Sunday afternoon selfies in Kyoto - on ancient and modern traditions

 Late November is autumn in Japan

Japanese acer

OH ( my other half) and I didn't realise what a big thing the atumn leaves are to the Japanese until  we arrived at our first world heritage temple in Kyoto.

It is BIG.

Four star big....

On a par with cherry blossom season.

autumn colour forecast

Time for dressing up and taking selfies under the acers.

Kimono hire and selfies is the way to go. Mixing the traditions of the past with those of the present.

But you will have to wait your tun for the best tree.

While you are waiting for the best branch, you can practice your selfie pose.

And then compare notes with your friends

kimono selfies

Watching these antics lead me to a degree of hair envy.

I realised that I just couldn't compete with the young Japanese.

Jeans and hiking shoes don't cut the mustard.

Grey hairs and an absence of adornment shows a lack of self respect.

I needed a make over.

But didn't get one.

I could not compete with these beauties.

traditional hair style for kimono

Elegant and poised.

kimono and parasol

traditions, old and new

No way was OH going to look on adoringly as I posed in the autumn sun.

He would probably adopt an expression a bit more like this guy (below), who seems less impressed with the game.

No leaf selfies for us. For we had work to do.

Temples to visit. Trains and buses to catch.

Crowds to negotiate.

Sites to see.

Sunday afternoon in Kyoto

And I mean real crowds.

There are a lot of people in Japan. Especially on a Sunday afternoon in Kyoto.

Arashiyama bridge, Kyoto

No time to sit and ponder.

This is a land of wonder. Crowds or not.

And we were here to see it all....( well most of it, anyway) .

The fancy clothes and hair would have to wait.

paying respect at Kiyumizodera temple, Kyoto, Japan

Lady with chrysanthemum

The trees were a riot of colour for the whole of our trip, and my camera/phone was mostly pointed skywards.

Japanese acers

As usual, my holiday snaps don't give a really good impression of where I have been.

These trees could be almost anywhere.....

Japanese maple in autumn

OH has promised to buy me a selfie stick for Christmas. He can see that I have stick and hair envy....

Who knows what might transpire.

I might get some images of myself that are better than the one that he took of me, posing in front of the Pacific Ocean, wearing impossibly dull clothing....

 I jest.....

but you already know that.

Vancouver in the fall - an autumn leaf fest

autumn leaves © Caroline Fraser

I am visiting family in Vancouver at one of my favourite times of year; autumn ( or fall if you live over here).

The colours of the acres and poplars dotted between the tall pines fill me with wonder.

A richness of colours that I don't find back home.

In between rain showers I have crept out with my camera to collect leaves and wander the forest paths. Water dripping from green mosses; the sound of creeks running down the hillside towards the ocean.

I have been playing with fire trucks and reading toddlers' stories in a cosy home at the foot of the mountain. But outdoors is where I really wish to be.

autumn colours © Caroline Fraser

waiting for fall

autumn gold © Caroline Fraser

I started with some long exposures in the dark of the forest, but found myself drawn increasingly to individual leaves.

So many leaves. Not a single one the same.

This is the preoccupation that has been with me this week.

 I tried capturing them first against stones and wood in the landscape, but soon realised that I was looking for a more pure isolation of each leaf.

a single leaf

A portrait, set against a backdrop of some clean creamy paper felt more delicate.

Turn it over and a different beauty emerges.

 More subtle and sparse.

Each different from its neighbour.

Suddenly I am no longer interested in blurry images. I am drawn to the detail.

I keep collecting leaves of different shapes and sizes.

a leaf with no name

And will be carrying some home to work on if they survive the journey.

Finally I found a wonderful jumble of leaves amongst some hostas in Stanley Park.

They form a different scene; resembling a still life with rich dark hues.

Add caption

fall © Caroline Fraser

fall © Caroline Fraser

fall © Caroline Fraser

fall © Caroline Fraser

They remind me of currants and berries.

Organised chaos.

It will soon be all over, as we head towards winter.

All of these images different from the ones I made last year in the same places.

And that is what I love about photography; there is always a new way to find things, as our thoughts about what we see change and develop.

Here are some leaves waiting to fall.....

Vancouver in the fall

acer, English Bay, Vancouver

I am just returned from a trip to vancouver.

Visiting my family who choose to live somewhere that offers so mny opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts.

I spent the week doing very ordinary things, which gave more pleasure than you can imagine. Family beats everything in my book.

It happened to be fall..... and now I feel that this is a much more appropriate name than autumn.

For fall it was.

acer leaves, Stanley park

leaves on Beaver lake

autumn colours at Beaver lake

fallen leaves, Stanley park

The advantage of visiting in autumn is that dawn is long after a jetlaggged person wakes up. Cool pinks and blues on offer.

Dawn, Vancouver

dawn, Vancouver sea wall

Gingko trees had almost finished shedding their leaves.

gingko fall

But it was the variations in shapes and colours that really interested me.

autumn leaves, Stanley park

As the week progressed, the weather turned colder, and snow arrived on the mountains.

A tiny bit landed in the city, and highlighted this spider's web.

Beaver Lake on a cold, grey day

lillies, Beaver lake

autumn colours, Beaver lake

I spent happy hour around Beaver lake in the cold, playing with multiple exposure and then some regular images of the bare and dead trees.

Stark contrast to the colours down below , photographed agaisnt a leaden grey sky.

treetops, Beaver lake

treetops

I made my way back through the forest and out into the city.

last leaves

autumn leaves, Stanley park

I am home now, and back to reality. OH ( my other half) has had a tooth out, so I am feeding him with vegetarian meals on the pretext that it is 'soft' food.

I'll probably get away with it for no more than a couple of days.....

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For more images from Beaver Lake see here