Miyajima / Itsukushima Island, Japan

Check out my last post if you haven’t seen the torii to this magnificent Itsukushima Shrine. When we arrived for sunset, I was a little disappointed to see it was low tide but glad it was for this shot. Though my friend was cold and we were hungry, we stayed a little longer after blue hour to capture more images. We were only here one night thus wanted to make the most of it. I wanted a centred composition with the reflection but to get it I had to get my feet a bit wet. Well, I tried to avoid it but it was a failed mission. I got the shot I wanted and that’s all that counts.

I have to say I’m blown away by my new camera and lens. It took me a long time to get it but the combination of the Sony a7 III with the Tamron 28-75 mm ƒ/2.8 is just awesome. In regards to this photo, though taken a 30 seconds and ISO 50, the raw file was very dark. Everything behind the shrine and the foreground was in darkness. The dynamic range on the raw file was amazing. I was able to bump up three stops of light noise-free without loosing any sharpness. I’m literally blown away by this camera lens combination and the quality of the images.

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28 mm, 30 seconds @ ƒ/11, ISO 50

KYOTO, JAPAN

The tallest non steel-frame construction in the world, Kyoto Tower. Abosutely stunning at blue hour. My friend noticed the reflection on the glass facade of Kyoto Station. The contrasting colours, patterns and, of course, the reflection all came together for, what I think, a beautiful photo. Thank you Géraldine.

We, unfortunately, didn’t get the chance to go up the tower. Don’t get me wrong, we wanted to but were stopped by police from doing so. Let me explain. Late that afternoon I wanted to go up just to see the view and the kind of photos I could take later around blue hour. As we arrived at the tower, sirens were blasting and cops were coming from everywhere. We thought they were after someone and kept walking towards the entrance. We were stopped by a policewoman from entering and motioned to step back. So we did and waited in hopes it would end quickly. The policewoman came back to see us and showed a translation on her phone saying “There is a bomb alert. Please move away from this area.”. She didn’t have to tell us twice, we took off. We came back just at the beginning of blue hour, in hopes it was all over. But the police were moved to the other side of the road and replaced by men in black. No kidding. Black suits, black ties, black in-ear communications and black unmarked cars. They were positioned at all entrances. Very impressive, I must say. Still surprised they didn’t evacuate the whole area though hmmm…

Hence the photo from the station side. We took a few photos from here and even saw a small light and water show. I might post a photo of it otherwise you’ll see it in the video of our first day in Japan.

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1/80th second @ ƒ/2.8, ISO 800, 75 mm

ROTORUA

Wish I had more time to visit Rotorua. There’s so much to see here. Click here if you haven’t seen the video of day 7. There are a few things on it that I haven’t taken photos of.

My morning started early with a stroll where I found myself on a sulphur plateau near the Puaranga Stream. It was overcast when I arrived but then golden hour just exploded through some clouds just long enough for me to setup and capture it. Not the best of compositions but better than nothing in my eyes. It covered up again for the next few hours. I saw a path heading into some bushes along the sulphur plateau and thought I’d follow it in hopes of capturing more photos. Not a lot to photograph but a very nice path nonetheless.

So once we all had breakfast, we headed to Kuirau Park & Mud Pools. I was surprised to find different hot water springs in such a small area. Black water, aqua water, green with white bubbles not to mention the light and dark brown mud bubbles. Very interesting. There was an area where you could dip your feet into the hot springs as well, which the girls took to right away.

After the park we took the Skyline to the Volcanic Hills Wine Tasting Room. The Skyline is a must just for the amazing views. Before the alcohol though, we visited the Jelly Belly Store where we tasted some very bizarre flavoured lollies. Then Alain luge raced before we all had lunch. I don’t have any photos of the wine tasting but check out the video or the link just above to see what the place looks like. The wines were very good and the whole experience was great.

Our last visit of the day was the Ohinemutu Maori Village. Here you’l find amazing carvings decorating the buildings. A very peaceful area on the shores of Lake Rotorua. My photos don’t do justice to these beautiful buildings.

Our stop for the night was the Cosy Cottage Thermal Holiday Park. We were supposed to do the Redwoods Treewalk that evening but it started to rain pretty heavy and didn’t stop till late in the night. Very unfortunate because it looks like an amazing thing to do.

Day 7 is over. Tomorrow we visit a wonderland before heading to Taupo. Hope to see you then. Goodnight.

p.s. thanks to Alain and his wife, Manu, for the use of some of their photos and videos.

I captured this shot in 2012 while walking through the streets of Sydney's CBD (Central Business District). This is the skyscraper above the Apple Store on George Street (Sydney, Australia).

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