Golden pavilion with dark roof reflected in calm pond water beneath pine branches.

50mm One-Lens-Day Kinkakuji, Kyoto 金閣寺, 京都

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One Lens Day

Time to practice the nifty 50mm f1.4! Bokehlicious pictures~

I have to admit I am not a big fan of the 50mm but because of this trip, have kinda grown a liking towards its flexibility of producing bokeh when you need it

As a proud owner of the trinity f2.8 series (16-35, 24-70, 70-200), the only downside to using this combination is when you need bokeh that can only be shot with f2 and wider

As with shutter speed, the 5D3/6D's ISO capabilities, its no longer a problem when you shoot in dim situations. Of course one may argue that using a 50mm will give faster shutter speeds, use lower ISO, and less noisier photos

Sometimes you just have to live with it

Zoom with your legs

Ornate Japanese temple roof corners with detailed carvings against a blue sky.金閣寺道門EXIF

Regular use of the wide 24mm lets you see everything and crop when needed. 50mm makes you think on the composition!

  • Saturated out the building, leaving the sky blue

Golden pavilion with dark roof reflected in calm pond water beneath pine branches.金閣寺EXIF

Luckily the Kinkakuji was pretty far away and was able to squeeze its reflection into the 50mm. Not to mention sharpness from the prime!

Stone staircase ascending through a lush green forest, flanked by bamboo railings tied with rope.Mini stepsEXIF

Interesting perspective, these are actually really mini steps. Got really low, extended my arms into the bamboo barrier and shot without looking

White fabric banner with Japanese calligraphy hanging among green foliage, blurred red cushions in background.つめたいお抹茶 - Cold Matcha Green TeaEXIF

f1.4 Bokeh. Didn't manage to find a view without trees in the background. The resting area behind would have looked a lot better with its red benches and umbrellas

Red parasol interior with yellow and blue woven center radiating from dark wooden shaft. Featured in Color Red Kyoto Umbrella Taking a break, eating an ice-cream. Saw the umbrella above, and just reached my camera inside for the shoot-and-pray. Turned out to be a pretty photo, minimal LR adjustments made.

Two-story wooden temple gate with a golden plaque, framed by green trees against a blue sky.神宮道 - 京都EXIF

Prime sharpness!

Silhouetted bird soaring through a pale blue sky with wispy white clouds.BirdEXIF

A bird was seen flying away from the temple picture above and decided to do a quick focus on it, missed, reached home, did a 100% crop to see whether the bird was clear and found the following:

Silhouetted bird soaring below another bird.Bird Closeup - Another birdEXIF

At first I thought it was dust, but after further inspection, there's another bird riding above it!

Vertical white contrail cutting through wispy cirrus clouds against a deep blue sky.Kyoto Sky TrailEXIF

Waited for the plane to give me a longer trail

ND Filters

All the shots above were taken without ND filters. I had actually ordered a ND4 and ND8 just for this day as summer in Japan can be really bright. Somehow managed by using L ISO on the 6D

Title:50mm One-Lens-Day Kinkakuji, Kyoto 金閣寺, 京都
Excerpt:Not a big fan of the 50mm but have kinda grown a liking towards its flexibility of producing bokeh when you need it
Posted On:21 July 2013
Updated On:1 January 2023