the Donald Tillman Japanese Gardens is part of Lake Balboa , Encino , Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area .

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yukimi doro
Made by Doubletee
Van Nuys, California, 2008 As a bit of a challenge, I took no other lens than my new 100mm macro to shoot at the lovely Japanese Garden in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley. From the Japanese Garden's brochure: The large top...is to collect snow. It is something beautiful to look at during all four seasons of the year. The Japanese call snowflakes sekka (the snow flowers of winter). The handsome stone lantern was a gift from Los Angeles's sister city of Nagoya, Japan, in 1993. The peaceful Japanese Garden -- or Suiho-en (Garden of Water and Fragrance) -- adjacent to the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys was designed by Koichi Kawana, PhD, and was dedicated in 1984. The garden's purpose, according to the informative brochure provided at the ticket office ($3 entrance fee), is to demonstrate a positive use of reclaimed water in a delicate environment such as that of a Japanese Garden.


rippled
Made by Doubletee
Van Nuys, California, 2008 As if I didn't have a ton of photos to edit already, I took the Orange Line (a busway through the central San Fernando Valley) out to the Japanese Garden -- 6 1/2 acres of beauty adjacent to the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys -- this afternoon. I'd never been, and I feel in complete and total love with the place; it was easy to while away several hours photographing all the visually pleasing elements of the garden. A Dry Garden, or karesansui, associated with Zen Buddhist temples, is comprised of stone arrangements and gravel symbolizing the ocean; the patterns created on it express waves and the state of the sea.


shoin
Made by Doubletee
Van Nuys, California, 2008 Shot from inside the shoin building. A shoin building, according to the garden guidebook, was a residence for aristocrats, upper class monks and samurai during the 14th and 15th centuries. The peaceful Japanese Garden -- or Suiho-en (Garden of Water and Fragrance) -- adjacent to the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys was designed by Koichi Kawana, PhD, and was dedicated in 1984. The garden's purpose, according to the informative brochure provided at the ticket office ($3 entrance fee), is to demonstrate a positive use of reclaimed water in a delicate environment such as that of a Japanese Garden.


rain free
Made by Doubletee
Van Nuys, California, 2008 Anthony C. Beilenson Park (aka Balboa Park) is a nice place to visit during spring, when the cherry trees that circle the lake are in bloom. It's in the San Fernando Valley, and it's easily accessible via the handy MTA Orange Line busway. I've photographed some nice there the past couple of years. It's pouring rain in Los Angeles (my least-favorite weather condition: give me excessive heat or dry, hot winds over wet, cold and rain, any day) as I upload this -- and the foul weather conditions are why I chose something from a lovely, warm spring day.


IMG_6756
Made by Doubletee
Van Nuys, California, 2008 While the ginkgo trees were in bright yellow brilliance all over Japan, this shot was taken on Sunday afternoon here in L.A. The peaceful Japanese Garden -- or Suiho-en (Garden of Water and Fragrance) -- adjacent to the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys was designed by Koichi Kawana, PhD, and was dedicated in 1984. The garden's purpose, according to the informative brochure provided at the ticket office ($3 entrance fee), is to demonstrate a positive use of reclaimed water in a delicate environment such as that of a Japanese Garden.


bamboo
Made by Doubletee
Van Nuys, California, 2008 The peaceful Japanese Garden -- or Suiho-en (Garden of Water and Fragrance) -- adjacent to the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys was designed by Koichi Kawana, PhD, and was dedicated in 1984. The garden's purpose, according to the informative brochure provided at the ticket office ($3 entrance fee), is to demonstrate a positive use of reclaimed water in a delicate environment such as that of a Japanese Garden. Holga-ish camera application via Picnik.


LA Kimono Club Fashion Show
Made by mamba909
Isn't she just exquisite? Kanawa-san is a certified Kimono Consultant and an artisian of Tsumami Kanzashi, a traditional Japanese long ornamental hairpin. This is noteworthy because there are only 15 recognized Tsumami Kanzashi artisians in the world. If you wish to prevent this art from slowly fading away, you can support her by visiting her online store. You can also view her creations via .


grain
Made by Doubletee
Van Nuys, California, 2008 The peaceful Japanese Garden -- or Suiho-en (Garden of Water and Fragrance) -- adjacent to the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys was designed by Koichi Kawana, PhD, and was dedicated in 1984. The garden's purpose, according to the informative brochure provided at the ticket office ($3 entrance fee), is to demonstrate a positive use of reclaimed water in a delicate environment such as that of a Japanese Garden.


