Cherry blossoms change the appearance of familiar streets and railway lines for a brief part of the year. In these photographs, Koji records flowering scenes in Japan, including Osaka and Kyoto. Their dates belong to the posts; flowering varies by location and season, so the gallery is not an announcement that blossoms are appearing everywhere now.
Koji’s stunning photographs show streets paved with pink petals, forests blanketed with “sakura snow,” and lines of lush cherry blossom trees. Koji also captures Kyoto pastel-pink colored trains rolling through blossom-covered railways. In Osaka, the talented photographer gets a shot of a yellow Japanese white-eye bird perched among pink foliage.
The short flowering period gives the photographs a sense of occasion. Petals still on the branches create one kind of scene, while fallen petals turn paths and surfaces into another. The images preserve those different stages without requiring a single timetable for every tree.
Koji also posts photos from the other three seasons, revealing the country’s beauty all year round. See more from his portfolio on Instagram.
Koji: Instagram
koji (@ui_hii618love) on
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koji (@ui_hii618love) on
koji (@ui_hii618love) on
koji (@ui_hii618love) on
(The Instagram post originally embedded here is no longer available.)
koji (@ui_hii618love) on
koji (@ui_hii618love) on
(The Instagram post originally embedded here is no longer available.)
koji (@ui_hii618love) on
Blossoms become part of the setting
A close view of blossoms and a wider view of a flowering avenue offer different ways to experience the same subject. Look for how branches frame buildings, paths and people. This gallery records particular moments; it is not a current bloom forecast, and flowering dates vary between places and years.
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Petals, trains and passing birds
A train supplies a clear shape within a loose mass of branches and petals. A small bird reverses that relationship: the flowers become a large surrounding environment, and the subject must be found within it. Moving between those scales gives the gallery variety. The blossoms remain the common element, but the photographs are also about streets, movement and the brief alignment of colour with an ordinary scene.
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