Happy Sunday! Tina is the hostess for 2023’s final Lens-Artists Photo Challenge and she is giving us one last chance to share photos that failed to make it into any of the Lens-Artists Photo Challenges.

Here are three photos I never posted from my trip to Japan in September. I shot the photo of the autumn maple leaf when I visited Toshodaji Temple in Nara, Japan. I have two Japanese maple trees at home and I don’t know how I never noticed the intricacy and beauty of its leaves.

The other two photos were views from Himeji Castle. I completely glossed over these photos when I was looking for photos for the look up, look down challenge a few weeks ago. These photos are both looking down from different vantage points of the castle. I quite enjoy taking photos from odd, strange angles.

I spent the day yesterday editing the photos from the previous night. I went to see Luminaria on Friday night after managing to snag the final ticket for the 5:30 PM admission earlier this week. I originally bought my ticket for the show next Monday.

Luminaria was spectacular. It’s the largest Christmas display I’ve ever seen and it’s in a garden setting. There was lights, music, and firepits for us to warm up. I quite enjoyed the 90-minute walk despite being 34-degree-Fahrenheit, well, I did have protection from the cold – a super hand-warmer, hand-made cowl, hat, and wrist warmers.

The candlelight photo is my favorite of the night. It’s part of the display called “Light of the World”, where it told the story of Jesus. After importing it into Lightroom, I discovered the exposure time was 0.5 seconds and other than being a bit noisy, this photo has to be my best hand-held long-exposure to-date.

The fire in the firepits caught my eyes. I don’t think I’ve seen fire like this before, not even in my fireplace. This fire danced. Maybe it was my imagination but watching the fire was sure mesmerizing.

Finally, I’m sharing two photos from my trip to the UK in May. The first photo was taken in Greenwich. Alleys this narrow are quite rare where I live. So when I see an alley with people sitting casually and chatting, I knew I needed to document the scene.

Murals are quite rare where I am, too. I’ve only ever seen murals near my work. When I took the photo of the mural in Glasgow, I thought I was sure I would use it somewhere. Nope, I have never used this photo in anything until now.