Young's Photography

2015-07-16T08:15:00.005-07:00

A butterfly which can't fly

I saw all that God has done

2010-12-02T16:48:00.000-08:00

[Ecc 8:17 NIV]

Then I saw all that God has done.

No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun.

Despite all his efforts to search it out,

man cannot discover its meaning.

Even if a wise man claims he knows,

he cannot really comprehend it.

The LORD is my shepherd

2010-12-02T06:20:00.000-08:00

[NIV Psalm 23:1] A psalm of David.

The LORD is my shepherd,

I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Be still

2010-11-30T11:44:00.000-08:00

"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

[NIV Psalm 46:10]

Inks Lake State Park

2010-11-28T14:00:00.000-08:00

It's like a pure blue mirror with havens in it.

A beautiful golden light makes images so special.

- - -

when the light of God shines upon us,

we become special in Him

and

everything we have works wonderful.

God bless everyone!!!

Cutie serpent

2010-08-21T15:28:00.000-07:00

It has deadly venom.

But it looks very cute and beautiful, isn't it?

That might be why Eve was deceived

by Satan in the form of snake

and ate the forbidden fruit.

'It looks good' doesn't mean 'It is good'.

Funny creatures

2010-08-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

It's fun to see funny creatures like those in the image.

They were not afraid of us.

I don't know why.

They were even streching themselves

right in front of us.

We glared at each other.
I love them.

A ladder

2010-08-16T19:20:00.000-07:00

Heavens

where God dwells

The Earth

where human beings live

Between them

there is an invisible ladder

Jacob saw in his dream.

Enchanted Rock in Texas

2010-05-23T20:14:00.000-07:00

This is the first landscape shot I took in Texas, since I moved to USA about 3 month ago. We got to Enchanted Rock by driving an hour and a half north from my place. And, on the way there, we stopped by a Germen settlement village, "Fredricksburg" which is a very interesting place in the middle of Texas.

Enchanted Rock is located on the border between Gillespie and Llano Counties. It is one of the biggest rock uncovered by erosion in the United States.

Colour or B/W images

2010-01-15T17:12:00.000-08:00

When making the b/w images...

The world is full of the colours produced by the light. The colours are all about the light. As you know, there are light ranges we can't perceive. We only see what we can see. We capture the images with the recognigable lights unless we use special tools such as infared filters. Then what about the b/w images? They're kind of old fashioned but many photographers love to make them. Ironically, people, who live in this colourful world, love the black and white images very much. In my opinion, producing the b/w images is much harder than retouching the colour images. The reason why I decide to convert colour images to b/w images is very simple. I choose b/w images when the images don't have much impacts of the colour. However, even though my decision making is easy, the b/w process is not that easy to me. I'm still struggling to get the better results on b/w images.

If you're interested in B/W images, READ The article, 'Great Black-n-White Photos From Colour Film', writen by Darwin Wiggett. It's very helpful to understand about B/W conversion.

Valleys Of Neptune

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine

STARS

2010-01-04T00:05:00.000-08:00

How great he is!!

"When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

What is man that you are mindful of him,

the son of man that you care for him?"

[Psalm 8:3-4]

- - -

How great he is.

How small we are.

BUT

We are great because he is great.

He is working in us.

He is working for us.

He is working through us.

Let's do the great things for His Kingdom.

He goes before us.

YEAR 2010

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
Valleys Of Neptune
Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Two-Disc Special Edition)
The Help

Happy New Year 2010

2010-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

Fireworks reflection

You're the salt of the earth.

You're the light of the world.

(Matthew. 5:13-16)

- - -

God bless you

Blue

2009-12-28T23:50:00.000-08:00

Swirling clouds

Nikon D3 / 20mm / f.22 / 2.5 sec / ISO 200

'Aotearoa' is known as the Maori name for New Zealand which means 'The land of the long white cloud'. You can't imagine the beauty of New Zealand without the cloud. New Zealand's covered with clouds hanging low. It's a great joy to watch the dynamic transformation of the cloud passing over the sky expecially at sunset.

My Photostream

Piha Beach

2009-12-27T03:59:00.000-08:00

Happiness

Nikon D3 / 20mm / f.11 / 1.6 sec / ISO 200

Piha, located at the west coast of the North Island, New Zealand, is one of the most beautiful surf beaches . The beach is covered with black iron-sand. It's amazingly beautiful when the sky is reflected on the black sand. However, the beautiful reflection of sunset is not something we can easily encounter. Though I've been to the beach many times, I saw it only once and I didn't have a camera with me. I totally missed a great chance to capture the wonderful sunset at the Piha beach.

Today, expecting the real red sunset, I went to the beach with my daughters who love the Piha's black sand. They were playing in the sand and I was watching the sky, wondering whether or not it's going to get coloured. It, however, came very near getting red. The image above is what I got today at the Piha beach. Though it's not what I expected, it's still ok because I saw something better than I expected; my daughters' happiness on the black beach.

My Photostream

Stars at night

2009-12-25T01:23:00.000-08:00

Milky Way: A 5 image combined panorama

Taking a shot of the stars is too much time consuming process. An image needs at least a 30 sec exposure. Since the stars are barely seen through the view finder, before the actual shot, you need to take a trial shot to make sure if you've got the right settings such as focal length, exposure time, white balance and etc. It's not hard to learn the technique to take a shot of stars. But the tech doesn't guarantee getting the right image we want to get.

