t have an ocean view for the sunset, but what a beautiful oasis this hill provides in the middle of the city! I think this may end up being a new favorite place to ofrequent.
Day #65 – A Photo A Day 2013
Learning to be a little less obvious when I am snapping a photo is proving to be a more difficult thing than I originally thought that it would be and is definitely a big challenge.
I am always trying to get a photo of Chris when he’s not really paying attention – he will be looking at me with the sweetest smile but the moment I bring my camera or iPhone up to capture that sweetness, the genuine smile is replaced with the “camera smile”.
“Camera Smile” more often than not looks forced rather than natural and is definitely not what I’m wanting to capture in a photo.
Lately I have been practicing stealth photography with my iPhone as I’ve been walking out in public. Sometimes I am literally shooting from the hip and trying my best to not look as if that’s what I’m doing. It’s hard to focus on walking, looking casual and cleverly tilting my phone lens toward my subject without actually looking at the screen to see what it is that’s being captured by the camera.
I think that I managed pretty well to capture this adorable dog in motion while Chris and I were out walking this past weekend:
Miniature Husky?
He was SO FLUFFY and he looked like a tiny Husky (is there such a thing as a miniature Husky?) so the moment he and his person were in the right light, I started snapping away. This was the second picture of 5 that I snapped in a row, and the only one that I thought was fit for editing.
Day #64 – A Photo A Day 2013
More fun with Tangled FX!
This is the “mountains” of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride at Disneyland as seen from the queue during the nightly fireworks show.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Edit
This pic obviously doesn’t have any fireworks, but the sky was filled with all sorts of smoke from them and it made for a strange hue when I took the picture.
I ran it through three different effects in Tangled FX and also let it color boost and WOW the effect was crazy! It almost looks like lava or something! I’m so in love with Tangled FX!
Day #63 – A Photo A Day 2013
At the risk of redundancy I am posting yet another pic edited in Tangled FX because I simply cannot get enough of that app!
I layered two different Tangled FX effects for this picture of one of the Chinese Dancing Lions at the San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade.
Dancing Lion at the Chinese New Year Parade 2013
I really wish that I knew exactly how this app works – it’s so fascinating! This picture was already a little blurry because of the motion of the lion so I felt that it would be perfect to use the “blurred” effect to make it a little less noticeable. That didn’t quite give me the results that I wanted so I layered the “smooth fibers” effect over it as well to sharpen it up a little and to give the picture a bit more depth and detail.
Day #62 – A Photo A Day 2013
Tangled FX is fast becoming my new favorite photo editing app – it’s so versatile and I love how other-worldly it makes my outdoor pics look!
Here is a photo that I shot in Muir Woods on Friday before any editing of any kind:
Redwood Trees – Before Editing
Same photo – after editing in Tangled FX:
Sunlight in Muir Woods
Watching the photo transform in that app is like magic – it just morphs in front of your eyes! I didn’t layer two effects in this pic like I did in the last one since I felt that altering in any further would have not been as effective. Sometimes less is more.
Day #61 – A Photo A Day 2013
There are SO MANY photo editing apps that I have been wanting to download lately but I have been limiting myself to one or two at a time so I can fully explore them before moving on and adding another to my library of well-used apps.
I just purchased Tangled FX, and app that I’ve had my eye on for a few weeks now and let me say that this app has blown me a away for a few reasons.
1. It’s easy to use. Effect options are clearly marked and it’s not hard to figure out what process you want by looking at the toolbar.
2. Processing time is minimal. It’s only taking a few seconds for the chosen effect to alter the photo.
3. Customization. You can adjust the effect scale factor, color boost, contrast or gamma.
4. There is a wide selection of effect choices – 16 in all.
Today’s picture was modified in Tangled FX, and I layered two effects in Blender to get the look that I wanted:
Piggy Art In The Window of Gallery 16 – Edited
I pass by Gallery 16 a few times a week, and FINALLY the shadows were just right so I seized the moment and got my shot! Immediately I knew that I wanted to use Tangled FX to modify the photo. The shadows already had rather soft edges but I very much wanted to highlight and exaggerate that.
Day #60 – A Photo A Day 2013
Surprises are one of the most enjoyable things in life to me, and they don’t have to be a major surprise to be spectacular.
To clarify, I do not mean a bad surprise… like falling and twisting your ankle or waking up with a cold. What I am referring to are those un-expected moments where something good happens that you are totally not expecting and it totally makes your day.
My husband knows that I love surprises – he also knows that I am notoriously difficult to surprise, not because I get suspicious and nosy, but I’m generally a very observant person and I can tell when behavior is just a little bit off and then it isn’t long before my brain does the arithmetic and I figure out what has been planned behind my back.
