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Photography has changed the way I see the world around me.

Through it I discover new things and rediscover old ones. Like my island, New Caledonia.

This blog is just me sharing my world through my photography.

Hope you enjoy.

Posts tagged port of kobe
STARBUCKS COFFEE KOBE MERIKEN PARK

Kobe, Japan

We don’t eat a huge amount in the morning so paying for a buffet breakfast at the hotel wasn’t worth our while. The problem though, most places open around 8 am. No matter, we went for a stroll around Meriken Park and Kobe Harborland and checked out a huge shop that opened at 7:30 before coming back here, to Starbucks, for a simple breakfast.

This shot was taken a couple of hour beforehand though. Just before I headed back to the room. I liked the reflection of the sun in the front glass panels and having the Port Of Kobe Tower in the frame, gives the viewer a location. A destination.

28 mm, 1/25th second @ ƒ/11, ISO 100

KOBE MERIKEN PARK ORIENTAL HOTEL

Kobe, Japan

I got up before sunrise in hopes of a shot of the Kobe Great Bridge all lit up with beautiful light as a backdrop but, unfortunately, neither happened. The bridge lights switched off just as I was setting up and sunrise wasn’t spectacular in any way. There was no interesting compositions either. Port Of Kobe is more beautiful at night than the day.

After the sun had risen, I went for a stroll around the area and saw this Be Kobe sign, meaning Kobe Bay. I realised I didn’t have a photo of our hotel and thought it made for a nice snapshot. Though it was still early morning, there were no interesting shadows, the sky was blue with no interesting cloud structures, it was a pretty bland scene. Thus the black and white conversion. Like I said, just a snapshot of where we stayed.

The Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel is shaped like a ship and is prominent on Port Of Kobe. A luxurious hotel where every room has a view. We had the northern views which looks out towards the city. The best view, in my opinion. We didn’t eat at the hotel but had a nightcap at the View Bar which looks out to the north and west. Apart from a singing pianist, it’s pretty low key and quiet. Perfect to wind down. It was one of two accommodations we splurged on. And it was all for the location and views.

28 mm, 1/10th second @ ƒ/11, ISO 100

PORT OF KOBE

Kobe, Japan

We arrived in Kobe late afternoon and the last bus towards the hotel had already gone. Though we were tired, we decided to walk 20 minutes to get there. A nice walk through the city which made us realise there was a lot to see here. By the time we got to the Meriken Park Oriental Hotel, the sun was just about to disappear below the horizon. What a beautiful surprise when we opened up the curtains to the balcony of our room and saw this gorgeous view. You may have seen one of the photos in a previous blog post.

I quickly setup my gear and started shooting. Single exposures first then once blue hour was over I took a 180º panoramic view. We had arrived just in time to capture these images. So on the left we have Notre Dame Kobe hotel, Port Of Kobe tower, Kobe Maritime Museum, behind that the Hotel Okura Kobe and in front of all that the Meriken Park. You can also see the Bell Of Hortensia and Starbucks right next to it on the bottom right of the image. And not to forget, the cityscape of Kobe in the background.

28 mm, 5 seconds @ ƒ/11, ISO 100