[emlee] Mar/Apr 2010 Japan trip

[zoossh]

thanks Ryan. I cheated a bit in this picture. :embrass:

u "twist" the clouds above the level of the temple?

 

[zoossh]

Hi Ryan, it was not cloud, but they seemed to be burning something near the castle. Given the cold weather, I guess the homeless is burning stuff to keep warm. This is a slow shutter shot to create the motion.

nice. u and ryan are really good with "motion pictures"...

 

[emlee]

zoossh@starhub.net.sg

not going nikko but had been there. never saw this. curious.

Sent the map to you. This is opposite the botanical gardens, across the Daiwa river.

 

[emlee]

nice. u and ryan are really good with "motion pictures"...

thanks for leaving a note and dropping by. Been a while since I had a good photo discussion online. Do hope to receive more criticisms.

 

[zoossh]

thanks for leaving a note and dropping by. Been a while since I had a good photo discussion online. Do hope to receive more criticisms.

yah, haven't been shooting for long on my DSLR. got a m43 pana GF1 and did occasional snap shot - all looks bad or perhaps the lack of intention to explore when snapping means unfavorable subjects, unfavorable lighting etc. or i'm just not comfortable with a non-eye-level viewing shooting (arm-held shots seen thru rear LCD). so all i can do is an armchair critic...

nonetheless your b/w stands out in this thread. perhaps u got a better eye on tones or pp of tones is better. i particularly like the nape of the neck of the lady in the bus, though perhaps if you can cover just a little lower. and i thought u can consider having a thread on colors and a thread on b/w, cos b/w pics looks better when browse next to each other. makes things feel more orderly (though that may be my very personal impression).

the color shots seem to be marred by hazy weather, didn't see much shots with good lighting except for the bamboos. i'm not sure how best to get around this problem, but i personally will avoid making the dark part too black and contrasty against the highlights (in processing) and try to keep as much colors/midtones as possible to even out the contrast and make the whole picture low in contrast, creamy, milky and perhaps even gentle on the details. although that do not and probably will not salvage much on pictures with very poor lighting. maybe u can ask ryan how he does his - his soft contrast pics are always better.

another thing is the streets shots are quite cluttered. i guess if you are with someone, it is hard to keep your attention span in a busy environment. your better compositions are all shown when u do landscape and close shots.

 

[Yapster]

#52
Hill side of Lake Chuzenji. There are so many peaks, I am not sure which one is Mt Nankai.

Good light (full moon?) and capture~ :thumbsup:

 

[wildcat]

#36 b
Colour version. What do you think?

#45
Sakura at Todaji Temple, Nara. We did not go in as it was already 4:30pm, and the place closes at 5pm.

Call me a sucker for colours but I prefer the coloured version :bsmilie:

Great stuff!

 

[emlee]

yah, haven't been shooting for long on my DSLR. got a m43 pana GF1 and did occasional snap shot - all looks bad or perhaps the lack of intention to explore when snapping means unfavorable subjects, unfavorable lighting etc. or i'm just not comfortable with a non-eye-level viewing shooting (arm-held shots seen thru rear LCD). so all i can do is an armchair critic...

nonetheless your b/w stands out in this thread. perhaps u got a better eye on tones or pp of tones is better. i particularly like the nape of the neck of the lady in the bus, though perhaps if you can cover just a little lower. and i thought u can consider having a thread on colors and a thread on b/w, cos b/w pics looks better when browse next to each other. makes things feel more orderly (though that may be my very personal impression).

the color shots seem to be marred by hazy weather, didn't see much shots with good lighting except for the bamboos. i'm not sure how best to get around this problem, but i personally will avoid making the dark part too black and contrasty against the highlights (in processing) and try to keep as much colors/midtones as possible to even out the contrast and make the whole picture low in contrast, creamy, milky and perhaps even gentle on the details. although that do not and probably will not salvage much on pictures with very poor lighting. maybe u can ask ryan how he does his - his soft contrast pics are always better.

another thing is the streets shots are quite cluttered. i guess if you are with someone, it is hard to keep your attention span in a busy environment. your better compositions are all shown when u do landscape and close shots.

WAH! thanks for your note. I need some time to digest. Appreciate you take the time to give me these feedback.

Good light (full moon?) and capture~ :thumbsup:

Call me a sucker for colours but I prefer the coloured version :bsmilie:

Great stuff!

thanks yapster and wildcat. glad you liked them.

 

[kuantoh]

There is a certain sense of softness and subtleness in your shots that I personally think is hard to achieve. Is it the place? Is it the season? Or is it you? Hahaha... I personally love the BW series most and #52 can be said to be my favorite, even though the star trails are fake. :thumbsup:

Where's ur next destination? :devil:

 

[emlee]

There is a certain sense of softness and subtleness in your shots that I personally think is hard to achieve. Is it the place? Is it the season? Or is it you? Hahaha... I personally love the BW series most and #52 can be said to be my favorite, even though the star trails are fake. :thumbsup:

Where's ur next destination? :devil:

Thanks kuantoh. So sad, only fake photos get favoured. :bsmilie:
My next destination will depends on which currency drop with respect to SG$. Some suspect include: Switzerland, Italy, Japan (again) and New Zealand (again). They are all family trips.

