Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged architecture, asia, gate, Hiroshima, Japan, Miyajima, oriental, pagoda, shinto, temple, traditional, Zen on August 1, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Mission to Miyajima : 1st April 2012
I went out to Miyajima, a World Heritage Site just a stone’s throw from Hiroshima city, back in April, with the idea of imagining I was visiting it for the first time and trying to see it with a fresh pair of eyes. Here are some of the results…
Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged bride, ceremony, Japan, priest, shinto, shrine, sunshade, traditional, wedding on May 3, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
“Shinto Wedding” : Tokyo, 20th March 2012
This is how a traditional Japanese wedding looks, taking place at a Shinto shrine. Things don’t get much more ‘Japanesey’ than this, and it’s a rare treat if you happen to visit when one is going on.
These days few couples opt for these ultra-traditional affairs, preferring the faux Western version done in a faux church with a faux priest.
The bride wears an ornate kimono with a totally white face, black hair tied up in the traditional style most non-Japanese will know from their ideas of geisha. The priest behind her shades her with a vermilion parasol.
I can’t remember where I stumbled upon this scene, but I’m glad I did…
Click on the picture to be magically transported to a larger version.
Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged architecture, bridge, Japan, monochrome, orange, park, Tokyo, traditional, wooden on April 24, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
“Vermilion Span” : Tokyo, 19th March 2012
Another view of the traditional wooden bridge in Tokyo’s old oasis of imperial calm, Koishikawa Korakuen…
You can see a larger version of this photograph by clicking here.
Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged bridge, garden, Japan, lake, mirror, monochrome, orange, reflection, Tokyo, traditional on April 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
“Traditional Tokyo” : 19th March 2012
You might imagine Japan’s capital to be little more than clusters of skyscrapers above neon-drenched crowded streets, but there are a few surprising pockets of history and tradition that have somehow escaped the cataclysmic fire raids of 1945 and the post-war rush to modernism.
One such enclave is the Koishikawa Korakuen, a traditional Japanese garden set incongruously next to Tokyo Dome baseball stadium. Despite this, the place really is an oasis of tranquillity in which one can completely escape from the noises and crowds outside.
Little vermilion wooden bridges are a mainstay of such landscaped retreats, emphasised here by the reduction of the surroundings to monochrome, and helping to reduce the ‘flatness’ of the image caused by uniform low cloud.
Click here for a larger version of this photo.
Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged architecture, building, Carcassonne, castle, chateau, Europe, France, French, house, pastel, photography, rustic, South of France, traditional, travel on March 3, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Walking back from Carcassonne’s famous castle to the train station in September 2007, the back streets were full of beautiful old crumbling residences, largely overlooked by the tourists…which was their great loss.
A larger version of this picture can viewed here at my dedicated website and store, Andy Lightfoot Photography.
