i remember when i first came about this style of editing about a year ago and it's just really stuck with me. i loved how moody it made each photo. i would always contemplate back and forth between my standard edit style and this. majority of the time, i just stick with the standard style but then from time to time, i can't help but to go crazy on some yellows. i've seen a ton of people try and mimic this look, which is cool i guess. i mean, i do always try and tell people to try out anything and everything because that's the only way that you will really learn... and the only way to really find your own personal style. but often times people confuse experimenting with straight up copying. whatever though, to each their own.
here is a set of photos i took in the outskirt suburbs of osaka post rain. i've always loved taking photos after a rainy day, when roads are still wet and sky is still gloomy. the soft box of a sky really makes the roads look unreal. it leads your eyes into the photo. take a long stare at these and get lost.
PURSUING PERSEID
TravelCommenta couple weeks back, i found out that the Perseid meteor shower was taking place over the weekend. I've always been super excited when hearing news like this. the whole space/astronomy idea has always been so fascinating to me because its truly the one thing in our world that we will never know anything about. astronomers, scientists, even John Glenn will never figure out what's floating around hundreds of millions of light years away. every time i stared up gazing at a clear night sky, I'm always amazed at just how much I'm looking at. so when there is a bunch of fireball rocks flying across the sky, do you go out and shoot? fuck yea.
it was a pretty last minute decision to go out looking for a good location. i didn't want to stray away too far from home so my first pick was going out to davenport since it's one of my favorite places to shoot, especially the milky way. its far enough from the city's light pollution so a very star lit sky was promising... well until someone texted me and told me that it was super cloudy there. so i decided to head up north since south was plastered in clouds. i had asked a couple of homies to go but a bunch of texts back and forth, i decided to just go alone. when i finally made it up to Mt. Tam, it was pitch dark. I sat outside for awhile with my camera and tripod but i kept hearing branches and noises all around me and not being able to see anything definitely tripped me out. I ended up just locking myself in the car and shooting out the moon roof for about 2 hours. the sky wasn't as dark as i would've liked, i was still too close to the city but after a couple hundred of long exposures, i was able to capture one that i really liked. the photo above is compiled of over 150 images stacked.
Although i am not totally stoked not the final shot, the fact that I now can say i was able to witness a meteor shower is pretty dope. it's definitely not easy capturing shooting stars. these things fly by super fast and if you're not positioned or firing at the right split second, you will miss it. i decided to just let me camera run for an hour while i just stared up and it was much better watching the stars fly across in every direction with my eyes.
City Guide - KOBE jpn
Travel, Lifestyle, UrbanComment“約一年前、私は神戸という街に引っ越してきました。
神戸は港町ということもあり昔から貿易が盛んで、住人の国籍も 様々です。その影響から街には日本独自のモダニズム建築や教会、インターナショナルスクール、チャイナタウン、高層ビルをはじめ、世界一長い吊橋、夜景などフォトジェニックな被写体が数多くあります。また幸運なことに、自然にも恵まれ街の北側には六甲・摩耶山からなる山々がそびえ立ち、その一部は霧の名所としても知られています。
そんな神戸は大阪から30分、京都から1時間の好立地。京都、大阪に来る際は神戸もぜひプランに加えてみてはいかがでしょうか。”
About 1 year ago, I moved to KOBE-City.
Kobe is the port town, because active trade from long ago, and the resident's nationality is also various. In the town, modernize architecture and china-town, church, high rise building, world’s longest suspension bridge and great night views such as there are many photogenic spots. Fortunately, KOBE is blessed with a richness of nature, Mt.Rokko was also known as a much foggy spot.
That KOBE is half an hour from Osaka,and 1 hour from Kyoto.
If you come to Osaka or Kyoto, try to consider Kobe in your plan.
IN THE BAG WITH NICHOLAS LA
IN THE BAGComment
- Asahi Mintia Coldsmash Mints (Super strong mints!)
- Leica Battery
- Travel Collection Polaroids
- LV Wallet with mad JDM stacks
- Leica M240 with Leica 21mm f/1.4 Summilux-M
- Dust remover
- Beats urBeats
- Portable Battery Charger
- Sharpie
- Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux-M
- Voigtlander 12mm f/5.6
INTO THE VALLEY : 1
Events, TravelCommenta few of us were blessed with the opportunity to go out to Yosemite with Moment Lens. It's been about a year since I've last visited this massive national park with a bunch of homies and all i have left from that trip was a bunch of good memories and dope photos so you can imagine my level of stoked-ness this time around. As soon as we got into the park, we wasted no time and jumped right out of the car and started shooting. Something I was really looking forward to this trip was sunset. We've heard that the recent fires have been causing a thick layer of haze all across the valley which can give photos a epic glow at the right time of day. As we sat here waiting for the rest of the crew, I then realized I was totally not prepared for the heat. Apple's weather app has lied to me, yet again.
