Author: travel67

The Yonaguni Monument

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The Yonaguni Monument is a monolith just off the coast of Yonaguni. Discovered by local diver Kihachiro Aratake in 1987, it appears to have structures that have been carved into the rock. Masaaki Kimura of the University of the Ryukyus studied the underwater topography and came to the conclusion that rather than a natural formation, it is the remains of an ancient civilization that has otherwise been erased from history. Divers enter through a short tunnel and then find two columns that reach up to near the surface. Divers then make their way around the loop road to the lower and upper terrace. The rock has been cut / fractured at right angles, with step like structures between levels. A triangle shaped pool may have once been the foundations for a building. Holes in the edges of the triangle could have been used to hold the main uprights. And finally you reach the turtle sculpture. I had been expecting it quite small so I was surprised to find it close to 10 meters across. This …

Light Painting Workshop May 4th and 5th

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Another quick announcement. On May 4th and 5th Trevor Williams is returning to Okinawa to teach a 2- day Light Painting Workshop. Come join me for two nights of fun and photography. I would like to introduce the magic of light painting and night photography. The first night we will be covering long exposure and night photography essentials. Learn how to make an image rather than take an image. Use time and light to build up your picture from a black canvas in to exactly what you envisioned. You’ll then be prepared for the second night which will focus on light painting and other creative techniques. I will reveal some of my secrets and show you step by step how to create amazing light paintings. You’ll also learn how to make custom tools and use them creatively. Light painting and night photography has a certain magic about it. When the shutter closes you will find your self running back to the camera to see what you have captured. Friends and family will be stunned by …

Going Retro Mini Workshop

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Just a quick announcement so people can put the date in the diary. Trevor Williams will be holding a “Going Retro” mini workshop on May 3rd 2012. Trevor will take people through the process of creating the look, setting up lighting, image selection and then editing. Time is 6PM to 10PM. Location is my home / studio in Uruma City, Okinawa. Class fee is US$50. I will start taking bookings for places in March.

Christmas Tree Worms- Spirobranchus giganteus

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Spirobranchus giganteus, commonly known as Christmas tree worms, are small, tube-building polychaete worms belonging to the family Serpulidae (Wikipedia). Each worm has two Christmas tree like structures that are used for both feeding and respiration. If you move too close to the worm they rapidly retract back into the coral. (In the movie Avatar some of the plants on the alien world behaved in a similar fashion.) These were shot with the K5 and the fisheye lens. The lens isn’t designed for macro work, but you can still get some interesting wide-angle close-up images.

Ikelite K5 Housing – Open Water Test

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Tested out the underwater housing for the K5 at Cape Maeda this morning. Hiroshi and Shawn were my buddies for the dive. As more experienced underwater shooters, they could make sure that I’d sealed everything down properly. So what did I learn? The housing didn’t leak and you can operate all buttons while underwater. There also appears to be a button (labeled Fn Button in the manual) that allows you to press the lens release button. I may contact Ikelite to see if I’m just being dimwitted or if this is some design issue. (I didn’t try to use this while underwater.) Operating functions that require doing two things at the same time are tricky e.g. pressing the ISO button and turning the rear e-dial. This means using exposure compensation underwater will be more problematic than simply using manual mode and adjusting exposure with the e-dials. The controller for the “Green Button” can easily get stuck. Probably not an issue as I don’t use the Green Button normally, but strange nonetheless. Live View is useful …

Yongnuo YN560 Speedlite Review

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Is buying a cheap alternative brand hot-shoe flash a great way to save hundreds of dollars or are you just wasting your money? Let’s start with the key difference. Cost Nikon SB910 $538.81 Canon 580EX II $457.00 Pentax AF540FGZ $399.00 Yongnuo YN560 $67.40 So what are the similarities? Power: The Yongnuo Flash has a guide number of 58. This means the camera has a similar maximum power to the other top end flashes listed above. (Guide Number indicates the power of the flash.  GN = max distance to subject x f-stop at ISO 100 – e.g. if GN is 58,  max distance to subject is 29 meters when aperture is  f/2 and ISO is 100.) Manual Control: All four flashes allow you to manually control both the level of power and the zoom on the flash. Slave Modes: All four flashes allow you to slave the flash so it fires when it detects the light from another flash. Bounce: All four flashes allow you to both tilt and rotate the flash head to bounce the flash off the …