The Golden Pavilion Kyoto Japan
Mar, 2019Views
756
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Awards
Spring 21 Award
2020 Choice Award
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 30 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 30 rank
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This is the Kinkaku-ji (also called Rokuon-ji) or the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto Japan. It is a Zen Buddhist Temple and a World Heritage Site.Time
It was taken in the late afternoon and early evening, close to the closing time of the shrine. It was quite a rush and the place was overcrowded, teeming with tourists. I was trying hard to find a spot to view it without the heads of the people getting in the way. I walked around the shrine to the side close to the rear of the temple to avoid the crowd who were mainly congregating in the front. As I walked a little distance, I spotted the trees on the rock in the middle of the lake with their shimmering reflection because of the drizzle. There were several of them but, the others were obscuring the temple a lot more. I decided to capture the small trees with the backdrop of the temple.Lighting
Nature was kind enough to help me that day with the light. The skies were overcast and there was also a light drizzle which stopped periodically to brighten up without the sun coming out since the cloud cover was heavy. The light provided a mystical appearance to the temple.Equipment
It was unfortunate that on that day I did not have my beloved camera on my person. I was attending a conference and planned to go sightseeing the day after the conference concluded. But for reasons I had to curtail my stay in Kyoto and leave early the very next morning for Tokyo. I couldn't however leave without seeing atleast the Golden Pavilion. So when the conference ended at noon, I rushed, since I also had to reach before the closing hours. I had to make do with my cell phone camera, a Nokia Lumia 640. I was terribly disappointed that I didn't have my Canon Powershot SX400 IS with me, all the while thinking I wouldn't be able to capture all that I wanted to. But, after returning to my hotel room, when I went through the photos, I was quite happy to see the results. And this Award proves it.Inspiration
The inspiration was an opportunity to visit Japan. I was so thrilled that I was getting a chance to make a trip to Kyoto especially, famed for the geishas. Before leaving I googled to get an idea of the places I could visit and found that the Golden Pavilion was one of the major attactions. I decided that I had to make the most of my trip and had to definitely see the Pavilion. Another chance may not come and if it did, it might not be to Kyoto. The only major disappointment of the trip was the fact that I did not have my camera with me that day, lying useless in my hotel room.Editing
Yes, I did some post-processing, but not much. I only enhanced the image a little bit and improved the contrast using Picasa.In my camera bag
Only my Canon Powershot SX400 IS and Nokia Lumia 640 cell phone because of its camera, the chargers and an extra memory card. I have not yet had an opportunity to learn the use of different types of lens or camera.Feedback
I am not sure I am equipped to give advice but I can share what I have learnt about taking photos of different subjects. With living things such as birds and butterflies, one has to be prepared to chase after them and be very patient and still. With animals, it's easier since they aren't so fidgety but they have a tendency to disappear into the bushes. Still life and landscapes are the easiest but with them, a vantage point is very important. It depends on which aspect one wants to capture and then look around and search for a position that will give the exact view. One has to be prepared to assume all odd postures including lying on the ground and getting into the bushes. Personally, I had to overcome a lot of shyness sometimes to photograph exactly what I want. In this case with the Golden Pavilion, I was looking around to see if I coud capture it in a way that's not done usually. Since there were a lot of the little islands and trees, I wished to have those in the image along with the shrine. The most important lesson in photography that I have learnt so far is you have to be prepared to walk for miles and miles.