IN THE BAG WITH MARVIN KING
IN THE BAG1 Comment
All packed up and ready to head out to Yosemite, hands down one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited so of course, I wanted to be as prepared as possible to capture as many moments as I could without overpacking. Overpacking can be a serious problem. You end up bringing a bunch of shit you think you may need but most of the time, it just ends up taking up space in your bag and adds extra weight which ends up doing some damage to your shoulders and back while hiking. The best thing to do in avoiding all of that is to set a rough itinerary of your day so that you know exactly what you will need at specific locations and times. I was only going to be camping for 1 night, 2 days. Expecting plenty of hiking and getting little to no sleep while shooting the stars till sunrise.
Here's what's in my Chrome Niko Pack:
- Canon FD 85mm f/1.2L with variable ND filter
- Mophie Powerstation XL
- Adapt Technology cable bracelet
- Stanley flask
- Yosemite brochure map
- Moment Lens - 60mm + 18mm with caps
- Husky LED flashlight
- Apple iPhone 6 with Moment mount plate
- Bogen Manfrotto Tripod
- Sony batteries x6
- Sony A7ii with Sony battery grip
- Voigtlander 21mm f/1.8 (mounted) with Hoya ND8 filter
- Troll Evil Twins
- Dorcy lamp
- Joby Gorillapod
All laying on top of my Coleman mummy sleeping bag. Although it's summer time, it still gets nippy in the middle of the night.
GOLDEN SHARK FIN COVE
TravelCommentAlthough I still prefer shooting on my own, I've got to say that I have met some pretty cool people through shooting with them. I met Salt and Chrissy through a string of Mighty Killers meets and events but I've never really gotten out there and shot with these guys. You have to admit, being at an event and hanging out is completely different than going out exploring and shooting with a group of people. These two are super chill folks and super down to Earth; not to mention they are a very talented couple. You rarely find a couple who both love to shoot, especially as much as these two do and it's inspiring to see them work. They swooped me up from BART and headed down to one of my favorite locations in Northern California, Shark Fin Cove. I've probably mentioned this a hundreds times by now but shit, this spot jus never gets old to me. I love everything about it and everything that surrounds it. It just has so much to offer, photo-op speaking. One day you find a washed up dead baby whale, another you find a gang of people pitching tents, then you have a bunch of people playing volleyball and kicking back, and then theres times where its completely quiet and you have the entire place to yourself.
IN THE BAG
IN THE BAGCommentWe are stoked to present out latest series, "In The Bag". Here we will be featuring a behind the scenes look at what we pack when we head out, but we also want to see what the community packs too. Show us what you're bringing on your next trip and be sure to check back regularly and follow the hashtag #MKINTHEBAG for the latest updates.
EVERYONE LOVES THAT BEACH PFEIFFER
TravelCommentIf someone says, "Let's go catch sunset at Big Sur" you always say yes. No matter what, even if its the wedding weekend of a Mighty Killers member.
This past weekend many of the Mighty Killers team gathered for the wedding celebration of Elissa and Marvin. We all had duties to fulfill to help the wedding run smoothly, but when you're 15min away from the most amazing coast line you find time to sneak away. Sam (@thesamgraves) and I had no idea where we wanted to go; we just knew we had to catch a dope sunset. The anticipation of driving through the winding roads of Big Sur to Pfeiffer beach was filled with uncertainty.
The uncertainty of each outing is what makes a great ending that much more worthwhile. If you always knew that you were going to head out to catch nothing but bangers each time the photos wouldn't have as much meaning. Everyone would have dope pics and the pic you thought was killer wouldn't be that special. It's always the stories that you tell about how you got the shot is what makes the shot that much more amazing.
The anticipation of driving around countless turns to only see a grey blanket of fog brings about a sense of frustration. But the moment that the blanket lifts, and the sun beings to descend below the horizon that sense of frustration immediately turns into a rush of excitement.
Seattle Chinatown
UrbanCommentI was contacted a few months ago to collaborate on a project for Seattle Chinatown. The goal was to bring out the feeling of home and also a unique perspective from people eating or working in China Town. Of course that could be done many different ways so we had to sit down together and decide on a specific idea. Tons of ideas were bounced around but then someone said, "we need to show their point of view." and that sparked this idea. I've seen it in videos with guys parkouring all over the place and it looks like a crazy video game. So why not do it with this project? I thought it would be perfect.
So I went to two restaurants, a fortune cookie factory, an old grocery store that is now in a museum to be preserved and a bakery that had burned down. All of these places have been in Chinatown forever and are the heart and soul of the international district. Through these photos...I did my best to capture it all. It was an amazing experience and I was able to have a bunch of awesome food and way too many freshly made fortune cookies. I would love all of my shoots to be like this!
