A Visit To Japan - Part 4

The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove led us to an intersection that allowed us to head in different directions. Head North and you can see some of the larger temple areas. Head South and walk along the river towards a famous bridge and potentially a monkey park. We opted instead to go up the nearby hill, which led us to a place called "Okouchi Sansou."

After exploring the beautiful and peaceful gardens of Okouchi Sansou, slept and made our trip the next day to the famous Kiyomizu-dera temple. It is here where we decided to have a little fun and dress up in kimonos. I have to say that I was not used to walking around in wooden sandals and a heavy gown but it was surprisingly comfortable despite walking up and down the hilly area of Kiyomizu-dera. 

We later visited the area of Nara, which is a city a good distance away from Kyoto. It is here that deer roam freely in some of the parks and are quite tame... right up until they realize you have food or food-like objects on you.

At this point in the trip, I was starting to run out of film and decided to conserve my shots. With just a few frames left on a roll of black and white film, I took photographs of the Fushimi-Inari Shrine at night (we arrived quite late and were literally poking around in the haunting darkness) and finished the roll with just a few frames left in the geisha area known as Gion in Kyoto.

A section of Okouchi-Sanso

Okouchi-sanso

Okouchi-sanso

Okouchi-sanso

Okouchi-sanso

Okouchi-sanso

The fences in the bamboo grove are made of... bamboo!

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Rental Kimono Okamoto in Kiyomizu-dera

Rental Kimono Okamoto in Kiyomizu-dera

:)

Children school groups were everywhere in Kiyomizu-dera.

Kiyomizu-dera temple

Deer of Nara

With onlookers like myself looking on, two guys from a shop in Nara pound and create delicious mochi the old-fashioned way.

The Fushimi Inari shrine area has a hike that goes for about two hours through these torii style gates. As we arrived very late, it started to get very dark very quickly. Before we knew it, we were enveloped in darkness going through a trail in Japan in almost absolute quiet. After we noticed it starting to elevate and we found ourselves stumbling in the dark, we decided to turn around and call it a day. 

This last images was actually my absolute last frame of film on me. Serendipitously, we ran into a group of maiko (or people dressed up as maiko) and I asked if they were OK with my taking their photo. They were cool with it and I took the photo and that was it... my film was done!

A Visit To Japan - Part 1

My wife and I took some time out for ourselves and finally went on a trip that we had been planning for a while: Japan.

Even with 2 weeks to explore, we both felt that there was so much more we could see. 2 weeks was not enough time to see all the places that there was to explore. While we did visit the normal "touristy" spots, we had the most enjoyment in the little "nooks and crannies" and things in the alleyways of the main streets: hidden tempura restaurants, little unique stores, quiet(er) neighborhoods, bamboo groves, Japan life.

Amidst taking images of large red lanterns with throngs of tourists as well as our 7&i Holdings (aka 7-11 in Japan) dinner(s), I took some time to take images of life in Japan as it was. Yes, I wanted to document Japan :)

From scrambling through the Narita Airport to get on the NEX Airport Express to trying to find our hostel in the darkness of night in Ikkebukuro, our journey truly started as an adventure. Thanks to street view and googlemaps, we successfully found the place and slept for the night to rest after a long flight. We awoke to explore an amazing city and an amazing country. 

Vancouver, YRV Airport - The new departure terminal for International flights is amazingly beautiful!

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo - Roppongi was quite a nice place. We visited an area called Tokyo Midtown, which had some amazing examples of architecture and design. 

Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo - I focused here on the person with the umbrella.

Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo

Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo 

Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo - This was taken in the library section of a design gallery that we visited. 

Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo - A pet-focused store inside the mall with a grooming area in the back.

Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo - This place was very quiet in the morning but became very lively around lunch time as droves of office workers came down from their offices to have a bite to eat.

Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo - One of our many amazing Japanese meals. The chicken karaage here was delicious!

Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo - Taken from inside the restaurant where we had the chicken karaage.

Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo - Kimonos are quite common in Japan.

Roppongi (Tokyo Tower), Tokyo - We did the tourist thing and took a ride up the Tokyo Tower and were blessed with amazing panoramic views of the great city that is Tokyo. Here, I decided to take photographs of the others staring out at the amazing sight. 

Roppongi (Tokyo Tower), Tokyo - And the clouds parted :)

Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo - Cafe level

Shibuya, Tokyo - Shibuya Station has a whole wall and a statue dedicated to Hachiko, the dog.

Shibuya, Tokyo

Tokyo - At an intersection as we made a way to our train to head to Mitaka.

Mitaka, Tokyo - We boarded the yellow Ghibli bus as we made our way to the Ghibli Museum. 

Mitaka (Ghibli Museum), Tokyo

Mitaka (Ghibli Museum), Tokyo - We were not allowed to take photographs inside so I took as many as I could of the outside. This is a robot (about true-to-life size) featured in the film "Castle in the Sky" (Laputa). 

Yamanote Line, Tokyo - If you time it wrong, you run into the busy Tokyo traffic. I don't recall which station this was but during rush hour they all seem this busy.

Ikkebukuro, Tokyo - A view from our hotel room. Many of the places we stayed in were actually in the alleys of Japan. Japanese alleys are pretty amazing. Usually they are very clean and they have a ton of neat surprises: unique shops, restaurants, small businesses, etc.

Ikkebukuro, Tokyo - Ramen! While we love ramen in Vancouver, there is nothing quite like a Japanese ramen in Japan

Part II coming up!

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Camera tech info:

Color - Kodak Pro Color 100 on Olympus OM4 + 50mm F1.8
B&W - Kodak TMAX 400 on Leica M6 + CV 35mm F1.2

Riverway Golf Course Burnaby Wedding - Holman and Monica

Life gets really busy. Sometimes I find myself getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily life and forget to slow down and just enjoy moments. Blogging is one way I sit down, play some light music, have a tea/coffee and bear my thoughts and my images to the world... and slow down! I hope you'll enjoy this moment with me. 

Holman and Monica first met with me at a local Starbucks to discuss with them about the details of their wedding. It was really cool to convey to them who I was as a photographer and what they were looking for in terms of photography. The terms "documentary" and "not posed" came up in our conversation and immediately I knew that this was a couple for which I was a good match.

Being able to document the event of two people coming together in holy matrimony is a privilege that I truly enjoy every time I get to do it. Amidst all the craziness that can sometimes be a wedding, it's really rewarding to see and realize that my photographs are documenting this slice of time in people's lives for future generations to see.

The day started at Monica's home, then over to Burnaby Pacific Grace Church for the ceremony. The reception took place at River Way Golfcourse in Burnaby.

As usual, I'll let the images do the talking.

Morning breakfast at Monica's home.

Monica taking a call in the morning.

One of the bridesmaids looks on as Monica has her makeup done.

Smiles sometimes happen in the split of a second. Any earlier or later and this image would've been gone.

One of my personal favorites from the set. Monica takes a moment to relax before the day continues onward.

The best man helps out one of the groomsmen.

A moment of prayer just before Holman and his groomsmen step onto the altar and await the arrival of the bride.

Some of Holman and Monica's friends brought the altar piece to the reception and set it up again in the grass area just outside of the venue!

Games were played.

The Never Ending Quest To Find My Voice... Results In a New Blog

For those of you who have followed me at my old blog at www.jonathandesmond.blogspot.com, thank you for your interest and your support. I started that blog in 2010 to really focus on my creative vision and sharpen my instinct for my photography. The result is almost 4 years of blogging and also slowly seeing my interest and passion turn to Documentary-Style Photography (and Documentary and Street Photography in general).

Just as I started my old blog, this is how I will start my new blog: This is the start of something NEW. I look forward to taking this photographic vision adventure with you folks along side me :)

-Jonathan Desmond-
Documentary Photographer