Favorites from Japan

Tokyo

Our first stop on the trip was Tokyo, specifically the Ueno area. Unfortunately, it was quite rainy for the first few days so I didn’t explore as much as I would have liked. However, what I saw of Tokyo was amazing and I cannot wait to go back. Next time I would like to see Shibuya and Shinjuku.

Joetsu (and surrounding area)

From Tokyo, we took a shinkansen to Joetsu in the Niigata prefecture. My wife has family that lives in the area.

It was much more rural than Tokyo and was very beautiful. The cherry blossoms had just bloomed.

Osaka

From Joetsu, we again caught the train to Osaka were we met more of the family. We rented a house near the Morinomiya station so exploring the city was super easy.

The weather was lovely, and we were able to explore a few different areas in the city. A highlight was Dotonbori, the canal side district pictured below.

This picture below is part of the moat surrounding Osaka castle. Really cool how the centuries old stonework is nestled in amongst the modern architecture above.

Kyoto (and surrounding area)

While family members watched our kid, my wife and I snuck into the mountains outside Kyoto. We stayed at a lovely ryokan. The dinner provided was incredible and they kindly accommodated my vegetarian ways.

Nara

We made a quick trip from Osaka to visit Nara Park. The park is filled with friendly deer! Just be careful not to flash your crackers, otherwise the dear will get extra friendly.

Shots from October

It’s been a while since I last posted, but I haven’t stopped taking pictures! I have lots to share. Here are a few of my favorite shots from this month.

This first shot is from my back yard, where I found this cute bug perched atop a mushroom. I love how large the world looks from the tiny bugs perspective.

This next shot was taken at the Everett train station at sunrise. This one is a bit harder to explain, but I like the vibe. The warm color of the leaves mixed with the cooler hues of the train felt like a crisp morning journey.

This next shot was from a lunch time walk in South Lake Union. For this shot, I just liked the composition with the colorful red and yellow walls. Someone happened to walk by which made an interesting subject.

Time for a few more macro shots! Insects are just so interesting. The bee one makes me happy. I caught the moment just after it took flight from the flower.

This next shot I took during a chilly morning walk. The effect of the light slowly erasing the frost was too cool not to capture.

This next shot is a landscape, which is a genre I struggle with. I tried a bunch this month, but none of them really worked for me. This was the closest I got.

I will end the series here with a few honorable mentions. These weren’t amazing, but I thought they were still worth sharing.

iPhone 15 Pro Max Photography

No fancy camera this week, I just wanted to see what my iPhone could do. Here are some sample photos from each of the 3 lenses.

These shots were taken with the 24mm main lens.

Here are some shots from the 120mm telephoto lens.

And finally, here are a few macro shots. I believe these were taken through the 13mm ultra wide lens.

These last shots are not that interesting, but they do demonstrate the close focusing distance of the macro lens. The pen pictured above is a 0.5mm needle point. I am quite impressed with the magnification.

Random August favorites

These shots didn’t really fit cleanly into a set, but I still wanted to share them.

This first shot was taken from the Ballard locks. I love all of the interesting details in the bridge and background. Recently I have been trying to avoid having my entire frame in focus to create gentle softness/emphasis, but in this shot I felt the bridge was intriguing enough. I am a sucker for machines and engineering . . .

This shot was taken with the Fuji 70-300mm. I really enjoyed the tranquil bird in contrast with the decaying railing. The colors were a bit bland, so it seemed like a good opportunity to emphasize the texture with black and white. I love the narrow depth of field you can get with a long telephoto, I need to take this lens out more often.

This was an from an evening walk I took this month. I just liked the mood with warm tones in the sky and the hint of a moon starting to appear. I chose to keep my aperture wide to gently increase the sharpness towards the sky and de-emphasize the distracting texture of the chain-link fence.

This shot just shouts the title “overlord” to me. The single domineering sunflower faces the camera with its intense lions-mane face. Beneath the king, its aspiring minions stand tall arrayed before their leader.

First roll of black and white

These were shot on Ilford XP2 Super 400 with my Nikon FG. I really love how these shots turned out.

This portrait of my daughter is one of my favorite shots from the roll. I love the retro look contrasted by the Bluetooth headphones wrapped around her waist. I am not sure why she wanted to wear them as a belt, but toddlers don’t need a reason to have fun.

This shot is also very sweet, featuring Sophie (the dog) just before she died. It’s a shot I will cherish.

Night by the freeway

Tonight I went for a walk by the freeway to try capturing some moody, low-light shots.

In this first shot I found the accident scene juxtaposed with the yellow 25 MPH sign to be an interesting composition. To add a bit of spice, I waited for a car to drive into the frame before snapping the photo.

This next shot was a 1 second exposure. I didn’t bring a tripod so I braced my arms on some railing. This probably would not have been so sharp without the IBIS (in body image stabilization) from my X-T5. Honestly, in this shot I just wanted to try longer exposures and only vaguely liked the composition of the three parallel roads. However, reviewing the shot afterwards I am pretty happy with it.

This last shot was just of an empty cross walk on the way home. The emptiness and the soft lighting from the streetlight seemed to capture the mood I was looking for.

Photos of the Blue Angels

The Blue Angels flew over the Seattle area today! I took my X-T5 and the Fujifilm 70-300mm lens to see what I could capture.

They flew so close to the ground I was able to get some really amazing detail shots. In this one, you can clearly see the extended landing gear!

The aerial formations were nuts! Even from the ground I got a bit of collision anxiety. They fly soooooo close together.

We watched from the Groveland Beach Park on Mercer Island. Highly recommend this location. Beware the 500 person limit though, if you arrive late you may have to wait in line.

I will leave you with one last shot of the Angels flying in formation. So cool!

Seattle in harsh mid-day light

It was time for another lunch walk around SLU. No groundbreaking photos, but I thought I would share anyway.

These first two are just street shots a few blocks from the Space Needle. In both I like the scattering of detail. Particularly, I enjoyed the gratified porto-potties and the colorful fragmented sign.

A challenge of shooting at lunch is the harsh mid-day light. I really had to hunt to find something interesting. I had the most luck playing with reflections from tall buildings. Here I tried to use a trail of reflected light to add emphasis to my subjects. Also, I love that the viewer can tell it’s lunch time.

These last two are not special, I just liked them for some reason.