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 Buddha, Buddhism, carving, meditation, monochrome, photo, photography, Zen on August 31, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This wooden Buddha stands atop a large speaker in my room.
Behind him is a reproduction of a painting by Caravaggio; to the right, a postcard depicting Vladimir Lenin; to the left, a postcard featuring a 1930′s advert for Guinness. In front, at his feet, is a large lump of pumice stone someone gave me, a small piece of lava I stole from Pompeii, lots of rounded pieces of glass from the Pacific Ocean off Kochi, Japan, a pine cone from Norway, and an assortment of coins from various countries.
Strange to say, I can’t remember where I bought him. Laos? Thailand? Bali?
It doesn’t really matter…
A larger version of this picture can viewed here at my dedicated website and store, Andy Lightfoot Photography.
Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged Buddha, Japan, photo, statue, temple, travel photography, wood carving, Zen on August 1, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This stern fellow guards the enormous bronze Buddha in Todaiji temple, Nara, Japan.
Carved from wood, he towers over the visiting tourists, scowling at their lack of respect for the Enlightened One.
The edifice housing this guardian and his master the Giant Buddha is allegedly the largest wooden building in the world…
You can see a larger version of this photo here.
Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged Buddhism, Buddhist, D7000, Hiroshima, Japan, Japanese, Miyajima, Nikon, pagoda, photo, photography, temple, Zen on June 17, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
A typically sunny December day in Japan, and a trip out to Miyajima, a popular island near Hiroshima, to shoot the vestiges of the country’s past with the Nikon D7000.
Here we see the base of a five-storey pagoda in the foreground, its gaudy orange paint-work contrasting nicely with the more restrained temple building in the background.
A larger version of this picture can viewed here at my dedicated website and store, Andy Lightfoot Photography.
Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged 'Silver Efex Pro', 18-55mm, Buddhism, Buddhist, calm, contemplation, enlightenment, Japan, Japanese, Kyoto, meditation, monk, moosy, Nikon D50, sepia, spiritual, temple, Zen on June 13, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
A hot, humid day in August 2006, and I found myself in one of Kyoto’s less popular temples, Honen-in, a quiet, peaceful and mossy enclave far away from the brash mass tourism of the main sights.
Soon after I arrived, the head monk and a young acolyte exited the grounds for a sub-temple further up in the wooded hills. Not wanting to disturb them with an intrusive frontal shot, I took the coward’s way out and followed them from behind.
Taken with my first DSLR, a Nikon D50 with a kit 18-55mm lens. Over-exposed due to poor technical abilities, I have attempted to rescue this image by processing with Silver Efex Pro.
A larger version of this picture can viewed here at my dedicated website and store, Andy Lightfoot Photography.
Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged 18-200mm, Buddha, Buddhism, D7000, hand, image, ISO, Japan, Kyoto, Nara, Nikon, photo, photograph, photography, statue, Zen, zoom on May 29, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Nara, an ancient Japanese city near Kyoto, contains the largest wooden building in the world which houses an enormous bronze statue of the Buddha.
Inside, lighting is challenging, but the Nikon D7000 coped admirably, allowing me to zoom in on the hand of a minor deity and produce a beautiful shot even at ISO 3200.
A larger version of this picture can viewed here at my dedicated website and store, Andy Lightfoot Photography.
Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged abstract, architecture, art, Buddhism, China, D50, DSLR, eaves, image, Japan, Japanese, Nagasaki, Nikon, oriental, pattern, photo, photography, roof, temple, Zen on May 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Nagasaki is a city with a more cosmopolitan heritage than most Japanese towns. As well as some areas of old European housing, there are a number of Chinese-influenced temples whose decoration is noticeably different from the Japanese norm.
This detail of the colourful temple eaves is an example of this, and was captured four years ago on my first DSLR, a Nikon D50.
A larger version of this picture can viewed here at my dedicated website and store, Andy Lightfoot Photography.