Cheers.
Mighty Killers in the Northwest
Travel, LifestyleCommentLiving in the Portland, I get to meet all kinds of creatives. I had the pleasure of meeting Chris a couple of months ago when we were introduced by fellow photographer and common friend David.
I asked Chris to help me out with a project for the Might Killers Explore Tee an MK Basic Cap. Accompanied by my other friends Nick, Natalie and Leanna we road tripped it out to the Oregon Coast to catch sunset. As we arrived at Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City, I could tell this was going to be another beautiful Oregon summer sunset.
It wasn’t until we pulled onto the beach did I find out this was Chris’ first trip to Cape Kiwanda. In awe from the beautiful scenery, Chris’ expressions began to reignite my inspiration for this place. I’ve been to Cape Kiwanda more times than I can count on my fingers, but this time it was different. I got to help someone experience it for the first time. That in itself can be inspiring for me. Adventuring with people to places I’ve photographed before can help me find a more unique angle of a similar location. A new mind can bring all kinds of new ideas. It’s an awesome feeling.
Let me share with you what we brought back from Cape Kiwanda.
No Lake, Shirley
TravelCommentIt should always be about the journey and never the destination...
Whenever I embark on a new adventure I always have a place in mind that I want to go. However sometimes things don't always work out that way. Now this doesn't mean that it was a failure, but instead I like to think of it as an unexpected detour. As long as a forward step was taken and a new experience was learned no adventure can ever be a failure.
This past weekend a friend and I decided we should hike to Shirley Lake in Tahoe National Forest. The destination was an amazing scenic lake that was completely isolated by surrounding mountains and lush green fields. The water was calm, crystal clear, and untouched by any outside elements... This is what I gathered from Google images. You can probably guess that I actually have no idea what this lake looks like in person because we never made it there. I am not proud to explain the reason for not reaching our destination because the inner Boy Scout in me would be ashamed, but we were simply not prepared. We brought water and food, but like Harold and Kumar when we remembered we've gone too far.
My old Boy Scout pack leader Mr. Wong would probably disown me for not bringing the basic necessities, but I have channeled my new role models in the form of Harold and Kumar and their excursion to White Castle. Similar to Harold and Kumar, we had an amazing experience with little to no resources. The scenery along the way filled with giant cascading waterfalls and vast flowing rivers surrounded by enormous boulders eroded over time by the elements... but from the pictures it looks like I was simply dehydrated and delusional to remember what it actually looked like. Either way it was an experience for both my creative side and my commonsense side.
Landmark Lurkin Toronto
Travel, EventsCommentMuch love to the 6! Thank you everyone who came out to our Landmark Lurkin in Toronto this past weekend. It was dope to finally meet everyone and shoot along such an inspiring and supportive community. A special thank you to our hosts for the event:
@alenpalander @tilore @smvrk @dashgrey @seandshoots @silassao
Stay tuned for the next Landmark Lurkin event, it may be coming to a city near you!
MILK RUN AT THE ARCHES
TravelCommentWith the lack of free time in the past couple of weeks, I just haven't been able to shoot as often as before. The frustration of not having the time, and when I did have time, I had no energy.. all that gets built up and I feel like I'm about to lose it. Yesterday I actually had a free day, a completely free day with no obligations to do anything at all so of course I had to cap on the opportunity to go out and shoot. I forgot how much I missed just hitting the road and aimlessly explore. Somehow, I just always end up back here; Davenport. It's definitely getting a bit too popular these days. The past 3 times I've been back, I've ran into people and its cool and not cool at the same time as one of my favorite spots is becoming a place I try to avoid now. It's definitely sketchy getting down to the arches, and only the brave will take on the climb down. Definitely give props to the people I've met down on the beach here because I remember the first time I climbed down, I was pretty fuckin' scared. It's always entertaining watching people climb down and climb back up for their first time, but just be warned.
The first time that I ever shot the Milky Way was about 3 years ago up on the west side of Lake Tahoe. I can still remember that experience, it definitely felt like a lifetime achievement for me. It meant a lot for me back then because it was something that I never thought of capturing since it was definitely unexpected. These days, I see Milky Way shots way too often but I'm glad that I caught it when I did because it really meant something to me. As we approach the end of Summer, I decided that tonight would be the perfect time to try and get it. Clear skies, chill night, New Moon, couldn't have asked for anything better. The experience of shooting stars and the Milky Way is always awesome. When you see your photo process, you're immediately in awe.
fuck, there it is.
Nature's Swimming Pool
TravelCommentBack to back 100° days, dry heat, and a drought. If anyone asks you to visit Sacramento these are the things you have to look forward to. So when the idea of hiking to a swimming hole came up I jumped at the chance, but since I've never actually been to one I had no idea what to expect. But I didn't care because at the time the only thing on my mind was getting away from the heat.
