Unasawa Valley in the Autumn
Last year I went on a hike with Anthony Wood in the Unasawa Valley – a rather remote area near Okutama, Japan. There are several waterfalls in the area, which was the main reason we went, but there ended up being some other sights worth seeing as well. I thought this particular view which is at the beginning of the hike was very nice. With a blanket of wet autumn leaves all around, it gave...
Terraced Rice Fields In Chiba Prefecture Japan
Last week I took a photography trip down to southern Chiba Prefecture. There are lots of great places to photograph there, but one of the main places I wanted to shoot was these terraced rice fields in Kamogawa. These are known as the Oyama Senmaida rice fields, and are unique in that they are the only rice fields in Japan to grow solely on rain water. These fields have been on my radar for several...
Path Through The Bamboo In Kyoto
As is the case in many countries in Asia, Japan has lots of beautiful bamboo groves. The most famous one is almost certainly the aptly named “bamboo forest” in Arashiyama, Kyoto, but there are others throughout the country that offer their own unique version. In fact, there are others in Kyoto as well, and today’s photo comes from one of them. You have to wander off the beaten path a little bit to find it,...
Morning Light On The Pacific Coast of Japan
Our lives are a mix of internal planning and responses to external forces. Of course this holds true in things like romance and business, but you might be surprised to find it’s also true in photography. I did not always understand this. For the longest time I thought photography was mostly about luck and a bit of technical know-how. Personal experience has convinced me otherwise. Yes, good timing does help. Yes, technical know-how is essential....
Faux Autumn In The White Mountains
Generally when I’m photographing something I prefer to keep my image at least reasonably close to what I saw in person. For example, I don’t like to mix the sky from one location and time to the mountains of a completely different location and time. I don’t even like to manipulate colors too heavily – I might enhance them, but completely changing them isn’t how I normally operate. However, there are situations where you need...