Outdoor Photography of Japan, January 2012

This is Page 3 of 3 - the best of December 2011!
posted: December 28th, 2011

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This page begins and ends with December 26th and a trip to and climb of Mt. Takao (599 m = 1,965 ft) in search of Frost Flowers and also to see the sunset over Mt. Fuji. On this page you will also find a list of mountains which we climbed in 2011. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin December 26th

On Monday, December 26th, Kazuya had to work but I did not, so I went out to Mt. Takao to search for frost flowers and also to see if it was too late to be able to see "Diamond Fuji" - the 2 or 3 days when the sun sets directly behind Mt. Fuji. It WAS too late to witness "Diamond Fuji, but I took photos of the sunset anyway. The first photo in this row shows a bare tree at the entry way where one starts climbing Mt. Takao. I also found frost flowers - as you can see in the 2nd and 3rd photos - but it seems like there is not much moisture in the soil this year and they were quite small. If you go to the "Complete List Of All Photos" page HERE (will open in new window) and do a text search for "frost flowers" you will find photos which we took in December 2010, December 2009, December 2008, January 2008, January 2007 and December 2005. Alternately, you can use the "Google Search" box just below this text. These occur here in Japan on the stems of Keiskea japonica, in your country they may occur on a different plant. Knowledge of the formation of these amazing "flowers" is not well understood, but the best and most complete knowledge about them appears to be most concisely summarized HERE (will open in new window). Note that the ice is coming OUT OF a plant stem. A Google search for "Frost flowers" will give you more results than you want to look at. These things are SO AMAZING!

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Here is one final frost flower photo. After I shot the frost flowers I went back to the summit of Mt. Takao and started taking setting sun photos. The first shot of the sun was taken at 3:29 PM. The 2nd shot was taken at 4:00 PM.

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The first shot in this row was taken at 4:14 PM, the sun is starting to slide behind Mt. Fuji. The next shot was at 4:17 PM - the sun is kind of sliding down the right hand flank of Mt. Fuji - definitely too late in the season for Diamond Fuji. The 3rd shot was also taken at 4:17 PM - 20 seconds after the previous shot.

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The first shot in this row was at 4:18 PM, as was the 2nd shot, but 43 seconds later. The 3rd shot was taken 7 seconds after the previous one - interesting clouds and shadows.

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Now it's 4:19:06 PM at the time of the first shot. The next 2 shots - which make up this panorama - were taken at 4:20:00 and 4:20:09 respectively. The 3rd shot in this row was taken at 4:21:25 PM.

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The first shot here is the same as the previous one, but it has been enhanced with Shadow Illuminator Pro to bring out some detail in the shadows. The next shot was at 4:22:54 PM and the 3rd shot was 4:23:53 PM.

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The first shot in this row was taken at 4:25:14 PM and the 2nd one was at 4:25:46 PM.

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These reddish-orange clouds were shot at 4:36:22 PM and the shot of the last few people remaining here to shoot the sun was taken at 4:38:31 PM. Quick review - the first shot was taken at 3:29 PM

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End December 26th, End December 2011's Photos, Begin Mountains Climbed

Here you can find a list of all the mountains which we, or I alone, climbed during Calendar Year 2011. Note that 44 mountains were climbed during 2011 - although not 44 different ones. Numbers in parenthesis (e.g. #65) indicate the number of times that mountain has been climbed since I've been in Japan.

