ProjectVISUAL » Photography

Fushimi Inari

Stephen — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:02:17 +0000

I’ve got a speech contest coming up in February in Sanda; it’s all in Japanese. I pretty much still can’t speak any Japanese spontaneously but it’ll be good practice.

If you ever visit Kyoto, definitely check out Fushimi Inari; ten thousand gates, one after the other represent possibly the most effort ever gone into man made tunnels.

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: fushimi inari, gates, red, japan, kyoto, japan, thousands, orient, nikon, d300, projectvisual, “hdr photography”

Nagasaki Sunset

Stephen — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:11:07 +0000

Last time I posted a shot of Nagasaki city at night from an observatory platform, today’s pic is what you see if you turn around! Two great views for just one admission!

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: japan, nagasaki, sunset, dark, lights, high, nikon, d300, projectvisual, “hdr photography”

Nagasaki Lights

Stephen — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 11:57:32 +0000

I’m just back from a 2 week holiday around Kyushu in Japan. Two weeks of sight seeing, restaurants, onsen, and many, many hours of trains. And a 12 hour ferry back to Osaka at the end of it all.

Nagasaki was the first city I visited on Kyushu. The highlight was getting to see the sunset over the Pacific and the city lighting up as it slowly got darker. Highly recommended!

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: japan, nagasaki, night, dark, lights, city, high, “long exposure”, nikon, d300, projectvisual, “hdr photography”

Kiyomizu-dera

Stephen — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:40:57 +0000

Kiyomizu-dera (清水寺) is one of the thousands of temples spread across Kyoto. It was flooded with people (and spot lights) the night I got there, but they were all but invisible to the camera thanks to a long exposure as they quickly strolled by.

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: lens, japan, temple, water, buddhist, night, spotlight, hdr, tone mapping, nikon, d300, projectvisual, “hdr photography”

Long Road

Stephen — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:20:41 +0000

Wow today was a reeeeealll long day. Three classes in a row! Each one 65 minutes long! Trying to explain english in english to japanese students! It’s a drain! Life’s tough!

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: lens, japan, sanda, sun, yellow, hdr, tone mapping, nikon, d300, projectvisual, “hdr photography”

The Effect Wind Has On Rice

Stephen — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 06:00:43 +0000

It’s been an eventful weekend; I’m just back home from a Mikoshi Festival in central Hyogo. A miskoshi is sort of like a portable house that is supposed to have a particular deity inside it. The local people move the mikoshi around the town on wheels and then carry it on their shoulders into the destination shrine. Sounds easy right? Oh yeah the mikoshi weighs 2000kg!

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: japan, sanda, sun, yellow, hdr, tone mapping, nikon, d300, projectvisual, “hdr photography”

Sun Setting Rice Fields

Stephen — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 12:00:59 +0000

There are rice fields like this one scattered all around Sanda. I’m not sure why it’s lying flat at the moment though; usually the leaves are standing up straight. We did just go through typhoon season in September so maybe that had something to do with it ( ﾟдﾟ) .

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: japan, sanda, sun, yellow, hdr, tone mapping, nikon, d300, projectvisual, “hdr photography”

Living In Sanda

Stephen — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:53:30 +0000

Here’s our little house from the outside! It looks a little run down but it’s really very nice inside. We still haven’t met our neighbors yet and it’s been over two months – it’s a bit hard to do introductions when there’s a language barrier as large as English and Japanese goin’ on!

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: japan, zen, sanda, home, hyogo, calm, peaceful, hdr, tone mapping, nikon, d300, projectvisual, “hdr photography”

Onwards And Upwards

Stephen — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 09:20:56 +0000

Getting nervous now! Tomorrow week I’ll be on a plane to Japan for a year! So many things to get sorted still!

Todays photo is from the very very bottom of Lugnaquilla, a mountain in Co. Wicklow. It’s a very good walk to the top you should try it if you’re ever in the area

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: ireland, hiking, green, nature, natural, hdr, tone mapping, nikon, d300, projectvisual, “hdr photography”

Slowly Clearing Out Junk

Stephen — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 08:32:04 +0000

I never realised how difficult it was to move to a different country! It’s amazing the amount of junk one accumulates over the years, and most of it is stuff you never really use for anything. I’ve got three essentials items that I “NEED”: my laptop, camera and ipod. The rest is just superfluous. I’ve now got just ten days left in Ireland before jetting off to live amongst the Japanese for a year and I still feel like I’ve got a million things to sell!

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: ireland, hiking, green, nature, natural, JET, hdr, tone mapping, nikon, d300, projectvisual, “hdr photography”

This Time Two Weeks I’ll Be Living In Japan

Stephen — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 18:18:30 +0000

My time in Ireland is nearing an end. On the 23rd July I’ll be heading off with about 40 other Irish folk and taking up residence in Japan for at least a year. This is all part of the JET Program, an effort by the Japanese government to promote internationalism and understanding between the japanese people and foreigners. I’m gonna be spending the next year in a little place called Sanda City, just north of Kobe. It’s really a great looking location, not too urban, but close enough to get to some big cities without much notice.

