Gazing up to the Pagoda
The Churieto Pagoda in Japan’s Kawaguchiko region is one of the more famous landmarks in the region, particularly because there is a classic view of the pagoda with Fuji-san in the background—and often with sakura (cherry blossoms) flowering.
An alternative and less common view of the pagoda is from beneath. In fact, the fact that the pagoda can make such a stunning foreground interest object to the distant Fuji-san means that few take the time to appreciate the pagoda for its own elegance.
To be honest, the fact that during our visit to the region in September 2018 Fuji-san was hidden behind clouds forced me to take a look at the pagoda itself in more detail. So we spent more time walking around the structure and capturing it from different angles than we otherwise might have. Don’t let the sky here fool you—while it seemed relatively clear from this angle, Fuji-san, behind me, was completely hidden in the clouds.
For transparency, the sky in this composition was bluebird (no clouds), and I did play around with sky replacement in Luminar. It’s not something I do often, and something I post even less. In fact at this time this is the only image I’ve posted with sky replacement.
One detail is the offerings left at the altar in front of that gate—I deliberately did not remove the water bottle because it is a feature of the respect paid by those that visited.
So the story remains—irrespective of the conditions at a photo site, look around and enjoy the overall detail of the scene. There is beauty in most scenes, and it is up to us to find it!
Image Data
- C: Panasonic Lumix DC-G9
- L: Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm f/2.8-4
- E: Lightroom CC, Photoshop CC
View this image in my Photo Gallery or on Flickr