With only a short (2 day) visit to Tokyo, I was very fortunate to have a beautiful sunny day to explore the tail end of Hanami and the (already falling) sakura bloom. Tokyo’s cherry blossoms started to bloom about 2 weeks ahead of the average and I was a bit worried that I was going to miss it. Thankfully though, there were still plenty of great viewing areas to explore including the Meguro River.
I spent a couple hours wandering along the river, crossing all the little bridges, and searching for an area to set up my camera. With so many beautiful spots, it wasn’t easy to choose but I eventually settled on the one you see here. As I stood there, the wind kicked up, producing strong gusts that caused thousands of cherry blossom petals to rain down all around me. Consequently, the wind also made photography more difficult with the fading light. Let’s just say that it was a frustratingly beautiful problem to have. 😉
This is the resulting photo from a “The Moments Between” post I shared on Facebook on Monday. If you would like to compare, you can find that post here:
Technical Mumbo Jumbo
Camera: Nikon D800
Lens: 24-70 f/2.8 (Shot at 35 mm)
Tripod: RRS TVC-24 / BH-40 Ballhead / RRS L-Plate
ISO: 500 at f/4
5 Exposure Brackets (-2,-1,0,+1,+2)
Location: Shot in Tokyo, Japan and post-processed in Fujiyoshida City, Japan – April 2013
Hardware: 15” 2013 Macbook Pro Retina, Wacom Intuos5 Small Tablet
Software: Lightroom 4.3, Photoshop CS6, Nik HDR Efex Pro 2, Nik Color Efex Pro 4
Technique and Details: All 5 exposure brackets blended using Nik HDR Efex Pro followed by some manual blending fun in Photoshop CS6.
Espresso: A combination of brewed Lavazzo Oro and a half dozen little Boss Coffee Cans.
