Planned this birthday trip a few months back. All our travel had been cancelled due to Covid, so felt like going all out on a Caribbean destination. Picked a resort type place, in case we were stuck staying at one location for the entire time. Settled on Hodges Bay Antigua for a week. With direct flights out of JFK, strict COVID protocols, and an isolated resort destination, figured this was a sound travel plan in these times.
Sunday November 29
Got a little stressed out when our direct flight to Antigua out of JFK was cancelled for the second time. Originally we had booked direct with Jetblue but that got cancelled. We knew we'd have some juggling to do with COVID travel, but we didn't think our second American flight would get shut down. We were able to get rebooked on a 6am flight to Miami, then a second flight to Antigua, however 6am out of JFK is never easy. Rather than scramble to find an Uber at 4 am, we got a room Sunday night at the TWA hotel, with plans to just wake up early and walk over to the gate.
Hoping for a leisurely day slowly making our way over to the hotel for the evening, we got our heart rates going by looking for a missing engagement ring. Once found and the panic settled, we looked forward to a drink during Covid times at the hotel. Armed with our Covid tests and passports, vacation started once we grabbed our seats on the A train.
TWA hotel was empty, but the way to go if you stress about getting to the gate early for a 6 am flight.
Monday November 30th
Judging by our previous Caribbean trip pre-Covid this year, we assumed that JFK at 6am during COVID would be relatively empty, so we slowly made our way from the hotel to the terminal at 5 am for a 6 am flight. Turned out to be very busy, and after getting stuck at security with a camera gear check, I almost missed the flight. Ran over to the gate as they were boarding group 7. Nevertheless once we took off on time and I was sure we would make our connection, I started to relax.
Antigua airport was organized. Went through a Covid temperature check and presented our negative tests. Got a call from the hotel about a week before saying they couldn’t pick us up anymore due to the new contact tracing airport requirements, so we grabbed a cab over to the place once we got through customs.
It was a little cloudier than expected as a rain shower had just passed through. Got set up in an oceanfront room with a balcony overlooking the beach and water. Grabbed dinner at the beachfront restaurant, White Sands, and called it a night.
Tuesday December 1st
Birthday day! Started off with the traditional coffee on the balcony. Any time I'm in a hotel, I end up using the in-room coffee situation.
Followed up with breakfast outside, then picked the oceanfront pool with the swim-up bar for the day.
Flowers and champagne delivered to the room for the birthday girl. Then a private beach dinner.
Wednesday December 2nd
After another unhealthy breakfast, we decided to motivate and grabbed a tandem kayak out to Prickly Pear island, right off the beach from our hotel. Packed our snorkels and camera, towels, and paddled our way out to our own private island.
Once we got there, we immediately regretted not bringing any water, but after hanging around for the morning one of the hotel workers ended up coming out with another couple and dropped off some beers and waters. The island was surrounded by a reef that had the best snorkeling of the trip. Under normal circumstances, this tiny place would draw a crowd of beach loungers and visitors.
For dinner we decided to venture out a little, seeing as how the island wasn’t under full lockdown as we thought it might be, and got dinner at a small French restaurant, Le Bistro, within walking distance of our hotel. One of the best meals I had on the island. And decorated for Christmas to boot.
Thursday December 3rd
Excursion day. While the plan for this whole trip was a COVID-type-stay-at-the-resort-the-whole-time plan, we were getting a little antsy to “get out”, being practically alone at our huge resort. Decided to check out the southern end of the island; the English Harbor, and the larger Falmouth Harbor. About a 40 minute drive through the island, it had a good mix of local shops, restaurants, and contrasting mansions and super yachts.
Galleon Beach was our first stop. Did some snorkeling along the shallow reef along the coastline. Didn't see any turtles, but some great sights with the shallow reef right next to the beach.
Lunchtime we made our way back to the harbor and picked up a quick sandwich at Skullduggery’s Cafe. The yachts parked in the Falmouth harbor were impressive. Had never seen anything this big before. Looked up the “Grace” as that was the largest motorized one sitting in front of us.
Walked over from the harbor to Pigeon Point beach, perfect for lounging and watching the sunset. Boats were coming and going, but it didn’t feel like a harbor at all since the natural beach and reefs were so nice. Saw some giant starfish near the reefs. This was probably our favorite beach after the ones at Hodges Bay. Super laid back and populated with yacht workers during their off hours. Picked up some great frozen drinks at Bumpkins beach bar for the sunset.
Grabbed another beer at Skullduggery’s before we grabbed dinner at a local chicken spot, Flatties Flame Grill. Checked out the boats at night, then headed home.
Friday December 4th
Beach morning with a rainbow, pool day, then a massage in the afternoon. What more can I say. Finished some books and drank more Antiguan rum. Final birthday dinner at an empty NaCl (the restaurant at Hodges Bay), but still an excellent meal.
Saturday December 5th
Already starting to miss the beach, so we spent the whole morning taking it all in before sadly making our way to the airport. All in all a great trip in these crazy COVID times. Looking forward to 2021 travel planning.
Played around with my new underwater camera. Threw together all my clips from our stingray and snorkeling adventure with Captain Marvin's tours.
So I had been doing a lot of travel for work the previous year and collecting points on IHG. Made it to Spire Elite status without even paying attention. I’ve used hotel points here and there for a free room on a motorcycle road trip, or when driving out to Colorado to help move stuff when my dad moved out there from New Jersey, but I decided I wanted to make use of the points at somewhere better than a standard Holiday Inn express. Did some research on the best use of points, and decided on a long weekend at the Kimpton Seafire Resort and Spa in the Cayman Islands. There were direct flights available from JFK, it was a warm location for the middle of January, and we had been big fans of the Kimpton brand from our stay at the Kimpton Gray in Chicago for a weekend the previous year. The only rooms available for rewards nights were the standard Oceanview King rooms, so I grabbed one for 3 nights at 70K points a night.
January 16th Thursday
Thursday morning started off exciting with my girlfriend waking up with achy bones, a stuffy nose, and a slight fever. I didn’t help anything by insisting that we get to the airport early. Got us up early, made some coffee, and somehow convinced her to push through it. Flu recovery would be better at a Spa than at home in bed?
JFK was obviously empty at the international terminal at 6 am. The Cayman Airlines flight was the first one leaving that day, so we sat and waited for others to show up at the gate. Even better, no coffee places had opened yet.
Flight was as expected. Nothing special at all with a points booked economy ticket. The free rum punch cocktails, premixed and served out of a plastic gallon milk container, were a great early morning wake me up, and I appreciated the “cheese sandwiches in a sandwich baggie” for a lunch snack. It was a direct flight. Can’t complain.
Super easy cab ride from the airport. There were ads for a price checker app which I used because I'm paranoid, but the cab driver was super nice and knew where to go.
Check-in was a little surprising. Since booking with points, I had assumed we'd get the most basic room that they had. Due to my IHG status, they upgraded me to a 1 bedroom suite, gave me a $30 spa credit, and gave me a $30 restaurant credit. Even better, my girlfriend mentioned that she was also an IHG member so they gave her a $30 spa credit as well.
We were early so they gave us a drink and we lounged at the beach for the afternoon.