When we arrived at Lemkey's Lagoon, it took us all a second to realize where we were. We all looked at each other and knew right away we ended up at a giant playground. The amount of abnormally large natural structures scattered throughout the river was ridiculous. We all knew the right thing to do would be to take the long way along the rivers edge to the lagoon. We had to climb over any and everything just to challenge each other on who could find the most creative path through.
Surround yourself with people that challenge you to do the things you may not have done on your own. It's these people that will make you realize your true potential. Diving head first into the clear refreshing water and opening your eyes to see a school of fish swimming past you can make any stressed person feel worry free again. A lot of times we get so caught up in our daily lives that we forget what it's like to not worry about if we have health insurance or not, and to just jump off a cliff. It's moments like these that you start to not worry about the consequence and begin to think the most clearly.
Zion
TravelCommentThis was our last day on our trip through the South West. After a long day shooting Antelope Canyon, we rushed over to Zion National Park to catch sunset. On our way to Zion, we seen a herd of bisons and were able to feed them some grass while shooting them behind a fence for our safety. This was my first time seeing them in real life and man they were huge!
Sunrise at Larch Mountain
Travel, Lifestyle1 CommentI have a love-hate relationship with sunrises. I’m definitely not a morning person so getting up at 4 a.m. after closing my eyes at 1 a.m. is not my idea of a good morning. I work late into the night and I usually enjoy the limited sleep I do get. The trade off? A sunrise can produce some of the most insane lighting you’ll ever see or get to work with. Our trip out to Larch Mountain was a perfect example of this.
We made plans to go on this adventure the night before. After we settled on a location, I messaged my friend Brandi immediately to see if she wanted to tag along. I love Brandi’s look and always enjoy shooting her so I was excited to see what we could come up with. Nick and Chloe picked me up from my house around 4 a.m the following morning. After I packed my things into the car we headed over to SE Portland to pick up Brandi. After getting on the road, we had just enough time to catch the sunrise. We booked it out to Larch Mountain, which is about an hour away from my apartment in Portland. We pull into the parking lot and take a short hike up some stairs, staring into the rising sun, to reach Sherrard Point. From this point you have an absolutely breathtaking view of the Cascade volcanoes. This view had quickly put it at the top of my list for must see spots in the Gorge. If you've never experienced a sunrise, I highly suggest that you do sometime. After taking it all in and snapping a few photos we headed back to the city to grab some much needed coffee and breakfast from a local spot in my neighborhood.
Larch Mountain has got to be one of my favorite locations in the Northwest to date. I hope my visuals can do this place some sort of justice. I also hope you enjoy some of the portraits I got of my friends.
Thanks for reading!
In A Rainy Kyoto
TravelComment“雨の日は写真を撮るわたしたちにとって嬉しいシチュエーションなんですよね。京都なら「祇園」 「八坂の塔」 「石塀小路」 とか最高です。写真撮りにいきませんか？雨の京都へ。”
If it rains when you stay in Kyoto, You have to be glad. Because you can really take nice photos in a rainy Kyoto. Here are some of these that I want to recommend.
Gion street (祇園) Yasaka pagoda (八坂の塔) Ishibeikoji (石塀小路)
Let's meet in rainy Kyoto.
Maui's Upcountry
TravelCommentWhen you tell people you’re going to Maui, the first thing that comes to their mind is you laying out on the beach, grabbing that nice Hawaiian tan and having someone constantly bring you cocktails. It’s true, there is a place like that, but it’s not for telling this time around. I’m here to tell you about the other side. A side where you rarely see a paved road. Where there are jungles with bamboo that is twice, if not triple, your size. A side where you climb the trees for the fresh coconuts. Hike through a “backyard”, that looks like another jungle, where you can jump into a huge ass swimming hole.
Please follow along as I tell you a visual story featuring places like the Commando Trail in the Bamboo Forest, Keanae and Wialua Valley, and even the Road to Hana. These places and more are what the locals refer to as, Upcountry.
Special thanks to Tzigany for showing me and my buddy Chad this side of Maui.
California Coast
TravelCommentLast week the girl and I made the drive down to SF for a couple days. After we checked into our room I found out that my good friend @jakechams was staying in Santa Cruz at the moment. So we decided to make the drive down and meet up for a sunset shoot at Big Sur. Once we got to Santa Cruz to grab Jake I realized that I left my battery for my DSLR on the charger in the hotel room back in SF... I was furious. At this point Big Sur was still another 2 hours away and there was no way we would make it in time for sunset. Jake recommended a spot just outside of town called Shark Fin Cove. So we went to Best Buy and grabbed a new battery and we were on our way. In the end we made the best of what we had and that's what you gotta do sometimes.
