Monkey See Monkey Shoots

The Snooker Table

2011-10-25T14:31:00.002+09:00

TED Talks: The Paradox of Choice

This is currently my favorite TED talk because this is exactly how I feel every time I wanted to purchase any item that has tons of options. For example, if I wanted a new camera, I get paralyzed with all the choices there is the market, SLR, digicams, lenses, Nikon, Canon, Sony etc. By the time I made my decision, I always feel that buyers remorse because I make this stupid concoction in my head that there are other cameras better that what I bought. Choices doesn't usually liberate us, it actually paralyzes us and in some cases make us feel worse even in hindsight we made the right choice.

Image of the Day: The Snooker Table

Last weekend I attended the Japan Photofest 2011 in Yokohama. It was a 3-day event of pure photography and fun but it came at a hefty price of 45k yen. Unfortunately, I can only afford to go on a single day so I attended the last day which was all about post processing. At first I was hesitant of joining because I feel I wouldn't learn as much as those who just started photography but as the day progressed, even though I didn't learn quite that much, I enjoyed meeting very interesting people and learning about their philosophies in photography.

One of the events that I was eager to attend was of the HDR workshop from Alfie Goodrich. I've always wanted to know where I stand against the professionals in terms of high dynamic range photography and I'm proud to say I feel like I'm quite there already. Below is the shot I got from the workshop. People who were with me also was able to produce the same quality or for some even better. So my conclusion for this is, people learn faster when somebody teaches it rather than learning it by yourself. But for me, I think it is more gratifying to know that I almost have the same knowledge as the pros despite being self-taught.

20k

2011-10-21T21:39:00.001+09:00

Today I've reached 20,000 followers. I've never been this popular ever in a social network in my entire life. I'm thankful to those who have followed me and those who have regularly commented and viewed my photos. Nothing is more satisfying for a wanna-photographer than getting his work validated by a lot of people. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you everyone. I'll do my best to continue to post more amazing pictures and interact with everyone.

A Taste of Akita

2011-10-19T16:18:00.001+09:00

It has been a while since I've posted here in blogspot. I'm really confused on how to build a blog. I bought a wordpress bundle but I'm not sure how to use it. Do I still need to install the wordpress platform in my PC? Or is it just OK to modify the site online? The hell, do I need pay for hosting? What about the 8GB space given to me when I bought the bundle? Is that considered hosting?

I'm more f****** confused than ever. And I need help with all this mumbo jumbo blogging thingy. I think I don't have time to sort everything out so maybe I'll lean towards refund so I can rethink and do more proper research before venturing again to this costly business.

Anyways, here is a shot I took in Hachimantai in Akita Prefecture. It is the area near the Goshogake Onsen where the colors are unbelievable. I've never experienced anything like this in my enter life (partly because I came from the Philippines).

The Morning Glow

2011-07-22T11:53:00.000+09:00

There were tons of moments during the climb that I said to myself I can't continue anymore. But somehow, someway, I kept on walking and following the flow of the climbers. I regularly stopped whenever I heard my heart beating too fast and sometimes even closed my eyes if the trail was flat. I was so tired and all I could think of was my bed. Everything changed when I saw the sunrise.

The Kurobe Dam

2011-07-21T12:53:00.000+09:00

Spent so much time down at the base that I had a few minutes left for the observatory deck.The tour group was about to move to the next location so had I run about 300 steps up to the deck. Upon reaching the top, I literally had no time to catch my breath so I began shooting my usual series of brackets without using a tripod. After about a minute, some of my friends were already calling us because the tour group is about to proceed to the next location. I'm happy I was able to get this shot in time. Although I feel I could have composed it better

Blue Mountains Red Sky

2011-07-20T10:25:00.000+09:00

Dawn was about to break and we had to decide to continue to climb or stop and setup for the sunrise. We were already at the 9th station and seems like the final station is stone's throw away. However, I was so afraid that we might get caught in the middle and not get a good vantage point. I can't risk it so we decided to stop.

This was actually my first time to shoot at dawn because I never had the strength to wake up so early in the morning. A sunrise for me seems more peaceful and zen like while a sunset is more fierce and aggressive. Now it makes me wonder which I like more...

