Wood and Stone

This has got to be one of the most beautiful gates to a Japanese house in the neighborhood that I have seen thus far. Older homes might have more temple- or shrine-like gates. This homeowner had this gate added to his home only several years ago.

Don't know what kind of stone this is, but it is definitely beautiful. Sadly, most Japanese homes are too small to even have such a nice yard. Glad that some wealthy homeowners still go through the trouble and expense of sprucing up their homes in a more traditional Zen-like manner.

If I ever had the money to build my own house, I'd want to have the same color and design of this tiled roof.

Somber Rainbows

I was lucky today to have my camera with me on my way home from work this afternoon.

I am always amazed with the different kinds of plants and flowers and shrubbery that have been planted throughout the area in my neighborhood.

This time of year is especially nice since we can enjoy the cherry blossoms in their full glory!

At the macro level, fallen blossoms create canyons, peaks, and valleys of blossom petals with hues ranging from white to pink, like a candy land of sweet raspberry yogurt or cherry ice cream.

Even the pine trees with very delicately trimmed and groomed branches create a peculiar sense of beauty in somber tones.

Single Teardrop

Each petal from a cherry tree blossom is but fleeting beauty -- grandeur whilst short-lived. Delicate breath blown from on high will catapult each soft petal spiraling downward to its demise.

In their passing is a carpet of pink and white hues enveloping the cold and frigid ground, warming our hearts with the anticipation of a forethcoming spring. 

Once again, rebirth and life will soon spring forth, our hearts pounding with anticipation.

Azalea and Cherry Blossom

If I were pollinator, I would be attracted to this flower the most.

I love how these white blossoms have slight shades of pink branching out from the center.

These two shots, above and below, are basically the same. The lower shot was modified using some nice photo editing software on the iPhone.

I hate changing lenses on the camera in the middle of a shot, so I like to stand back at a distance from the shot, and take a shot with the telephoto lens to acquire the depth of field.

Black and Pink

It doesn't take long before the delicate cherry blossoms flutter to the ground

There are so many different colors of pigeons in our neighborhood. I love the year in iridescent colors on the neck of this one.

She (he) has the colors on her neck that I would like to have on my car!

The freshly laid asphalt that has and recently rained on creates a great backdrop for the fallen petals.

Reds and Yellows

Left the morning job this afternoon and came across this park near the station.



Decided to wak home instead of taking the bus. Pleasantly surprised to see so much color this morning after constant rain and winds.



As usual, I have no idea what kinds of flowers we're looking at here...



When they first planted this garden, I wonder what the workers were thinking.



Was there a design process? Was color coordination of priority? What is the priority cost of young plants? Or maybe just a combination of both?

i4S vs i5

Two shots of the same scene taken with an older iPhone 4S.

The newer lense in the iPhone 5 was a drastic improvement.