Shooting Sunrise Without Good Light | Photography in Osaka, Japan, Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom

Join me for a wet and cold morning of sunrise photography in Osaka, Japan! In this video, I find myself in a garden next to Osaka Castle with beautiful cherry blossoms in full bloom. Unfortunately, I struggled with finding good light and composition for a sunrise photo, and so settled instead for photographing the people around me. I also utilised some puddles of water on the ground to create some symmetrical photos of the sakura trees. People passing by or on their bicycles make good subjects that helped with the composition of the images.

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Nikon Z7ii Sunrise Photography in Singapore Bishan Park

I come to Bishan Ang Mo Kio Park in Singapore once every year to photograph the sunrise from this exact spot! This is Recycling Hill, a big metal sculpture that coincides with the sunrise during certain months of the year and overlooks some beautiful landscape of the park. Take a gander at this year's attempt, complete with drone flyovers and the editing process in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, as well as Nik Color Efex. Photography captured with the Nikon Z7ii and Z14-30mm F4 lens.

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Zachary LaiComment
Landscape Photography Workshops

Landscape photography is a beautiful and challenging art form that requires patience, creativity, and technical proficiency. If you're looking to take your landscape photography to the next level, a one-on-one workshop may be just what you need. Here are just a few of the many benefits that come with a personalized, intensive learning experience:

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Zachary LaiComment
NIKKOR Z 100-400MM F/4.5-5.6 VR S for Landscape Photography

When we shoot landscape photography, we often think of wide sweeping vistas, eye-watering landscapes that stretch to the horizon, photos with great depth and distance. So we reach for our wide angle lenses (24mm or wider) when shooting landscapes, hoping to include as much of the scenery as possible in a single frame.

That said, does a long telephoto lens have its place in landscape photography?

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Zachary LaiComment
Kase Magnetic Circular Filter Kit

A quick review of the Kase Magnetic Circular Filter Kit! It's a light, compact and cheap set of filters for landscape photography, all wrapped up in a beautiful brown leather pouch. Perfect for the beginner landscape photographer, it's convenient and easy to use.

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Zachary LaiComment
Nikon Z9 tested for wedding, fashion shoot, pet, landscape and event photography

Nikon Professional Services contacted me recently and asked if I’d like to give their flagship camera the Nikon Z9 a spin. And I thought, why not? As a bonus, I got them to loan me the 50mm f1.2 Z lens to go with it. So for 10 days, I shot a wedding, a fashion shoot with traditional Chinese lion dance, a pet session, some landscapes, and also used it to photograph a workshop where I was co-instructing for panoramic cityscape photography.

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Nikon Z7ii + Nikkor 14-24mm F2.8 S Camera and Lens Review

I had a chance to try out Nikon's newest and greatest mirrorless camera offering, the Z7ii and the Nikkor 14-24mm F2.8 S lens. After an unintended weather sealing test(heh heh), I shot with this combination for about two weeks, and compared it with the older Z7 and the 14-30mm F4 lens. I share some of my thoughts of the new Z7-2 and whether I think it's worth the upgrade.

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Zachary LaiComment