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Tokyo, Kamakura and Nikko
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Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f8, ISO100, 18mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> <br /> The Great buddha in Kamakura, Japan. I was lucky that it was not crowded as I've heard stories from my friends how it was impossible to take a picture like this. Standing in front of him, its impressive to see how big he is, sitting on top of the hill. Many locals come here daily as part of the exercise routine to pay their respects.
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Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f8, ISO100, 18mm, HDR, 3 Exposures

The Great buddha in Kamakura, Japan. I was lucky that it was not crowded as I've heard stories from my friends how it was impossible to take a picture like this. Standing in front of him, its impressive to see how big he is, sitting on top of the hill. Many locals come here daily as part of the exercise routine to pay their respects.

HDRNikonD90Japankamakurabuddha

  • Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f20, ISO100, 28mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> <br /> The Wedding restaurant facing the Imperial palace in Tokyo, Japan. This particular spot can be very easy to pass up as its hidden by tall trees just off to the side of the Imperial palace. While I was there so many photographers came by, all of them choosing a different composition.
  • Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f3.5, ISO100, 18mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> <br /> A view of the Imperial Palace, Tokyo, Japan. I can not remember which building this was taken from but once I was up there I was excited to see the awesome view I had of the entrance to the palace which gives you a hint of just how massive and elegant it is. No one is allowed inside except the royal family.
  • Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f3.5, ISO200, 18mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> <br /> The fountains at the wedding restaurant in Tokyo, Japan. The fountains were mesmerizing to look at as they rotated to different formats. I remember being here a while as I wanted to try and get them at their peak.
  • Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f8, ISO100, 22mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> <br /> Meiji Temple in Tokyo, Japan. The beauty of this temple was truly amazing and it seemed the park was so large, but once inside the main area one can not help but admire the serenity and the unique architecture. This is mainly a place or prayer as locals come here to meditate and pray. You could hear a pin drop. The Japanese people area extremely respectful of each others peace.
  • Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f8, ISO100, 18mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> <br /> Tokyo Skyline as seen from the Tokyo Government building. There are two building and each has its own observation deck. I don't remember what floor it was on but it was way up there, even had a restaurant at the top with a near 360 view. I simply could not believe what my eyes were looking at. A city filled with more than 50 million people. The city was endless, building all the way to the horizon, a true metropolis. I opted to try tilt shift as the haze overwhelmed the sharpness of the image.
  • Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f4.5, ISO100, 28mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> <br /> Shinjuku District, in Tokyo, Japan. During a week night, this place was so busy, in fact no matter what district I went it, it was pretty much like this. It seems Tokyo is always busy and has so much activity and there so many shops and restaurants, one has to wonder, how does the person who set shop here deal with the competition when there's so many stores all selling exactly the same thing, it really boggles the mind.
  • Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f4.8, ISO100, 32mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> <br /> The Imperial Palace, in Tokyo, Japan. Not being able to go inside is a bummer but I respect it. If I was of royal blood I too would want to have privacy in my own palace. This is but a mere glimpse and I can only imagine how much beauty there must be in the gardens on the other side as the Japanese are famous for the Zen like gardens.
  • Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f8, ISO100, 18mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> The Hombu, where ninjas train, Tokyo, Japan. This dojo holds a special place in my heart as I've been training in ninjutsu since I was 20 years only. My sensei is Brian Tritico and he can always be seen at the Houston Japan Fest. Ninjas are sort of a mythical past in Japan and most Japanese now don't know much about as they have moved into technology but ninjas hold a special moment in japanese history as they were pivotal in the success of the ruling warlods within certain provinces. It took me 20 years to finally make my pilgrimage to finally meet the Grand master Hatsumi Masaaki. On either side of the walls you can see the wooden plates which are the names of those who are 15th dan and above. Remember, only a ninja can kill a ninja. It was a true honor to train in the presence of the last known ninja because after he is gone, that's it.
  • Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f5.6, ISO250, 32mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> A Tea house inside the Shinjuku Gyoen National Park, in Tokyo, Japan. I highly recommend visiting this park as its filled with zen like beauty and hidden tea houses like this one where tradition was first and last and ceremonies are still held here that replicate how it used to be.
  • Park Entrance
  • Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f8, ISO100, 18mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> <br /> Tokyo Skyline as seen from the top of a building and the park on the right must be Shinjuku Gyoen National Park. The sheer vastness of this city is mind boggling. I opted for a radial blur as there was glare from the window i shot it from.
  • Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f22 ISO100, 18mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> <br /> Yuigahama Beach in Kamakura, Japan. I took a bullet train to see the 60+ temples in the area and at end of day I walked down to the coast to unexpectedly find this amazing beach and with one last glimmer of the sun it glowed bright orange in the distance. This one required some post work to salvage it as it was quite overcast.
  • Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f6.3, ISO100, 18mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> <br /> Shinjuku Gyoen National Park, in Tokyo, Japan. Despite being very overcast it adds to the mode and the reflections in the lake remind me how beautiful Tokyo is. This is one of my favorite images which I rescued with some post work in photoshop.
  • Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f8, ISO100, 18mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> <br /> The Great buddha in Kamakura, Japan. I was lucky that it was not crowded as I've heard stories from my friends how it was impossible to take a picture like this. Standing in front of him, its impressive to see how big he is, sitting on top of the hill. Many locals come here daily as part of the exercise routine to pay their respects.
  • Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f8, ISO100, 18mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> <br /> Shinjuku Business District is one of those places that has amazing buildings. The architecture is simply phenomenal despite all this steel and concrete the Japanese are amendment about putting gardens and parks everywhere, nothing is left to waste as every square meter is precious. It was a very overcast day in fact my entire trip there was just like this but with some post work I was able to turn the overcast skies to my favor, adding drama and mystery.
  • Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f8, ISO100, 18mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> <br /> Kegon Falls in Nikko, Japan. One of the most beautiful waterfalls I've ever seen and I quickly realized it was better to take this picture from above than from below. When I tried to capture it from the bottom I was overwhelmed with the mist. The was simply too much bright light and mist causing a complete washout so I'm happy to see how it came out so much better from above.
  • Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f8, ISO100, 18mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> <br /> Tokyo Bay as seen from the top of a building somewhere. Tokyo was an experiment in photography. I had just bought a nikon d90, learned Trey Ratcliff's HDR tutorial and basically set myself on an adventure to try and capture the beauty and the immense structures all around Tokyo. Using only a kit lens and a small tripod I was able to capture this image which is one of my favorites. I like the hues of the glass on the buildings and the fact it looks so far out into the bay. I wish I had done some sort of GPS as now I don't know where it was taken at.
  • Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f11, ISO100, 29mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> <br /> The Nikko Bridge which is closed off to the public but once a year they will hold a ceremonial promenade on it. This is a special story and symbolism to this bridge which has stood the test of time. This is an image I was not expecting to find yet by simply walking along a path I came across it and my heart lifted as I knew right there are then it captured a true essence of Japan as I was hoping to get with my camera.
  • Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f10, ISO100, 18mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> <br /> Shinjuku Night life in Tokyo, Japan. There is so much night life in Tokyo that one could simply make a career of taking pictures of Tokyo at night. This is probably one of my very first long exposures on a street and so I had to learn how to mask in layers to fix the ghosting. Personally I dislike artifacts and unnecessary ghosting. Ghosting is good to have when its light trails but not when you see the same car in different parts. In this picture you can clearly see the car is ghosting past the camera but its trailing which is what I want. I personally believe photographers who don't bother to mask or remove artifacts and bad ghosting are lazy or simply missed it. Its always important to look image at 100%
  • Nikon D90, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G, f8, ISO200, 30mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> <br /> The train station in Kamakura, Japan. An old train station I came across which had a romantic feel to it plus it was deserted so it gave it a feel of being timeless. I had not seen many like this, at least not in Tokyo.
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