Rocky Waters

Took this long exposure shot in Odaiba. In the background is Odaiba's famous landmark, Rainbow Bridge. The problem with landmarks is, they're always "shot" to death, by tourists. For travel snaps, it'd be fine but if you're looking for something of a different touch, sometimes you'll have to go the extra mile.

The spot where I took this photo was pitch dark. Even the rocks couldn't be seen. Luckily, I stopped by at the place hours earlier in the evening so I had a rough idea of how the composition of my photo should look like. And with the help of a tripod plus long exposure, voila!

I used to call it the day when the sun goes down. But it seems that night time has plenty to offer too! Even if it means you've to take the trouble to carry your tripod with you.

The Temple and the Tower

I have never taken many HDR photos. The main reason being that you can never know the end result until you process them on the computer. Besides, I believe my HDR works will always be overshadowed by the Mt. Fuji HDR shot I took back in 2008.

Taking HDR shots wasn't my initial plan when I went strolling in the vicinity of Tokyo Tower last weekend. But I took three exposures for a couple of my photos because the background was just too bright for a normal single-exposure shot. After processing them on Photomatix and Photoshop, voila! It turned out more decent than I thought!


It's halfway between "realistic" and "CG-like" but as long as it doesn't end up like over-saturated Marvel comics, the effect suits me just fine!

Unfortunately, it wasn't until just now that I realized a huge flaw in the photo. That semi-transparent bar in the middle left is the result of some mistake I made when adding the frames. It can be easily fixed but with my free Flickr account, I can't replace photos! Hint, hint... Buy me a pro account, someone...