Turning Japanese (...I Really Think So)

I'm baaaack!!! After a four year hiatus, I'm ready to get back into blogging about my photography adventures.

As I prepare for my third trip to Japan, I realize that being away from photography for so long has made me a bit rusty.  This upcoming trip to Japan will take me to Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Shizuoka and Yokohama where I plan to take many scenic and landscape shots.

I consider myself fortunate to have started this blog when I first took up photography.  Today was the first time in 4 years I pulled up my blog. I remember the purpose I started this blog was to pass on knowledge that I learned about photography. Who would've thunk that it would also serve as a reference guide for myself? 😂😂😂

While on my blog hiatus, I still dabbled in photography from time to time.  The following photos were shots I took on my last two trips to Japan in 2015 and 2016.  I'm so excited and looking forward to going back in another few weeks and sharing my photos with all of you.

Temple in Osaka.  I absolutely loved the soft glow of these lanterns.

One of the many deers at a park in Nara.

View of Mount Fuji from Shizuoka at dusk.

Snow (and LOTS of it) at the Salmon Museum in Hokkaido.

Come Fly with Me

The other weekend, I visited the Waikiki Aquarium.  The aquarium isn't too big, but for the $6 adult kama'aina admission and only $2 for kids ages 5-12, it's well worth the trip.  On this excursion, I used my 60mm micro lens.  I was pleasantly surprised that I captured this dragonfly in flight and the butterfly, both from almost 15-20 feet away!  Oh, yeah...and I did get some shots of actual fish.  LOL!

Colors of the Wind

I'll be honest...our local zoo is rinky dink in comparison to zoos across America.  For the price of admission however, it's well worth it. They have made several improvements over the years and if you are lucky, you will catch glimpses of the lions and their cubs or the tigers making their rounds in their habitat. Yesterday, I focused my photos on the plants at the zoo.  Summer is right around the corner and lots of plants were in full bloom. It was a great day for photos - so much color and variety!

Joyride

My poor D700 (I've decided to name it "Dee") hasn't seen very much action these past few weeks, so I decided to take her out on a little joyride to the beach after work.  Here are some things Dee and I were fortunate enough to see.  :)

Cherry Pie

Several weeks ago, the photo club that I'm a part of hosted a pastry shoot. Let me just say, there's not much a photog can do with food to make it look interesting, especially when there are 20 other photogs trying to take pictures of the same subject. However, I was able to get a few decent shots.