Blooming in Blue Photo

Photographer’s Note

Cherry blossoms blooming at the Mohri Garden in Roppongi Hills, taken at 18 minutes after sunset to balance the blossoms and the sky.
I'd not like to use a tripod at a crowdedness, so it's handheld, pushed the camera to my forehead firmly, stopped the breath a moment, and then pressed the shutter button softly.
It's only four or five minutes that the cherry blossoms balance well with the sky in brightness.

The building seen behind is Mori Tower (238.06m), and the fog illuminated at the below is sculptress Fujiko Nakaya's "Fog and Light" installation at the garden in Roppong Art Night.

avene, shiznutz24, alainh, banaei_nikon, xavshot, ktanska, phwall, belido, Aedorian, fulvio52, Philippe, Photo65Net, trekks, PixelTerror, InasiaJones, leo61, patdeph, JCG has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

avene (11252) 2009-04-06 21:16

this is such a great photo, Hisashi, your usual attention to details has again produced amazing results. everything is just right, the deep blue of the sky works really well as a background for the delicate pink petals of the cherry blossoms. excellent work, my compliments.

best,
Kristine

alainh (35391) 2009-04-06 21:34

Hello Hisashi
yes !!! two worlds in the same picture. perfectly made. the oppostion is great and the best hour to success your capture. congratulations Hisashi
friendly
alain

banaei_nikon (775) 2009-04-06 21:44

Hi Hisashi
Very nice shot , Amazing colour
Congratulation for photograph
Well done..
**MAB**

xavshot (63373) 2009-04-06 22:04

Bonjour Hisashi
très bel ensemble; Les couleurs sont superbes et l'image est très bien composée. Bravo.
Xavier

roges (1212) 2009-04-06 22:15

Hi Hisashi !
An excellent picture with some very beautiful colors.
Congratulations.
Have a good day,
Adrian

ktanska (16759) 2009-04-06 22:59

Hi Hisashi,
Yes, timing is perfect to balance different sources of lights. Most imaginative cherry blossom picture I've seen. On this light that park looks almost mystical. (Where does that fog come from?)
Kari

phwall (5821) 2009-04-06 23:31

Hello Hisashi,
A wonderful image, complete exposure control. The cherry blossoms set against the blue sky and building make for a very pretty contrast in tone and substance. There is so much visual detail in this capture, I've been discovering new things to look at the longer I view your image. How effective is that artificial fog in the bottom of frame, quite amazing. Simply beautiful quality, you can tell you're not a drinking man to have hands that steady.
Superb result, thank you for the presentation.
Warm wishes
Peter

[2]

Morac (21167) 2009-04-07 2:58

Hi Hisashi
Very nice shot and amazing colour : yes, timing is perfect.
Excellent work.
Regards
Marc

belido (17203) 2009-04-07 4:47

Hi Hisashi,

wooww is a good word to describle this one. A show of lights. Top quality exposure and definition. Another example of the quality of the 5D mark II in high iso. Very good composition!
Regards,
Carlos

Aedorian (105) 2009-04-07 8:14

You captured the quintessential Japan in this photo. A flashy new building, the nice garden, and of course, Sakura. Thanks for the technique with holding your breath to take the photo. Great timing too! They say the best light is around sunrise or sunset. Your patience paid off...

fulvio52 (8314) 2009-04-07 11:19

Hi, Hisashi.
A wonderful blue hour, featuring one of your trademark incredible exposures and superb overall detail. A pleasure to look at, TFS! Have a good day, I'll be seeing you.
Fulvio.

dvlazar (6492) 2009-04-07 20:19

Ah you seem to be the master of night photography! Here's anohter one with good focus and even better colors. The patterns in the frame are exciting and interesting to look at.

Dave

ElAprendiz (7370) 2009-04-08 8:36

Hello Hisashi:

It is a great composition, without a doubt.

The combination of modern elements with natural elements, this balanced very well, and still more, the hour in which was taken, produces a skillful taking.

Excellent and tuna work, congratulations.

Greetings from Colombia, John

Philippe (11791) 2009-04-08 11:56

Hi, Hisashi. The cherry blossoms are well lit, which makes them nearly transparent. They stand out very well against the blue sky and the tower in the background. I also like the atmosphere in the garden with that fog rising from the water.
Have a nice day, Philippe

Photo65Net (43106) 2009-04-09 3:40

Hello Hisashi,
Nice blue hour image.
I like a lot the colors of the FG, beautiful,
Have a nice day,
JB.

albertojr (738) 2009-04-09 7:58

This is a very good composition, i like how you partially covered the buildings with flowers and branches, the colors are great too, only a bit underexposed at the lower thirds but still a very good one.