The Climb

2011-07-18T21:43:00.002+09:00

Whew! I'm back from a rigorous overnight climb of Mt. Fuji last weekend. My limbs were so sore it took a great effort for me to move this morning. Slowly I'm starting to regain the functions of my limbs so hopefully I can go to work tom :D

I was hoping to do more long exposures during this hike but it was so tiresome to stop and setup a shot like this every time there is an awesome view. Although I did try to shoot whenever we rest, it just came to a point that I couldn't because I was so tired.

The Japanese Alps and Creating Order with Circles

2011-07-14T19:54:00.015+09:00

Musings: Creating Order with Circles

I've been using Google+ for a while now and so far I'm enjoying it. I really don't mind if all of my friends wouldn't join this service because I'm more interested in interacting with other fellow photographers who share the same passions as I do. Recently however, as the invitations are now accessible 24/7, I've been having a hard time managing all the Photographer contacts that I follow and those who have added me. So I've been developing system that is still in its evolutionary stage. It is no way final and I'm still thinking of ways to improve it.

So here is the system

0. Setup

I've segregated all the photographers and enthusiasts into 4 circles.

The Best - obviously contains all the best photographers out there like Trey Ratcliff and Thomas Hawk. I don't visit this circle much often because I'm already an avid fan of their blogs and most of the stuff they post here I have already scene from other social media sites.

Awesome - These guys are of great skill, maybe equal, and sometimes even more than the guys and gals at The Best circle. However, these Photographers here are not as famous as the circle above them. This is my main inspirational corner whenever I go online on G+.

Notable - These people are regular Joes of photography. They post nice pictures but not as great as the other two circles above. I put people here if they post regular pictures and have commented or +1'ed any of my photos.

Friendly - These people are not photographers but they are friendly enough to +1 or comment on any of my photos.

1. Post an Image

My system starts whenever I share an image to the public.

2. Circle Active Users

I add all the people who +1'ed or commented on my posts to my Friendly circle. For now, this is my way of tracking active users in Google+.

3. Reciprocate with the Friendly People

I then proceed to my Friendly circle stream and start the reciprocating process. If I find a fellow photographer who just blows my mind away with his photography, I promote him/her to my Awesome circle. If I find someone who is a photographer but I don't find his/her work as compelling as those in the Awesome circle, I just promote them to the Notable circle. The rest, I just comment and +1 if I find their post interesting enough.

4. Engage with the Notables

I check the Notable circle stream and again start commenting and +1'ing images and posts that I like. I sometimes promote people to the Awesome circle if I suddenly find their images are amazing. Conversely, if they post more bitch slapping GIFs than their actual work then I demote them back to the Friendly circle.

5. Find Inspiration from the Awesome

Finally, I visit the Awesome circle where again I comment and +1 on the images and posts I like. I also promote or demote some of the photographers depending on the quality of their posts. This is the stream where I engage the most because the quality of images here are pretty high and remarkable.

I repeat this process whenever I'm online. For now, the task is a little tedious and it needs some refinement so I could reciprocate faster and easier.

Bonus step:

6. Search for Talent in the Vault

The Vault is the my collection of people I've added from Trey's list and the people who added me. After I finish steps 1-5, and I'm still hooked with G+, I try to search some talent from The Vault and promote them to their appropriate circles. This way, when I go back G+ and start my system again, I could see their stuff and show my appreciation for their work.

So, how do you manage your Photographer contacts in G+? Do share and we might find a better way to organize!

Photos: The Japanese Alps

Whew! That was a long post. I usually don't write that long. I just hope your eyes made it to this section before it was swept away by boredom.

Kurobe Alpine Route is a good place for landscape photographers. The view of the mountains are breathtaking. I wish I had more time to stay and to keep on shooting but I was in a tour group so my time was limited. The weather was also pretty bad. A minute after taking the shots below the mountains suddenly disappeared behind the thick clouds and would not reappear for quite some time. By the time it clears, the tour group had to move to a different location so I already lucky enough to catch it.

The Toyama Castle and Google+ Feature Wishlist

2011-07-04T14:20:00.000+09:00

Musings: Google+ Feature Wishlist
So Google+ has been making waves in the Internet. With all the awesome features of this new Google project, there are still some features I'd love to see implemented.