 

[emlee]

#55 DisneySea
This was the BEST lighting I got from the whole trip. DisneySea is a great place to go, but again, I went when the crowd was incredible. Imagine the waiting time for hot rides are all 260mins and above. I only managed to get 2 fastpasses, and they are at 5 and 7pm (I got them at 9 and 11 am)!!!. Shame. But I think we will try to come again on less crowded days. There is a URL that forecast the crowds, I barely made sense of it as it is in Japanese. Anyone keen, I will dig up the link.

 

[emlee]

yah, haven't been shooting for long on my DSLR. got a m43 pana GF1 and did occasional snap shot - all looks bad or perhaps the lack of intention to explore when snapping means unfavorable subjects, unfavorable lighting etc. or i'm just not comfortable with a non-eye-level viewing shooting (arm-held shots seen thru rear LCD). so all i can do is an armchair critic...

nonetheless your b/w stands out in this thread. perhaps u got a better eye on tones or pp of tones is better. i particularly like the nape of the neck of the lady in the bus, though perhaps if you can cover just a little lower. and i thought u can consider having a thread on colors and a thread on b/w, cos b/w pics looks better when browse next to each other. makes things feel more orderly (though that may be my very personal impression).

the color shots seem to be marred by hazy weather, didn't see much shots with good lighting except for the bamboos. i'm not sure how best to get around this problem, but i personally will avoid making the dark part too black and contrasty against the highlights (in processing) and try to keep as much colors/midtones as possible to even out the contrast and make the whole picture low in contrast, creamy, milky and perhaps even gentle on the details. although that do not and probably will not salvage much on pictures with very poor lighting. maybe u can ask ryan how he does his - his soft contrast pics are always better.

another thing is the streets shots are quite cluttered. i guess if you are with someone, it is hard to keep your attention span in a busy environment. your better compositions are all shown when u do landscape and close shots.

reading this again, and really thanking you for the feedback. Indeed, the weather is mostly bad. I did not get good lighting at strategic locations. Hence I try to make the best of it. I wouldn't try to compensate it and change the mood, but I try to capture what was the mood then.

Indeed, I am not a good travel and street photographer... had always liked landscape better, and spent more of my energy learning it. (BTW, street photography sounds easy/cheap, but it is quite the contrary. It is a difficult thing to do, especially to do well. I really respect people who can do it well.)

 

[zoossh]

(BTW, street photography sounds easy/cheap, but it is quite the contrary. It is a difficult thing to do, especially to do well. I really respect people who can do it well.)

yah, i wish i can do better with streets too.

 

[emlee]

yah, i wish i can do better with streets too.

so do I, so do I.

#56 Alice in Wonderland
The sun is setting and some of the crowd are starting to leave. But many still stayed on the for night show. As the sun breaks from the overcast clouds, just before it disappears below the horizon, it flaunt it's most brilliant display for lights. Those leaving suddenly turned and started posing and snapping. There was a bit of confusion and this shot caught the mood almost exactly as I felt it then.

#57 Done for the day
It was breath taking, after almost 2 weeks of gloomy weather, this display for light was much welcomed. But it was so short, I did not have the time for a more elaborate set up to capture it better. Some blown bits and some shadow clipped.

 

[emlee]

#58 Majesty
This is the view of Tokyo, North of Shinjuku, from the Tokyo Metropolis Government Building. Supposedly, on a clear day, one can see Mt Fuji. I dont have such luck. BTW, tripod not allowed. But if you have it with you, just promise them you wont use it.

 

[emlee]

#59 Catch me if you can
This is my favourite transport. Especially those frequent trips out of Osaka. This one is taken from my hotel room, in Shiodome. Panning was hard.

#60 Solitary.
A man enjoying the sakura bloom in the morning, at Sumida River park. I'd thought a river park would make excellent photo opportunity, but no. If I had another chance to visit during sakura season, I would go to the palace park, Yoyogi park. I have some other shots of the flower, but they are very run-of-the-mill. Also, I realised I am not so good at shooting flowers. probably needed to collect my thoughts and quiet down my senses when i was there. a bit hard as i was overwhelmed by the sight and was my first time seeing sakura in full bloom.

this is the last postable shot of my trip. please do give me comment, feedback and opportunity for a good banter. greatly appreciate and thanks for viewing.

 

[seahzhiwei]

NIce shot!

 

[seahzhiwei]

the exposure is just nice... great shot

 

[emlee]

Thank you seahzhiwei.

 

[GSiGuy]

you have awesome photos!

can i ask you how you captured #56? i noticed that most parts including the background was blurred whilst the central subject person is sharper. did you kind of "pan" the camera on the shot? would be good if you could share with a noob on this...