Newsletter Goodies – Sign up now

These newsletters (sign up for free!) take a long time to put together! But, here are some goodies that are coming for you in the next few days… really, we have beautiful newsletters and send them out about every 4-5 weeks or so. You are missing out!

In the next one, some first looks to subscribers:

• Two New Videos – behind the scenes on the North and South Island of New Zealand
• Two New Unreleased photos of the Snow Monkeys…. (scroll down in case you missed the first!)
• A 20% discount on the Textures Tutorial that will only last one week.
• And the usual other goodies that regular subscribers are used to!

Updated Nikon D3S Review

I’ve updated the Nikon D3S Review with the new video from japan as well as the new photo below. I occasionally pop into previous reviews to update them with new information so they stay fresh. In a way, they are sort of “living documents”, especially as my experience and opinions grow and change over time.

Daily Photo – The Lamps and the Sakura

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. I’ve recently taken to carrying two cameras with me. I take the Nikon D3X with me, and it’s usually attached to the tripod. This is the one that I use for 90% of my landscapes. While I carry that, slung around my neck and shoulder, Chewbacca-style, is the Nikon D3S, which I use for people shots, DOF shots, and videos.

This was taken at F/1.4 with a 50mm prime lens. The shutter was 1/8000 and the ISO 200. As always, this “EXIF” information is available on the SmugMug site if you click through and do a tiny bit of investigative clicking!

The Lamps and the Sakura

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2026-06-08 21:05:30
• CameraNIKON D3S
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/8000
• Aperture1.4
• ISO200
• Focal Length50.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Working on New Videos

I captured a lot of video while in Japan. And I mean a lot! I’m really looking forward to editing together some beautiful things for everyone. There is footage of the snow monkeys, Nikko, Tokyo, Kyoto, and more! In fact, I have so much stuff, I’ll probably release several videos.

You can see existing ones here in the Videos section.

Daily Photo – The Endless Tunnel

There is a long walk in Kyoto called “The Philosophers’ Path”. I’ve now walked on it five times. It’s incredibly peaceful and there are countless opportunities for photography. The path has everything from gentle streams to temples to cherry blossoms to interesting architecture. Near one of the temples, I found this series of arches, which seemed to be all lined up for something just like this!

iPad Wallpapers on MacBreak Weekly

I heard via email and some tweets that Leo Laporte mentioned that my iPad Wallpapers on his show – that is cool! Thanks Leo! The only problem is that every time he does that, my servers crash for a little bit… We are working on a new server setup solution around here that should be a lot reliable (and help the page load faster!).

Daily Photo – Under the Cherry Blossoms

I spent a while one evening in the older Gion district of Kyoto. Everything was in full bloom and there were all kinds of interesting people and things to see. It was a bit like a perfect little Japanese fairy-land. When the breeze came along, the blossoms would fall loose and flutter down like pink soft snow. I saw this couple sitting on a small stone wall beside a little stream under some cherry trees…

I did my best to blend into the background as I slyly slid inwards with my D3S. This was shot at ISO 3200, and you can see how little noise/grain there is in the exposure.

The Nikon D3S Review

The last time I made a short video like this, I put it on the Nikon D3S Review page.  I’ll be sure to put this one on too.  It’s a pretty good indication of how cool this camera is… and the sorts of things you can do with it.

I must say, it’s quite nice to be able to grab little moments here and there between photos.  There is something that is very nice about video where you can get a few things you just can’t with a photo.  It’s not better or worse… just different.  It has taken me a little while to get used to — the idea that I can just take video any time without having to carry around another video camera.

Of course, you don’t need a D3S to do this… you can do it with a Nikon D90 and a lot of other new mid-range cameras nowadays.

Daily Surprise – The Kyoto Cherry Blossom Bloom

I’ve always wanted to come to Kyoto when the cherry blossoms are blooming, so this is really exciting.  Everything is even more beautiful than I imagined… there are thousands and thousands of these trees here that have a soft pink that is impossible to describe.  I’m not sure the video below can do it justice… we’ll have to wait until I have time to process some of the photos to see if I can make it as real as it is when I am here.

I flew into Osaka, found the bus to Kyoto, arrived, checked in, dumped my stuff in my room, then blew out into the streets with all my gear.   It was dusk when I left, so I decided to record 24 hours worth of video from one dusk until the next, grabbing little moments here and there.  All of it was shot with my D3S, which I now carry around with my D3X — I have my little system fully described (and on video) on the Photo Bag page.

Links in Comments

I know a lot of y’all post links to your own work, your websites, articles of note, and the like.  I encourage it!  Don’t be shy about doing that.  Watch out — however if you put more than 3 links into a comment – the filter will think that it is spam and it will get held up for moderation.

New Newsletter went out!

If you are on the free newsletter list,  you recently received it!  You can sign up now on the Newsletter page, and you’ll be good-to-go!  There is some fun stuff in this latest edition!

Daily Photo – A Parting Shot of the Temple

Sometimes while on a little afternoon / evening / night photo adventure, I literally run out of energy at the end.  This is bad news!  I put so much effort into running around, getting all the shots, carrying around all my equipment, fully concentrating, and the like…  at the end, it’s all I can do to get back to home base.  However, this night, as I was leaving this beautiful complex of temples in Kyoto, I stopped to take one look behind me.

I had first passed this place in the afternoon when there was no rain.  During my shoot, rain fell and changed everything.  Of course, the lights were totally different, so I just had to muster up a little more energy for a final shot.  For these sorts, I usually put my tripod on its lowest-leg setting and fire away for maximum reflectivity.

Thanks again Kiwis!

