A short walk from my hotel and I am in Hyde Park looking at the very nice fountain. With so many visitors around, I used BIG Stopper from LEE filter for long exposure to blur out the people so that I will get a cleaner image of the fountain. Please enjoy my picture.
In a Christmas season like this, there were Christmas trees everywhere and while in Sydney, I saw a great combination of a St Mary’s Cathedral with Christmas tree all in one picture. I found a great spot for setting up my tripod for a long exposure shot. This is a HDR image and I love how the movement scattered clouds in the sky created a great background like it was painted by a brush! Please enjoy and have a merry merry Xmas!
I made a walking trip around the city in Sydney and came across El Alamein Memorial Fountain and was fascinated by it at how it looks like a dandelion beautifully spraying the water making it an almost perfect round shape. It was in the day time and not many people around so I took that chance to grab a long exposed RAW file shot to make it into HDR.
As this month is the month for Christmas, I would like to share a shot of Fukuoka tower showing a beautiful Christmas tree lighted on the tower. It was a cooling night but I wanted to capture a good composition of the Fukuoka tower with the right timing of long exposure to get the Christmas tree. Merry Christmas!
As I made way back out, I caught a view of the steps downwards towards torii gate and I decided to take a last shot before I leave this awesome place. A visit to Kamishikimi Shrine definitely leaves me a very strong and great memory. It is beautiful, mysterious and peace where not all foreigners like me had visited before. I am very glad to have been there.
At the back of the Kamishikimi Shrine, there is a beaten path up to the top and I saw a faded leading line up and I knew I had to capture a composition like this with trees in the surroundings. This was definitely not an easy climb for me as the soil on the ground was not as firm as it looks like. Please enjoy.
With my wide angle lens, 16-35mm f2.8L, I had no worries about taking an up-close composition of the Kamishikimi Shrine and I took a long exposed single RAW shot to merge it into HDR. Surrounded by hundreds in years old trees, this is just so amazing for me. Please enjoy.
As I was almost reaching the top to Kamishikimi shrine, I was treated with a mysterious peek of the shrine and it was a different view for me so I took a break and set up my tripod for another long exposure shot with LITTLE Stopper from LEE filter. Please enjoy.
I was really happy that in my life, I am able to visit this shrine which has so much tranquility and mystery that is located way off the beaten path and definitely off the chart for tourists in Kumamoto. When I first saw how mysterious and hidden Kamishikimi shrine is, I even contemplated about making a trip there just by commuting by train then by foot. When I was there, I finally see how the shrine was well hidden up the steps into the forest and the area indeed provide a very good sense of peace. I set up my tripod for long exposure around the shrine and will be featured for the next few posts. Do stay tuned and enjoy!
When I was waiting at the pick up point just next to the exit of Kumamoto station, the tip of this pagoda caught my eye as it sticks out of the trees up on top of the hill. I wondered what structure that might be and I was already anticipating on planning a walking trip there and make that structure my photography object. After I settled down in my hotel, I made a quick check on the various attractions in Kumamoto and as quick as I started researching, I found Hanaokayama Peace Pagoda, which is a stupa, a monument to inspire peace, to provide focus to people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in search for world peace.
Only using basic hand tools, Hanaokayama Peace Pagoda was built by Nichidatsu Fujii, Nipponzan Myohoji, from 1947 to 1954 on top of a hill. It was a climbing of slopes and flights of stairs before I reached the pagoda. It took me some breather before I set up my tripod for long exposure and HDR shot of this beautiful structure.
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Travel & Liking 