[Photo Diary] I tried to enter Higanbana photo contest in Fujinomiya-city, Shizuoka Japan!

Hi! I’m “Yocean”, the webmaster of Pict Create.

Sep. 20th to Sep. 26th 2019 is “Ohigan-week” in Japan, and Ohigan generally means the nirvana. What we do in this period is visiting to graves to hold memorial service for ancestors that have passed away. It is Japanese custom and the idea derives from Buddhism and Japanese Shintoism.

Since most red spider lilies, also known as “Higanbana” in Japanese, bloom this week, I went to “Higanbana-road” in Fujinomiya-city which is at the foot of Mt. Fuji and took pictures.

The reason why I chose that city for photographing is I had a business trip to Shizuoka-Prefecture and had a chance to get on the bullet train, and then I found “Tenshigatake Higanbana photo contest” on internet.

As an amateur photographer, I wanted to try some kind of photo contest. So I took this opportunity to enter the contest. No matter what the result will be, I think it is important to challenge. lol

Then, please take a look at the access to the place and enjoy my pictures!

How to access to Higanbana-road

Higanbana-road located near the Shiraito-watarfall which is a famous sightseeing spot. It takes 40 min. from Shinfuji-station by car.

I decided to get off at Shinfuji-station on the way back home and got a rental car. In my case, it took about 40 min. through the route 139.

Fujinomiya-city is the automobile society. The trains and buses run very infrequently which could be inconvenient for travellers.

I recommend a rental car so much as a local taxi driver said “I can’t live here if I have no car.”.

[Photo 1] Lycoris twin tower

Red spider lilies weren’t in full bloom and they were still in bud when I was at Higanbana-road.

Since these two buds look like a twin tower somewhere, I followed my inspiration and took this.

By the way, lycoris is the scientific name of red spider lily.

[Photo 2] Red spider lily with swallowtail butterfly

Various insects gather around red spider lilies because of honey gland. Even among them, especially swallowtail butterfly likes the flower.

I also frequently saw it there, so I decided to take the close-up shot of the flower with the butterfly.

In the case of photographing a butterfly, it is difficult to focus on it because it moves around and flaps wings freely.

[Photo 3] Enjoyment in Ohigan-period

If you shoot a butterfly on a flower, I recommend shooting from side view.

Since side view makes it easy to see the cute eyes, antennas and straw shaped galea of the butterfly, you can take an excellent photo of the butterfly having a pleasant meal.

By the way, the title “Enjoyment in Ohigan-period” has two meanings. One is “Butterfly enjoying a meal”, and the other is “Me enjoying that photo”.

The butterfly becomes main object and the flower is just supporting it, that can’t be denied. But I decided to post this photo on the contest.

[Photo 4] Red spider lily blooming in a sunny place

If you shoot a red flower, I recommend choosing green background.

Since the red color of the flower and the green color of the background are complimentary colors, the red flower will have a good appearance.

So I chose a green rice field as the background of this photo.

It’s beautiful at a glance, but it’s different from my imagination. I guess if the object was an energetic flower like a sunflower, the sunny place would be suitable.

[Photo 5] Surrounded by the light coming through the leaves

Red spider lilies love bright place in the shade.

I also had the image of the flower quietly blossoms in the shade.

So I changed the location.

Since I took the picture against the sun, the light coming through the leaves turned into round-shaped bokeh.

This picture was taken exactly as I imagined, so I selected this as the best choice for the constest.

Conclusion

Higanbana-road is made by Tenshigatake-no-sato preservation associaiton for over 10 years in order to keep the nostalgic landscape for the next generation.

Although it is less-famous spot than Shiraito-waterfall, I think the place, built by local citizens with great effort, is the only place that provides really amazing and more-attractive photographic models.

I’m still inexperienced, but I’ll spread the charm of local places on this blog.

I appreciate your reading the article through to the end, and please excuse any errors in my English.