I had a great time on our photowalk down here and met some very nice people. I think my kids were a little drained! At the end, during the talk, both of them fell asleep in a back room… We hoisted them into the campervan after that, drove to the beach, and then they were surprised to find where they woke up! Fell asleep during dad’s boring talk — wake up at the beach! Woo!

It was great to meet so many nice people from all over Auckland. There were even a few Aussies at the event! I haven’t had time to process any photos yet, but I will soon.

Daily Photo – The Harmony Garden

Kyoto was filled with thousands of these tiny gardens with ponds and little rivers. Which one to take photos of first?!?

None of them seemed to have artificial pumps that moved the water around. I always think of that whenever I see little gardens with water features in the states, or like they sell at Sam’s. Somehow, it seems, Japanese garden-masters are able to constantly refill their ponds by keeping the appropriate amount of dew forming on surrounding leaves, which then drips into the pond, which then goes down a perfect little waterfall, and ends up at another perfect pond about 50 paces away.

Join my mate Vanelli for a Workshop in North Carolina

I met a heck of a nice guy when I was in Florida named Vanelli. I was introduced to him by RC Concepcion, who is normally a good judge of character — I remember him saying, “Trey, you gotta meet this guy named Vanelli!”

So, I did, and he made a good impression on me. He happens to be quite the Photoshop guru, and he absolutely loves photography. He’s a great communicator, and I’m sure he’ll put together a unique workshop. I think he’s only inviting about 10 people or so… and if you want to find out more, go to the “Vacation with Vanelli” website.

New Limited Edition Numbered Print – Hong Kong from the Peak

This week we are releasing a new print (see the print page) called “Hong Kong from the Peak“. It is a pretty one that many of you may remember, and it’s featured right towards the beginning of the book. There are smaller prints available on fine art paper all the way up to huge canvases to adorn your walls.

Daily Photo – Salaryman waiting for the Bullet Train

I’ve always loved the Japanese word “salaryman”. It means exactly what you think it means. And whenever I say this word to Japanese people while there, they get so surprised what I know that word! Possibly, this is because I know only a few dozen words — and they consider this one to be somewhat obscure, I suppose. It’s hard to say. There is something wonderfully inscrutable about my conversations with Japanese people.

This was shot in Kyoto (to the best of my memory), on the way to Tokyo. These bullet trains are just great. I bought a week-pass on the bullet train for only a few hundred dollars — it’s a special deal for foreigners traveling to Japan. The only confusing bit was figuring out how to trade in my voucher at Narita airport. Well, there were a variety of confusing things at that airport, but that has never stopped me…

Great Photowalk in San Clemente!

Thanks to everyone that came out for a beautiful sunset in San Clemente! I was happy to meet you all and hope you had a good time. Victor from Typical Shutterbug put up a post with a link to a Flickr group where you can share your photos.

Photo Mystery of the Week

What is the mysterious blue light in the photo below?  Who can guess

Daily Photo – 1,000 Red Gates

What a wonderful and unique place on earth this is! In Kyoto, Japan, there resides the unique shrine of Fushimi Inari. It consists of thousands of red gates that wind up and down the mountain. I walked through it deep into the night…. I was the only one around and it was downright eerie. Every now and then, the gates would stop and there would be a mini-shrine off to one side or a graveyard to another. Both of these added to the creep factor.

I had a serious worry about an hour into the hike through these gates — what if they turn off the lights? I had no flashlight! I considered my two options — I could strobe my SB-800 to find my way out, which would be a totally surreal experience through these gates. Or, I could do what one of my Israeli hiker friends did in Argentina, use the back of my camera display for light (he actually used his to set up his tent)!

1,000 Red Gates

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2009-09-30 04:33:05
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time8
• Aperture8
• ISO200
• Focal Length20.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

New Weekly Print Now Available

There is a new Limited Edition Numbered Print available. As always, prices start at $99 for the smaller paper numbered print and then go up if you want a giant canvas on your wall at home. We just got done showing a bunch of these amazing canvases at the book party in Chicago – they always look so impressive in person!

The print today is a summer reflection of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming across a high-running stream. While I was shooting this, a buffalo snuck up on me from behind. Those things are so big and quiet, it is a little unnerving! There is more info about the process on the Prints page as well.

Daily Photo – Red Temple in the Moon Forest

Most people don’t know this, but I wrote a novel about 15 years ago. The reason no one knows about it is because it was so awful that no one would publish it. I printed out the first few chapters of the book, sent them to countless publishers, and then received countless rejections. I should have saved of them. It was quite depressing at the time, and it only took me 14 years to get over it.

Anyway, I bring this up because part of the story was based in Kyoto, Japan, where this temple is located. I had never been there before, but this is exactly how I always pictured it: peaceful, still, natural, ancient, with the soft sounds of the woods echoing around the old wood. It’s a wonderful place. I’ve done my best to capture the feeling of the place. I only hope I’ve come close to succeeding.

The classic Taj Mahal photograph, Limited Edition Numbered Print now available

Every week we are releasing something new into the Print Gallery. Each on is a Limited Edition numbered print from 1 to 250, so when they are gone, they are gone. The paper prints start at a very affordable $99 and, if you want a large dramatic showpiece in your home or business, there are giant canvases available too.

We launched with only 20 prints, and this dramatic photograph taken from the Taj Mahal is the next that is available in the collection.

Daily Photo – Two Paths Through the Tangled Japanese Forest

The day in Kyoto had a steady light rain. When I was going through this forest, I was able to lower the umbrella. The little droplets seemed to get caught up in the upper canopy of the trees. Big drops would plop down from time to time, but it was kind of nice, in a storybook way.

I got to this point and couldn’t decide which way to go… which way would you have gone?