Water Lily
Made by Christopher Bersbach
This waterlily was photographed at the Japanese Zen garden in the heart of Balboa Park, in Van Nuys. What's more, this Japanese Zen garden is located in and around pools that are part of the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant. Granted, there was a lingering smell that was a bit off-putting, but it was more than made up for by the surprise of finding a well-tended Zen garden in the middle of the bustling San Fernando Valley.


yatsuhasi
Made by Doubletee
Van Nuys, California, 2008 From the guide book to the Japanese Garden adjacent to (and incorporating treated water from) the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant, describing a benefit of this particular type (zig zag) of bridge: It is believed by some that if chased by evil spirits, you will be protected since evil spirits can only go in a straight line and will be unable to follow you around the corners of the bridge.


under the ginkgo tree
Made by Doubletee
Van Nuys, California, 2008 A bit of information about ginkgo trees from the garden's guidebook: These are one of the oldest living species of trees. The golden leaves have been found as fossils with dinosaur bones. The fan-shaped leaves are placed in books to protect them from insects. Ginkgo nuts re used in Japan for some menu preparation and also for medicinal purposes -- claimed to reverse the aging process.


LA Kimono Club Fashion Show
Made by mamba909
A lovely pink kimono modeled by Aimee. Notice the lovely sakura patterns with the obi tied in a plum sparrow bow. Just found out that this lady works in the animation industry (she even had a hand in the production of the Futurama movie) and has released her own book. Check out her website for some samples of her artwork and her passion for kimonos.


Jon
Made by Doubletee
Van Nuys, California, 2009 . The Los Angeles Flickr Group had a well-attended meet up at Lake Balboa and the neighboring Japanese Garden in Van Nuys. I first started participating in the group meet ups a year ago today (at the Venice Beach meet up), and it's been a very fun and rewarding year.


Balboa Botanical Garden
Made by Chunkiesttulip
It's Sunday, bored, what should I do? Well I went to the Balboa Park's Botanical Gardens. Did some wondering around, took some pictures. Got stung by a bee.. Well here is a I think cool shot of where the trail splits. Might throw some more up, wasn't to impressed by anything. Might have just been in a bad mood from the bee sting. Cheers


in red
Made by McDeez
finally some macro fun, since my 100mm macro is my least used lens that i own.. being that my project theme for this month is flowers, i'll be sure to make some good use of it =) now i just need to learn what these are flowers call..?! anyone? [2 of 10] - March Theme - Flowers *** i notice this looks A LOT better on my mac then my pc... hmmm


LA Kimono Club Fashion Show
Made by mamba909
A comparison between the child and adult kimonos. As you can see, they share many of the same features. (This is also the first of many pictures that has some pine needles in the foreground. I apologize ahead of time for all the shots that have these distractions. I'm gonna need to grow a couple of inches taller =P)


Administrative building
Made by Candice (Bessie Smith)
Administravite building for the Tillman Water Reclamation plant. This building and surrounding gardens were used in Star Trek: The Next Generation as the location for Starfleet Academy. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfleet_Academy


bumps
Made by McDeez
this came out looking a bit like a tilt-shift shot... but really this is straight conversion from RAW (wait i lied.. i added some clarity in lightrrom & signature) *** I didn't see anything fitting for HDR/DRI on this meet, so maybe this weekend i'll find something to 'cook' =)


LA Kimono Club Fashion Show
Made by mamba909
Now this I found new and interesting: a kimono dress, an amalgamation of Japanese and Western clothing. This particular piece of clothing has a wonderful flow to it. The obi is a simple yet beautiful rope that can either be worn around the waist or around the neck as a nacklace.


LA Kimono Club Fashion Show
Made by mamba909
Blue kimono from the back. Well, one thing I remember the emcee saying is that the sleeves of the kimono of single ladies are usually long. These sleeves are meant to tempt men into falling for the lady. Looks like this young lady is very available.