11 Selected Photos from January 2015 - Harmony of Snow and Water

I spent a lot of time deciding whether I should continue monthly selected photos series, and if I do continue, the question of how I continue the series had been posing the biggest anogy in my heart. The agony ended up lasting for three months, and I finally decided to keep it in almost the same way.

The main reason is that I strongly felt during the three months that I lost the chance to reflect my photography career. I need a custom to keep reflecting my days.

The slight difference is that I added a summary made of a few words to the title. This task gives me a chance to think thoroughly what I had done during one month. The summary of this month is "Harmony of Snow and Water". Then, please enjoy the 11 selected photos from January 2015!

1. Stepping Firmly on Snow

The World of White - Where Swans Live Happily

January is definitely the month of snow. And once we go outside to see the world of white, we must stand cold weather, and so do most of the animals. They hide themselves and do not appear in front of humans. But the swans here are exceptional. They step firmly on the snowy ground, which looks exactly the symbol of the snowy January.

2. Reddish River at Dusk

Various Subjects of Photography Found in the Winter of Futako-Tamagawa (8 Photos)

Hyogoshima Park is one of the Top 8 Landscapes of Tama River, and this view proved it to me. The orange color of the sunset time spread all over the surface of the river. The light and shade is just awesome, which invites us to the unspoiled landscape of Japan.

3. Greatest Wintry Nature

Snowy Waterfall is the Entrance of Greatest Wintry Nature - Hyakuhiro-no-taki Waterfall is Waiting for You!

This is my memorable first challenge to a snowy mountain. And this is also the memory of my biggest trouble and miracle in my photography life. The biggest trouble was that I dropped my camera into the basin. And the miracle is that the camera recovered from the water damage! I thank God for giving me this miracle.

4. Yokohama Night

Night Walk - Gorgeous Nightscapes of Yokohama Bay Area (5 Photos)

I believe that Yokohama is one of the best places to enjoy nightscapes. The view from the Kishamichi Promenade always gives us the opportunity to see the ferris wheel and some other skyscappers, and today, the Japanese houseboat added the warm red color. It was a romantic night walk.

5. Sunset from Jogashima Island

Overwhelming Waves and Lucky Sunset over Jogashima Island

Jogashima Island is my favorite place to see the sunset. But the sad thing is that the weather is unstable and we seldom see the sunset clearly here. So was it that day. But at the very last moment of the sunset time did the sun appear from the window. How lucky I was!

6. Swirling Waves

Various Subjects of Photography Found in the Winter of Futako-Tamagawa (8 Photos)

The waves are like struggling to break the status quo, and it definitely lasts forever. This is how the life goes to me.

7. The Mt. Fuji

Enoshima Island - Where You Can See Beautiful Mt. Fuji

I love this view from Enoshima Island because I can see the whole view of Mt. Fuji without obstacles. I often see Mt. Fuji from my town in Tokyo, Yokohama, and even in Jogashima Island. But the figure of Mt. Fuji from any of the three is half hidden behind another mountain or buildings. It looks like there is no tall mountain between Mt. Fuji and Enoshima Island. It's really nice.

8. Snowy County of Tokyo

Snowy Waterfall is the Entrance of Greatest Wintry Nature - Hyakuhiro-no-taki Waterfall is Waiting for You!

It's unbelievable that Tokyo has such an snowy area with the great nature as this. The blue sky makes the white branches more white in my heart.

9. White, Gray and Pale Blue

The World of White - Where Swans Live Happily

The combination of the three colors - white, gray and pale blue - is simple but is strongly showing their presence. We can hardly see the view like this in Tokyo. This is how Niigata shapes the wintry landscapes.

10. Ferocious Waves

Overwhelming Waves and Lucky Sunset over Jogashima Island

Jogashima Island is one of my favorite places to take photos at because of its vast and powerful nature. You can enjoy strange shapes of rugged rocks created by the ferocious waves.

11. Late Autumn Colors

Unexpected Autumn Colors at Sojiji Temple in the Midst of January

It was a miracle that I found the autumn colors today because we are in the midst of January, and because I was personally thinking that the walk around Kamakura on December 20 was definitely the last autumn colors of this season. It seems like some temples have autumn colors for really a long time.

Ah, by the way, this is the only photo which includes neither snow nor water among all the 11 photos. This simply shows Sojiji Temple was so great this month.

Thanks for enjoying my photos of January 2015!