Clementi (45929) 2009-04-09 22:07

Ciao hisashi,
you have succeeded in capturing two worlds with an only photo, the nature and her beautiful colors and the beautiful architectures on background. the light is marvelous.
good job
Giorgio

Nicou (46257) 2009-04-10 7:45

Hello,

quelle belle image, gmangigique cet arbre en fleur devant cet énorme building, les bleus sont mangigiques, l'effet de fleurs ressort à merveille,a vec de la brume en fond, grandiose image et cadrage.

Bravo et amitié

Nicou

trekks (14336) 2009-04-10 22:21

hi Hisashi

I like it. The blue hour sky is blending ver nicely to the pink blossoms and your inclusion of the Tower building and more Fujiko's details below it. Very good to see this Tokyo scenery from you because I have no chance to see it in person :)

tfs, bill

PixelTerror (87215) 2009-04-11 5:23

Hi Hisashi
Ah I remember this tower, went up to enjoy the view over the city, here you have nice spring feeling adding the cherry flowers in the foreground, there seems to be light from below that makes them glow, and ISO 1600 is nothing to worry about anymore :-)
Have a nice week end JY

InasiaJones (20729) 2009-04-12 20:41

Hi Hisashi,

You have a very strong and stable forehead... :-P) You achieved a surprisingly good result for such a wide opening, as f/4.5 seem to deliver plenty of details, in the foreground as on the tower.

Just like you, I don't enjoy using a tripod in crowded places, because most of the time, people think you are a professional and therefore, they are waiting in line behind you to get the same angle, when they are not directly shooting over your shoulder, breathing in your neck... Grrrrr!!!

You are one of the few on TE who really understand the fine art of blue hour shots, struggling to get that fine balance between ambiant and natural light, these very short seconds where you can achieve a truly stunning image.

Good combination of nature and man-made structure, both graceful in their own way.

My respect.

Andre

leo61 (44118) 2009-04-12 21:48

Hello Hisashi!
Pink or blue hour?
The blue hour we have every day,the pink blossom only for a week ,or two.
My region is famous for almondtrees and these days they show their best pink under a wonderful blue sky.But I can`t shot,because I sent my camera to Sony/Minolta for sensor cleaning and I`m waiting since 5 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!
About the image,I like it.A good result for 1/16th handheld.Good perspective at the tall building and great contrast between pink and blue.
Regards,leo

patdeph (18644) 2009-04-13 5:50

hello Hisashi
this is a splendid photo!I love the of mix of blue hour with pink lightened bllossoms and the golden tones at the bootom!These last,because of the f 4 are slightly blurred,that creates a magical and wonderful effect,enhanced by a superb play of light and shadow!The mix of nature and town is also fantastic!Congratulation for this masterpiece!
Regards
Pascale

holmertz (10149) 2009-04-15 11:17

Helo Hisashi,
I am very impressed by how you handled the light at the blossoms, the building and the evening sky at the same time and got it all just right. Besides, it's a beautiful picture with a kind of fairy-tale atmosphere in spite of the totally modern environment.
Regards,
Gert

npecanhuk (15212) 2009-04-15 11:20

Hello Hisashi!
Wonderful night shot, with perfect sharpness, depth of field, exposure, colors, pov and composition!
The modern building in the background and this tree with flowers are a great highlight and it was an excellent idea for such a superb photograph! The lower part of the image is also interesting!
TFS - Congratulations!
Best regards,
Neyvan

andywo (3021) 2009-06-22 5:16

Hello Hisashi
I like the POV, it's a very interesting composition with the fantastic lights and colours.
Excellent done.
Greetings from Poland!
Andrzej

JCG (25911) 2009-06-22 10:30

Hi Hisashi,

Congratulations with the landscape designer who created this urban vegetable space as with the lighting engineer who emphasized it, I like much. Beautiful management of the parameters of the image which emphasizes well this beautiful place. Very pleasant to look at and good choice of the format of the photograph, Hisashi cheer.

With all my friendships and with soon,

Jean-Charles

sacavem (8703) 2009-06-30 6:40

Olá Hisashi,

Great night shot of this square. The building are interesting, the composition is well executed.Excellent overexposing.
Well done!
Regards,
Filipe

eserrano (149) 2009-07-13 20:36

Bright, pretty and happy. Nice perspective. Congratulations and TFS.