Japan - Opportunity for great pictures

Japan, one of my favourite country to visit, "why?" you may ask.

Anyone ever step their foot in to Japan soil will understand my statement.  The reason are simple, Japanese are very polite, food are delicious, transportation are convenient, environment are clean and tidy, scenery are just perfect for people like me.

I like traveling with camera but honestly I hate traveling with heavy camera and gears.  But this is the best camera I have, like Chase Jarvis said "The Best Camera Is The One That's With You".  Totally agree!  So I will make sure the best camera I have and the camera I have with me to be the same camera. (even though I hate the weight)

Shibuya (渋谷), the one location that I will always visit whenever I'm in Japan.  The picture above taken at Shibuya, right in front of the massive cross road.  You can never find anything quite like that, I can stand there and watch people crossing for hours, I'm serious.  There are lots of article and write up about Shibuya Crossing, such as this wiki post.

The most recent trip to Japan was on March 2014.  Not much time to travel around, mainly spent time working.  However I managed to visit the 歌舞伎町 (Kabukichō, red light district in Shinjuku, Tokyo) and I took this street shot which I missed for the past few visit to Japan.  Generally, this area is pretty safe and no one seems to care even you are standing in the middle of the street with tripod and camera.

The other place I visited was お台場 (Odaiba) located somewhere near Haneda Internation Airport.  The Giant Gundam is the reason I visited this place.

More to come...

One night in Beijing

My first stop after arriving in Beijing.  It was a cold night with temperature around -5ºC according to my plan I arrived in Beijing National Stadium, Bird's Nest.

The building is not as massive as I have imagined, but the design is definitely very outstanding and beautiful from every angle.  The night wasn't perfect due to the poor air condition it was a little hazy.  Depict that, I still carry my gear along for a long shutter night scene, my subject of course - The Bird's Nest.

After walking around the stadium, I decided to setup my tripod at around J/K entrance to compose this image.

A typical composition it seems to me a must-have shot for whoever visited this place.

Due to the cold winter night and long shutter effects, only a few tourists/ visitors appear in this frame.  I could have clone it out, but... 

If I were alone (travel with my wife and it is too cold for her), I would have stayed longer and explore the area with more shots.  For those who have not been to Bird's Nest and planning for a trip there and serious about taking great picture, slot in a solid 2-3 hours at least.

Before leaving, I took this final shot.  To me is a must-visit place in China, Beijing.  Try going at night, there will be less crowd and with all the lights properly lit you will get your shot with better colour and contrast.