I don’t know if I have been off my game lately or if I’m just not paying attention because he really surprised me today.
Two weeks ago Chris told me that his team at work was going to have an afternoon get together for lunch and that spouses were invited. The lunch was to be at one of his co-worker’s house, which is near the Muir Woods preserve. My eyes lit up at this, despite the fact that we would be going to the house and not to the woods – maybe I could get a glimpse! It’s been a desire of mine to visit Muir Woods for several years and I just KNEW that being so close and not being able to actually go on a hike was going to drive me nuts.
Today was the day – I laced up my boots and walked to Chris’ office where I met him and two of his co-workers and we started the drive, others on his team following. Our drive was taking us over the Golden Gate Bridge, which I had not done before and once we started across I realized just how awesome those beautiful red towers are! It’s such a different experience being on the bridge itself rather than under one end of it… impressive for different reasons, but what a magnificent sight it was to have the golden sun illuminating that fire-y red against a deep blue sky!
Across the bridge and into the hills we went… there was the entrance to Muir Woods! WAIT! We’re turning INTO THE PARKING LOT! SURPRIIIIISE! The team was gathering here to go on a short hike!!! Elation! Chris did a great job keeping this a secret, no small feat let me assure you! The rest of the team arrived and away we went!
We took the Ocean View Trail which was a challenging one – lots of un-even ground with roots and rocks and many many hills. We were completely surrounded by towering Redwood trees and the fresh smell of the woods was so incredible! I only had my iPhone with me, and I had to catch up to the group many times because I kept pausing to snap pictures. 🙂
At the top of this trail was a hill covered in grasses, and you indeed could see the ocean. I was surprised that we were not closer to the ocean itself as I was under the impression that we would be on an ocean side cliff view, but it was still spectacular nonetheless. At this point, we hiked back the way we came, hopped into our cars and went to Chris’ co-worker Jason’s house, where we had a barbecue and we all talked and played with Jason’s lovely two girls. 🙂
The team ended up talking about ideas for a project they were working on so while they were talking shop I played a bit with a photo that I took while we were on the hike:
Iris In Muir Woods
It’s an iris that I found growing along the trail in the woods. I shot the picture with my fisheye lens from Photojojo – I haven’t been very impressed with this lens but I’ve been trying it out in a variety of lighting situations to give it a fair shake. It just seems like the pictures are not turning out as sharp as they should be, like the lens glass just isn’t very nice, and after looking at the original of this flower I think that’s what the problem is.
I took a picture with just the native lens (un-fortunately I ended up deleting it from my phone to make more room for other photos before I backed up my photos, so I can’t put the comparison of the originals here) and it looked much more clear than the original of this photo.
I was determined to make this photo look a bit more interesting with a bit of app layering – I do love a challenge! All in all, I think this edit looks better than the original but I am a little disappointed still with my edit. I think what is bothering me the most is that one petal that is much longer than the rest of the petals – normally I like asymmetry but this just seems out of place to me. I’m posting it here anyway as it was a part of the memories that I will take with me from this awesome day!
Day #59 – A Photo A Day 2013
App Layering. It’s addictive. It’s highly rewarding and creatively stimulating, not expensive and most apps are really easy to understand and apply practically.
I’m doing another Before and After post today because the edit I did this morning is so drastically different from the original photo that I wanted to show the difference.
The Hawaiian Chieftain is again the subject photo of the day. This photo here was taken on my iPhone 4s, native camera app at approx. 4:45 in the afternoon.
Here you see it un-touched – no edits nor touchups of any sort, just the raw photo:
Hawaiian Chieftian Un-Edited Photo
I went to bed last night thinking of this pic and how I’d like to edit it. As I found myself immersed in the process, the picture ended up becoming something much more different than I envisioned it to be in the first place and I built layer upon layer of editing and overall I am much more pleased with the finished result than what I had originally planned to do.
Hawaiian Chieftian Heavily Edited Photo
I started out in Photo FX where I added a bit of haze to darken things up a little. I then moved on to Iris where I added a bit of dirt, back to Photo FX to darken it a bit more. On to Filtermania 2, then Wow FX, back to Filtermania 2, again to Wow FX again, on to
I really don’t know what I would do without Photo FX and ScratchCam – they are my staples, and the Dropico apps are quickly becoming favorites as well!
Day #58 – A Photo A Day 2013
Back to the tall ships I went today, cameras and iPhone in hand!
There were considerably more people there than there had been yesterday. At first I figured that yesterday wasn’t busy since I was there so late, but one of the crew told me that there were much fewer yesterday. I guess word got out that they were here!