Definitely one of the nicest rooms I’ve ever stayed in, and enormous. Way more than we needed for the weekend.
While my girlfriend took a nap after check in to try and at least start her flu recovery, I checked out the wine happy hour, a standard for Kimpton hotels.
After the break, we decided to keep it local and dressed up for dinner at one of the hotel restaurants, Avecita, for some small plates, drinks, and desserts. No complaints at all, as we started thinking we could get used to a spa resort type vacation.
January 17th Friday
Next morning, our first full day, we decided to start it off by taking advantage of our very temporary $1300 a night suite life, and ordered breakfast to be delivered to our room on the balcony. Even tried to be healthy out of guilt. Oatmeal, yogurt and fruit, and robes.
This morning’s schedule was one of the main reasons for the trip. A spa day for the girlfriend. Prepaid for a package and hoped the $60 in credits would make a dent in the bill, but yeah not even close. While she relaxed at the spa getting a facial and mani/pedi, I lounged on the beach and broke out the new underwater video camera and full face snorkel set, which was one of my main goals for the trip to play around with.
Listened to rave reviews of the Seafire Spa over fruity drinks and tacos on the beach at Coccoloba.
Spent the rest of the afternoon poolside and reading. Popsicles, drinks. For a family friendly place, it certainly didn’t feel like it, as there weren’t too many kids or families at the pool.
Dinner in town for a change of pace. The restaurant was recommended by hotel staff, but they told us the town would probably be pretty empty as there were no cruise ships in port. Le Vele restaurant was perfect for seaside dining.
Lindsay has a severe aversion to seafood. Can't eat any of it. However since I had set up this trip, she wanted to do a seafood place for me for one dinner. I ordered an appetizer, pretty much the only one that didn't contain any seafood, but she was a little skepticaland wasn’t completely sure they were seafood free.
January 18th Saturday
Still getting over the flu, we decided to sleep in a little longer than normal that morning. I got up first and had to check out the free hot chocolate station, and picked up a snack from their pantry.
Spent the morning on the beach, trying out the new full face snorkels that I had brought with us. Grabbed drinks and tacos on the beach.
Plan for the afternoon was to do something a little touristy, but something I wanted to do while there in the Caymans. Made our way to the highly Captain Marvin's Swimming with Stingrays boat trip. Picked up a fedora hat while waiting for our tickets, which ended up in the water almost immediately after getting on the boat. One of the deckhands ended up jumping in to retrieve it before we headed out to the stingray grounds. Got some great footage swimming with the stingrays and snorkeling with fish afterwards. It was much more choppy than expected for everyone, and much more hands on with the sea-life than we expected. Definitely something you should do at least once.
One more set of drinks on the beach, post terrifying ray excursion.
Last dinner at Avecita.
January 19th Sunday
For our last day, we had to do breakfast in bed again. This time we didn’t go healthy.
Final relaxing beach day and some snorkeling before heading back.
Loved the Caymans, and found a great way to use IHG points for expensive hotels. I have a bunch left so I plan on banking them for one more Spire Elite trip before I figure out if I'm switching to another loyalty program. One other bonus that worked out well on this trip was getting a Chase Offer on Kimpton hotels with my credit card. While points were used for the room, we racked up some charges with the spa, drinks, and food, so it was nice to see some credits come back that I wasn't expecting.
9/21/2019 Saturday
After getting to the port way too early (freely admit I’m a terrible traveler) and waiting in line, the Seajets ferry pulled up about a half hour late and we boarded with no issues. This ferry was a little more upscale than the previous one we took. Full bar with drinks, snacks, and even a race car replica in the lobby.
I was a little worried about getting to our next AirBNB “base of operations”, as the only thing I had really read before arriving in Oia is that there were no roads and that you had to be prepared to walk up and down a lot of stairs. So when the host offered to pick us up from the airport and bring us and our luggage to our apartment for a fee, I gladly accepted. 30 pounds of useless camera gear gets heavy when traveling. Once we arrived, we found our shuttle waiting for us, who drove us and a group of others up a long winding road from the port, over to our stop in Oia. Once we arrived, we handed off our luggage to a linebacker who rushed us through tiny streets and a maze of stairs down the cliffside to our place.
First impression of the cave house we booked was the view. We had seen pictures on the Airbnb site showing a small terrace with a table and a view, but assumed it had been shot to make it out to be better than it actually was. The view was perfect. Our place overlooked the southern side of the island, off a dead end walking cliffside street with almost no foot traffic. Full kitchen and table, couch, and even a washer / dryer. Exactly what we had hoped for a Santorini “cave house.”
Plan for the rest of the day was to get our bearings and relax on our terrace. We picked up gyros from one of the popular take out places in Oia, Pitogyros, then headed over to a grocery store to pick up some snacks for the afternoon. Great way to let the view settle in before planning our next moves. I charged a few camera batteries, while others recharged.
Did some wandering to see the city at night, and had dinner at Roka before heading back home for the night. Even broke out the tripod and got a few shots of the town at night before going to sleep.
Some clips from the first day.
9/22/2019 Sunday
Plan for this morning was to make the hike from Oia to Thera, following the cliff side paths. Typically the hike is done in the opposite direction, as most people make their way into Oia for the afternoon and sunset, so we had the path to ourselves most of the time. Very windy, but pleasant and nice to walk around.
Passed Skaros rock along the way and decided to appreciate it from a distance, rather than add an hour to the walk.
Passing a few little villages and towns, we made it to Thera. After more quick gyros at Meat Corner, we caught a bus over to one of the wineries on our planning map. Venetsanos Winery is right on the side of the cliffs, and is one of the smaller but more popular ones on the island. Tried a flight of wines, saw the distillery, and enjoyed the windy view. Known for their white wines made from assyrtiko grapes, we picked up a bottle of Santorini 2017 (100% assyrtiko) to bring back home to the U.S., and made our way back to Oia via the bus.
As it was getting later in the afternoon, we headed back to a spot we had checked out the day before to set up for the sunset. First time I really brought out my tripod and grabbed a sunset spot early. Why my girlfriend put up with this, I have no idea. It may have been because we got an excellent spot on the wall in the castle ruins. She ended up having a much better vantage point for the sunset. The whole area got packed pretty quickly with everyone trying to view the sunset, including the harbor with boats giving sunset tours. It was worth the wait as checking off a sunset in Oia should be on everyone’s list.
We had gotten a restaurant recommendation from friends who previously visited Oia. First issue was that it was a seafood place, and the second issue was that it was located in the Ammoudi harbor. Nevertheless, we went for it. Dimitris Ammoudi Taverna. Local fava bean dip, fish, and baklava, along with a small jug of wine, as the waves crashed on the harbor as we ate. I loved it, and had no regrets, but I knew my knees would have some regrets the next morning as we hiked the 300+ stairs all the way back home.
Took a few more tripod shots from our area then called it a night.
Some windy clips from day 2 on Santorini
9/23/2019 Monday
Since we had been around Oia for the past two days, and walked around most of Thera the previous day, the plan for our last day was to check out one of Santorini’s beaches. We had not been disappointed with any of the beaches on Mykonos or Naxos, so we figured there was something to see here on Santorini.