Allow passive users in Hangout - I understand that due to bandwidth concerns and the difficulty to converse with an enormous number of people, 10 is a reasonable limit of users that can join and actively participate in a Hangout. However, for those who were slow in clicking the join button (like me), I'd love to be able to passively participate by just listening and or viewing the conversations as they take place. Sort of like an online streaming of the conversation. Of the Hangouts I've been, there were only about 2-4 persons leading the conversations and the others just listening or chatting away in the chat room. If Google+ can't implement a passive viewer/listener system, maybe they could at least allow more people to join the chat room so people could chime in to the conversation.
Allow stream filter for pictures - I think the Photographers circle is one of the largest community in Google+. They post so many pictures and comment on each other's shots that my friends' pictures get buried immediately. I wish they would have the same filter in the stream of the Photo section as well so I could just click and find my friends' pictures.
Add share and +1 buttons in lightbox - Whenever I'm browsing for amazing pictures via the lightbox and don't feel like commenting, I wish there was a little +1 button I could just click to show my appreciation for the beautiful image. And there are times when I am just blown away by a picture that I can't help but share it. Unfortunately, while I'm writing this, there is no share button available in the lightbox.

As we all know, Google+ is still in Beta. I'm sure in time they will roll out more awesome features.

Is there any feature you want Google to implement?

Photos: Toyama Castle Reflections

I've began my obsession with castles and reflections. Toyama city is well known as the base station where people rest before or after enjoying the sights of Shirakawa-go and the Kurobe Alpine Route. It was strange that www.japan-guide.com failed to mention there is a pretty castle in the center of the city. So when I was walking around the area, I was really surprised when I saw this castle with a perfect reflection on its moat.

HDR Photo Pro Review

2011-06-30T22:58:00.000+09:00

For a while now, I have been using HDR Photo Pro and have been comparing it against my entire HDR Workflow where I use Lightroom Photomatix and Photoshop. To cut things short, I am generally impressed by the software as it gives me more "realistic" results than its famous rival.

Here are some of the images I processed using the software.

Not bad right? Let me assure you that I didn't use any other software besides it. So, now, let me tell you the pros and cons:

What I like about it

Adjustment sliders are fast (but only for Preview Size Processing)
Names of sliders are much easier to understand. (As compared to smoothing sliders of Photomatix)
Produces more "realistic" images

What I don't like about it

No Lightroom plugin for easier integration into my HDR workflow.
The strength slider has a stronger effect on Full Size processing than in Preview Size Processing.
Noise reduction is freakishly slow. I use Lightroom instead.

So, will I use this software? Yes.... but only for those images where I am sure I won't be needing the help of Lightroom and Photoshop for clean up - which is pretty rare. I recommend this software if you don't want to use other products for your HDR photography. All in all, HDR Photo Pro as a standalone software is very impressive.

Miyajima Island's Floating Torii Gate

2011-06-29T15:07:00.000+09:00

Miyajima is an island near Hiroshima City and is home of the most scenic view in Japan. Hiroshima has become my 2nd favorite place after Kyoto mostly because of this place. There was a spiritual feeling as I stood in awe beside this giant gate that I can't quite explain. This place is just an awesome place... period

I had to wait more than 4 hours until the tide came up. As you can see, it was very hard to get a clean shot of the gate without tourists ruining the shot. I waited for the golden hour and then the blue hour and I really liked how they turned out. A friend suggested that I should do a time-lapse video as the tide comes up. I shall try it when I have the money and time.

Shirakawa.... GO!

2011-06-27T12:54:00.001+09:00

Ogimachi Village, a UNESCO world heritage site, is the largest village in Shirakawa-go. It is famous for their gassho-zukuri farmhouses. (Gassho-zukuri meaning "constructed like hands in prayer"). Their steep roofs are necessary during the winter because of the heavy snow that falls on the village.

The there was a funny photographer at the view point of Ogimachi Village who emphatically pronounced "Go" of Shirakawa-go whenever he took pictures. After we took our shots, his personality kinda brushed in to ours and we started enunciating the "Go" in Shirakawa-go whenever we took pictures.

