[May Flower Tour] The camera bag is heavy, but the heart is (for a fleeting moment) light
The moment the calendar turns to May, my fingertips start to fidget.
Yes, the blood of a 'self-proclaimed photographer' picking up a camera bag is stirring.
However, reality is cruel.
The moment I finish packing with high spirits and hoist the bag onto my shoulder, 'Wait? Am I about to climb Mount Everest or something?' I am faced with the heavy reality.
Camera body, macro, ultra-wide angle, telephoto...
As a result of believing wholeheartedly in the old saying 'better safe than sorry,' by the time I reach the shooting spot, my lower back is already screaming, 'I'll start working hard from tomorrow.'
Even so, when I am blown by the early summer breeze and peek at poppies and roses through the viewfinder, it is strange how that weight and my daily stress disappear for a moment (truly just for a moment).
This time, I will introduce some superb view spots in May that I recommend, despite my lower back pain.
In May, the world begins to shine as if to say it is 'a violence of light and color.'
Here are the subjects I love dearly and their sacred grounds.
Poppies: The passionate red woven by wind and light
In mid-May, a bright red carpet covers the vast grounds.
Akebonoyama Agriculture Park (Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture)
The star of this place is, without a doubt, the windmill.
When you take a picture of the poppies and the windmill together, you feel like you are in the Netherlands.
'An overseas trip you can take without a passport' is right here.
Kokaigawa Flower Canal (Toride City, Ibaraki Prefecture)
A flower field continuing along the levee. On days when the wind blowing across the river is strong, both the poppies and I are desperate.
Should I increase the shutter speed to freeze the swaying flowers, or dare to let them blur?
That struggle is fun in its own way.
Kokaigawa Fureai Park (Shimotsuma City, Ibaraki Prefecture)
If conditions are good, you can take pictures with Mount Tsukuba in the background.
The scale of Ibaraki is incredible.
Roses: The supreme elegance exuded by the queen of early summer
Just by taking pictures of roses, I feel like my femininity (or gentlemanliness) has increased.
Kashiwanoha Park (Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture)
About 80 varieties of roses compete for attention. As I focus on each individual flower with my macro lens, I find myself frozen in some strange posture before I even realize it.
Seiwa Rose Park (Adachi Ward, Tokyo)
Roses that blend into the everyday scenery have a charm of their own. It is a peaceful time, snapping photos while exchanging greetings with people out for a stroll.
Peony: An overwhelming presence dwelling in silence
Early May. The profound weight of these flowers is best captured within the grounds of a temple.
Io-ji Temple and Kannon-ji Temple (Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture)
In these places, also known as "Peony Temples," time flows as you commune with the flowers. Each bloom has such incredible volume that it feels as though it might burst right out of the frame.
While photographing flowers, I often wonder if we are always chasing the "peak" too much.
The moment of full bloom, the most beautiful angle, the perfect light.
To capture that, I carry heavy equipment, push through crowds, and sometimes set up a tripod to secure a spot.
But when I suddenly take my eye away from the viewfinder, a couple laughing together while holding a smartphone and saying "How beautiful," or a child chasing butterflies while ignoring the flowers entirely, often seem to be "enjoying" this season much more than I am.
Photography, in the end, might just be a "dialogue with one's own desires."
"I want to take a better shot," "I want to capture a shot no one else has"—these are my desires.
These are signs of ambition, but sometimes they cloud the pure scenery right in front of me.
But that is okay.
I hurt my back, I spend money on gear, and yet I still wish to "freeze this moment in time."
I convince myself that this gritty passion is the very "human beauty" that AI cannot generate.
The flowers of May simply bloom and sway in the breeze, whether we have our cameras pointed at them or not.
Wanting to touch that "absolute sense of affirmation," I shoulder my heavy bag once again.
Next time, I think I will go out to capture the "lingering regret" as the roses begin to scatter.
Whether you choose to go with heavy equipment or travel light with just a smartphone,
why not head out and take a deep breath of the early summer air that you can only breathe right now?
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