Memories of Hokkaido

[AbangR]

Taking great photos require dedication which the TS has clearly shown.
Great shot of the Osaka Castle.

 

[giantcanopy]

Taking great photos require dedication which the TS has clearly shown.
Great shot of the Osaka Castle.

Thx AbangR. Glad you like the pics so far

Ryan

 

[jfoo]

Taking great photos require dedication which the TS has clearly shown.
Great shot of the Osaka Castle.

agreed. my osaka castle photos pale in comparison :embrass:

 

[giantcanopy]

Thx guys for your comments. jfoo i think i got lucky there was a sunrise. There were two days where it totally rained and kept us almost grounded.

#138

There were several stalls and marts within Daiichi hotel complex.
This was one of the stall holders within the central compound, tilted, bored.

 

[jfoo]

Thx guys for your comments. jfoo i think i got lucky there was a sunrise. There were two days where it totally rained and kept us almost grounded.

i'd say you are more than lucky as you took the trouble to get up early, scout and get the shots. more than most of us would do especially when we are on vacation and in a group tour.

i'm doing advance planning for my november trip.

appreciate if you furnish the following answers:
which hotel did you stay in osaka?
is it near the train lines?
suitable for family with 11 - 14 yr old kids?

 

[giantcanopy]

Hi jfoo

The Hotel I stayed in Osaka was the Hotel Monterey La Soeur Osaka, and I booked it through Asiarooms.

Location :

( map from Asiarooms )

Will need a 10-15min walk from Kyobashi JR station to the hotel, crossing the river over a long sheltered bridge. Having heavy luggage will kill at the few flights of stairs. We asked the directions from the train station staff and they provided us with a mini map directing us out of the JR to the hotel itself.

Very nice western style modern hotel, and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. One of the counter staffs will be able to communicate in English. Seems like the rates came down from my summer holiday visit already.

Do note that you will not be able to see the night view of Osaka Castle. But a short 10-15 min walk shloud bring you to Osaka Castle district itself ( Bottom left )

Ryan

 

[jfoo]

Hi jfoo

The Hotel I stayed in Osaka was the Hotel Monterey La Soeur Osaka, and I booked it through Asiarooms.

Location :

( map from Asiarooms )

Will need a 10-15min walk from Kyobashi JR station to the hotel, crossing the river over a long sheltered bridge. Having heavy luggage will kill at the few flights of stairs. We asked the directions from the train station staff and they provided us with a mini map directing us out of the JR to the hotel itself.

Very nice western style modern hotel, and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. One of the counter staffs will be able to communicate in English. Seems like the rates came down from my summer holiday visit already.

Do note that you will not be able to see the night view of Osaka Castle. But a short 10-15 min walk shloud bring you to Osaka Castle district itself ( Bottom left )

Ryan

this hotel looks great but i am worried about the heavy luggage part as we will be having a 8-day tour before osaka. no prob for two kids rolling heavy luggage along even floor but up and down the stairs, i think i will have to become the porter. :sweat:

our tour group will be staying at the swissotel on the last two nights of the tour but we will be extending our stay instead of flying back with the group.

we have stayed at swissotel last year and traveled out to osaka castle and universal world. the wife and kids love the shopping around the nankin area but i thought of finding a hotel nearby this nankin area to give a different environment for the family.

my wife and daughter have already penciled in a return visit the manga and anime wholesale area which is quite nearby the hotel. :dunno:

 

[giantcanopy]

Lets just say there are some short flights of stairs to negotiate before the bridge from Kyobashi station I would think any of the hotels on the other end will be the same. La Soeur was the one that was nearest the other end of the bridge

Ryan

 

[giantcanopy]

# 139

I took the oportunity to walk around the shops along the main street which was just outside Daiichi at night. Initially wanted to make a panoramic shot of the lovely lighted street but there was a light drizzle that cumulated into something more substantial. Sharing some shots before the rain materialised.

