Kameido Tenjin’s wisteria on a beautiful evening
Kameido Tenjin’s wisteria are always beautiful. But in 2023, I saw them under lights. That was a new experience for me. I’d never been to a flower festival after sunset. I got some memories and photos that were memorable.
How did the lights make Kameido Tenjin’s wisteria different? The early evening brought out the purple in the flowers. They became more vibrant. Of course, they were difficult to capture with a camera in those conditions. It was low-light flower photography.
How do you photograph wisteria?
These flowers aren’t huge, and they hang from trellises. So if you enter the shrine over one of the drum bridges, you won’t be faced with a sea of purple. You’ll see green. You need to get under them and photograph upwards.
Photography problems
Wisteria are small, and they hang from trellises. That can make them hard to photograph in dark conditions, of course. So, walk around and find the best patches of light if you go in the evening. Even doing that, you will still need to boost your ISO.
And when you shoot these flowers on a beautiful evening, you could use a flash. I didn’t have one, but I might take one in the future. The results should be much better!
The highlight of this beautiful evening
Judging by where most cameras and phones seemed to point, I’d say Tokyo Skytree. Everyone wanted to get that tower behind the wisteria. I’m not surprised as it was beautiful in the clear night sky.
My wish for the festival
The lights aren’t great. I’d like to see more. They should be in strategic positions to bring out the best in the flowers on a beautiful evening.
What was the new food?
The festival has stalls that sell street foods. One had Sharpin (シャーピン). I’d never seen it before. I talked to the vendor, and he said it was like gyoza. That sounded great, so I bought one. I wasn’t disappointed. It was delicious. If you know the correct English word for it, let me know.
Conclusion
Kameido Tenjin’s Wisteria festival is good. I highly recommend it, especially on a beautiful evening. Please realize that the grounds can be dark, so prepare for that. If you go, hopefully, you’ll get nice shots of these fantastic flowers. Leave questions and comments below.
Rohan Gillett
Rohan has lived in Tokyo for 30+ years. He loves photography and plans to capture the entire city.
For more wisteria articles, look at:
External related websites:
- Kameido Tenjin (official website)