The most important matter in the star photography is whether or not we can have a good weather; no clouds, no mood light and no artifical lights. The image above was taken even under the difficult condition. There were the strong artificial lights from the city when taking the image above. I could see only a few stars at that night. I only got some stars in it. We, therefore, need to go to a remote place to avoid the troublesome light.

Stars themselves don't make the image special. What makes it special is how you put things together in the frame. It's all about the composition. To get people's attention, we need to find something interesting and carefully locate it in the image.

Are you ready to give up sleeing? What you get is an outcome from what you give up. You should get out and take a real shot at night when others are sleeping.

Good Luck!! Everyone!!

My Photostream

Light painting

2009-12-18T00:38:00.000-08:00

Like a seeker after the truth

'Long exposure' is one of my favorite phototograph tech. It helps me put wonderful movements into still images. I can create a mystical image with brush painting effects. Here is a 150 sec long exposure image taken at Bayswater Marina, New Zealand. In order to get such a long exposure, I used a 3 stop ND filter and a 2 stop + a 3 stop ND Grad filter stacked.

I often go to Bayswater Marina to take a shot because the place is near home. But I was not lucky enough to get what I wanted to get untill yesterday. After the dinner, I went out to get some fresh air and take some shots hoping to see wonderful sunset. The sky looked just as usual. It seemed that nothing was going to happen. But suddenly, everything was changed. The sky started getting red like someone splashed the sky with red ink. That was something beyond what I expected yesterday. It was so beautiful.

A Photographer is like a seeker after the truth. I, as a serious amateur landscape photographer, always hope to meet an amazing light and try to capture it by interpreting it in my own way just like a seeker eagers to find out the unescapable truth. The great photographers can't be made by their techniques but by their passion to grasp something amazing (or to make something wonderful). They make constant [and desperate] efforts to capture meaningful moments and bring them into permanent images within their own hermeneutical frame.

I always wait for the light and want to be at the right place. I always wait for the right time as a humble seeker after the truth. Photography is a kind of spiritual tool for me to meditate.

Too religious?..Yes..because I am standing before the wonder.

My Photostream

Communication in images

2009-11-27T11:40:00.001-08:00

Almost
Originally uploaded by Young's Photos

This photo was taken at Northcote Point, New Zealand, by using a 0.9 ND grads filter to get the right exposure for the sky and the fourground.

I visited this place several times because it is near to my place. It is a spot for a shot of the Habour bridge, one of the landmarks of Auckland and the wharf on the image.

I went there with my daughter who was willing to be my assistant of photography. She kept a pouch of photo filters and passed it to me when I needed them. We were standing together and looking up the sky. When the clouds started getting coloured, my heart beat fast at it, expecting it got red.

There were some photographers who were already taking a shot on the wharf before I got there. We started chatting as if we've met before and exchanged our mobile numbers. It's great to get to know people in the work of photography. That is why I love the photography.

We can actually communicate with people in this isolating world. because the images have lots of stories to tell. It can funtion as media to deliver massages even to those who I haven't met at all. There is no a language barrier in the field of photography. The world can communicate in the images. At least, I hope so.

My Photostream

Cathedral Cove

2009-11-15T01:31:00.000-08:00

A journey with a desperate wish

Cathedral Cove is one of the most beautiful places in North Island of New Zealand, located around two and half hours away from Auckland City. I saw an image taken by both Dave Norton, one of famous British landscape photographers, and a flickr friend of mine. When I saw the image, I started wondering and googling where it would be. In fact, I've been to Cathedral Cove before, but I haven't seen the place where it was taken. Finally, I found out that it was taken at somewhere in Pa site near Hahei beach, New Zealand. I decided to visit there to take a sunrise shot.

I woke up at 2:30am and drove to get there under a crescent moon. When I got there, the sun still was below the horizon. In dark, I put on a head lamp and climbed up the hill with a hope to find the exact spot. Luckily, I found the same tree I saw in the image and happlily took a shot.

Birds fly home

2009-11-11T11:09:00.000-08:00

Muriwai. A Gannet Colony

The photo above is Muriwai, a Gannett colony which is one of the most ruggedly, picturesque beaches in New Zealand. It is an ideal place to closely observe Gannets in the country and full of the Pohutukawa Tree, New Zealand's own Christmas Tree. The spectacular sunsets at Muriwai are also world famous. That is why photographers love this place.

To take this image, I set up a high ISO to get the proper shutter speed and used a 3 stop ND grad Lee filter to balance the sky and the rocks.
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Every single creature needs its home where it can have a rest. Even though it can fly freely in the air, at the end of the day, it needs a place to land and stay. Our life in this world is just like the birds need a place to rest. Our life is like a journey. Even though the journey is so wonderful, our journey in this world will eventually end. We enjoy it because we have our home to go back.

Unfortunately, we are too busy to think about 'home' after this world. We spend each day as if we would live forever in this world. But, today is the day that gives you a chance to think about where you are going to. Please, have a look at the birds up there. As birds fly home, we will eventually go home finishing our journey.

Rangitoto Island

2009-11-10T21:15:00.000-08:00

A landmark of Auckland, New Zealand

Rangitoto Island is a volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland, New Zealand. The Island is the largest, youngest and one of the least modified of about 50 volcanic cones and craters in the Auckland volcanic field. It erupted from the sea in a series of dramatic explosions around 600 years ago, and is now extinct. It dominates the local seascape.

This sublime and timeless image, taken at Narrowneck beach, shows an echo of Rangitoto's birth long ago with this explosive sunrise.