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: ireland, hiking, green, nature, natural, JET, hdr, tone mapping, nikon, d300, projectvisual, “hdr photography”

Trek Up Lug

Stephen — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 21:14:12 +0000

It’s been a while since my last post and plenty has been going on in the last three months. I’ll be moving to Japan first of all! I applied to the JET Programme last December and have been accepted so I’ll be teaching english for the next year or so, starting on the 23rd July. I still don’t know where in Japan I’ll be placed but I’ll post more details as I get them!

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: ireland, hiking, green, nature, natural, JET, hdr, tone mapping, nikon, d300, projectvisual, “hdr photography”

Posing Girls In Notre Dame

Stephen — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 18:58:39 +0000

I have plenty of shots from Paris, so here’s another from Notre Dame Cathedral! For whatever reason the two girls in the bottom right of the shot seem more than willing to be in the picture, so I gladly obliged!

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: europe, paris, notre dame, cathedral, hdr, tone mapping, nikon, d300, projectvisual, “hdr photography”

Late Night Coffee in Paris

Stephen — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 19:45:18 +0000

Here’s an oldie: I must have been running when I took this shot – it’s so blurry! The blue – yellow effect isn’t something I planned during processing but the dominance of just the two colors quite apealls to me.

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: amsterdam, schiphol, airport, cafe, orange, nikon, d300, netherlands, holland, capital, europe, table, chairs, hdr, tonemapped, projectvisual, high dynamic range

Parking At The Castle

Stephen — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 17:40:48 +0000

We’ve got some funny looking clouds in todays picture. Some of you might be wondering why? The answer, of course, is because the clouds have moved in between exposures and have been blended together in a sort of blur-motion way.

ISO Setting: 200
Shutter Speed: 1/500s, 1/1000s, 1/2000s, 1/4000s, 1/8000s
Aperture: f/4 @18mm
Lens Used: Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR DX

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: gozo, malta, mediterranean, tone mapping, high dynamic range HDR, D300, nikon, tonemapped, projectvisual

The Great Wall Of Malta

Stephen — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:30:54 +0000

When I was in Malta I took a train load of photos, many of which I’ve never posted here. Seeing as my last few posts were of one area (Mt Snowdon), I thought it would be nice to revisit my Malta folder that was slowly deteriorating away on an external hard drive, go through all my captures and post any ones which I’m at least 90% sure I’ve never posted before!

The one below was taken on Gozo I think; a very touristy island right beside Malta Island, and is part of the Republic of Malta. If you do go there though don’t call the inhabitants Maltese, they’re Gozitans!

Those interested in getting their hands on a new HDR ebook by a top photographer should head over to CaptainKimo.com. Kimo was kind enough to send me a copy of his new ebook for review. I’ve skimmed through it, (I’ve only had it 20 minutes!) and so far I can say that it gives step by step examples of how to take your HDR shot from Photomatix to a much higher level of professionalism using Photoshop (about 3 of its 8 chapters are devoted to Photoshop alone). The gulp between “Photomatixed” and “Photomatixed + Photoshopped” scenes really is huge! Once I read through it I’ll post a full review but in the mean time you should head over and check it out for yourself .

ISO Setting: 200
Shutter Speed: 1/5000 s
Aperture: f/4 @31mm
Lens Used: Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR DX

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: malta, gozo, wall, projectvisual, sunny, clouds

The Lake Under The Ghostly Clouds

Stephen — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:42:01 +0000

I’ve been in touch with Plimus over the ‘projectvisual’ discount coupon for Photomatix – they should get back in touch very soon and have it back up and running within a day or so.

Today’s pic is of a lake I passed while in Wales a while back. I didn’t get over to it but thought it looked striking wit the wispy clouds above it.

ISO Setting: 200
Shutter Speed: 1/640 s
Aperture: f/7.1 @26mm
Lens Used: Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR DX

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

Technorati Tags: wales, britian, snowdon, mountain, climb, hike, trek, holiday, sunny, outdoors, lake, nature, nikon, d300, hdr, tonemapped, projectvisual, high dynamic range, textures, hdr photography, rural

Photomatix Coupon Down

Stephen — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 20:10:51 +0000

Just a quick post, I’ve noticed my Photomatix coupon no longer works since it’s a new year and all, I’ll get it back up and running though as soon as possible .

The Next In A Long Line Of Pictures From Mt Snowdon

Stephen — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:44:24 +0000

I know it’s the new year and everyone is all about new starts and making changes for the better, but the fact is I actually haven’t had the chance to take any new pics since my trip to Snowdon a couple of months ago! I still have plenty to get through but I will make an effort to get away to some exotic land soon and get a new batch .

If you’re interested in knowing how I made this, along with my other photos, you can check out my HDR Tutorial

The First Post Of The New Year

Stephen — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 12:44:03 +0000

We’ll it’s a new year and after some personal business, formatting my computer and loosing licence keys for all kinds of stuff and finally relocating them, I can finally get back to some consistant posting. Check back soon