In Tokyo, Somei-Yoshino cherry trees have already fallen gracefully, I suppose. Cherry blossoms photos are dominating the world’s photo blogs, but time moves so slowly in my blog world that they have not yet bloomed. And we must not forget this flower that we can enjoy before cherry blossoms. It is a Haku-mokuren, pure white magnolia that blooms and falls in a short period of time between the plum and cherry, leaving a strong impression.
I did a little research on where to take pictures this year and learned that the road along the Shiohama canal in Koto ward is quite a famous place for magnolias. Okay, here wo go.
On the way from Toyo-cho station on the subway to the canal, there was only one magnolia tree planted along the street for some reason. I wonder if it is some kind of landmark.
This is the line of magnolia trees along the north bank of the Shiohama canal. Depending on the source, it is said that there are 150 or 300 trees, but as you can see, they are magnificent.
The flowers were slightly past their peak and some had fallen, but there were so many that if photographed well, the volume of the flowers could still be expressed.
I brought my Pentax K-3III and two star lenses, the HD DA*16-50mm and the smc DA*50-135mm, which is a bit heavy for me, but I had to take them out once in a while, otherwise my lenses would become fodder in the lens box.
The language of the magnolia flower is “sublime”. I wonder if I captured the noble whiteness.
I learned that a similar white magnolia-ish flower the Kobushi, blooms with all six petals fully open, while the Haku-mokuren with six petals and three petal-like sepals pointing upward without fully opening.
Little bit confused that Haku-mokurens here are very Kobushi like shape.
Yes, this is how Haku-mokuren looks when it blooms upward like this.
A few trees were also planted on the other side of the tree line (south bank), and perhaps due to the sun exposure, the blooming progressed a little slower here, and therefore, on this particular day, the flowers seemed more vibrant than those on the main north bank.
The magnolia blooms in overwhelming volume on a single tree, so I was simply happy to photograph them, filling my viewfinder with pure white blossoms.
An added bonus. Part of the south bank is lined with Kawazu cherry trees, which could not be more in full bloom.
I placed the focus on the family taking a walk and blurred out the foreground a bit. I was hoping to capture the “smoky” full bloom, but I don’t feel like I was that successful. As a eternal beginner, I am constantly reminded of my immaturity every time I take a picture.
So, this was the volume of photographing the magnolias + α in 2023.
The smc DA*50-135mm has a big hood that makes it look bulky, but it is a good lens that is light, bright, and easy to use.
