Comments on: A night on the phoenix*

By: CJW

CJW — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 04:34:50 +0000

Hi Peter – thank you for you kind words, I’m glad you had a good trip to the Hou-ou Sanzan!

As for the “phoenix” appellation, it’s a Buddhist icon and I believe an extension of the spiritual significance of the three peaks (Jizo, Kannon and Yakushi). Also from a certain angle, the shape of the range is vaguely reminiscent of a giant bird with neck and wings outstretched (somewhat akin to the the beautiful Fujiwara period Hou-ou-dou at Byoudou-in in Uji, South Kyoto, which appears on the back of the Y10 coin).

By: Peter Miller

Peter Miller — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 14:38:08 +0000

Just returned from Houou Sanzan under far more benign conditions that yours — clear autumn weather for all of two days. Your photos and writing are both superb. How did the phoenix come to be associated with these three peaks, and what is the significance of that association for the Japanese? (If you have any idea.)

By: cjw

cjw — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:27:35 +0000

Hi Butuki – Photomatix does have some tolerance for mis-aligned photos (there is an option to “align”), and I’ve got some acceptable results with hand-held shots. But the best results are definitely done with a tripod – the over-exposed shot especially needs to be as sharp as possible.
Keep the ISO as low as you can (preferably at 100), and if your lens has vibration reduction then you are best to switch that off – otherwise it tends to make small adjustments that throw out the final alignment(and of course with a tripod you don’t need VR switched on anyway).
I usually take 3 exposures, set 2 stops away. Sometimes though, it just doesn’t work out and you have to move on..

There’s a good tutorial and much eye-candy here: http://www.stuckincustoms.com/hdr-tutorial/

By: butuki

butuki — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:45:41 +0000

Hi CJW, I recently bought Photomatix and have used it a few times while developing my recent Yatsugatake photos, but I’m curious how you use it. I took three pictures, by hand, at three different exposure settings, but since each picture wasn’t exactly positioned the same as the others, when I tonemapped them many were quite blurry. Do you use a tripod for all your pictures? Or do you use one image and set the different exposures in Photomatix?

By: cjw

cjw — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:05:49 +0000

Billy, I usually think that same thing about half way up the mountain..

By: billywest

billywest — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:31:09 +0000

Very inspiring post. One of those posts that makes think ‘What the hell am I doing with myself?’

By: cjw

cjw — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:11:02 +0000

Hi Kyushu Livin’ – I’m not sure how far up Honshu you want to come, but the two areas that spring to mind are the Sandan-kyo or Miyajima, both near Hiroshima, both beautiful and easy enough to hike in winter..

By: Kyushu Livin'

Kyushu Livin' — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 08:46:06 +0000

Hey readers,

I have been following the site for the past couple weeks. Great writing. I wonder if you guys could recommend any hikes around the bottom part of Honshu. I have some free time after New Years and was looking for a nice 1-day hike. I’m not too advanced and don’t have all the gear for more serious hiking. Thanks in advance, and if there is already a list some where feel free to point me to it. I was looking for a personal recommendation though. Cheers.

By: cjw

cjw — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 01:31:16 +0000

Hey Butuki, good to hear from you. I share your worry about over-using HDR – it’s an interesting tool, but there is definitely the temptation to use it as a crutch. I can feel myself getting lazier, which is not good.

I’ve got an Integral Designs Salathe bivvy. It’s nose-covering, but does have a small wire hoop, more like a stiffened hood. At 860g it’s down there with the lightest of the lightweight tents. More than the weight, though, I like the versitility. If you can find a space to lie down (or even sit) then you can make camp. Top of the mountain? Done. Snowhole? Done. Carpark bench? Done. No pegs, no poles, no guyropes. I wouldn’t want to spend a week in it, but for a quick one or two nights in decent weather it is hard to beat.

For yuki-yama training I’d recommend talking to Oomori-san at Office Alpine – he’s affiliated with ICI Sports and I’ve been ice climbing with him a couple of times. I know he runs some beginners yuki-yama courses around Yatsugatake. There are usually leaflets at the ICI Sports stores, or you can email him on office.alpine “at” piano.ocn.ne.jp. Nice guy, very competant. Or there’s a couple of places in Hakuba, I think Kevin would have contact information.

We should definitely get out together some time. I still have my eye on Naeba early next spring. We didn’t manage it last year, but later on in the season when the snow compacts a bit then it might be fun!

By: butuki

butuki — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:59:02 +0000

That was a great story to read and since I’ve walked the trail several times, too, I was able to visualize just where you were, just not at -15 degrees!

Your recent HDR photos have been really inspiring and I’m thinking of getting the software, too. (something new to get my new MacBook Pro!) Just worried about getting carried away and rendering the photos “unreal”, though that is part of the attraction, too.

I’m curious about which bivvy you use. One of the hooped ones, like the Big Agnes Three Wire or Bibler Lightsabre? Or one of the traditional, nose-covering ones?

These days, with the weight of the one-man tents getting so low (I just bought a Terra Nova Laser Competition, but there are others like the new TarpTent Scarp 1 __four season__, the TarpTent Sublite, and the Bibler One Shot) that using a bivvy seems counterproductive. Though, after reading Ronald Turnbull’s “The Book of the Bivvy” I keep wondering what I am missing! There really is nothing like being out there under the stars!

I’m not confident in winter mountain conditions. Might you be able to recommend a place I can learn how to use crampons and an ice axe? I’ve climbed Yatsugatake in winter with snowshoes so I have some experience, but still wouldn’t go up high alone.

Would love to climb with you some time! (starting out easier though!)