Hanakaido, a flower garden in Ise that shines in the setting sun

◆Article creation: Koshi Iguchi 　#Mie Travel Camera Club

A landscape photographer living in Mie Prefecture. In addition to working as an office worker, I also use my holidays to take landscape photos, and as part of Mie Tourism's ``Mie Travel Camera Club,'' I introduce the recommended scenic views that Mie Prefecture is proud of, and also share how to photograph them. .

[Flower opening]

Hello, this is Koshi Iguchi.
This time we will introduce ``Hanakaido'' in Ise City, IseCity Prefecture.

Hanakaido is located in Tsumura-cho IseCity, which is visited by many tourists, and many flowers such as poppies, cornflowers, lupines, and sunflowers bloom from spring to summer.

This year I photographed lupines, and last year I photographed cornflowers, so I would like to use these two as a basis to introduce how to beautifully photograph flower openings.

[Location/Access]

Approximately 10 minutes by car from Tamaki IC on the Ise Expressway, approximately 20 minutes from IseJingu Naiku.
It's a perfect location to stop by when you come to IseJingu for sightseeing.

The parking lot is free and can accommodate about 10 cars, but please note that there are not many.

However, when I visited during Golden Week (around 17:00 on May 5), there were only about 3 cars parked.

There are many scarecrows placed next to the parking lot.
There are also many unique scarecrows, so don't miss out!

[Target weather and time]

·weather
The weather we're aiming for is, of course, "sunny"!
More specifically, it would be perfect if the humidity was high and there were clouds high in the sky.

The reason why it's good to have high humidity and clouds high in the sky is because you're more likely to see a beautiful sunset.

When taking landscape photos, I think it's a good idea to research the conditions that make sunsets more likely.

·time
Aim for sunset time.
You can see the wonderful scenery during the day, but if you want to take impressive photos, the best time is at sunset, when the light is soft and slanted.

Around Golden Week, the sun sets before 7pm, but in this location the sun sets behind the mountains, so sunlight doesn't come in until after 6pm.

Therefore, it is safe to arrive at the location by 5:30pm.

[Points for shooting]

​A tripod is required as the photo will be taken at dusk.
Please be aware that if you forget, it may cause blurring or noise due to increasing the ISO sensitivity.

Also, since Hanakaido has flower fields spread out over a vast area, we recommend using a wide-angle lens to take photos.
The recommended composition is to put the sun in front of you, so a lens that is resistant to backlighting is ◎!

[Shooting settings]

I will explain the shooting settings using the cornflower photo above.

Let's use "A mode (aperture priority)" as the shooting mode!

Of course, if you are capable of fully manual shooting, there is no problem with manual shooting, but since the exposure changes moment by moment during sunsets, etc., we recommend shooting in A mode to prevent exposure mistakes.
In fact, I mostly shoot in A mode.

The photo above was taken at F22.
If you want to focus from the flowers in the foreground to the mountains in the background, you need to stop down firmly.

Set the ISO sensitivity based on this, but if you set it too low because you are concerned about noise, the shutter speed will become slow, causing problems such as flowers blurring due to wind.
Therefore, I think that ISO sensitivity of 400 to 800 is good.

Once you decide on the aperture and ISO sensitivity, the camera will automatically decide the shutter speed, so leave the rest to the camera!

・Photography data
Focal length: 16mm
ISO sensitivity: 640
Aperture value: 22
SS: 1/100

Next is an example using a telephoto lens instead of a wide-angle lens.

Using the compression effect unique to telephoto lenses, it is also perfect for taking photos with a soft, blurred feel.
When you are conscious of bokeh, you can get better bokeh by setting the aperture value to the smallest value!

・Photography data
Focal length: 200mm
ISO sensitivity: 320
Aperture value: 5.6
SS: 1/850

So far we have introduced lupines and cornflowers, but poppies are also blooming, so be sure to look for them!

It has a different quality than lupine or cornflower!

・Photography data
Focal length: 200mm
ISO sensitivity: 320
Aperture value: 5.6
SS: 1/850

It's a good idea to take lots of shots, not just horizontal ones, but many different ones, as it'll be fun to look back on later.

・Photography data
Focal length: 16mm
ISO sensitivity: 500
Aperture value: 13
SS: 1/100

【Notes】

The lupine field has ridges where lupines are planted and areas that are walkways.
I've heard that it's okay to walk freely through the aisles, but be sure not to step on the ridges.

There are no paths between the cornflower fields.
There is a passageway at the far end of the flower garden, so let's take pictures from there.
Of course, entering the flower garden is strictly prohibited.

Don't forget to take pictures and show your gratitude to the people who take care of such a beautiful flower garden!

【summary】

Thank you for reading until the end.
I would be happy if some people read this article and want to go to Hanakaido.

With the state of emergency declared and measures to prevent the spread of the disease being lifted, it is gradually becoming easier to go out, but if you are still worried about being indoors, why not enjoy the flower gardens of Ise?

See you again in the next article.

Click here for Koshi Iguchi's previous articles↓

A young photographer from Mie Prefecture is fascinating. Mie's superb view photography guide!

Check out Koshi Iguchi’s Instagram ↓

Koshi Iguchi Instagram