My last day in Oia, I woke up pre-sunrise to get some shots while the streets were empty, and find a composition that I could get with the city and sunrise in the background. Set up while it was still dark, and the city was silent. Think I got a few keepers.
Once it was light out, but still very early, the Instagramers came out. Lots of girls in dresses with their boyfriends running around behind them with iphones, trying to get "flowy" motion shots. It was entertaining at first. Then they all stepped up their game and started crossing barriers, jumping on roofs, walking into private homes and courtyards, to get the shot. Once they started jumping in front of my tripod setup, I gave up and went home to make myself coffee. I can see this place getting out of control in the future, if it's not already. Still, I think I was happy with the shots that I got. I could spend days here just taking pictures.
Once we were both up, we had some Greek yogurt and honey on our terrace, and made our way to the bus stop in Oia. We must have passed 30-40 groups of tourist groups coming in for the day to Oia from the 5 or so cruise ships docked in the harbor. Our plan coincidentally had us missing all of the Oia turmoil for the day as we grabbed a bus from Oia to Thera, then picked up another bus headed south over to Parissa, Santorini’s black sand beach.
My last experience with a black sand beach (non-winter time) was Honokalani Beach, a small stretch of sand located on the east side of Maui. Parissa Beach wasn’t anything like we had seen yet. It stretched for miles and was this coarse pebble sand that was super hot from baking in the sun. Much bigger. We spent the rest of the morning and a good part of the afternoon lounging on the beach before heading back to Thera. As with all the beaches we had visited on this trip, the water was a perfect temperature and crystal clear.
Picked up an afternoon coffee at Zotos Cafe in Thera and wandered the town for a while. Since we had done a dinner and a sunset in Oia already, we decided to make our last dinner in Greece somewhere in Thera overlooking the sunset. We tried a few places who were already booked up, and finally reserved a table at Fanari on the edge overlooking the Thólos Naftílos volcano.
We had some time before dinner, so we grabbed some wine at Katrin Bar up the road. Mingled with a very drunk British tourist couple who were about to depart on one of the cruise ships before we headed back to the restaurant to catch the sunset. After a little trouble getting a table, since the staff didn’t really understand what a reservation meant, we were happily eating fried cheese and Octopus while watching our last Greek sunset for the trip.
Video from our last day. I'm getting used to working with Shotcut.
9/24/2019 Tuesday
Next morning, the AirBnb host arranged for our bags to be picked up and we were on our way to Santorini airport. No issues getting out, and dosed up on coffee and snacks at the Athens airport lounge before heading home.
This trip came together sort of last minute for us. Since we didn’t have a lot of vacation left for the year, we wanted to pick a destination that involved more or less a direct flight from the NYC area, so we didn’t have to use up vacation days traveling. Looking back at how we “compromised” on this destination, I wouldn't have planned anything differently. The itinerary worked out perfectly.
I’ll eventually go through the pictures from my camera and post them to my travel gallery, but seeing as how I’m about 2 years behind on posting pictures, I have a lot of catching up to do first.
9/17/2019 Tuesday
Coincidentally, after settling on a Naxos itinerary for 5 days, it turned out to be directly south and a short ferry ride from Mykonos. The Greek ferry experience was interesting. Booked with one ferry operator, Golden Star Ferries, and were given tickets for another operator, Seajets. Sounded like we were rebooked, as our original ferry operator notified me that they weren’t running anymore that weekend. Fortunately, the concierge at the Branco understood the issue and took care of everything by calling the ferry operator. Even went out and got us the tickets the day before. The Branco driver dropped us off at the port, early as always, and we waited for our ferry to show up. Definitely confused as a Golden Star Ferry pulled up first.
Seajets ferry was a smooth ride, with plenty of seats. After 40 minutes we pulled right up to the port of Naxos and made our way to somewhere we could get Wifi to get in touch with our AirBnB host. We got a standard introduction to the area, recommendations on things to do and where to rent a car, then we were walked over to the apartment. Immediately after ducking off the main road into the old town, I was lost. We were taken through a restaurant courtyard, a few winding back streets, and somehow made our way to the door of the apartment. Completely turned around. I was very surprised by the place. Much bigger than I thought it would be, with a full living room, eat in kitchen, and separate bedroom. Even included a welcome kit with olive oil, honey, and jam, some Greek yogurt for breakfast, and bottled water.
What was most appealing about the place was the location. We were right in the middle of old town, down one of the many maze alleyway-like streets throughout the city. We got lost making our way back to the real estate management company to pick up a forgotten hat. Decided to make the best our short time of remaining daylight and explored around our immediate area, including the walk up to Apollo’s temple and the harbor. Saw some of the best sunsets that night before we dove back into the old town streets to get lost again.
I had gotten a recommendation for the Flamingo Restaurant from a neighbor who called Naxos his favorite Greek island. Got a seat on the outdoor roof terrace.
Naturally, I had to go full ocean meal; octopus and squid. Those with a spiteful distaste of seafood were in luck, as the lamb kleftiko turned out to be the better dish.
Finished off the meal with some complimentary dessert shots.
Still trying to fit in as much as we could our first day in Naxos, we explored the old town streets, getting lost in the process. Made it up to the highest point in town at the Castle of Naxos to see the city at night, before crashing for the evening.
A few video clips of our first Naxos sunset and a walkthrough of the apartment.
9/18/2019 Wednesday
Our first full day in Naxos was kind of all over the place when it came to planning anything. Getting lost in the Castle old town streets at night made us want to experience the excitement of this place during the daytime. We made the same hike through the tiny streets back up to the castle and grabbed some coffee with a view. Once there, the realization set in that we had seen these same streets and views already set in, and decided to make the most of a full day by motivating to see some of the mountain towns that were on our list.
We rushed back down to the port and caught an 11am bus to the mountain towns, making our first stop at the marble town of Aperanthios. Other than the several cafes located on the first street at the bottom of the town right near the bus stop, there weren’t too many people in this town. The narrow stairs and pathways throughout the city were similar to the Old Town, except everything was made of marble. While catching a few more pictures wandering around, we ended up running into a worker on a donkey coming back town one of the stair pathways.
Grabbed beer and lunch with one of the better Greek salads we had on the trip, all the while warding off bees which were rampant on this one street, before catching the bus back down the mountain.
Chalki was the next town we stopped at. I really enjoyed the sunny mountain village vibes with the old stone architecture of these places. The town was only a few streets with shops and cafes. Took a quick tour of the Vallindras Kitron Distillery with a few samples of the Kitron liqueur. Had my first Greek coffee, appreciated the picturesque “bug and tree” situation in the town center, then we headed out on a hike from the town to the surrounding villages that was displayed on one of the maps. Our translation of the signs, as well as interpreting roads vs. property divider fences/paths, was probably not accurate, as we ended up hiking for over an hour and getting lost, on what was supposed to be a 20 minute circle. Luckily we found our way back to the bus to make it out of the mountains late in the afternoon.
Once back, we checked out the Apollo temple, and with some time left in the afternoon we decided to grab another quick bus to the nearest beach, Agios Prokopios, for sunset. We had heard of the Naxos beaches and were not yet sick of the sand from our stay in Mykonos. Bus ride was quick, depositing us in a cool little beach town, with an empty beach for sunset. It was chilly that time of the evening so we didn’t really get a good beach afternoon out of it, but it was nice to see another sunset before heading back home.
Grabbed dinner at Apostolis, the “bicycle” restaurant, on one of the streets right outside our apartment.
Few video clips of the day.
9/19/2019 Thursday
Thursday was one of the few days where we had pre-planned a full day activity. We had decided we would spend the day on a catamaran tour, which was planning three different beach and snorkeling stops. Felt it would give us a good tour of what Naxos beaches were like, and would help us plan our next day if we saw one we really liked. Started with an early breakfast before heading out on the Rena.
With our first stop, we ended up making the trip across the water to Paros to visit Santa Maria beach. Great snorkeling right off the boat. We then went south and stopped at Kalogeros Beach in Paros, famous for it’s clay evidently, where you scrape it off the rocks and rub it all over your skid. Definitely weird. Had to be careful while on the rocks as the waves from the ferries would take you out if you weren’t careful. I couldn’t get over how clear the water was for snorkeling. Final stop was back across the water to Agrios Prokopios beach, where we had visited the day before. During high season, this miles long beach is apparently so full of people, you can’t find a place to sit on the sand. While the boat trip didn’t give us a tour of the southern Naxos beaches that we were expecting, the snorkeling off of Paros definitely made up for it.
Saw another great sunset while grabbing drinks at 520 Cocktail bar. Really got lucky with the Naxos sky colors this trip. I ended up feeling really loopy after the one drink at that place so we decided to head back home before dinner. While walking back, we happened to pass the Flamingo restaurant we had visited previously, and noticed they had an entire garden seating section with live music that we had missed on our first visit. Normally I try not to do repeat places on trips like this, but we felt we had to try this one out. It was a much better experience the second time around, with the music and plate smashing dancing.
Some video clips of the day, including sailing, live Greek music, and dancing.
9/20/2019 Friday
Our last full day on Naxos, I was determined to get over my unreasonable aversion of driving in foreign countries. I hate driving in general, and one of my last trips to Vietnam where there are absolutely no traffic laws and the city traffic is insane, was still in the back of my mind. After breakfast at one of the waterside cafes, with a poor man’s spinach pie and more Greek coffee, we went straight to the car rental place near our apartment. I was laughing at the daily cost of $30. Most people at the place were paying 4 times as much to rent an ATV or scooter. Assumably telling themselves that’s what they wanted to do, but in reality they probably couldn’t drive a manual transmission. Rental company told us to keep the tank almost empty, just like we received it, and just put in $10 worth for the day. “It’s an island. There’s nowhere to go.”
First stop out of town was one of the largest beaches on the island, Plaka Beach, just south of Agrios Prokopios. Completely blown away by the water color and the soft beach sand. Seemed to stretch for miles in each direction, as we couldn’t see the end in sight. Had to spend at least a half hour there instead of continuing on, just because it was so pretty. It was actually difficult to force ourselves to leave.
Nevertheless, we drove on after our quick stop and proceeded over to Aliko (Hawaii) beach, on the southwest tip of the island. We had to hike through some sand dunes and vegetation before arriving at this small cliff-enclosed spot. Spent some time there as the water was amazing. After a while, again we forced ourselves to trek along to a few other southern spots with the car since we had it, all the while thinking about that first Plaka beach stop.
Driving around to spots along the remaining southern coast, each stop kept us closer and closer to just finally staying in the car and quickly looking out at the coastline, and concluding we would go back to Plaka beach and spend the rest of the afternoon there.
When we made it back to Plaka Beach, we finally stopped at a beach side cafe with dried octopus hanging for an advertisement. Couldn’t get enough this trip. Spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on this amazing beach before heading back to drop off the rental car.
For our last night in Naxos, rather than going out again to another sit-down restaurant, we headed back to the beach area of the town located at the south of old town, and picked up a glass of wine at Soulatso and chicken gyros at Gyro Gyro in Plateia Protodikeiou Circle. Low key dining and people watching. We picked up a slice of orange cake at the Sitári bakery next to the gyro place to enjoy at our last night in our Naxos apartment.
Amazing place to visit. Couldn’t have asked for a better trip. Don’t think I’ll ever get over Plaka beach. Only thing I would have changed about the itinerary was to get over my fear of driving a little sooner.
9/21/2019 Saturday
The next morning, packed up and headed over to the port for our next Seajet ferry to Santorini.
We decided that we would approach Mykonos, our first stop, a little differently than normal. Rather than coming up with a bunch of things to run around and see as quickly as we could in the three days we had there, we decided to pick some place nice to stay and just relax for our time there, maybe throwing in a few afternoon trips here and there if we felt like it. Our planning map is below. We picked the Branco Hotel for our stay on the first island.
9/13/2019 Friday
I was able to score two direct flights for us from Newark to Athens using points. Overnight flight. As usual, I had to get to the airport way too early. My checked bag weighed over 50 lbs, as I was trying to sneak in as much photo gear on this trip as I could. I promised myself I wouldn’t run around grabbing sunrise and sunset shots like I usually do I my solo trips. (way too much camera gear), so I was dumping extra stuff into my girlfriend’s bag. Completely overpacked. Grabbed a drink at the airport bar to try and calm down.
Once we boarded and my camera gear had safely made it aboard, I relaxed. Overnight flight was great. Left right on time and got two meals. I stuck with my traditional “lots of red wine to sleep”. Got several hours.
9/14/2019 Saturday
Landed at Athens and picked up our luggage with no problems. Felt like I slept well. I can usually function the day after an overnight flight to Europe for the most part, but usually end up crashing hard at a random point late in the afternoon. As soon as we landed, my girlfriend had a notification from her credit card company that there was fraudulent activity, and that they would need to send her a new one. Only brought one card with her. Tried expedited shipping to our Mykonos hotel. We had a 3 hour layover, and our Mykonos flight was on time as well. Went to the first ATM I saw and didn’t have any issues taking out Euros. High fee (reimbursed) and 1% exchange rate fee. Small plane, but completely full.
Landed and immediately found the Branco Hotel driver waiting to pick us up, once we got our bags. Took us too a BMW SUV which seemed like the largest car on the island. There’s something to be said about not having to worry about how to get to your hotel after a long day of flying.
Since it was my first time in Greece, naturally my head was on a swivel as we drove through winding streets towards our hotel. I knew we were on the south side of the island, right on the beach. We passed a few places I recognized from our research. Made it down through some windey narrow roads close to the beach and pulled up right to our hotel. Happy it looked exactly like all the filtered photos I had seen of it. Got free non alcoholic welcome drinks, tour of the room, and a tour of the main area and restaurant. Blown away by the view. A minimalist feel to the rooms, but couldn’t have picked a better location.
After unpacking, immediately went to the beach and picked out our sun loungers. Little windy, but air temp was nice and the water temperature was perfect. Couldn’t get over how clear the water was. Lounge chairs, our first island beach drinks. I think at this point, I was finally relaxed. No more worrying about making it the destination, and all my camera gear was intact. Started to crash a little before sunset so we went back to the hotel for a nap. Caught the sunset from our window.
