Where's that carrot?

Fujifilm X100s, 550s @ f/5.6, iso 800

I visited the Chiang Mai Zoo this weekend. Pandas were adorable, but too far to get a good pic without a tele-lens. The rest was okay, but not that interesting - but it may be that the zoo lives another life in the wet season, when everything goes back to green.

So the catch of the day was a common goat. 

Superman

Nikon D5100 35mm f/1.8, 1/40s @ f/5.6, iso 200

Do your job, and do it well. This little man on streets of Lima certainly didn't mind his physique, when advertising a restaurant in Superman's costume. And great job he did.

Chopsticks

Fujifilm X100s, 125s @ f/4.0, iso 1000

Something else entirely. Most (if not all) of my pictures are either landscapes, cityscapes or street photography. But sometimes everyday objects arranged carefully for display make a "landscape" you cannot miss with your camera.

And for the record: I love chopsticks. Bamboo chopsticks. Not those reusable plastic counterfeits. Seeing such a variety was a pleasure to the eye and a reminder of well deserved tom yum.

The Lonely Mountain

Nikon D5100 35mm f/1.8, 1/160s @ f/22, iso 100

Still in the "process all the photos!!" phase :)

You have to be very brave (or insane) to leave in a city with a volcano near by. And Arequipa has three! Granted, they are not active (right now) and they look amazing with their snowy peaks hoovering over the warmth of the city.

On the picture: Misty, the second highest (5822 m) of the three sisters. But the one most beautiful!

The picture was shot with no AE bracketing and it needed some heavy editing with Nik Collection to get all the details in the background pop.

Montreal RGB (reprocessed)

Nikon D5100 18-55mm, 18mm, 1/60s @ f/10, iso 320

Nikon D5100 18-55mm, 18mm, 1/60s @ f/10, iso 320

I just reprocessed my first 5-starred (by my-humble-self of course) picture. The original (down) was taken with Nikon 5100 / 18-55mm kit lens to RAW and treated with ViewNX (did not have anything better at that time). The new version (up) is enhanced as DNG in LR5 and then processed with Nik Viveza, Dfine and Output Sharpener.

Bonus: I didn't quite remember there is a moon on this photo!

Twilight Temple

Fujifilm X100s, 27s @ f/16, iso 200

So this is apparently the best picture of the temple according to other people (my favourite was this one). I posted 5 best photos to 500px and this was the one that got a fair amount of traction there and also on G+. Well, I've got so much to learn still....

Green escape

Fujifilm X100s, f/16, iso 200 HDR

Three posts with temples in a row? Time to return to Hong Kong then!

After a week of hard work, after a busy Saturday night (don't ask) there is hardly a better place to rest your tired eyes and body than Hong Kong Park. You can sit on a bench, watch fish and turtles, go to  the aviary and watch birds or go to the tai chi court and watch Chinese people trying to catch imaginary spiders.

"Stick them with the pointy end"

Fujifilm X100s, 1.4s @ f/16, iso 200

Back to Wat Rong Khun - I don't even know why I like this picture. It's black and white, doesn't show any of the temple, just a bridge leading to it. I think it's the composition.

The "White" Temple

Fujifilm X100s, f/8, iso 200, HDR

In the light of the rising sun, the White Temple does not look that white anymore. Still, it is unlike any other "wat" I have seen in Thailand so far. Usually they are either painted gold or full spectrum of colours. But white?
If you want to visit it, the best time is either during fresh morning hours (just a tad before 8am) or in the afternoon (closes at 5pm, but it is worth waiting for the sunset).
And if you like this picture, you may also like the others in the White Temple album.

One thousand and one nights

Fujifilm X100s, f/8, iso 800, HDR

No Hong Kong today, Kuala Lumpur instead.

Modern city, known mostly from Petronas Twin Towers landmark, pretty clean for asian standards. But every city needs a green refuge, a park, garden, or - like in this case - a mosque with surroundings designed to escape the midday heat. Or to spend lovely evening just walking around.

To me, this picture could be of a palace garden of 1001 nights.

Mornings worth waking up to

`Fujifilm X100s, f/16, iso 200, HDR

Fujifilm X100s, f/16, iso 200, HDR

Fujifilm X100s, f/16, iso 200, HDR

My original plan was to post yet another Hong Kong pic today, but I woke up earlier and was hit with this magnificent sunrise.

Good morning Chiang Mai

iPhone, Camera+, auto

Sometimes you don't need a fancy camera, just be at the right place at the right time. This is how Chiang Mai, Thailand greeted me the morning after I arrived there.

The picture was taken with Camera+ 5 and edited on the phone.

Night peak

Fujifilm X100s, 12s @ f/5.6, iso 3200

Fujifilm X100s, 17s @ f/5.6, iso 3200

Doi Chiang Dao - the second highest peak in Thailand.

These are two different pictures taken in sequence as JPEGs. Using vivid film simulation for color and standard black-and-white. Long-exposure night photos - and I could hardly believe the level of detail preserved by the trusted Fujifilm X100s. 

5am quiet in Hong Kong

Fujifilm X100s, 1/40s @ f/2.0, iso 3200

I love this picture, because it is so unusual to see an empty street in Hong Kong. Well, maybe you can do it on every night, but you need to be up very early (or not go to bed at all).