Fukushen Garden

[hotrocks]

The statue is of a famous poet (Japanese or Chinese, not sure) who could only write poetry when drinking sake. Any pictures or sculptures of him will always have him holding some sort of glass.

I was trying to capture the peace, history and beautiful architecture in one go. I was attracted to this picture and angle for several reasons.

1: The mysterious empty chair... Was it his or is for someone to sit down and listen to him speak?

2: That statue itself from a higher viewpoint.

3: I find the path leading down to the statue and the doorway very interesting. (I'm tempted to put a person sitting and pondering on the step above the doorway)

I think the tree and tree brace on the right are a bit distracting. This was a overcast day as well, so maybe going back when there are more shadows might add effect.

There are a few other angles to take this picture from, so any suggestions on composition or post production are appreciated.

 

[emelemkalapom]

Hi!
I like the mood of the picture, the angle is also nice but I find that there are too many distracting things in the picture. Maybe a tighter crou could emphasize the statue more. The coffin-shaped door is very interesting, but otherwise I think you can leave out parts from the left, right and bottom side aswell. Maybe that way the effect of the stone wall as a kind of frame to the picture would work even better.
Also you made me want to go back to Japan and brought back nice memories, thank you!

Cheers
T

 

[Carolina Photo Guy]

I believe this is Rihaku, the Wandering poet.

Unfortunately, this is ALSO the name of a very popular sake.

A Google search points almost exclusively to the sake and not the poet.

Disappointing, because I was really curious about Rihaku the man.

Oh well, I'm over it.

Japanese poetry, at its highest art form is the Haiku. To me, Haiku is the most free flowing form of verse anywhere.

And yet, this particular shrine seems to be far too structured to honor Haiku. There seems to be an inbuilt contradiction here.

So I would like to see this shot from the right at ground level, in grainy B&W, as if taken from the '60s.

BWTHDIK?

 

[Just-Clayton]

looks like the chair would be for someone to sit and think. i would pit someone there and shoot from behind like a silhouete shot. even a shot from the statues left side toward the steps. my opinion.

 

[hotrocks]

Photo Guy, I'm glad you know who it is. I tried to research it, but did not find much (I assume information on him is mostly in Kanji or Katakana)

emel thanks.. I see exactly what you're saying, but with the curves and angles of where you can stand may make it impossible to eliminate the side noise. I will definitely try anyway.

newbshooter: I actually have a few pictures of a random girl sitting there "thinking," but she wasn't exactly the specimen for the shot.