Usually don’t do too much planning for a trip in terms of fixed itineraries and reservations, as the exploring part of travel I think is the most fun. Figured our first day was our relax and get settled in day, so we made a dinner reservation at 10:30 pm at Zingara, the hotel restaurant. Made it easy for us the first night there. Food was great. Our first Greek salad. Steak was perfect. Wine right on the beach. Chocolate praline for dessert, as we wanted to save our first baklava experience for another place.
Wandered the beach a little at night to see what else was in our area. Grabbed a drink after dinner at a hotel bar right next to our place, which had a small crowd there, and was blasting 90s music. Bartender said everyone was probably downtown at this time of night. Worked out great for us as we were looking for a night cap and then crashing.
Threw all our video clips from that day into one video below. I have to learn to shoot more horizontal videos while on vacation.
9/15/2019 Sunday
Woke up by sunlight for the first time in a long time. Weather was perfect. Breezy but not cold. Bright sun. Had to do an espresso right on our balcony before completely waking up. I had read good reviews of the breakfast at Branco, and it didn't disappoint. Breakfast at the restaurant was a la carte, whatever you wanted, all included. Fresh orange juice, coffee, spinach pie, waffles, Greek yogurt and fruit.
Decided to grab a cabana in front of the pool to change it up for the day. Located right in front of the pool, behind the bar and DJ, steps from the beach. Hard not to relax and order drinks. Why explore when we had everything we wanted right here. Perfect water, weather.
Ate lunch and listened to the DJ all afternoon. Really got into the music as it brought around the perfect vibe for the place. Hotel brought us a complimentary fruit platter to our cabana.
Wrapped up the afternoon and then headed to Scorpios, our only other dedicated itinerary item for the Mykonos portion of our trip, for our 530 sunset beach reservation. Their sunset ritual Sundays had been recommended to us, and seemed like the popular not to miss thing to do on the island. Upscale beach club, place to be seen type situation. It was a 10 minute walk from our hotel.
We showed up about a half hour before sunset. They were only letting in people with a reservation, which we had. Super easy to make one, but a somewhat hilarious interaction making it. After going through the options and obviously skipping the terrace location with a $2000 minimum spend requirement, I requested a 5:30 pm time for Sunset Beach. The next day, I got a confirmation response saying yes you are confirmed for 5:30, and please don’t worry about the drink prices. Wasn’t quite sure what that even meant, as I had never asked for any information on drink prices.
Got us a bottle of rose and waited for the sunset.
Cool experience. Very popular place. Really picked up towards 9-10pm. Decided we had been here long enough and caught a cab to the downtown part of the island. Got gyros, picked up some souvenirs, our first baklava, and another drink.
Small maze like roads with blue and white were really cool to see for the first time. Went by a few clubs around midnight but they were completely empty. Everyone must have just stayed at Scorpios. Walked around a little more then called it a night.
9/16/2019 Monday
Looking forward to the breakfast this morning. No such thing as eating healthy when I'm taking time off. I was obviously up first, and made a trip to the balcony with my espresso to take in the morning. Seemed a little less windy today. Decided to switch up the breakfast strategy and go a little more unhealthy. Got the jam spread, poached eggs, bread, fresh orange juice, and more coffee. The restaurant was all about getting us to try everything, which I loved.
Since we ended up doing a lot of running around the previous day, we picked our sun loungers for the day and decided to hit the beach early. Water and temperature were perfect, and we loved our location, so why not take advantage of it. Only planning we foresaw for the morning involved beach, water, lounge, eat, drink, and relax.
Eventually we got a little antsy, and since it was our last full day on the island, we decided to try one other location that was recommended. Nammos was within walking distance, so we hiked over there to check it out. Again, only a 10 minute hike from our hotel.
Beach club with a bar right on the sand, loungers and umbrellas for rent, and enough yachts parked out in front along with a menu that made me realize I was happy we were planning on getting dinner back at our beach. Nevertheless, we had to grab a cocktail and enjoy the place for what it was.
Final glass of wine for the evening at Branco before we grabbed a pizza dinner at Yialo Yialo on the beach.
9/17/2019 Tuesday
Woke up pre-sunrise early that morning to try and get some early morning/sunrise shots with my tripod, of the beach area and hotel. Not much in terms of shot planning, but it was fun to play with my camera for the first time on the trip. Breakfast, followed by our usual switch up to a cabana for the morning.
The concierge was kind enough to pick up our ferry tickets the previous day for our ride to Naxos that afternoon. Absolutely no wind today. Perfect beach weather made it very difficult to want to leave our setup at Branco. Experienced the DJ set on the beach one last time, which I have to say was one of the highlights of the trip. Definitely the most popular setup on the small stretch of Platis Gialos Beach. DJ Trixx's whole set is below.
Last ice tea with a brave stray cat, then we ended our Mykonos trip with a ride to the port to catch our ferry to Naxos.
I ended up taking a bunch of different exposures and shots over several hours in the same location. I wanted to try and get a composition of both the river itself, the buildings on both the left and right, and the boats in the foreground. What I found most difficult with this setup was forcing myself not to change my mind with the composition. After running around on that damn bridge, getting different perspectives of the harbor, I settled on a composition, realizing that if I didn't set up soon, I'd miss the blue hour and would be unable to blend it into the sunrise shot if I kept moving around. I grabbed these frames from Lightroom and took a first pass.
Started off with the sunrise exposure as my base layer. I liked how the two lines of boats somewhat lead the eye to the sun and the town on the right. After the sun came up, the building lights turned off, and looked like your typical beach town waiting for its morning coffee before waking up.
The buildings and boats during the blue hour were lit up nicely and gave off a warm glow, so I tried blending this shot into the main base layer.
Finally, I took this layer and blended in some of the sun into the base layer, to take care of some of the sky and sun that was blown out in the original exposure.
After getting my base blend together, I added some contrast and curves adjustments, and settled on this as a first pass. The blending might be a little too much for some, but in my opinion I think it captures this sunrise as it transpired over the course of a few hours. I would have liked to blend in some of the boats from the blue hour into the final shot, but they moved around too much and masking them in proved to be too difficult for my Photoshop skills.
I have a bunch more shots of blue hour which I think look nice, so I'll develop one or two of those next. I wanted to take an attempt at blending first. Not sure why, but this Florida set has been sitting in my Lightroom catalog for a long time and it's been bugging me that I haven't finished going through all the pictures yet. I recently finished a first pass at my Norway collection and the whole time I was going through them, this blend shot was stuck in the back of my mind, unfinished, and driving me nuts. Glad I got through a first pass at this finally, to maintain my sanity. I think now I can at least open my catalog from my recent trip to the Czech Republic and Slovakia and try and get through a few of those.
Food is a big part of why I like to travel so much. I have to experience the local cuisine wherever I go. You'll never see me flying half way around the world to Taiwan and seeking out a TGI Fridays to get an American burger and fries. So a series that showcases chefs and restaurants from all over the world is naturally appealing to me. And the food photography is amazing.
My favorite episode so far is the one showcasing Magnus Neilsson's Flaviken. A restaurant and chef, in the middle of nowhere Sweden, considered one of the best in the world. How such a place can exist in the Arctic where nothing grows for 6 months out of the year is amazing to me. I may just have to start a restaurant bucket list soon. My google maps list of "want to go" places in NYC seems weak at this point.
