For most of us, it's very rare that we can capture a shot that perfectly expresses the changes of the seasons. But "perfect shots" seem to come naturally to Yasuto Inagaki, whose stunning photography of Mount Fuji and other mountains has won him an award from Nagano Prefecture's Office of Tourism.

We previously had the pleasure of showcasing Mr. Inagaki's work revealing his knack for capturing special moments just at the right time when we introduced a series of photos showing his son having a heartwarming interaction on a train platform with a shinkansen train conductor, one of which won the Try & Discover Photo Contest 2019 cosponsored by the T & D Insurance Group and Tokyo Camera Club.


This time, Mr. Inagaki was in the village of Hakuba in the Japanese Alps when he came across the following stunning vista which he captured as a vertical landscape:

Reproduced with permission from Yasuto Inagaki (@inagakiyasuto)

At the bottom, you can see a train passing through beautiful plains which are still verdant and don't yet reveal the change of the seasons.

Reproduced with permission from Yasuto Inagaki (@inagakiyasuto)

In the middle, the presence of autumn is gorgeously highlighted through the forested hills, resplendent in yellows and fiery reds:

Reproduced with permission from Yasuto Inagaki (@inagakiyasuto)

Then higher up, the white snows of Mount Hakuba hint at the coming onset of winter.

Reproduced with permission from Yasuto Inagaki (@inagakiyasuto)

Captured together in one shot, this phenomenon is known as 三段紅葉 sandan kōyō, or three-tiered autumn colors.

Mr. Inagaki demonstrated another example of this in an earlier shot which he took from Hakuba Mountain Harbor, 7200 feet above sea level:


To enjoy more of Mr. Inagaki's amazing photography, follow him on Twitter or Instagram.


By - Ben K.