![cherry blossoms japan](https://i0.wp.com/lestaylorphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/23-3792-post/The-Middle-of-Beautiful_watermark_smaller.jpg?fit=1024%2C684)
Cherry Blossoms at Mizumoto Park Tokyo || Lightroom Only
As January nears its end, my mind starts turning towards the fast approaching cherry blossom season. Especially since this will be my last cherry blossom season as a resident of Japan, I’m aiming to make the most of it. I’ve got lots of places I want to visit and photograph, and can’t wait to share those photos with you! In the meantime, I’m looking back through old images and considering the editing process while I...
![Tokyo Ikebukuro](https://i0.wp.com/lestaylorphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/15-3607-post/Tokyo-Motherboard_watermark_smaller.jpg?fit=1024%2C684)
Tokyo From The Ikebukuro Sunshine Tower
Although it doesn’t snow a whole lot in Tokyo, it can get very cold. As a landscape and travel photographer, that poses a problem. There’s not a lot of motivation to get outside with my camera, but there’s also not much to photograph indoors. Thankfully, Tokyo has a solution – tall buildings with observation decks. During the winter, the air over Tokyo is relatively clear, so the views from these buildings can be spectacular. Additionally,...
![Snow River Akita Japan](https://i0.wp.com/lestaylorphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/09-3594-post/The-Freeze_watermark_smaller.jpg?fit=1024%2C715)
Snowy Scenes From The Shinkansen
In early December, I took a single day trip to Akita Prefecture for an assignment. Akita is about 3-4 hours from Tokyo by shinkansen (bullet train) so suffice it to say this was a very brief trip! There was snow in the forecast though, so I was excited about potential photographic opportunities. However, with nearly 8 hours of total travel and a job to do for much of the day, there wouldn’t be much spare time for...
![Himeji Station Japan](https://i0.wp.com/lestaylorphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/05-3586-post/Himeji-Station-Night_watermark_smaller.jpg?fit=1024%2C684)
Evening at Himeji Station
Back in November I paid a visit to Hyogo Prefecture on an assignment with Japan Travel. After finishing my work for the day, I went through Himeji Station on the way back to my hotel and took a few photos. This was a favorite for a couple of reasons. First of all, the way the taxis were parked provided both a nice foreground element and a kind of leading line into the rest of the...
![](https://i0.wp.com/lestaylorphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/26-3571-post/Terraced-Sunrise_smaller_watermark.jpg?fit=1024%2C684)
Top 10 Photos of 2016
Yet another year is coming to an end, and that means it is time to choose my top 10 favorite photographs! I was fortunate to be able to photograph some beautiful locations this year throughout Japan – so many, in fact, that I still have many pictures left to edit! But out of the ones I’ve finished, these are my favorites. You can click on any of the images to see a larger version Thanks so...