The episode following Flaviken is about Grant Achatz's Alinea, the opener for Season 2. While the food and restaurant in this episode blew my mind, I couldn't help but notice the differences in my appeal between this place and the previous place. Alinea is located in a huge American city, easy to get to, with a well know restaurant scene. Flaviken is located in a tiny town in Sweden, in a hard to get to area of the world, not really known for anything. I think most, if given the choice between the two restaurants, would choose the latter, I think I'm always going to naturally gravitate towards the former. Looking forward to finishing Season 2 and 3.
Thought I'd share a short film by William Wei, a photographer who I traveled with in the Lofoten Islands. He took some great footage with his drone and put together this awesome short video of the area (and yes I even make an appearance in the video). While I'm still resisting spending the money on a new drone, this video did not help things...
Tried a small breakfast/lunch spot that recently opened in Jersey City Heights, right up the hill from where I live. I'm happy to see places like this opening in the surrounding areas. Small locally owned businesses still hopefully can survive here with the rising rents and real estate, and the last thing I want to see is another chain taking over.
Good coffee.
Small place, but they have a nice outdoor patio, and a small bar with a few seats right in front of the kitchen area.
They have plenty of healthy options on the menu, from oatmeal to acai bowls, but sometimes a good omelette is needed. I really like the fact that they include a salad with breakfast.
The Cliff in Jersey City. Looks to be a nice coffee shop addition to the area.
I wrote up a few posts previous to this final one as I developed these pictures, listed below, which go more into a few specifics of the trip, but I think this post summarized the trip for anyone interested. I have a few more pictures that I'd like to add to the gallery, and plan on doing it eventually once I'm in the mood, but for now I think this is a good first pass.
After my last trip to Bhutan, which was my first photography workshop, I was determined to take another class as soon as possible. Usually I take photography trips to new places during the spring, summer, and fall months, and leave the winter months for ski trips, but this time I decided to take a trip specifically for some winter photography. I had been following Daniel Kordan’s site for a while, looking at the tours that were posted, saw that there were some spots left on the Lofoten Islands itinerary, and decided to go for it.
Spent the first day and night in Oslo, since the flights to the Lofotens was an early departure from the airport. The overnight flight was empty, and I slept well, but I think I scratched my cornea again as my eye was bothering me. Spent the day in Oslo drinking espresso, wandering downtown, and picking up a travel adapter to charge my batteries. I’m usually pretty good about packing up all my camera gear, but this time around I forgot to bring a travel adapter. Oslo is a great city and I would have liked to spend more time exploring, but it was freezing, I was exhausted from wandering around, and I preferred to go to a nearby restaurant with giant viking-like fireplaces Norwegian food, and beer. Spent the night at the Cochs Pensjonat. Simple rooms but warm and clean, and I got a good night's sleep for the mile walk back to the train station and ride to the airport.
Flight to Bodo was slightly delayed, so we had to run to make our flight to the Lofotens. Almost everyone on the plane was there for photography, as we were all scrambling for overhead space to stash our gear. Meeting the group was exciting. We had a good group of people who had already traveled the world, and again I was probably the only one in the group with the shortest list of destinations. Daniel and Alban explained to us that the forecast was snowy, which was good in that it would make for much better winter landscape scenery, but would not be great for northern lights hunting, something that I was desperately hoping to see on this trip. It was cloudy and snowing pretty good when we landed, so we decided to make our way straight to the cabins where we would be staying for the next few nights.
These tiny little fishing cabins were perfect for a winter trip. Cozy, bare bones, with heat and hot water. My roommate for the trip brought a nice bottle of Akvavit, which definitely helped with warming up. After a few pics from the bridge of our cabins, we all met for dinner at the only restaurant in town. I got along just fine with the two Australians on the trip, as we decided then that we would have to try every Norwegian beer the place had available during our stay here the next few days. The chef was awesome, and the Minke whale steak was excellent. I slept well until about 1 am when we were woken up for some potential northern lights shots, which turned out to be somewhat of a bust.
Spent the next morning getting some shots of the town of Reine. I couldn’t believe how many cod drying racks there were, waiting to be filled up at the start of the fishing season. The light wasn’t that great, but we still got some good pictures. Once we wrapped up shooting, we headed back to our Krambua Restaurant for a surprisingly nice breakfast spread. Daniel gave us an overview of the plans for the tour the rest of the week, and showed us a few of his pictures from past tours. Once the weather cleared, we gathered our ice spikes and waterproof boots up and headed out.
First stop was the town of Å, a long drive south from where we were staying, known to the Norwegians as “the end of the world” as there is nothing really past that town to the south except uninhabited islands and Arctic seas. Got a few city pictures when the snow would clear, and it was fun exploring.
Towards the end we got some good light as we headed to our next destination, Skagsanden Beach. It was a lot of fun walking around an Arctic beach in my new waders, trying to get wave and ice shots. I had never pictured myself ever standing in an arctic ocean in the middle of the winter. Even saw some crazy surfers out in the water. It was surreal thinking as I stood there on the beach that the only thing north of me was the Arctic. Clouds broke a few times to reveal some nice light, and I think I got a few keepers on that beach. Dinner included great food again and more beers, and as the clouds closed in we looked forward to good sleep instead of northern lights in the sky.
Next morning we decided on a hike up a hill overlooking the town of Sakrisoy. It was cloudy, freezing, and the snow and hail didn’t help anything, but I was determined to get to the top and get some shots overlooking small town filled with yellow cabins. Light was nice, but I didn’t get too many shots due to the wind and hail. Got a few more shots of the cabins at the bottom of the hill, but I didn’t really like any of my compositions after I went through all of them. We stopped by the town of Reine to shoot the famous Reine mountain peak and bridge, then headed back out to Å to get some sunset cliff shots.
Dinner was entertaining and the Australians and I were no longer limiting ourselves to two beers for dinner. They both happened to be miners, and have taken some amazing trips with their time off. Cory and his wife live in Vietnam, and have already convinced me that I will have to visit sooner rather than later. The three doctors on this trip have evidently done the northern lights thing many many times, and as they shared their galleries of past shots, those of us who had never seen them were getting more and more worried that we might miss out on the experience this trip as we looked at the forecast predicting another cloudy night.
Headed back to Reine the next morning for some sunrise pictures. I was a little disappointed that we were going back to the same location again. I would have been much happier going to another beach. Didn’t really get any shots that I liked, however this time one of our group members decided to break out his drone. I’ve seen these things before, but never really took any interest in them. This Mavic Pro was amazing. So small and compact, it fit right in his camera bag just like another lens, and the shots that he was getting were pretty amazing. As something else to waste my money on that seems safer than a motorcycle, I knew I’d be looking into drone options when I got back home.
Heading back to our cabins, we had a couple hours before breakfast. I had picked up some instant coffee at the lone grocery store in town. Not the best coffee I’ve ever had, but certainly not the worst, and I was happy my dad’s habit of taking free coffee packets and more importantly, the cream, sugar, and stirrer packets, from hotel stays rubbed off on me, as I had brought some with me. Drinking coffee on the balcony of my arctic fishing cabin made me thankful I had forced myself to do more trips like this.
