Japan Archives - Page 13 of 37 - Stuck in Customs
3
Apr 2019 : Wednesday
filed under  Camera Gear, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Sony A7R 3, Tokyo, Travel, Workshops

I’m 99% Sure this is Hong Kong

India Photo Adventure?

We’re just about to start planning one of these, and I’m quite excited! We’re trying to figure out how many people can go on it with me. I think we’ll keep it pretty small, but pay attention to the Workshops page to see when it goes up.. and don’t forget on that page to sign up for our newsletter! 🙂

Daily Photo – I’m 99% Sure this is Hong Kong

…with a 1% chance it is Tokyo. I have a ton of photos like this from Tokyo, and I don’t exactly remember taking this photo. I mean, I know I took it because it ended up on my camera. It might have been after one of those long nights out with the guys, taking photos and then having a long dinner with a lot of wine. I usually like to take a long walk back to the hotel and take photos along the way, and maybe this is how this photo came to be!

I’m 99% Sure this is Hong Kong

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2018-03-13 23:55:57
  • CameraILCE-7RM3
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time30
  • Aperture14
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length26.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias+2

Comments
1
Apr 2019 : Monday
filed under  Camera Gear, Hasselblad X1D, Japan, Tokyo, Travel

Night in Tokyo

Weekly Hikes

I’ve taken to doing three hikes a week in the mountains around Queenstown. I usually do 8-12 kilometers while listening to audiobooks or podcasts on a Bluetooth speaker. I don’t see a lot of other people on the hikes… maybe five or so. They always give me a confused look because they can hear Christopher Hitchens blaring from my speaker about 30 seconds before they see me. The confusion is often them trying to work out exactly what they are hearing compared to what they see.

Daily Photo – Night in Tokyo

This is the view out of my window at the top of the Ritz-Carlton in Tokyo. Almost every night, I would go sit by the window with a blanket, my camera, and a glass of wine and take photos while listening to music. I know a lot of people like to read before bed to allow the day to wind down a bit, but this was my Tokyo routine and it worked like a charm.

Night in Tokyo

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2017-07-14 14:41:58
  • CameraX1D
  • Camera MakeHasselblad
  • Exposure Time91
  • Aperture4
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length30.0 mm
  • Flash
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
20
Mar 2019 : Wednesday
filed under  Camera Gear, Japan, Sony A7R 2, Tokyo, Travel

Midnight in Tokyo

Little Drawings from Around the World

I follow the really fun Recomendo newsletter and I recently got this little gem. These are ten nice drawings of small rituals around the world.

Daily Photo – Midnight in Tokyo

I’ve recently had quite a bit of insomnia. This is strange for me, because I’ve always been an epic sleeper! I don’t sleep much… maybe 6 hours a night, but sometimes I just can’t get to sleep. Rather than toss and turn in bed, now I just get up and work. There are always photos to edit or new photos to take. When I have insomnia in Japan, I go out and take photos! I took this one around 2 AM in the middle of Tokyo… it’s probably the safest city in the world to wander the streets in the middle of the night. I basically walk 5-10km until I am exhausted and then barely make it back to the hotel before crashing.

Midnight in Tokyo

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2019-02-10 06:02:39
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time0.8
  • Aperture7.1
  • ISO200
  • Focal Length16.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
19
Mar 2019 : Tuesday
filed under  Camera Gear, Hasselblad X1D, Japan, Osaka, Travel

Night in Osaka

3 Things About Japan You May Not Know

Here’s a fun little video I made while I was in Osaka with Tane. It’s just a bit of quirky stuff that we found while there!

Daily Photo – Night in Osaka

Here is a view of Osaka, a very underrated city in Japan! I’ve been here twice and the city has a crazy amount of energy. People in Osaka area also very proud of their city and how it is quite a bit different than Tokyo. Each time I was there, I was pretty swamped with work, so I didn’t quite get as much time to explore as I would have liked… that’s okay – another reason to go back!

