Hilo, Hawaii has the best banyan trees

Posted on November 17th, 2014 under Hawaii. Tags: hilo, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600. Comments Off on Lili’uokalani Botanical Garden

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in the rain (広島平和記念公園)

Time, children, rain–renewers of life.

Posted on November 15th, 2014 under Japan. Tags: hiroshima, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, rain, 広島平和記念資料館 Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Comments Off on Earth Abides

居酒屋 だるま Daruma

As promised, today’s photo features my pizza and the cook on a very pleasant evening in Kyoto. Here is the address: 京都府京都市上京区小山町908

I have no idea if the ladies that work here speak a lick of English. They are hilarious in Japanese though. The establishment has been in the family for generations.

Posted on November 14th, 2014 under Japan. Tags: beer, food, kyoto, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600. Comments Off on Daruma Mama-San

Japanese maple trees in focus

Most people drive to near the top of Shosenkyo these days. If they don’t they usually take a bus. While the views near the top are great, there is a ton of beauty along the journey should you choose to hike instead.

I couldn’t decide which photo I liked better so you get them both. I tried to focus stack these images, but my camera settings and perspective weren’t close enough in the originals for a decent result of having both the foreground and background in focus in a single composite image.

Buddhist statue in focus

Posted on November 13th, 2014 under Japan. Tags: buddhist, japanese maple, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, shosenkyo. Comments Off on Change of focus

Marugame udon toppings

Not only does Marugame make fresh udon noodles, but the toppings (in this case, battered and fried onions) are also just seconds old. One of these days I’ll show you the bowl I ordered just before it entered my mouth.

Posted on November 12th, 2014 under Japan. Tags: food, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, udon. Comments Off on Marugame seimen (丸亀製麺) udon