Spent the morning driving out to the town of Nusfjord, a UNESCO protected fishing village in Norway, and the oldest harbor in the country. Stopped along the way to grab a few more lake and beach pictures. Lots of snow prevented us from really getting any dramatic coastline village pictures, but it was still nice walking around the town. Even met a couple, Niko and Joska, who have been driving around the world for the past 4 years.
It ended up being too cloudy for sunsets at the harbor, so we headed back to the beach to see if we could catch any light coming through the clouds. After getting stuck in a two and a half hour traffic jam due to a snow plow catching fire, the beers at dinner were more than satisfying.
Woke up early for a hike to get a few sunrise pictures over the town of Reine. Hike was worth it, and we got the best light of the trip that morning. Headed back to the hotel to check out, and spent another hour getting pictures around the area. I was starting to get sick of the same cabin scenery, but the skies were clear that morning. Driving to our next location, we finally started asking why the same locations over and over again. Evidently there are a lot of tourists that visit the Lofoten Islands (obviously) and due to the small roads throughout the country it is illegal to stop on the side of the roads (to take pictures). We had to choose our destinations carefully.
We had a couple hours of driving to our next hotel in Leknes, when all of a sudden our bus just tipped over. Apparently the markers on the side of the road indicating where the ditches were located, were incorrectly placed. When we drifted to the right, the snow just gave way and we tipped over. We ended up making the best of it. There was a rocky beach on the other side of the road, and we wandered down there with our gear trying to get a few pictures in the middle of the blizzard. After 4 hours, a taxi finally found us and was able to get the last of us to the hotel. Our van was towed out later. Afternoon was a complete bust, but we were rewarded with good news that the skies were forecasted to be clear that night. We charged up our batteries, dressed warmly, and left for the beaches at 10:30 pm.
I’ve never had so much fun standing out in the cold in the middle of the night until 5 am taking pictures and watching green and purple lights dance around above me for no reason. Epic experience.
I ended up sleeping for only a few hours. Couldn’t get back to sleep so I just went to breakfast in the morning. It was a snowy day again so no real opportunities to take pictures, so Daniel decided to hold a photo editing class. I stayed for the first hour, but ended up leaving as I wanted to wander around Leknes instead. After last night, I added boot dryers, toe and hand warmers, and instant coffee to my list of things to bring on my next winter photography trip.
Last day of the trip before our afternoon flight, we were rewarded with some really nice sunrise light. I ended up getting some of my best shots during this time, along some random Straumsbukta Fjord.
Honestly, this trip wasn’t as nearly as exciting as my Bhutan trip, but it was nonetheless very memorable, as I had never been to any place like this before. The northern lights were incredible, the Norwegian people were friendly, and I met some more amazing photographers on this trip that I will definitely try and keep in touch with.
While I found the workshop through Daniel Kordon’s work, I learned a lot about composition and technique from Alban Henderyckx, the other professional photographer guide, who was very helpful. Being based in Iceland got me thinking of my next potential trip destination. Coincidentally, as I finally landed in Newark and turned on my phone to begin the painful process of reconnecting to the real world, I received a message from my previous photographer guides about a new trip to Iceland they were planning for November. I took this as a very good sign, and send them my deposit as we were taxiing to the gate….
Northern Lights over Uttakleiv Beach in the Lofoten Islands, NorwayThe Northern Lights were weak this evening and came in waves, but still cast a nice reflection along the coastline of Uttakleiv Beach in the Lofoten Islands of Norway
One of my goals this trip was to try and get a few pictures of the northern lights. Prior to this trip, I knew nothing about the northern lights. I had seen plenty of pictures and knew that you had to get closer to the Arctic circle to see them, so I figured I'd just go to Norway and they'd be there. Once we arrived, our guides told us that the weather had drastically changed from the week before. It was snowing when we landed, and they were predicting lots of snow during our week in the Lofoten Islands, which would make for some nice snowy landscape scenes. The prior week had been rainy and there had been no snow on the ground. Unfortunately with snow comes cloudy skies, making it impossible to see any lights that might appear in the night sky, so our guides were not very hopeful about seeing the lights this week.
During our second night in our fishing cabin hotel, our group decided we would keep a lookout for anything that appeared in the sky. It was snowing, but the forecast for lights was there. We were all pretty tired from our first day of shooting, so when we were woken up at midnight by banging pots and pans and yelling for everyone to get out and shoot, I wasn't really sure what to make of it all. I threw on my clothes and ran outside to set up my tripod. It was still snowing and I didn't really see anything, but started taking my 30 second exposures. Eventually we saw some very faint green behind some clouds, but honestly I wasn't too impressed. After an hour, we all just went back to sleep.
Next day at breakfast, I better understood why we had to be ready at short notice to take northern lights pictures. Their appearance is unpredictable, and may not last very long, so when they appear you want to be ready. Our guides told us stories of guides pulling fire alarms in hotels to get groups of tourists up to see the northern lights.
Over the next few days, other members of my group shared their stories of seeing the lights, and shared some of their pictures. This only got me more frustrated that I hadn't seen any yet, and with the weather forecasts I might not see them this trip.
On the fourth night, we were finally rewarded with a forecast of a clear night sky, so we decided to head out with our waterproof gear and headlamps at around 10 pm to Uttalkeiv Beach. I wore pretty much every piece of clothing I had brought with me, since it was probably going to be cold standing in the Arctic ocean all night.
First thing I remember once the bus stopped and everyone started running towards the beach to set up their tripods was how freaking dark it was. I picked a spot away from everyone else, set up my gear, and was ready to take some damn pictures when I realized I couldn't see anything. How the hell do you manual focus your lens when you can't freaking see anything? I tried a few test shots at close to infinite focus, but when it's pitch black out a "test shot" usually is a 1 minute exposure at high ISO. At this rate, it was probably going to take me all night to just figure out how to focus, and I would probably miss the whole show. I think there were a few others in my group who had the same thoughts as me.After a while, I remembered one piece of advise from the photographers was to try and focus on a distant star and manually set your white balance to something around 2950K. I eventually zoomed in via live view, found a star, and got my setup in focus. Once I got that figured out, I remember thinking ok yeah I'm not moving here for the next 4 hours because I'll never get this thing in focus again.
Focus frustration aside, my nervousness melted away as the lights began to appear. They just sort of materialized out of nowhere behind the mountains, and came over us in waves of green and purple. Apparently they were pretty weak, but it was still amazing to see.
I even took a camera phone picture of my DSLR's LCD screen of one of the shots I had taken, just to show people that this was what I was getting straight from the camera, with no post processing in Photoshop.
We ended up staying out in the cold, getting northern lights pictures until around 5 in the morning. I'll be honest, towards the end my feet were starting to get super cold. I think some water had gotten past my waterproof slip-ons, so that night's sleep in a warm hotel room was one of the better ones I've had.
I took a bunch of shots (hundreds), with the hopes of getting at least one keeper from each location. You can even see here where I finally remembered to manually set my white balance.
Northern Lights over Haukland Beach in the Lofoten Islands, NorwayThe aurora was weak this night, but still put on a nice show over the calm waters of Haukland Beach.