Night in Osaka

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2017-07-18 10:39:32
  • CameraX1D
  • Camera MakeHasselblad
  • Exposure Time0.5
  • Aperture5.6
  • ISO200
  • Focal Length45.0 mm
  • Flash
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
17
Mar 2019 : Sunday
filed under  Camera Gear, Japan, mavic 2 zoom, Passport, Quadcopters, Tokyo, Travel

Over Tokyo

Book Re-Recommendation

Be sure to check out my Kit.com and see the section on books! I wanted to recommend, once again, “How to Change Your Mind” by Michael Pollan. Of all the people I recommend it to, 100% of people come back to me with very interesting thoughts!

Experimenting with a new Photoshop feature…

The 2019 Version of Photoshop has a few new features. I like to play with all this stuff just to keep my brain a bit “plastic” and always trying new things. Most of the features in Photoshop are not that useful to me, but these new content-aware options are pretty slick! Check ’em out!

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Daily Photo – Over Tokyo

Here’s one of my new favorite kind of drone photos: a photo of a city where you can’t see the skyline. I like this because you can’t quite work out what city it is. I notice when people look at my portfolio, they are always quite ready to guess (or know) what city it is. Actually, I’d probably be the same way… but now I find it interesting to purposefully confuse people.

Over Tokyo

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2019-01-26 19:27:46
  • CameraFC2204
  • Camera MakeDJI
  • Exposure Time1/8
  • Aperture2.8
  • ISO400
  • Focal Length4.4 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramProgram AE
  • Exposure Bias+0.3

Comments
16
Mar 2019 : Saturday
filed under  Camera Gear, Google Pixel 3, Japan, Tokyo, Travel

Pixel 3 Phone for the Win!

Night Sight

If you have the Pixel Phone, be sure to try out the new “Night Sight” option that is under More. The photos it takes are just incredible. I think what is happening is it takes a little movie with like 100 frames and then combines them all into a noiseless, bright, colorful wonder!

Daily Photo – Pixel 3 Phone for the Win!

I mean, come on… how great is this low-light (taken around midnight) shot in Tokyo. I actually had my big Sony A7r with me, but I didn’t have the best portrait lens on. This guy looked so radical and I didn’t want to miss his photo. He was very confused about why I held my phone instead of the huge camera in his other hand… that is, until he saw the final result!

Pixel 3 Phone for the Win!

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2019-02-11 20:35:38
  • CameraPixel 3 XL
  • Camera MakeGoogle
  • Exposure Time1/25
  • Aperture1.8
  • ISO127
  • Focal Length4.4 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramProgram AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
13
Mar 2019 : Wednesday
filed under  Camera Gear, Ginzan Onsen, Japan, Sony A7R 2, Travel, Tutorials

Bridge Crossing in Ginzan Onsen

New How-To Video!

Want to see how today’s photo was made? Watch the video below! Here are some links I mention to get Aurora HDR 2019 and to join our Facebook group!

Daily Photo – Bridge Crossing in Ginzan Onsen

My original plan was to stay here for two nights, but I ended up just staying one night. It was actually a very small little town and you could easily see the whole thing in just half a day. I am glad I stayed the night though because everyone really clears out around sunset to get the bus back to the main town.

Bridge Crossing in Ginzan Onsen

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2019-02-18 21:48:00
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1.6
  • Aperture8
  • ISO250
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
8
Mar 2019 : Friday
filed under  Camera Gear, Japan, Shirakawago, Sony A7R 2, Travel

Farmhouse in Shirakawa-go

Amazing photo of a Stingaree

In the last 13 years of this blog, you know how unusual it is for me to share other people’s photos. It’s not a matter of solipsism; it’s mostly because I spend so much time taking photos of my own… on my own adventures… seeing amazing things… etc. BUT, I do visit reddit when I get bored, and I saw this INCREDIBLE PHOTO. Very few photos make me stop. This one did.

