Lake Yamanaka, or Yamanakako, is one of the five lakes of “Fuji Goko” area; in autumn, at sunset, it offers some beautiful views.

The day I went to shoot Mount Fuji I found a small grove of Momiji trees in the southern side of lake Yamanaka; there I had the chance to capture the magic moment of twilight on the lake, seen through the natural curtain made of Momiji leaves.

You can read the complete article about Mount Fuji in autumn at the following link: http://www.phoclab.com/wp/blog/autumn-in-japan-mount-fuji/

Thanks for watching! 🙂

A red cloud of Momiji leaves over Mount Fuji.

The northern shore of lake Yamanakako offers some nice wide views of Mount Fuji and, during autumn, the Momiji trees turn red, becoming a great subject to compose many interesting shots. In this case I’ve found a beautiful and incredibly red Momiji tree, with a foliage so dense that made me think of it as a red cloud that hangs over Mount Fuji.

You can read the complete article about Mount Fuji in autumn at the following link: http://www.phoclab.com/wp/blog/autumn-in-japan-mount-fuji/

Thanks for watching! 🙂

The summit of Mount Fuji in autumn is covered by a thin layer of snow which highlights the zigzag climbing path.

The clear sky in that sunny day allowed me to capture the details of the Fuji peak using a tele lens; I kept some branches of a beautiful Momiji tree on the foreground, blurred enough to make their colors stand out as a palette of autumn’s shades.

You can read the complete article about Mount Fuji in autumn at the following link: http://www.phoclab.com/wp/blog/autumn-in-japan-mount-fuji/

Thanks for watching! 🙂

Autumn wonderland: A view of Mount Fuji, seen from a near mountain  located on its north-east side.

The Momiji tree, with its vibrant red leaves, and the Susuki grass, whose golden feathers flutter lightly in the wind, are two unmistakable elements of japanese autumn. I took advantage of the proximity of these two plants and of the particular shape of the Momiji tree to frame Mount Fuji with the autumn’s icons.

You can read the complete article about Mount Fuji in autumn at the following link: http://www.phoclab.com/wp/blog/autumn-in-japan-mount-fuji/

Thanks for watching! 🙂

The coming of spring in Japan is a beautiful period and the blooming of Cherry trees is a fleeting, heartwarming instant. In order to discover the most intimate beauty of this ephemeral event, I abandoned the paths followed by thousands of photographers and ventured in a solitary little forest: there I found an enchanting beauty.
The diagonal warm light of the setting sun illuminated a green path of cherry trees, at the end of which a deer was calmly nibbling at the fresh grass. Bright little clouds of white flowers were fluctuating above this magical and peaceful place. This vision of pure and fragile beauty touched my heart, making me feel so in peace and close to Nature.

EXIF: Pentax K-5 + smc D FA Macro 100mm f/2.8 WR – 100mm – 1/250s – f/2.8 – ISO100

Cherry blossoms, or Sakura, are an important symbol in japanese culture: they represent the beauty of life in its brevity. The wonderful miracle of life has to be enjoyed and appreciated because it’s ephemeral, a fragile equilibrium.
Three days ago the flowers of this photograph were an amazing and enchanting view; the rain fallen yesterday probably has washed away their beauty, together with their life.

EXIF: Pentax K-5 + smc D FA Macro 100mm f/2.8 WR – 100mm – 1/200s – f/3.2 – ISO400

4:30 a.m. , the alarm clock rings loud and unmerciful, but I jump out of the bed because I’m going to see one of the most beautiful marine landscape of Japan. My girlfriend Sara is “a bit” less excited, maybe because of the early hour…? But she accepted to come with me because the scenery deserves getting up at an ungodly hour.

We arrive at the shore of Amaharashi half hour later and it’s still night: the feeble gelid wind brings with it some snowflakes and the only sound I can hear is the lapping of the waves on the shoreline. The sunrise is in late because unfortunately the sky is completely cloudy. Nevertheless I hopefully look for a nice shooting point. As time passes (and our hands and feet are starting to freeze) the clouds clear a bit and the strong light of the sunrise illuminates a wonderful landscape, dominated by a lonely island on top of which stands a bare tree. Far in the distance, the majestic mountains of Toyama can be glimpset too. In this very moment a heron is perching on a rock (maybe enjoying this moment like me). I’m really happy about the chance that I had, to shoot a stunning moment like this and I hope that you too can appreciate this unique view.

EXIF: Pentax K-5 + smc D FA Macro 100mm f/2.8 WR – 100mm – 2s – f/10 – ISO80

On the top of Mt. Myoken, the fog conceals the beauty of the forest, whose underbrush is lightly covered with the snow of the last days. The tall and naked tree stands before the valley, observing the silent flow of the time.
The beauty of the view that disclosed itself to my eyes made me think about the enchanting paintings executed with the Sumi-e technique, so I tried to represent this landscape with a mood that could resemble it.

EXIF: Pentax K-5 + smc DA 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 ED AL IF DC WR – 24mm – 1/15s – f/9 – ISO80

A view of Amanohashidate from the Nariai-ji Temple area. The thin strip of land which joins the two sides of Miyazu Bay is a famous landmark and has been chosen as one of the three most beautiful sceneries in Japan. Also known as “The bridge to Heaven”, this 3,6Km long natural bridge hosts 7’000 pine trees and is a much appreciated landscape since the Heian period. It has also been represented in a Ukiyo-e by the great master Hiroshige, in the second half of 1800.
This is the second shot of this enchanting area that I “developed” as a painting, to emphasize its timeless beauty and atmosphere.

EXIF: Pentax K-5 + smc DA 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 ED AL IF DC WR – 24mm – 1/50s – f/9 – ISO80

Penetrating into the bamboo forest by night is a suggestive experience: the atmosphere is still and quiet, there is no wind; all you can see outside the path is an incredible number of thickly growing wooden stalks which stretch vertically, slightly bending while reaching the sky. In this aura of tranquillity and lightness you feel like a tiny ant walking between the feet of a giant green creature: and, looking upward, that sensation becomes true, because two big and dark eyes are looking at you! Don’t be scared, if you love nature and admire all its amazing forms, the green creature will be your friend.

I took this shot with the widest lens I have, the Pentax smc DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited, pointing the camera almost vertically: it’s been quite an hard excercise of stretching, because my tripod is rather uncomfortable in this kind of situations and I had to find a difficult position of precarious balance.

EXIF: Pentax K-5 + smc DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited – 15mm – 4s – f/8 – ISO200