Behind-the-scenes of a photo

A bench in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan

Every now and then I’d like to take a minute to briefly describe what went into making a photo either posted on my Viewbug account or that I have on here.

I thought I’d start off with the main image on this site, which is something I plan on changing with the seasons.

For a long time I’ve always declared myself to be a summer fanatic. I’m almost always cold, which means winter is out. Thanks to hay fever, spring is out, too. I thought of summer as the best of all seasons…until the heat got worse. Lately in Japan, it’s been nothing but supreme heat and humidity over the summer. The heat is just oppressive.

That’s when autumn saw its chance and creeped onto my radar. I have to admit there’s a lot to like: fall colors, crisp air, insects dying or hiding underground, lots of days of sun.

While enjoying everything autumn has to offer, I stumbled across this bench. The black bench and the dark hardwood deck it was on offered the perfect contrast to the bright yellow leaves behind it. I knelt down in front of it and spent a couple of minutes trying to get the framing just right before finally taking this photo.

I’m a huge fan of natural lighting, and usually cloudy days are my natural enemy. However, I have to say I like the softer light the clouds offered for this picture.