A fellow photographer in action, while his daughters were shopping in a shop behind me

 

[giantcanopy]

# 140

A storekeeper checking out the rain

 

[sgconnection]

# 140

A storekeeper checking out the rain

Btw, did you use a tripod for this shot?

 

[giantcanopy]

Btw, did you use a tripod for this shot?

Nope it was handheld. ISO bumped and subsequently processed to reduce noise.

Ryan

 

[nemo]

This is an awesome picture, Ryan. You are killing me with the pictures! Was tempted to get the TS-E90 but doubt i can reach ur standard... haha .. (if i can get up at 330hrs).

 

[nemo]

Thanks.....
The Osaka sunrise (or sunset?) was awesome.
If you've turned photo-mania only less than 2 years, did you purchase all the lenses etc within this period? Is it not quite a lot of $ to spend unless you are thinking of turning pro, or is it justifiable for as a hobby? (not sure I should ask this Q, may get bashed by all the maniacs!!)
Couldn't understand half the things in your list but I'll find out....
December in Hokkaido: Snow+++. MY short annual family ski holiday at Niseko. What is the recipe for photographing in the Winter snow?
Thanks again.
Esther

for snow you need to read up on exposure compensation... rem to share your itinerary? I am going there next year

 

[giantcanopy]

This is an awesome picture, Ryan. You are killing me with the pictures! Was tempted to get the TS-E90 but doubt i can reach ur standard... haha .. (if i can get up at 330hrs).

Hi Nemo, thx for ur comments

90mm is abit tight focal length for buildings unless u shooting from far. Most of the time if i use my 85mm PC i have to really shoot from a pretty high / far vantage point. ( that was one of the reasons why I decided to give 24mm a try :bsmilie: ) Even with the 24mm I actually had to sneak near the walls and climbed over some huge generator to fit into the picture. ( FX will be better )

Ryan

 

[giantcanopy]

# 141

The place that sells the white color melon ice cream, with bits of melon in the ice cream.
Taken in the early morning when it was still closed.

 

[Six-GHz]

This is awesome. Visually and surreally orgasmic.
My wife hopes she'd duplicate some of your series when she's there end of this year. I told her, yeah right - if you could wake up at 3.30 in the morning!

 

[giantcanopy]

This is awesome. Visually and surreally orgasmic.
My wife hopes she'd duplicate some of your series when she's there end of this year. I told her, yeah right - if you could wake up at 3.30 in the morning!

Glad ur wife likes my series so far.
( I accidentally scorched the red during processing, will need to see thru the other pans if it can be remedied when i got the time )

Sunrise in summer is typically very early. I woke up at 330 am mainly because I wanted extra time to walk around the whole castle district to see where i can position my sunrise shot. ( Maybe less late night shopping and will have energy to walk early ! :bsmilie: jokin )

Sunrise becomes later as you approach winter. I target to go in Feb again, and sunrise is estimated ard 630 ( jan is ard 7am ). So I dun think u need to wake up too early actually if you are visiting around dec / jan.

Here is the link I used to estimate sunrise / sunset before I embarked on my trip :
Timeanddate.com Only got the time for Sapporo. Sunrise becomes minutes earlier for the more northern cities, and much earlier if you are shooting on higher altitudes.

If you are going in winter :
Sunrise in winter in Daisetsuzan National Park - Mount Kurodake is very very stunning ( I accidentally saw crazy shots done by local professional landscape photogs over 4 seasons in the national park ) . Earliest cable car ride is 6am, and sunrise estimated ard 630am in Jan. Might be feasible to take shots from the 5th stage of Kurodake ( peak of cable station ) . Any higher ( not too sure if can make it for the long chair lift to the 7th stage stop but ) peak of Kurodake u need to climb the day before and pitch tent and sleep overnight on the mountain - which the caucasian trekkers are very fond of ). I will try and see if I can make that shot for my nxt trip

Ryan

 

[giantcanopy]

# 142

The small lake opposite Oyunuma

 

[Genie In A Lightbox]

Awesome stuffs, Ryan. You never fail to amaze us with your imagination. I love your pics. In comparison to yours, mine sux big time. :bheart: