Tree Frog

A tree frog hanging around in the forest.

Mt Izumi from Izumi Botanical Gardens

I got to visit Izumi Botanical Gardens recently. It is a fun place to go.

Butterfly on a Flower

So butterflies suck up pollen?

Butterfly on a Leaf

The butterflies are coming out.

Huge Dragonfly

This wasn't moving, so I could get close to it. The body of this thing was as big as my hand, and now I wish I had something to show how big it was.

Samurai Bug

For some reason this bug reminds me of a samurai. I think it is the long antennae. It might also be the way the bugs legs are positioned, almost in a seppuku position.

The Bucket

I think this bucket must have an interesting story.

Spider Webs

These webs are pretty cool when they are wet.

The Beginning

Every late summer these big yellow spiders appear. It looks like they are making their return.

Rebel Base

I am looking forward to coming back here to Jogi Nyorai Saiho-ji Temple with a telephoto lens. I only went with a 55mm this time.

Jogi Nyorai Saiho-ji Temple

The road leading up to the temple in the village.

Signs

Maybe instead of all the signs, they should move the shop closer to the street.

Daikanon #48 - High Key

From Wikipedia:

High-key lighting is a style of lighting for film, television, or photography that aims to reduce the lighting ratio present in the scene. This was originally done partly for technological reasons, since early film and television did not deal well with high contrast ratios, but now is used to suggest an upbeat mood. It is often used in sitcoms and comedies. High-key lighting is usually quite homogeneous and free from dark shadows. The terminology comes from the key light (main light).[citation needed]

The challenge was to do a shot in high key, and the Daikanon with a cloudy background gave me a great opportunity.

Evening Izumi Sky

This is the first picture I took with the Tokina 11-16 2.8.

North Face

This is where the North Face Store is in downtown Sendai on Hirose Street.

Blistering Sun

I took this to see how well my lens would hold up to flaring when pointed at the sun. It did pretty well.

Bird on a Wire

Cloudy Sunset

Sometimes I want to zoom in on the sun to get a shot of a big ball. When it is cloudy, it messes up my plan.

Solar Light

The sun as it would look as a light bulb.

Setting Sun

You can see birds sitting on the wire hat runs just above the sun.