Hong Kong wet market fish with Nikon fisheye lens.

Approaching wet market from Hennesy Road.

Whenever I visit Hong Kong, I like to stay in the Causeway Bay area for its vibrancy.  From street food to street shopping, there is plenty to do in the area.  This wet market is across the road from Times Square and is an great place to visit as evening shopping draws to a close.  Earlier in the day, it can be crowded with people which can impede one’s chances to take photos of the market’s offerings.  Just around the corner from this location are a number of high end restaurants and shops that are the modern Causeway Bay.  The market is a vestige of an earlier time that will someday disappear and become the latest skyscraper.  Enjoy while you can.

Photos were shots with a Nikon D700 and  AF Fisheye Nikkor 16mm f/2.8 lens.

Fish-eye tomatoes.

 

Fish-eye fish.

Typical view at market.

Close-up.

The “Gateway To India” Arch in Mumbai.

Gateway to India built in 1911.

One of the best places to capture humanity in all its permutations is the area around the “Gateway to India” arch.  This area, with the Taj Palace Hotel across the street, is probably the favorite of all the sightseeing destinations in Mumbai (referred to as Bombay by local inhabitants).  Both foreign and Indian tourist like to walk this area spending equal times looking at the arch and the hotel.

From dawn to the wee hours of the morning, the plaza is visited by throes interested in taking photos of both sites.  Many people stop and gawk at the Taj Palace Hotel.  Some may do so because of the grandeur of the hundred year old building while others may have a more morbid interest as it was the locale of  a 2008 terrorist attack that killed numerous guests.

Besides the sightseers, the area is frequented by vendors of every stripe, horse drawn elaborate carriages, and armies of photographers looking to make money by photographing tourists.

Photos were shot with a Nikon D700 with Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 AFS zoom lens and a Nikon D300s and  Nikkor 70-300mm f/5.6 AFS VR zoom lens.

 

Attracts thousands a day.

One hundred year old Taj Palace Hotel in the background.

School children in a line.

And then the pigeons arrived.

The Apple “Cathedral” in Shanghai. With a fish-eye lens.

Spotting the Apple logo from afar.

Last week I was staying at a hotel in the Pudong area of Shanghai.  In my routine photowalk I happened to notice the Apple logo. Being a partial Apple-phyte, I walked over to the glass structure curious of what it might be.  As it was in the middle of the plaza, I was a bit mystified until I got closer and noticed that the structure was the entrance to the Shanghai Apple Store located below the structure and the plaza.  I did a quick walkthrough and then came back out for a few more photos.  One quick spin around the store told me the Apple phenomenon is as strong in Shanghai as in many other locales around the world.    It bodes well for Apple’s future.  And by the way, it’s design appeared similar to some modern cathedrals.  Just substitute another icon for the apple and you get my drift.

All photos taken with a Nikon D700 and Nikkor Fisheye 16mm f/2.8 lens.

Look into the store.

Shot from the spiral staircase.

Other direction.

Shanghai icon dwarfed by another "icon".

Enough is enough.

Random scenes of trains in Japan.

Shinkansen train at Shinagawa Station.

One thing about Japan, there are plenty of trains to look at.  From quaint narrow gauge systems that take you up into the mountains to the very latest “Bullet Trains”, one is never bored looking at and shooting trains.  And people that are naturally found around train stations.  These photos were taken earlier this year and are good examples of addressing perspective.  By virtue of their length and narrow footprint, trains naturally draw your attention to the subject of your photos.  When shooting trains, quickly figure out the subject of the shot and use the train’s vanishing point to focus attention on the subject.  Of course, the same goes for any scene with strong bold lines.

All photos were shot with a Nikon D700 and Nikkor AFS 24mm f/1.4 lens or Nikkor AFS 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens.

Osaka train station with waiting woman.

Works with bold lines.

Trains, lines, columns and rafters.

All aboard.

Boats on the Mekong, Cambodia to Laos

Sunrise from Don Khong Island.

Life on the Mekong River in Cambodia and Laos hasn’t caught up with the 21st Century. Yet.  There is still a connection to quieter times, a slower pace of living, that belies the dramatic changes that will occur on the Mekong.  From China to southern Laos, there are plans for over a dozen dams that the authorities say will benefit all the people of the region.  They come up with a myriad of benefits, from cheaper electricity to reduced flooding.   In looking at this future, I have a hard time envisioning the simple life that exists there now.  I recommend that you visit this area before it’s all gone.

Photos taken with a Nikon D700 and Nikkor AFS 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens and a Nikon D300S and Nikkor AFS 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 zoom lens.

Vietnamese fisherman at Stung Treng, Cambodia.

A smoke on the boat.

Time to board.