Mountains Climbed in 2011
No.	Date	Mountain Name	Elev., Ft.	Elev., M.	Location
1	Mar-06-2011	Mt. Takao (#65)	1,965	599	Tokyo
2	Mar-06-2011	Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-yama (#23)	2,199	670	Tokyo
3	Mar-19-2011	Mt. Kagenobu-yama (#7)	2,385	727	Tokyo
4	Mar-19-2011	Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-yama (#24)	2,199	670	Tokyo
5	Apr-02-2011	Mt. Takao (#66)	1,965	599	Tokyo
6	Apr-02-2011	Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-yama (#25)	2,199	670	Tokyo
7	Apr-03-2011	Mt. Kagenobu-yama (#8)	2,385	727	Tokyo
8	Apr-03-2011	Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-yama (#26)	2,199	670	Tokyo
9	Apr-15-2011	Mt. Kakuda (#3)	1,580	482	Niigata Prefecture
10	Apr-17-2011	Sougaku Mtn. (#8)	2,480	756	Tokyo
11	Apr-17-2011	Iwatakeishi Mtn. (#8)	2,602	793	Tokyo
12	Apr-17-2011	Takamizu Mtn. (#8)	2,490	759	Tokyo
13	May-03-2011	Mt. Kurate	3,123	952	Niigata Prefecture
14	May-15-2011	Mt. Mitake (#29)	3,048	929	Tokyo
15	May-15-2011	Okunoin Peak (#3)	3,281	1,000	Tokyo
16	May-15-2011	Nabe-Wari Mtn. (#3)	3,556	1,084	Tokyo
17	May-15-2011	Ohtake Mtn. (#5)	4,155	1,267	Tokyo
18	Jun-12-2011	Mt. Takao (#67)	1,965	599	Tokyo
19	Jun-17-2011	Mt. Katakurdake	4,724	1,440	Akita Prefecture
20	Jun-17-2011	Amida-Ike	5,036	1,535	Akita Prefecture
21	Jun-17-2011	Mt. Yokodake	5,194	1,583	Akita Prefecture
22	Jun-17-2011	Mt. Yakemori	5,089	1,551	Akita Prefecture
23	Jun-18-2011	Mt. Yokodake (#2)	5,194	1,583	Akita Prefecture
24	Jun-18-2011	Mt. Onamedake	5,371	1,637	Akita Prefecture
25	Jun-24-2011	Mt. Mizugaki	7,317	2,230	Yamanashi Prefecture
26	Jul-03-2011	Mt. Mitake (#30)	3,048	929	Tokyo
27	Jul-08-2011	Mt. Ohtake (Sumondake)	4,699	1,432	Niigata Prefecture
28	Jul-08-2011	Mt. Aokumodake (Sumondake)	4,879	1,487	Niigata Prefecture
29	Jul-08-2011	Mt. Hakamadake (Sumondake)	5,043	1,537	Niigata Prefecture
30	Jul-16-2011	Mt. Shibutsu (#2)	7,310	2,228	Gunma Prefecture
31	Jul-16-2011	Mt. Koshibutsu (#2)	7,093	2,162	Gunma Prefecture
32	Aug-06-2011	Mt. Ubagatake (#2)	5,479	1,670	Yamagata Prefecture
33	Aug-06-2011	Mt. Gassan (#2)	6,509	1,984	Yamagata Prefecture
34	Aug-08-2011	Mt. Choukai (#3)	7,336	2,236	Yamagata Prefecture
35	Sep-10-2011	Mt. Mitake (#31)	3,048	929	Tokyo
36	Sep-10-2011	Hinode Mtn. (#13)	2,959	902	Tokyo
37	Sep-25-2011	Mt. Takao (#68)	1,965	599	Tokyo
38	Oct-28-2011	Mt. Takao (#69)	1,965	599	Tokyo
39	Oct-28-2011	Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-yama (#27)	2,199	670	Tokyo
40	Nov-05-2011	Mt. Mitake (#32)	3,048	929	Tokyo
41	Nov-05-2011	Hinode Mtn. (#14)	2,959	902	Tokyo
42	Dec-04-2011	Mt. Takao (#70)	1,965	599	Tokyo
43	Dec-04-2011	Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-yama (#28)	2,199	670	Tokyo
44	Dec-26-2011	Mt. Takao (#71)	1,965	599	Tokyo

Mountains Climbed in 2011

End Mountains Climbed, Begin Miscellaneous Material

Here are links to separate web pages - all of them will open in a new window (or new tab). The first link shows some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV. The 2nd link shows our entire DVD collection in DVD Profiler (if you're asking yourself what might be good to rent for the weekend). The DVD's will be sorted by date purchased. You can click on the "Title" Column to sort that way if you desire. The 3rd link shows our entire DVD collection in php DVD Profiler, which is much more sophisticated than the plain vanilla DVD Profiler just above it. The 4th link takes you to a set of pages which show you the FRONT cover-art of our entire DVD collection.

