Hello! I’m Yocean, an amateur photographer.
Recently, I’ve decided not to go out and started to enjoy retouching previous photos at home, due to the outspread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
This time, let me introduce you to the excellence of Tennoji-city where I visited last November.
The reason why I chose the city as a photographing spot is, I wanted to take part in “Yuhigaoka-Uemachi Photo contest” which is held in Osaka every year.
The theme of the contest is about the streetscape in “Uemachi Plateau” that stretches from north to south of Osaka (specifically from Sumiyoshi-Taisha to Osaka-castle) and the people who live in there.
The contest has many prizes and the photographer who wins the first prize can get 150,000 yen.
In addition, there is a possibility that your photo will be posted on the brochure.
I know there are lots of competitors in populous city, Osaka, but I’ll do my best.
Let’s get it done!
- How to access to Kiyomizu-temple, Shitennoji and Tennoji-park
- [Photo 1] I wonder if the sound of the temple bell reaches Harukas-side.
- [Photo 2] Illuminated five-storied pagoda at Shitennoji
- [Photo 3] The building that I looked up to
- [Photo 4] Upside down Tsutenkaku reflected in Kawazoko-pond
- [Photo 5] Autumn stealing over us
- Conclusion
How to access to Kiyomizu-temple, Shitennoji and Tennoji-park
This time, I chose Kiyomizu-temple, Shitennoji and Tennoji-park as a photographing route. so I got off at “Shitennojimae-Yuhigaoka-station” as it is the nearest station to Kyiomizu-temple, but on my way back home, I got on from “Tennoji-station” in Tennoji-park. Both stations are on the Osaka-metro line.
All places are within walking distance from Osaka-metro station, and it takes 5-10 min on foot. Especially, Tennoji-park is easily accessible, because it is connected to Tennoji-station.
Moreover, there are lots of sightseeing spots such as Abeno-Harukas and Tsutenkaku around Tennoji-station, and it’s very easy to go around and take a look.
If you are visiting Osaka from other cities, I also recommend you to go there.
[Photo 1] I wonder if the sound of the temple bell reaches Harukas-side.
First, I’d like to show you the photo which was taken at “Kiyomizu-temple“.
When we hear the name “Kiyomizu-temple”, the famous temple in Kyoto may pop up in our mind, but there is a temple with the same name in Osaka, and it also has Kiyomizu temple’s stage.
The stage faces west, and visitors can see the sunset there.
Although I was initially going to take the sunset photos, I found a magnificent bell by the stage and decided to take photos of the bell with Abeno-Harukas.

Focal Length 55mm, F-Number 4.0, SS 1/320, ISO-200
Regarding the focus in this photo, the bell is main-object and Abeno-Harukas is sub-object.
And then, the title is a story I felt that I wonder if the ancient bell sound reaches the busy people living in the present age.
That’s what I felt during my retouch. lol
[Photo 2] Illuminated five-storied pagoda at Shitennoji
Next photo is “a five-storied pagoda” at Shitennoji.
There are a lot of beautiful buildings at this temple.
Especially, the Illuminated five-storied pagoda attracted me strongly, so I took the photo of the whole building.
Because it was getting dark, the vermilion color of the pagoda looked brighter against the dark-blue sky.

Focal Length 24mm, F-Number 18, SS 20, ISO-200
If you take vermilion-themed buildings such as Japanese temple or shrine, decreasing color temperature (emphasizing warm colors) will be the best for describing warm and nostalgic atmosphere of old Japan.
On the other hand, if you take modern buildings such as city or factory view, increasing color temperature (emphasizing cold colors) will be effective for describing inorganic and futuristic image.
[Photo 3] The building that I looked up to
After leaving the temple, I walked to “Tennoji-park“.
Actually, there are some spots for taking a photo of Abeno-Harukas or Tsutenkaku in the park, but I tried to look for another place to photograph the buildings in my own way.
My personal favorite place was on the bridge over Kawazoko-pond, and I decided to take the photo of Abeno-Harukas there.

Focal Length 20mm, F-Number 18, SS 30, ISO-200
Regarding this photo, I put a lot of thought into the arrangement of the objects.
Similar to frame composition, putting objects on four corners of the photo makes it more stable and easier to see.
Moreover, to texturize the dark bridge without blown out highlights, I intentionally took the photo in under-exposure and aggressively raised shadow by using Photoshop.
If you have a chance to photograph a highly illuminated object in a dark place, you can try that way.
[Photo 4] Upside down Tsutenkaku reflected in Kawazoko-pond
You can also see “Tsutenkaku (Landmark of Osaka)” from the bridge.
I happened to look the pond and found the reflection of Tsutenkaku on the surface of water, so I decided to take the upside down Tsutenkaku.

Focal Length 50mm, F-Number 18, SS 14, ISO-200
Tsutenkaku has an electric noticeboard on which “HITACHI (Company name)” and “Inspire the Next (Corporate slogan)” appear alternately.
When you take a photo of changeable objects like an electric noticeboard, setting shutter speed is really important.
If the shutter speed is too slow, many characters on the screen overlap each other and cause an unnatural photo.
Therefore, the shutter speed should be faster than the screen changes in the blink of time.
By the way, do you know Tsutenkaku changes color monthly?
In this picture, Tsutenkaku is illuminated in purple (cosmos color) because it was November. That’s just a trivia.
[Photo 5] Autumn stealing over us
On the way back home, I stopped in front of “Osaka-city museum” in the park.
At that time, ginkgo trees around the museum started changing color, and I felt the yellow and green gradation was extremely beautiful.
Because of that, I placed Abeno-Harukas as a background and split the compositions in this photo.

Focal Length 42mm, F-Number 4.0, SS 0.67, ISO-200
The reason why I gave it the title, “Autumn stealing over us” is because the colored leaves and branches looked like twining around Abeno-Harukas.
Personally, I’m satisfied with not only the photo but also the title, so I considered it as the best shot.
Conclusion
Speaking of Tennoji, there is Abeno-Harukas which is famous as a little over 300 meters high building, and the Tennoji city is one of the principal cities in Osaka now.
In contrast, the city has a lot of old buildings and places with traditional atmosphere such as Isshinji, Shitennoji, seven slopes of Tennoji and so on.
I’d like to go to those retro area next time.
Anyway, the maximum number of photos to apply Uemachi photo contest is 3 per person, so I chose [Photo 1], [Photo 3] and [Photo 5].
I’ll do my best for my further growth!
Thank you for your reading the article through to the end.
コメント