Lost in thought.

A worthwhile visit, a rural school in Cambodia. Part 2.

Smiling student.

One of the most rewarding things to do when you are in Cambodia has nothing to do with sightseeing at venues like Angkor Wat or visiting the Irawaddy dolphins at Kratie.  I recommend you take some time out of your busy days to visit a rural school and donate school supplies.  These students are not well to do and are always short of basic supplies like pencils, paper tablets and rulers.  For less than $50 US you can easily supply every student with these supplies. And you never know how you might be impacting these students.  For every child attending school, there is probably another that does not attend school for one reason or another and it is near impossible to make a difference in their lives.  At least with the children in school they are learning the basics although there is no telling where they may be in ten more years.  The five and six year olds in these photos may be working in the fields with their parents in another 6 or 7 years.

Photos were taken with a Nikon D700 and Nikkor AFS 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens or a Nikon D300s and Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VRI zoom lens.

Three room school near Stung Treng.

Using chalk and fiber boards.

Big smile on small face.

Interested girl.

Old Delhi near Jama Masjid – great location for photographs

Full load.

Here are some more photos from my last trip to Delhi.  As noted in my previous postings about Old Delhi, a rickshaw is a great vantage point for photos.  Not only do you get a convenient means to travel this area, the perspective renders a slightly different point of view.

All photos taken with a Nikon D700 and Nikkor AFS 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens.

Heavy load.

Back end.

Grueling work.

Rickshaw man.

Memory Lane for great yakitori in West Shinjuku

Omoide Yokochō

Omoide Yokocho (or Memory Lane) is an old neighborhood of small yakitori joints that harkens back to days long past. It is located within the neon-lit skyscrapers of West Shinjuku.  Adjacent to the Uniqlo store near the Lumine Department Store, Omoide Yokocho’s days are numbered as it is beyond its shelf-life.  The area is ramshackle and its only of matter of time before it is torn down in the name of progress.  The option is to rehabilitate the area however no one except for some of the tenants is in favor of this.  Some of the Yakitori is quite good as the numbers of patrons indicate.

This area dates back to the US Occupation post World War II and has always been a favorite for good relatively well-priced food.

All photos taken with a Nikon D700 and Nikkor AFS 24mm f/.4 lens.

Crowded and friendly.

Red lanterns everywhere.

Tight confines.

Another joint.

Down the river in a boat in Kyoto

Visitors to Kyoto and Nara almost always focus their activities to visiting temples, shrines and castles.  Of course, that’s why people visit these beautiful locations and there’s nothing wrong with that.  For something just a little different, consider taking a two hour drift boat down the Hozukawa River.   The starting point is near the Kameoka City JR Station, which is about 20 minutes by train from the Kyoto Station.  And the dock is a five or ten minute walk from the station.  There are prominent signs leading the way from the station.  And if you’re lost, the information center at the station will point the way.

The river drift is mostly placid with a few sections of rapids and very small elevation changes.  It is not a dangerous drift.  Each boat has two crewmen.  One mans the oar to steer the boat while the other mans the pole to keep the boat from colliding with the rocks in the river.

The boat trip ends near the Arashiyama District of Kyoto where’s there’s plenty to do including a visit to the magnificent Tenryu-ji Temple.

All photos were taken with a Nikon D700 and Nikkor AFS 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens.  [Note: recommend that you use a polarizing filter on the river as the glare is prominent.  I didn’t.]

Dockside view.

Down the river.

Fast section.

Train stopped to look at us.

Vendor on the river.

Trip ends at Arashiyama.

Beautiful children on a remote island on the Mekong River in Cambodia

Small hut on remote island on the Mekong River.

You never know where your next decent photo will come from.  While on a recent trip by boat up the Mekong from Cambodia to Laos, we passed this small hut on a remote island.  This part of the island was beautiful with crystal clear water and a beach of sorts.  Really didn’t it give it much mind as we were heading up the river to see a series of waterfalls that are hardly visited.

On the way back down the river, we were so dehydrated and exhausted by our visit to the falls that we decided to stop for  drinks and a bit to eat.  The hut was run by a young couple with three small chidren.  It really wasn’t much but it was shady and the ice-cold drinks hit the spot.  The kids were so photogenic that between big gulps of water and soda, I shoot off a few photos.  They acted like they had never seen a camera before so I spent some time shooting and then showing the photos to the kids.  This interaction became of source of  fun for them and me.  As it should be.

All photos were taken using either  a Nikon D700 with a Nikkor AFS 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens or a Nikon D300s with a Nikkor AFS 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 zoom lens.

Mom was tending the vegetables.

Serene smile.

Beautiful little girl.

Big brother.

Beachfront.