1st May 2009: Huntington Library

Located in San Marino, near Los Angeles, The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens is home to a beautiful rose garden. This garden features over 2,500 varieties of roses, with more than 1,300 cultivated species on display.

Thanks to the mild climate of Southern California, roses bloom from late March through Thanksgiving (late November) and beyond. In particular, from spring to early summer, a wide array of roses reaches full bloom, captivating visitors with their beauty.

At the heart of the rose garden stands the "Rose Garden Tea Room," built in 1911. This tea room accommodates up to 164 guests, and from the terrace, visitors can enjoy meals while overlooking the rose and herb gardens.

Within the grounds of The Huntington Library, in addition to the rose garden, there are also a Japanese garden, a Chinese garden, and a desert garden filled with a diverse collection of desert plants.

During my visit, I took photographs with Nikon F Ftn, the first SLR camera produced by Nikon in 1959. The lens I used was a Nikkor Auto 50mm F1.4, a classic lens from the era when black-and-white photography was predominant. At that time, film was still affordable, and I spent a great deal of time learning photography with this camera. Even now, I carefully maintain and cherish my three Nikon F cameras.

However, with the rising cost of film, it has become increasingly difficult to continue shooting on film. I often find myself wishing for the invention of a "digital film" that could serve as a modern alternative. I keenly hope "I'm back film" to invent the digital film which is the full size (135mm).