Few of you may have noticed, but during the New Year holidays, I re-edited the “Gallery” page of this site so that you can view the photos by mount and lens. Although in beginner class level, I have posted some of the photos I have taken over the years, so please take a look if you are so inclined.
I realized once again that I have quite a few lenses that I don’t use very often.
Especially the 3 FA Limited lenses that I collected while struggling to make ends meet.
- smcFA31mm limited F1.8
- smcFA43mm limited F1.9
- smcFA77mm limited F1.8
It is a shame for a Pentax user to not be able to use the “Limiteds”.
This year, therefore, I have made a conscious effort to use prime lenses, especially Limiteds, for my photography.
I have been talking about this for a long time, but the title of this article comes from the fact that I went out to Ueno Toshogu shrine early in the New Year with a K-3III and an FA31mm limited lens attached.
Thanks to a major reconstruction in 2021, the Park Gate of JR Ueno Station is now directly connected to Ueno Park, and when you exit the gate, you can see the Metropolitan Ueno Zoo up close and personal. Surprisingly, many people do not know this, but just before the entrance to the zoo, turn left and you will find the Ueno Toshogu shrine.
Located in a Ueno park, this is not a huge shrine, but the approach is quite austere. The stone lanterns that line the path are also well aged.
A magnificent five-story pagoda can be seen on the right side of the approach, but this has nothing to do with Toshogu shrine. It is located in a corner of the Zoo and stands out in a unique way (many visitors pass by it without noticing it!), but it seems to have originally belonged to Kan-eiji Temple, located at the back of the park.
As you may have noticed, I developed this photo in the Pentax custom image “Satobi” style to try to create an austere finish to match the calm appearance of the shrine. I am pleased with the results, not using original “Satobi” but my own profile “Satobi-ish”.
Like same name shrines of Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture and Kunouzan in Shizuoka Prefecture, Toshogu Shrine here enshrines Ieyasu Tokugawa shogun, first shogun in Edo era and known as deified Tosho-Daigongen. The main shrine is decorated with many golden ornaments, the same as those of Nikko and Kunouzan.
A group of heavy lanterns lining the temple grounds. The limited lens is perfect for capturing these subjects in a subdued manner.
FA31mm Limited + Satobi, I think I was able to get into and use it rather well.
I was so happy to see a small store by the torii gate at the entrance of the shrine that I couldn’t help but take a picture of it, which is not easy to find in Tokyo these days.
I came to this shrine for one more reason besides taking pictures here. As shown by the banner standing in the first photo, I wanted to photograph the winter peonies that are now in full bloom in the adjacent garden.
So, in the next issue, we will continue our walk in Botan-en(Peony garden) and see how well we can capture the flowers with a single FA Limi 31mm lens.