Daily Photo – Farmhouse in Shirakawa-go

Here’s one of the beautiful farmhouse I lived in while in the north of Japan. I don’t actually really CARE what people say about my photo when I post them online, but I do NOTICE. Even though this is not my own personal favorite photo, this is the one that got the most likes/comments online. I find it to be sociologically interesting when I have such a disconnect with the audience. Sometimes I like to think that I know what people will like, but photos like this remind me that I have no idea what happens in the minds of other people.

Farmhouse in Shirakawa-go

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2019-02-14 21:26:17
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/6
  • Aperture7.1
  • ISO200
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias+2

Comments
7
Mar 2019 : Thursday
filed under  Camera Gear, Japan, Sony A7R 2, Takayama, Travel

Girl on Bridge in Takayama

Art Talk in Arrowtown!

Come check out the event to see the details!

Hey everyone! Join me in Arrowtown! I’ll share new and old photos on the big screen, tell stories, make inappropriate jokes, do a Q&A, and more! Come join us and have some wine and see new and old friends. I do this once a year as part of my Queenstown photo workshop, so there will be about a dozen people from that event joining us as well.

After the talk, we’re all headed down to the Blue Door, so come along to that as well!

Space is super-limited. To secure a spot (it’s a free event) email the team and we will get you sorted.

Daily Photo – Girl on Bridge in Takayama

I saw this little girl crossing the bridge into the old town and asked her parents if I could take her photo. I thought she was really cute, especially with the red coat that matched the bridge. And you’ll never guess (I didn’t) where she is from. Taiwan! Yeah, even though I’ve been to Asia about 20 times, I still get confused when picking out what countries people are from. Of course, it doesn’t matter, but it’s still a fun DNA game I like to play. With the 75%+ pure DNA, I’m really good at telling the difference between Korean / Japanese / Thai / Vietnamese / Indonesian, but since there has been a lot of mixing in the past few generations, it’s hard to tell. The easiest ones to spot (at least for me) are the Koreans and the Japanese because most of their pair-bonding comes from within their own (often jingoistic) countries.

Girl on Bridge in Takayama

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2019-02-13 15:08:52
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/3200
  • Aperture2.8
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length22.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
6
Mar 2019 : Wednesday
filed under  Aizuwakamatsu, Camera Gear, Japan, Sony A7R 2, Travel

The TD Tadami Line in Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture

Sketchy iPhone Contest

Look at the #1 winner for this contest in this Yahoo story.

I think that the winner in the iPhone contest may not be legit. I could be wrong. Yeah, maybe they took it with an iPhone, but they would have Photoshop to get straight lines. I guess Photoshop is okay in the contest… not the end of the world, but not really representative of the default iPhone camera. I’ve been to this place in Hong Kong and you have to aim the phone UP to get that shot, so the lines should lean in. I guess they could have fixed the lines in Snapseed or PS. They amped up the colors too, but, hey, you guys know I don’t have a prob with that… unless they are trying to say the iPhone takes accurate photos of colors, in which case this would not be a good representation because the saturation was amped up externally.

Also, I don’t think the iPhone can go that wide. Unless it has a special lens attachment or it’s a pano… Here’s a photo that one of my Twitter followers took with her iPhone:


And another angle…



Bonus Photos

You’ll see today’s post is about the TD Tadami line in Japan. Here are a few extra photos I took while on the train. I actually take like hundreds and hundreds of photos on these trips, but I’m never sure where to put little miscellaneous ones like these. I thought about starting an Instagram called Trey’s Rejected Photos.


Copyright Trey Ratcliff www.StuckInCustoms.com

Copyright Trey Ratcliff www.StuckInCustoms.com

Daily Photo – The TD Tadami Line in Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture

I was so excited to take this train through the mountains of Japan near Aizuwakamatsu! An interesting result is that, even though I took a ton of photos out the windows of the train during the journey, my favorite photo is this one, once I got off the train! I love these Japanese train guys. They take their job so seriously. They have amazing outfits. They are SO nice and patient. And these train guys know EVERYTHING about trains and schedules, so you can go up to any of them, any time, and ask questions and they will figure everything out for you.

The TD Tadami Line in Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2019-02-17 18:34:18
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/1250
  • Aperture8
  • ISO800
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments