Join me and my border collie for a visit to Yamashita-Koen Park and part of the waterfront on the Port of Yokohama in Yokohama, Japan, for cityscape and nightscape photography. 春のの都市景観写真なら、神奈川県の横浜市西区にある、「山下公園と横浜港」をおすすめします！
Visiting this park in early summer after the rainy season presented a number of flowered areas slowly drying up or dying as the primary blooming season, especially for the roses, had passed.
Regardless, other flowers in full bloom were readily available making sure that visitors can relax with a broad palette of colors and textures. Today, the park had visitors including photographers, portrait photographers, skateboarders, elderly men listening to the radio, young couples on a date, elderly couples walking for fitness, junior high and high school students hanging out after school, and owners walking their dogs and chatting it up with other dog parents.
First, a little history:
The park is actually land that was reclaimed from the ocean. The hotels across the street from the park used to have just a wide street separating the hotels and office buildings from the ocean’s waves as they pounded against the seawall.
After the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 destroyed most of Yokohama, the issue arose as to where to dispose of all the debris from the earthquake. Fortunately, a Scotsman advisor to Yokohama Mayor Ariyoshi Chuichi (Marshall Martin), persuaded the government to dump the debris into the bay behind a wall to create a grand park that would stretch the full length of the port-side waterfront. And thus, Yamashita-Koen Park was born.
After the war, the entire park and nearby high-end hotels fell under the control of the U.S. Armed Forces until 1960. Across the street from the park is the Hotel New Grand where General MacArthur spent his first night on his arrival in Japan on August 30, 1945. Today, the hotel maintains most of its grandeur from years gone by.
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Below is a list of the equipment I took with me on this photo shoot.
Camera Gear:
Pentax K-1 Mark II (K1-II)
Standard zoom lens: Pentax D FA 28-105mm f3.5-5.6ed DC WR HD Lens
Tripod: Manfrotto MT190CXPRO4 (carbon fiber legs with quick locking clamps)
Ball head: Manfrotto Cloud XPRO Series Ballhead BHQ2 with 200PL locking plate
Video Gear:
Canon EOS Kiss M/M50 Double Zoom Kit
SIGMA 16mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary C017 (Canon EF-M Mount, APS-C Size, Mirrorless Only)
PolarPro 67mm QuartzLine Circular Polarizer Filter
Zhiyun Weebill-S Gimbal
RODE Road Wireless GO Wireless Microphone System WIGO
Filters & Filter Systems:
PolarPro QuartzLine ND 64 Filter – 67mm (ND64 6-stop reduction in light)
PolarPro QuartzLine ND1000 Filter – 67mm (ND1000 10-stop reduction in light)
PolarPro QuartzLine ND100k Filter – 67mm (ND100K 15-stop reduction in light)
PolarPro QuartzLine Circular Polarizer – 67mm
PolarPro Summit | Landscape Filter System Custom Kit (Core, Thread Plate, ND4-GR filter, ND8-GR filter, Circular Polarizer)
Pack:
F-stop Tilopa 50L Adventure and Travel Camera Backpack (Essentials Bundle: backpack, rain cover, internal camera unit)
F-stop Tripod Bag (large)
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Music Tracks Licensed for this video through Epidemic Sound. Visit this link to subscribe:
“The Goths” composed by Johannes Bornlöf and performed by Bonnie Grace.
“For Far Too Long” composed and performed by Wanderer’s Trove.
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