The A-Bomb Dome

2011-06-24T13:11:00.000+09:00

Located at the Peace Park in Hiroshima City, the A-Bomb Dome is the reminder of the horror experienced by the Japanese when an atomic bomb was dropped one fine morning in Japan. This structure, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was the only structure than remained standing near the hypocenter of the explosion.

Hiroshima Castle

2011-06-23T12:17:00.003+09:00

Musings: What motivates us?

I've been listening to a lot of talks this week and I stumbled upon this really interesting talk on motivation. Because I've been a software engineer for almost 4 years now, I like the idea of paying us enough money so we could forget about our financial problems and concentrate on thinking of innovative ideas.

Here is the video:

Hiroshima Castle

After watching Band of Brothers and WW2 in Colour, I was extremely hooked to WW2 flicks. So, during Japan's Golden Week (7 awesome concurrent holidays), I had the urge to visit any historical place related to WW2. Hiroshima was the first thing on my mind since it was the first city in history to be hit by an atomic bomb. More than half a century later, I am amazed that the city is this beautiful and lively and I can't imagine it was flattened a few decades ago.

Cayangan Lake

2011-06-17T17:15:00.002+09:00

Coron is well known for their pristine beaches and untouched landscapes. My favorite place is the view on top of the cliff when going towards the Cayangan Lake. This is the poster shot for Coron. People don't leave the place without having the same shot and the same composition. I just love the natural framing of the body of water and for me it never gets old.

I had a nice talk with the Tokyo Extreme Weekender organizers last weekend and they are very interested in this place. I hope they could arrange a tour in my country someday :p

Edo Wonderland: Ninjas, Samurais and Oirans

2011-06-14T16:27:00.000+09:00

Have you ever pretended and dressed up as a ninja when you were a kid (or even as an adult)? Edo Wonderland is the ultimate place to relive these childhood fantasies. Edo Wonderland is theme park village that resembles the olden years of Tokyo during the age of Ninjas and Samurais. What makes theme park cool and unique is that the guests can dress up like the townspeople of the village. Meaning they could pretend to be geishas, peasants, samurai, ninja, etc..

Here is the video from their website so you can understand what I'm talking about.

Here are some of my pictures taken there.

If you want to see some cool ninja fights, checkout my post here: Grand Ninja Theater

Otaru

2011-06-09T11:56:00.001+09:00

Otaru is a harbor city northwest of Sapporo. It is famous for its beautiful Otaru Snow Light Path Festival during the winter season. Unfortunately, we didn't have the time to visit the place at night so we opt for a short day trip instead.

The city was all white. Everything was covered in ice. Walking was a tedious task as we had to make sure every step was solid and stable. We went around the canals, ate sushi and went back to Sapporo to enjoy the Snow Festival.

Yasukuni Shrine

2011-06-08T16:38:00.000+09:00

Yasukuni Shrine is a famous Shinto Shrine dedicated to the soldiers who fought in honor of the Emperor. More than 2 million men and women who fought and died during WW2 were enshrined here.

Being at a perfect place at the perfect time couldn't be more true with this shot. The sun was at right spot and there were no tourists ruining the scene as I was talking multiple exposures. This image perfectly represents the Kanji 間 which means "in between".

The Great Gate - Daiichi Torii

I moved forward towards the shrine and kept on shooting while the sun sits perfectly still on the vantage point.

Father of Modern Japanese Army - Omura Masujima

The mean guard on the left side of the image kept on harassing me to not use my tripod. So I retracted its leg, put it down, and tried to shoot handheld in front and center of the shrine. The guard approached me again to get out of the middle of the walkway. So I was forced to shoot from the side as seen on this image.

Haiden - "Hall of Worship"

Adding More Omph to Cityscape Images

2011-06-06T18:52:00.003+09:00

There are many ways to improve your cityscape shot but the fastest way to add that additional punch to your image is by using Nik's Color Efex Pro. Let me start off by saying I'm not in anyway affiliated with Nik Software nor do they pay me anything. I just love using their products.

So here is my cityscape shot from the TV Tower in Sapporo. It already looks ok but it could use a little bit more pop.

I can go into Lightroom and play with the HSL and/or saturation sliders. I could also do the same in Photoshop with adjustment layers. But these steps require extra knowledge and effort to make the image pop out even more. So the elegant solution is to use the Skylight Filter of the Color Efex Pro. Just select the filter, vary the strength to your liking, press OK and tadaa...

