The Faint Lights of Winter

“The Faint Lights of Winter”

Though this wasn't my first time to explore Takayama, it WAS my first time to discover the beauty of this Japanese city in the middle of winter and in the dead of night. Known for its historical district of narrow streets lined with old wooden merchants' houses, Takayama takes on a certain charm with the addition of freshly fallen snow. In a word, magical. The sporadic street lights and shop lights illuminating the city, coupled with an ever-present surrounding silence, only enhance the dreamy, ethereal vibe of these darkened street scenes.

Knowing that Takayama is a frequently photographed tourist destination, it was important for me to differentiate my compositions from the norm. I first had the idea of manipulating the images into a blurry dreamlike state but quickly decided my edits needed to be primarily cosmetic in nature. Seeing the snow essentially as a blank canvas, I had the idea of using Lightroom and Photoshop to bring dreamy, aurora-like colors into the photographs. Drawing upon my unique light reflection MACRO photography, I chose attractive color schemes which suited each specific image and was a good representation of my favored color palette.