They’ll be in Oakland for the next two weeks after that, so just across the bay. It’s cheaper to moor over there, plus they can have mock battles with each other on that side of the bay without paying for a sound permit like San Francisco charges.
Today’s pic is the main mast of the Hawaiian Chieftain. It was very sunny today, but I decided that it needed a little moonlight:
Hawaiian Chieftian Main Mast – Edit
Layering iPhone apps is SO fun and I got so deep in this one that I don’t even remember all of the apps that I used – I was sort of doing it as I was working on other things and not making mental notes of what apps I used and in what order. (I really should note these things!)
I have many more photos to sort through from today’s session so expect more tall ship photos!
Day #57 – A Photo A Day 2013
Yesterday I learned that two tall ships were in town so OF COURSE today I had to go see them, since I have had a life long fascination with tall ships, pirates and the sea.
This afternoon I started the long walk to Pier 40. It was warm today and very sunny so I was particularly looking forward to a long walk that I routinely enjoy. Also, I hadn’t walked toward the tourist-y part of San Francisco in quite a while so I was ready to go.
It wasn’t as crowded as it would be on the weekends, and people were smiley and friendly. Lots of runners and bicyclists and people walking their dogs, apparently oblivious to the fact that THERE ARE TALL SHIPS IN TOWN! How could they not be heading straight there that very moment?! It boggles my mind.
The bay looked like a blue jewel glinting in the afternoon sun and it made me want to take a dip, despite what I knew the temperature of the water to be. I resisted the urge, partially because I wanted to reach my destination and partially because… well, I had no swimsuit! Onward I marched…
Past the Ferry Building, past Boudin Bakery, past In-n-Out – I almost stopped there but NO! I must resist! The ships await! (and because I like this pic, here is a shot of the Ferry Building! It’s an accidental shot, and I haven’t edited it)
Ferry Building – Accidental Photo
I avoided pier 39 completely and went onto…. wait, where is Pier 40? This is 41, where The Balclutha, and amazing ship in her own right (and an original!) makes her permanent home.
The Balclutha is a National Historic Landmark and Pier 41 is in the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park so I asked the park rangers if perhaps I had the wrong pier? No, Pier 40 was correct, and this is Pier 41… It turned out that Pier 40 IS JUST A FEW BLOCKS FROM MY APARTMENT!!! Arg! So I walked miles out of my way when I would have been at the ships in mere minutes.
The park rangers and I had a good laugh at the irony, and they explained the odd-even placement of pier numbers – basically the Ferry Building is the center and everything to the south of the Ferry Building is the even numbered piers and everything to the north of the Ferry Building is the odd numbered piers.
Disappointed, I started the walk home. Tours were due to end at 5 and I knew there was no way that I could walk there in time. (there was only a window of 1 hour for dockside tours) My feet were killing me – I already had some major blisters from a very long walk I had taken earlier in the week and I feared that I was forming blisters under my blisters… so I hopped on the F-Line and started home.
I hopped off at my stop and walked toward my apartment. I realized that I would have JUST enough time to get to the dock to spend a few minutes there so I decided to walk through the pain and make my way there. Fast walking and blisters do NOT mix but I cared not.
Finally I was there! 10 minutes on board the Hawaiian Chieftanso I didn’t have time to shoot many pictures but I took a few and talked with one of the ship hands. Everyone in the crew was dressed in appropriate attire for the late 1700’s early 1800’s as is evident to the photo I shot and edited below:
Aboard the Hawaiian Chieftan
Shot with my iPhone 4s, edited in Photo FX, Iris, and ScratchCam.
10 minutes on board was not enough and I didn’t have time to go on board the Lady Washington… I’m going back tomorrow!
Day #56 – A Photo A Day 2013
We have arrived at post #2 for today, which is actually today’s post! Hopefully the website and internet access woes are behind me for a great deal of time.
I met @tatum22 and @diegoscott83 of Instagram fame on the instawalk_sf and they are a continual source of inspiration to me. They have this Monday tradition where they post “Meditation Monday” pictures where one of them (usually @diegoscott83) jumps in the air in a pose of levitated mediation and they have really perfected this!
Below is one of the shots that I took of @diegoscott83 doing just that at Fort Point right under the Golden Gate Bridge here in San Francisco.
@diegoscott83 “levitating” under the Golden Gate Bridge at Fort Point – Instawalk_SF 2103
There was a great deal of lens flare that I wanted to keep in the picture, but it was hard to tone down the outer edges of the picture and still keep the basic integrity of that awesome flare. I’m basically happy with how this turned out but I may re-visit the pic for a re-edit later.