DirtyGlassEye
Frostbitten chills
Perhaps the coldest point on my journey and the most optimistic I've been with previously unknown circumstances, Koyasan was astounding. This sacred mountain sits in the heart of Wakayama (and I do mean it, it is VERY deep in the mountains) and is considered holy under the order of Shingon Buddhism, which was invented here as well.
The town itself is beautiful and rural, exactly what you'd expect from a mountain village. But people, myself included, normally come here for the massive Okunoin Cemetery. Sheltered by a massive canopy of trees, this place can look dark and dim at any time of year.
Snow is often not a nice thing to deal with when you're not prepared. Especially with the tight turns on the road up to Koyasan, not to mention roads are more narrow in Japan, and there's tour buses around nearly every turn, not a very peaceful journey.
But I instantly tried to make good of this. I've seen photos of this place in rain, sun, and best of all, fog, but I've never seen a shot in the snow. I didn't have any predetermined photo spots as I wanted to be surprised anyways. So all these factors combined made me open to many suggestions. I mean, I said it myself in my "about" page, "I see somethin I shoot somethin".
When it came time to edit this, I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to do with it. I wanted to make the photo darker and more mystical to match it's atmosphere. I gave the lanterns more light and brought a dark brush to most of the image except the path itself. Added a vignette afterwards, the sun was truly shinin' down on the path. And it's position only got better as time went on, you'll see.
As an American who's been to considerably more "gothic" cemeteries, this one didn't quite tick as hard as I thought but I still had a great time. It's still a place that teams with a similar type of essence. Of course, the Japanese have a very different relation with the deceased then we do in the west (hence my editing choices). But one thing is for sure, we both know how to house the departed well.
I love cemeteries so much.
Frostbitten chills
Perhaps the coldest point on my journey and the most optimistic I've been with previously unknown circumstances, Koyasan was astounding. This sacred mountain sits in the heart of Wakayama (and I do mean it, it is VERY deep in the mountains) and is considered holy under the order of Shingon Buddhism, which was invented here as well.
The town itself is beautiful and rural, exactly what you'd expect from a mountain village. But people, myself included, normally come here for the massive Okunoin Cemetery. Sheltered by a massive canopy of trees, this place can look dark and dim at any time of year.
Snow is often not a nice thing to deal with when you're not prepared. Especially with the tight turns on the road up to Koyasan, not to mention roads are more narrow in Japan, and there's tour buses around nearly every turn, not a very peaceful journey.
But I instantly tried to make good of this. I've seen photos of this place in rain, sun, and best of all, fog, but I've never seen a shot in the snow. I didn't have any predetermined photo spots as I wanted to be surprised anyways. So all these factors combined made me open to many suggestions. I mean, I said it myself in my "about" page, "I see somethin I shoot somethin".
When it came time to edit this, I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to do with it. I wanted to make the photo darker and more mystical to match it's atmosphere. I gave the lanterns more light and brought a dark brush to most of the image except the path itself. Added a vignette afterwards, the sun was truly shinin' down on the path. And it's position only got better as time went on, you'll see.
As an American who's been to considerably more "gothic" cemeteries, this one didn't quite tick as hard as I thought but I still had a great time. It's still a place that teams with a similar type of essence. Of course, the Japanese have a very different relation with the deceased then we do in the west (hence my editing choices). But one thing is for sure, we both know how to house the departed well.
I love cemeteries so much.