Here is the final image, you can hover over just to check how the filter helped improve the image (in my opinion). I find the Skylight Filter very effective for night photography and not so with daytime because it warms the image too much.

Here are additional images that used the same filter. Try it and tell me what you think :)

Berkeley Pier

2011-06-04T17:04:00.000+09:00

The Berkeley Pier is one long pier stretching almost a kilometer towards the bay. Besides it having a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge, the sun also sets in the same direction making the place a nice spot for sunset photography.

At the end of the pier were like wooden prison bars. The scene was still great despite the obstacle and I still managed capture a dramatic scene.

I was using a wide angle lens so it was a little difficult to shoot through the wooden bars so I decided to include the bars in my composition.

Sapporo's Snow Festival

2011-06-02T14:16:00.001+09:00

Sapporo has always been my dream destination after Kyoto. Even most Japanese people I know still haven't been to Hokkaido so being able to visit that place is really a blessing and privilege. Sapporo is well known for their Snow Festival（さっぽろ雪祭り）. Coming to this event during the Winter season will cost a pretty penny. My 3D/2N trip cost me about 100K yen.

In the main street of the city, Odori, they have these sets of humongous ice sculptures that leaves everyone in awe. I've always wondered what happens to them after the festival. Do they just leave sculptures and let it melt, or do they let the kids do a Godzilla-like trashing of the sculptures?

Here are some of the ice sculptures that I found really interesting.

Embarcadero

2011-05-30T12:57:00.000+09:00

The problem of being a tourist is you can't wait for sunsets all the time. You have to visit as many places as possible. The problem with being a photographer is that you don't feel good shooting an undramatic scene. I guess I'm still more of a tourist rather than a photographer.

The place also has a nice view from the pier. I wish I could stay here a little longer but San Francisco has too many beautiful places that needs to be captured by my camera.

Iwakuni - Ropeway and Castle (Part 2)

2011-05-25T12:11:00.001+09:00

If you missed part 1, here is the link of more cool pictures of Iwakuni - Iwakuni - A Must Side Trip from Hiroshima City.

After crossing the Kintai-kyo Bridge, I headed towards the Kikko Park to ride the Ropeway towards the Iwakuni Castle. This castle sits beautifully on top of the mountain and it's top most floor has a grand 360 view of the area.

Iwakuni Castle

A lot of cool Samurai swords on display inside the castle.

Samurai Swords

Here is the awesome view from the top. You can see the beautiful Kintai-kyo bridge below.

View From the Top

Chinatown in Yokohama

2011-05-23T16:42:00.004+09:00

If you are tired of doing night shots at the Minato Mirai area, Yokohama's Chinatown, the largest Chinatown in Japan, is another good alternative for night photography. Chinatown is just a few meters away from the Yamashita Park. It offers good food, amazing architectures and a lot of seizure-inducing lights which makes makes it perfect for any type of photography.

Fastforward Chinatown

Ma Zhu Miao Temple. Ma Zhu meaning "Holy Mother of Heaven" is one of two amazing temples in the area. It is usually packed with people during the day so it is best to go just a little after sun down when the temple is about to close. Not only you would get a clean shot of the structure, the sky would be pretty amazing as well.

Holy Mother of Heaven Temple

A nice small park can also be found at the back of the temple. It is a good place to rest after walking for hours in the area.

Chinatown Park

Kantei-byo is another amazing temple which is just a few meters away from the Ma Zhu Miao. Enshrined in this temple is the God of Business "Kanwu" which has become the symbol of the area.

The Symbol of Chinatown

Shizuoka's Sunpu Castle

2011-05-20T12:38:00.000+09:00

Before my friends and I went to see the Gundam (checkout my previous post Visiting Gundam in Shizuoka) , we tried to see the local colors of the Shizuoka city. It was also too early and I wanted to shoot the robot during the golden hours so we checked the Sunpu Castle in the middle of the city.

There isn't much to see except the cool reflections of the castle wall from the outside.

The bridge was also pretty interesting, but that's about it. When we entered the gate, there was a wide park but there was nothing really worth shooting.