In Kamakura Japan there sits Daibutsu (Great Buddha) - Olympus 5060 digital cameraNine years ago I visited Kamakura, Japan for the first time the day after New Year's. It was just a train ride for me from my apartment in Tokyo, but it felt like traveling back in time to a different era. Kamakura is home to many ancient things, including Daibutsu, The Great Buddha, a statue some 44 feet tall. You may be surprised, as I was, that the statue is hollow and you can go inside and climb some stairs to look out the eyes yourself!
Daibutsu of Kamakura Japan sits some 44 feet tall - Olympus 5060 digital cameraThese photographs were made long before I entered the DSLR world, and in fact to my knowledge there were no consumer DSLRs even available. I had a 5 megapixel Olympus 5060 digital camera. I do recall shooting from a tripod on this day. The biggest holidays of the year for Japanese are on and around New Year's, so it was not surprising to see many visitors there on January 2, 2004.
Buddha statues of all sizes are offered fruit on a daily basis - Olympus 5060 digital cameraStatues of Buddha all over Asia almost always have fruit as an offering in front of them. I thought the scale of the large statue and small fruit was amusing in this composition as I imagined Daibutsu trying to pick up one of those small apples with his large hands.
The eyes of Daibutsu are 1m wide - Olympus 5060 digital cameraKamakura is a must see location for anyone visiting Japan. Besides the statue of Daibutsu, there are many other ancient temples each with secret places to explore.