Saturday 11 July 2015

Inokashira Hydrangea Route: Meidaimae

Set 1729F of the EMU Keio 1000 series leaves Meidaimae Station on the Inokashira Line
 
I came back to my favorite spot for the first time in three years. Full blown hydrangeas are seen on embankments of the railway track near Meidaimae Station on the Keio-Inokashira Line. They are blue, pink and white colored large flowers. As you may know, Keio has been working on planting hydrangeas on the embankments of the railways to prevent slope failure and protect the environment since 1991.

To take photographs of these beautiful flowers, the best shooting position is an elevated platform number 1 at Meidaimae Station on the Keio Main Line. We can look down on the hydrangea flowers on the Inokashira Line tracks from a window beside the platform. The problem for shooting photos is the metal safety net on the window, since this obstacle is also caught by the camera.

For a long time I researched the problem, and I found that (1) cloudy weather is preferable to prevent an irregular reflection caused by the metal net, (2) a small diameter lens is better as photographic equipment, (3) the lens hood should be removed from the lens. As a result, I began to shoot beautiful photos in 2012.

Unlike the previous photo in 2012, I moved the shooting position a little bit this year and took the hydrangeas with the Inokashira Line train. This year, I could shoot set number 1729F of the EMU 1000 series. This special train has a round shaped plate to encourage passengers to see hydrangeas on the Inokashira Line.
 
Set 1724F of the EMU Keio 1000 series leaves Meidaimae Station on the Inokashira Line