Great Photowalk in San Clemente!
Thanks to everyone that came out for a beautiful sunset in San Clemente! I was happy to meet you all and hope you had a good time. Victor from Typical Shutterbug put up a post with a link to a Flickr group where you can share your photos.
Daily Photo - 1,000 Red Gates
What a wonderful and unique place on earth this is! In Kyoto, Japan, there resides the unique shrine of Fushimi Inari. It consists of thousands of red gates that wind up and down the mountain. I walked through it deep into the night.... I was the only one around and it was downright eerie. Every now and then, the gates would stop and there would be a mini-shrine off to one side or a graveyard to another. Both of these added to the creep factor.
I had a serious worry about an hour into the hike through these gates -- what if they turn off the lights? I had no flashlight! I considered my two options -- I could strobe my SB-800 to find my way out, which would be a totally surreal experience through these gates. Or, I could do what one of my Israeli hiker friends did in Argentina, use the back of my camera display for light (he actually used his to set up his tent)!
from the blog www.stuckincustoms.com
Tags: japan stuckincustoms trey ratcliff stuck customs blog photography hdr high dynamic range digital imaging travelblog Nikon d3x color Fushimi Inari-taisha 伏見稲荷大社 shrine inari fushimi-ku Kyoto world travel asia mountain tori imperial structure kanpei-taisha kanpei taisha Shinto kami honden shinden sanctuary oinari wards prefecture east gate column kasagi nuki vermilion sacred profane 1000 thousand red eerie path graveyard september 2009
Daily Photo - The Lamps and the Sakura
Sakura is the Japanese word for the Cherry Blossom. I don't know if I can explain how crazy the Japanese people are about this yearly bloom! For one thing, every local newscast has a big "Cherry Blossom" report that has in-depth descriptions of exactly where the trees are blooming in the country and upcoming predictions. The wave sweeps across the island of Japan and rich graphics cover the screen like a cold front, assaulting the countryside.
I took this photo with the Nikon D3S. I've recently taken to carrying two cameras with me. I take the Nikon D3X with me, and it's usually attached to the tripod. This is the one that I use for 90% of my landscapes. While I carry that, slung around my neck and shoulder, Chewbacca-style, is the Nikon D3S, which I use for people shots, DOF shots, and videos.
This was taken at F/1.4 with a 50mm prime lens. The shutter was 1/8000 and the ISO 200. As always, this "EXIF" information is available on the SmugMug site if you click through and do a tiny bit of investigative clicking!
Newsletter Goodies - Sign up now
These newsletters (sign up for free!) take a long time to put together! But, here are some goodies that are coming for you in the next few days... really, we have beautiful newsletters and send them out about every 4-5 weeks or so. You are missing out!
In the next one, some first looks to subscribers:
Two New Videos - behind the scenes on the North and South Island of New Zealand
Two New Unreleased photos of the Snow Monkeys.... (scroll down in case you missed the first!)
A 20% discount on the Textures Tutorial that will only last one week.
And the usual other goodies that regular subscribers are used to!
Please sign up at the blog at www.stuckincustoms.com/2010/04/28/sakura-trees/. Thanks!
Updated Nikon D3S Review
I've updated the Nikon D3S Review with the new video from japan as well as the new photo above. I occasionally pop into previous reviews to update them with new information so they stay fresh. In a way, they are sort of "living documents", especially as my experience and opinions grow and change over time.
from Trey Ratcliff at www.stuckincustoms.com
from Trey Ratcliff at www.stuckincustoms.com
Tags: HDR high dynamic range photography photograph stuck customs stuckincustoms stuckincustoms.com trey ratcliff treyratcliff blog travel travelblog photographyblog hdrtutorial world japan asia 祇園 Kyoto district Kyōto Honshu Osaka-kobe-kyoto okk 梅宮神社 Honshū kansai prefecture 京都府 Kyōto-fu sakura cherry blossom 桜 櫻 さくら sakuranbo tree plant wildlife flora flower festival lovely cultivated lantern kanji garden april 2010 Nikon d3s
These snow monkeys are the greatest. I spent so long with them, we almost had a three-way.
They are all wild (in the natural sense, mind you), and they come down from the mountains near Nagano, Japan, for several hours a day to play in the natural hot springs. They gallivant around, have fights, play with their kids, have a bit of sweet carnal monkey fun, check their email, and pose for my camera.
These two monkeys spent a lot of time together... they were in maximum "relaxation mode". They lounged around in every possible position and took occasional breaks to do a bit of mutual grooming.
from Trey Ratcliff at www.stuckincustoms.com
Tags: Japan HDR high dynamic range photography photograph stuck customs stuckincustoms stuckincustoms.com trey ratcliff treyratcliff blog travel travelblog photographyblog hdrtutorial world asia nagano nagano-shi 長野市 nagano prefecture Honshu Honshū 長野県 nagano-ken chubu Chūbu snow monkeys monkeys animal springs hot springs water bathing relaxing grooming monkey love monkey fun fun kiss hot tub sweet Bokeh natural nature wild april 2010 Nikon d3s HighQualityAnimals
Rain is good. Rain is bad. I can't decide!
You have no idea... (or maybe you do !!) how hard it is to carry around two cameras, a tripod, AND an umbrella. I already have every one of my 10 digits fully employed with handling everything. But... an umbrella! Well that really requires five fingers! I can usually get by with 5 on my tripod/camera too. I walk around with everything hooked together. However, a problem ensues when you have to expand and retract the legs of the tripod. That is really a two-hand operation. So what do you do with the umbrella during this time? The neck/shoulder pinch is right-out... the umbrella gets caught in the wind and it is a recipe for disaster.
From this entry at stuckincustoms.com.
Tags: Japan stuckincustoms Tokyo treyratcliff HDR high dynamic range photography photograph stuck customs stuckincustoms.com trey ratcliff blog travel travelblog photographyblog hdrtutorial world downtown metropolitan metropolis city urban asia building skyscraper cityscape 東京 Tōkyō 東京都 Tōkyō-to 特別区 tokubetsu-ku nijūsan-ku prefecture 銀座 ginza upscale shopping boutique market luxurious posh high-end Chūō chuo 中央区 Chūō-ku special ward matsuya ginza matsuya crosswalk wet rain pavement night evening traffic slick april 2010 Nikon d3x
What’s more scenic than fishing with that amazing mountain in the background? It’s so cinematic and dramatic all the time. I can just picture these guys pulling fish out of the water and everything is in slow motion and majestic.
- Trey Ratcliff
>Click here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Tags: Japan Tokyo Trey Ratcliff stuckincustoms stuckincustoms.com asia Honshu island monument kinenbutsu stratovolcano volcano geology mountain formation fuji mount fuji volcanic landscape fishing fishermen fisherman black and white monochrome texture candid people person pose male man april 2013 nikon d800