Sakura is the Japanese word for the Cherry Blossom. I don’t know if I can explain how crazy the Japanese people are about this yearly bloom! For one thing, every local newscast has a big “Cherry Blossom” report that has in-depth descriptions of exactly where the trees are blooming in the country and upcoming predictions. The wave sweeps across the island of Japan and rich graphics cover the screen like a cold front, assaulting the countryside.

I took this photo with the Nikon D3S. Back then I’d recently taken to carrying two cameras with me. I’d take the Nikon D3X with me, and it’s usually attached to the tripod. This is the one that I used for 90% of my landscapes. While I carry that, slung around my neck and shoulder, Chewbacca-style, was the Nikon D3S, which I use for people shots, DOF shots, and videos. Nowadays I’m much more minimalist. I think the advances in mobile photography have very much helped that, and the “pro” cameras are way better handheld than they used to be.

This was taken at F/1.4 with a 50mm prime lens. The shutter was 1/8000 and the ISO 200.

The Lamps and the Sakura

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2023-03-29 23:44:56
• CameraNIKON D3S
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/8000
• Aperture1.4
• ISO200
• Focal Length50.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

I was walking up and down the tiny streets one night, getting snacks and sake in different places while taking photos. Most of the places there are quite tiny, as you can see here in this image. Everyone is super friendly and it’s easy to make friends, especially because the Japanese people are some of the nicest people in the world!

Kyoto Closing up Shop at Night…

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-01-30 03:21:07
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/40
• Aperture4
• ISO1600
• Focal Length27.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

These snow monkeys are the greatest. I spent so long with them, we almost had a three-way.

They are all wild (in the natural sense, mind you), and they come down from the mountains near Nagano, Japan, for several hours a day to play in the natural hot springs. They gallivant around, have fights, play with their kids, have a bit of sweet carnal monkey fun, check their email, and pose for my camera.

These two monkeys spent a lot of time together… they were in maximum “relaxation mode”. They lounged around in every possible position and took occasional breaks to do a bit of mutual grooming.

A Gentle Kiss in the Hot Tub

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2023-01-26 14:26:12
• CameraNIKON D3S
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/8000
• Aperture1.4
• ISO250
• Focal Length50.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

I love all the umbrellas in Tokyo! I captured these two girls that were giggling away while looking at some Christmas decorations just as it started to snow.

Have you noticed how Japanese girls cover their mouths when they laugh? You know why that is? You’ll never guess. I’ll get some of the details wrong on these dates. Before the Meiji period of the late 1800s, women would often die their teeth with a black lacquer to show adulthood or marriage. They often found this embarrassing, so they would cover their mouths when laughing. Even though it stopped 150 years ago, the tradition continues, passed on by daughters watching their mothers for generations.

Christmas Snow in Tokyo

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-02-01 23:47:44
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/60
• Aperture4
• ISO800
• Focal Length24.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Nothing beats a light rainstorm in Tokyo. Well, maybe except for a snowstorm, but I’ve never been lucky enough to be there for those. I probably took over 1,000 photos this night in the rain. I didn’t have any protection for the Sony A7r Mark 3 either… and it held up perfectly. I think I had on the 24-105mm lens the whole time… it was getting absolutely soaked, but it never missed a beat!

A Cinematic Rain In Tokyo

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-02-02 05:19:19
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/320
• Aperture4
• ISO3200
• Focal Length24.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Thank you very much to Takahiro-san for taking us to this place!

He took my friend Tom and I here one evening and helped us to find some really interesting angles of this awesome loopty-loop thing. The only way I was able to get the whole structure in was to use the fisheye —my rarely used Nikon 16mm Fisheye!

One thing that surprised me about this shot was the pattern the lights made on the water very close to me. It was like laser-light painting!

The Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-04-13 15:07:37
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time6
• Aperture5
• ISO200
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

This is just yet Another Amazing Part of the city. At first, when I went here, I thought that it would be a big city like New York, but, just, you know, Japanese. But it’s really so much more vast in terms of the buildings and the lights and the action (and the safety!). There are literally so many places you can go to and see this kind of scene that it is mind-boggling. Even though I have been there, my mind still boggles.

Tokyo Through the Glass

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-03-21 22:26:00
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1
• Aperture
• ISO50
• Focal Length0.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

What’s more scenic than fishing with that amazing mountain in the background? It’s so cinematic and dramatic all the time. I can just picture these guys pulling fish out of the water and everything is in slow motion and majestic. I sat here and watched them fish for about an hour. It served as a perfect place for meditation.

Fishing at Fuji

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-04-14 07:06:02
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/1250
• Aperture4.5
• ISO125
• Focal Length56.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

This came from a single RAW file, which was actually the case with over half my HDRs I processed from Japan. Changed times from the old Nikon 7 exposure days!

Autumn Gardens in Kyoto

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-11-07 17:27:46
• CameraX1D
• Camera MakeHasselblad
• Exposure Time1/750
• Aperture3.5
• ISO100
• Focal Length30.0 mm
• Flash
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias-2/3

I think this is my new favorite area of Tokyo! It’s close to Shinjuku and it’s composed of about 3 small streets (almost alleys), and each one has about 30 bars jammed into it. But most of the bars only seat like 7-9 people. It’s so cool! Some disappear up into dark stairs and the great unknown. Some bars are quite old, and you can go there if you’re a regular, and buy a big bottle of sake and they will just label it and leave it there for you, every time you come back. I’ve only visited two bars here, but I’m about to up those numbers when I go back.

Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

1 AM In Golden Gai

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-07-16 16:50:17
• CameraX1D
• Camera MakeHasselblad
• Exposure Time1/10
• Aperture5.6
• ISO1600
• Focal Length30.0 mm
• Flash
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias