Nikon D700. 1/8 at f40, 220mm, ISO 800.
Rainy weekends sometimes seem like a disappointment: there are no bright sunrises, no light streaming through the trees, no mountain peaks reaching up into the sky. But grey skies make colours more vibrant. Startlingly bright greens come out of usually dull mosses, and everything shines with moisture. The background fades to grey in the misting rain.
I’ve been out exploring, driving around Nagano on wet days, my camera wrapped up against the weather. Last weekend I went back to Komagane for the first time in years. The river was swollen with the steady downpour of rains, rushing down over water-tumbled rocks out of the invisible mountains. All night the sound of rain and of running rivers, the summer field smell of tatami, and hot baths in the onsen at a hotel out of another era.
In the morning the rain continued. We drank hot coffee from a roadside vending machine, and discovered a temple I’d never visited before: Kozenji, famous for the legendary dog Hayataro and for it’s weeping cherry trees, still in bud. Umbrellas in hand we explored the temple grounds, and found these statues tucked away in a grove of giant sugi trees. The mist, the rain, the green moss, and the red all came together, perfectly.
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I’d also like to thank again everyone who helped me support charities in the Tohoku by sharing my link and by buying prints. Every little helps and it means so much to be able to help make a difference. Thank you.
Maybe I just needed a break (I’ve been tired since September, for non-work-related reasons), or maybe I needed a change of scene. Either way, I’ve come back refreshed and inspired, doubly in love with Japan, and determined to learn more about Asia in general.
