Taibros.net

Heres the second installment of my favorite photos of my Japan Trip.

6) Free Hugs at Harajuku - I liked this picture because of the contrasts in people and postures you see throughout the picture. First you have the asian-american dude in the pink snow cap holding the free hugs sign, striking a nice pose. Way in the back you see the popular costumed youth hanging out in Harajuku. You also see the smattering of foreigners with cameras. A nicely framed representation of the bustle and crowds you find in Harajuku on a Sunday afternoon.

7) Todaiji Flame - This picture was taken at the buddhist temple of Todaiji in Nara. In the background you see the massive structure that houses the world’s largest Buddha statue (150 feet tall!). It is one of the most impressive sights to stand in front of, because of its dominating size and humble composition (it is made entirely of wood). In the foreground you have the intricate wisp of flame from the incense pot that sits at the entrance. In the midground you have three hip japanese tourists walking in near-symmetry towards us. The reason I like this picture is because it not only captures the old and the new (the old temple with the fashionable guys in the midground), but also the large and the small (the temple and the flame).

Framed Kimono - Throughout our trip we saw many people taking pictures at the shrines and temples dressed up in traditional clothing. I’m not sure if it was for a special occasion (i.e. marriage) or if they were simply Japanese versions of glamour shots. Either way, this shot was probably my favorite. The clothing of the couple is excellently contrasted - the man wearing dark and formal wear, while the woman is bright and firey. Additionally, the picture iteslf is exquisitely framed by wood, in a psuedo-spiral form. Your attention is immediately drawn towards the couple, especially their posture and expressions. But then your eyes meander to the frame, which spirals around the couple with numerous lines and angles.

9) Golden Shrine Tree - This picture was taken at Nikko, at the Toshu-go Mausoleum. This picture captures the fact that it was still autumn when we arrived in Japan in mid December. The leaves were still falling and they were wonderful hues of gold, red, and brown. This tree in particular looked golden in the midst of the old wooden and stone structures that surrounded it. The light hit it just right so that the leaves had a golden luster. The tree is also juxtapositioned next to two tourists, who are taking pictures of the tree. In the end, the tree is starkly contrasting with everything else. The color, the thickness (its particularly thin relative to the large trees in the back), its size relative to the tourists, even its lighting. It positively glows.

10) Greco-statues of Hakone - These statues are at the Open-Air museum at Hakone. It has a myriad of scultpures and artforms overlooking a cast valley of unadultered forest. These four statues were placed at the balcony of the museum, overlooking the hills and mountains beyond. I really loved the style, posture, and design of these four statues, and capturing them in a panoramic showed the sweeping formation that they stood in. Although similar in color to everything else, the lighting and deepness of the bronze constrast with the washed out look of the hills and trees in the background. Its interesting that the statues are looking off in the distance.. yet the beautiful view is behind them! a very peculiar irony. There are some artifacts from the panoramic algorithm (in particular how the ledge is angled in one section and horizontal in another), but it lets your eyes move in a left-ward direction towards where the statues are looking towards. After all this, you must wonder what they are really looking at!

So those are my top 10 favorite pictures from my Japan Trip (compositional-wise). I hope you like them as well.
Remember to check out the photo albums for the rest of my japan trip photos.

Japan Trip Photo Album I
Japan Trip Photo Album II

Japan Trip Travel Walkthrough