February 22, 2009 - DVD Collection & Home Theater System

Please check it out by clicking on the above button.
(Click on the "Studies of Plants and Wildlife" link in the new window.)

Here is a not so subtle hint that we'd love you to buy our book "Outdoor Photography of Japan: Through the Seasons". Here is a 272 page SAMPLE PDF file of this 362 page book (new window). Note that it is 28.3 MB in size!! I suggest that you right click on the link and select "Save Link As". Then after it's downloaded to your Hard Drive in a place where you can find it again, open it in Adobe Reader - version 9 or later (very important - it most likely will not open in a version earlier than 9). The best way to use Acrobat Reader to see what the book looks like as a book is to choose "View", "Page Display", "Two-Up Continuous" and also "Show Cover Page During Two-Up" and that way you'll see it exactly as the book will appear in print (odd numbered pages on the right and even numbered pages on the left).

Here are the front and rear covers of Daniel & Kazuya's Outdoor Photography of Japan: Through the Seasons.

Go to the Amazon.com sales page (Paperback Edition).
Go to the Amazon.com sales page (Hardcover 8 x 10 inch Edition).
Go to the Amazon.com sales page (Hardcover 6.14 x 9.21 inch Edition).
Go to the Amazon.com sales page (Kindle Edition).

We have a 2nd book which we'd also love you to buy. It is entitled "Some Violets of Eastern Japan - 2nd Edition". Here is a COMPLETE SAMPLE PDF file of this 118 page book (new window). Note that it is 6.75 MB in size!! I suggest that you right click on the link and select "Save Link As". Then after it's downloaded to your Hard Drive in a place where you can find it again, open it in Adobe Reader - version 9 or later (very important - it most likely will not open in a version earlier than 9). The best way to use Acrobat Reader to see what it really looks like is to choose "View", "Page Display", "Two-Up Continuous" and also "Show Cover Page During Two-Up" and that way you'll see it exactly as the book will appear in print (odd numbered pages on the right and even numbered pages on the left).

Here are the front and rear covers of Daniel & Kazuya's Some Violets of Eastern Japan - 2nd Edition.

Go to the Amazon.com sales page (8 x 10 inch Paperback Edition).
Go to the Amazon.com sales page (Kindle Edition).
Go to the Amazon.com sales page (Paperback Pocket-Size Edition - 5.5 x 8.5 inch).
Go to the Amazon.com sales page (Hardcover Pocket-Size Edition - 5.5 x 8.5 inch).

An animated gif of some
of our publications
(Does Not Include 100 Mountains Series)
(34 seconds)

For details please click the "Our Books"
Button at the bottom of the page.

An animated gif of our
Climbing a Few of Japan's
100 Famous Mountains Series
(Paperback Editions)
(28 seconds)

For details please click the "Our Books"
Button at the bottom of the page.

An animated gif of our
Climbing a Few of Japan's
100 Famous Mountains Series
(Hardcover Editions)
(26 seconds)

For details please click the "Our Books"
Button at the bottom of the page.

(will open in new window)

(will open in new window)
[PASSWORD PROTECTED]

End Page 3, End 2011!

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at the website this month. We hope that you found something which you enjoyed. You can use the e-mail link below to respond with any feedback you might have.

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If you would like to donate to our hiking & traveling fund or show your appreciation for our efforts you can donate through PayPal. A single donation will entitle you to request a single full-sized photo IN THE DONATION MONTH - which you may then use as a desktop wallpaper or whatever. The copyright will be retained by us and the photo will be inconspicuously marked with the copyright symbol (©), year and photographer's name. (Donation probably not tax deductible.)