It seems that this year’s Higanbana(red spider lily) bloomed in a flash and then ended in a blink of an eye. As a member of the “Higanbana photographer” family since the year before last, I did not want to miss any photo opportunities at all costs.
I was almost in danger, but during the holiday weekend of the far bank of Japan, there was a day when the weather was nice and sunny with comfortable temperatures, so I went out to Shinjuku Gyoen Park and managed to accomplish my mission of Higanbana 2023.
This is a great park, Shinjuku Gyoen. Most of the trees and plants can be found here (unless you want to go too far). This time, they even added a butterfly as a bonus.
The white cluster amaryllis, commonly known as “white Higanbana” is also in good condition.
Or, if anything, the white ones were more vigorous than the red ones at this date and time point by Tamamo Pond, the best grouping in the Gyoen.
Here is a shot of red against a white background.
Another one in white on a red background, on the contrary.
Although these voluminous clusters of Higanbana are also gorgeous,
Focusing on a single plant or flower is also a fun way to take pictures. I found a solitary blooming plant in a different location than the cluster in the photo above, and immediately became enthusiastic.
Since my shoulder is still not healed, I decided again not to go out with heavy K-3III or S5 this time and relied on the Lumix G99, which is a little lighter. I brought a telephoto lens because I expected it would be difficult to “get close” in Shinjuku Gyoen, and this proved to be the case, and all the photos this time were taken with the Leica DG50-200mm telephoto lens.
So, I became an old man who went to Shinjuku Gyoen and took pictures of Higanbana flowers.
