View of Nature in Japan
A collection of visual experiments showcases the artistic depths of Japanese nature.
This section contains 14 BGSS slideshows, 1 comprehensive BGSS book, an interactive "Virtual Bird Watching" hidden-object game, and downloadable wallpapers (on the subpage). Please select the content below and the slideshow.
In the Sky (2:59)
Another Time (3:37)
Flower Garden (3 BGSSs, 18:11)
Beads on the Water – MR – (6:59)
Beads on the Water – Dreaming RS – (3:15)
Beads on the Water – Fairy MR – (9:33)
Beads on the Water – Fantasy WAM – (4:43)
Beads on the Water – Dreaming ES – (6:51)
Beads on the Water – Dreaming CD – (5:13)
Beads on the Water – Fantasy JSB – (17:44)
Beads on the Water – Fairy FL – (4:33)
1/2倍速のカレンダー
Half-speed Calendar (4:29)
シャッター・レリーズ – 7つのスケッチ –
Shutter Release – 7 Sketches – (24:32)
思い出の桜
Cherry Blossom Tree in Mind (3:51)
一つの風景、カーテンコール
One Scene, a Curtain Call (15:10)
Virtual Bird Watching
Wallpapers
More About Water Reflections
Stripe Patterns
Under the laws of perspective, the wave density on a water’s surface changes rapidly with respect to the vertical visual angle. When wave crests horizontally align, their intervals are proportional to the inverse square of the distance from the observer. Consequently, thin stripes appear near the reflected building base in the distance. In contrast, the foreground often displays bold, two-colored thick stripes composed of the reflected building facade and blue sky. These stripes are natural, original designs created by the water (see "Metropolitan Cityscapes").
A Sea of Miniature Suns
Reflecting off rippling water, sunlight creates numerous bead-like images of the Sun. While the individual images on moving ripples are slightly distorted and imperfect, they collectively form a sea of miniature suns across the water's surface. Under relatively strong winds, waves in a pond can reach a critical state, forming sharpened crests with a 30-degree slope and flattened troughs. In this case, bead-like sunlight reflections are often chained along the crests and troughs (see "Sparkling on Water" above ).
Light Pillars
The distribution and brightness of sun glitter are determined by solar altitude, wave conditions (height, wavelength, direction, and profile), surface reflectance, observer’s position, and perspective. The elongated reflection patterns of street lamps are also influenced by the position and directionality of the light source. Under moderate winds, stable waves without whitecaps maintain limited slopes, typically within several degrees. These limited slopes tend to confine the reflection patterns from both sunlight and artificial light sources primarily along the line of sight, creating a light pillar (see "Sparkling on Water" above, "Background Slideshows", and "Metropolitan Cityscapes").
Vertically Flipped Photographs
Vertically flipped water-reflection photographs capture an optical reality—an upward view from a virtual perspective beneath the water surface, excluding refraction, that mirrors the observer's height above the water. Because water-reflection photographs contain multiple light layers (see "Quick Look ASW"), their vertically flipped images create a deep space with a sense of pure transparency. Conceptually, these photographs possibly present the sublation (i.e. Aufheben) of reality and unreality, fact and fantasy, the solid and the fluid.
Online Gallery Slideshows
A slideshow generally advances at a slower tempo than a movie, holding each still scene for nearly ten seconds. This gentle pace coordinates the flow of photography with the ambient music, allowing viewers enough time to appreciate each frame for what it is. This echoes the traditional Japanese concept of 'Ma'—a pause and negative space.
The online gallery is well-suited for displaying transparent or translucent scenes, such as “Another Space in Water” and “Natural Stained Glass”. While traditional paper prints in ink (CMYK) lose brightness as colors blend, a digital display creates images directly with emitted light (RGB). In the RGB system, mixed colors become brighter and closer to pure white, beautifully capturing the clarity of transparency and translucency.
✦ Notes
• BGSS: BackGround SlideShow
• UD: Photo flipped Upside Down (indicated by a small "UD" mark in the bottom right corner of the slideshow)
• For details on the musical tracks, please refer to "BGM List".
(To be updated)