Northern Lights over Uttakleiv Beach in the Lofoten Islands, NorwayThe Northern Lights were weak this evening and came in waves, but still cast a nice reflection along the coastline of Uttakleiv Beach in the Lofoten Islands of Norway
These are my favorites from each location. I think I was a little too paranoid about changing my setup once I got everything in focus, so I didn't move around a lot. Learned a bunch my first time around shooting the northern lights, and I've already planned another trip in November to try and shoot them again. Seeing these appear overhead in person for the first time was an experience I will never forget.
I'm really not sure how this one ended up on my list, but I finally caught the A train up to ROKC in Hamilton Heights to try out a few of their cocktails and ramen. I read somewhere that these were some of the best cocktails in the city. Oysters and ramen were a plus. Walked right by the place the first time. Small and very low key, tiny on the inside, but I was early enough to grab a seat at the bar.
Started off with the Smoke. Burbon, ancho reyes, cynar, house bitters. Had a great cinnamon taste to it.
Switched to the Beets. Reposado tequila, beets balsamic reduction, dill.
The seafood broth ramen was surprisingly good for a cocktail bar.
Bartender recommended that I try the Thai Tea to finish things off. Cachaca, Thai Tea, Condensed Milk, and absinthe. Part of it is served as a shot in an egg shell and birds nest. Wish I had gotten a better picture of this. Presentation of this drink was pretty nice.
There were plenty of other drinks that I wanted to try, from the ones that came out on fire, to the ones served in a conch shell, but after 3 drinks and some ramen, I was done.
Started with the +2 exposure to get the foreground exposed correctly. Obviously the sun was blown out completely in this one.
I could see some of the blues in the sky around the edges of the standard exposure, so I blended some of it into my base Photoshop file.
Finally I blended some of the -2 exposure into my my sky to get the look of the sunset that I wanted.
Sunsets over Haukland Beach, Lofoten Islands, NorwayBest sunset of the trip. Clear skies and no snow while the sun was setting.
Final edit is with a correctly exposed sky blended into a better exposed foreground. I think it still looks natural and not overly "processed" in PS.
While, I still have a lot of practice to do with blending exposures into Photoshop, I do like the technique and the setup. I don't have to mess around with filters while I'm trying to get the shot in the short timeframe the sun goes down, and as long as I take enough exposure brackets, I will always have enough raw files to work with during post processing. I still like the way filters get you closer to your final edit that you're probably looking for, which helps to reduce the time playing around in Photoshop, so those will still be in my camera bag while I travel, but so much can be done in Photoshop that I'm excited to continue practicing.
Sunsets over Haukland Beach, Lofoten Islands, NorwayLandscape turned blue as the sun made its way down behind the mountains near Haukland Beach in the Lofoten Islands, Norway
Bridge to LofotensIt is illegal to pull over on the side of the road to take pictures in the Lofoten Islands in Norway. Roads are narrow, but luckily we were able to find a wide spot to catch the sun over the mountains and lake in the distance.
Sunsets over Haukland Beach, Lofoten Islands, NorwayAs the sun got closer to disappearing over the horizon, the skies turned a nice shade of blue just before the sun set over Haukland Beach in the Lofoten Islands, Norway
A few more basic blends. If it's not on your bucket list yet, sunsets in the Lofoten Islands in the winter are worth the trip.
Getting closer to finishing up a first pass at my Norway album, then onto some post processing from my trips to Austin and Florida.
Freshly baked bagels early morning smell great.
Lots of options. Guac, egg, turkey, and cucumber on an everything bagel hit the spot.
O'Bagel in Hoboken. Not bad for something on my side of the river.
Plenty of bar seating to grab small plates and drinks.
The "This is Not Milk Tea" was strong.
Cumin ribs were outstanding.
Pork soup dumplings were very good, but just made me miss Taiwanese food even more.
Pinch Chinese is worth a visit if you're in the mood for soup dumplings and some drinks. A little expensive though, but that's to be expected in this part of the city.
Got the chance to visit my cousin's studio for the first time. I've been to one of her shows, and have seen plenty of her paintings around at family's houses, but I had never been to the place where she spends all her time painting. My other cousin from the Czech Republic was in town as well, so we made it a small family event before going out to dinner.
Her studio is located in a place called the Candy Factory. Think colorful!
I was not sure what to expect, but all I know was that I liked it. Paint was all over the floor, adding to the ambiance of the place, and the swing was a nice touch. Totally random.
Always cool to see her portraits and subject at the same time.
Recently, she published and launched a book detailing her life as a painter. The book launch was a lot of fun. Even had the Swiss ambassador there. Showing us the spot on the floor where they got the details for the front and back covers was pretty cool.
Book is a nice read, and makes for a perfect addition to your bookshelf. I can always help to get your copy signed as well!
I'm somewhat familiar with her current drip style of work. I did not know she was starting to do more texture based works. Really thick paint textures bring an almost 3D effect to the painting, and I'm curious to see how more of them turn out.
Great family studio visit. I hope to be back soon, and this time I'll bring my flash.
I've seen plenty of panoramic shots, but never really understood what went into developing them. I figured that people were getting really wide angle lenses and getting everything in one shot. Evidently not the case, as I started to learn. I got an eye opening lesson at post processing during my last trip, and learned a lot from the people I was traveling with. Plan out your shots from left to right, and use the various options out there to develop and stitch together the frames into one large shot.
Well the plan was good, but unfortunately I didn't really remember when I had actually attempted to take panoramic frames after I got back. Going through the thousands of garbage shots I took, I eventually started with the three above as my first attempt at stitching something together. It was an early morning overview of the fishing village of Reine. After hiking up a hill to get a better vantage point, we were rewarded with one of the better sunrises we had on the trip. Tripod was set up, and I started "spraying and praying" hoping I would get something good. Only thing I had really remembered from others who were more experienced with this was to shoot from left to right, and try to overlap frames by about 30-50% for easier stitching during post processing. Ideally, I would have liked to shoot more frames in the portrait orientation, but I didn't have an L plate with me for this trip.
After making a few edits on the three frames in Lightroom to sync the light and colors, I exported all three frames to PTGui and stitched them together. After a few attempts at stitching, I exported the final PSD to Photoshop and finished editing. I was pretty happy with my resulting first panoramic (click for a larger view).
Another suggestion by the photographers this trip was to do vertical panoramics when trying to capture more of the foreground with your main subject in the background. Still working on my earlier pics from the trip, I tried doing a vertical stitch with the above pics. I liked the view of the mountain in the distance during a snowy morning blue hour, but wanted to get more of the houses in the foreground.
While I'm somewhat happy with the stitch, I think the shot could have been much better with less massive snowstorm and better light (click for a larger version).
Workflow:
- I did some basic balancing edits in Lightroom on the individual frames
- Exported the shots as 16 bit TIFF files into PTGui
- Tried a few different auto stitch options in PTGui, then ran the "optimize" option to get the error pixels down to "very good". Computers are smarter than me, so if mine tells me I'm very good, I listen.
- Exported the stitch to a 16 bit PSD file into Photoshop
- Didn't save my stitch, so I redid steps 2-3 about 4 times before finally getting a stitch that I liked.
- Final crops and edits in Photoshop.
- I'll save the final PSD, as well as the three RAW files. Next time I'll save the side text file for the stitch so I can reduce my rework stitching time.
As always, questions critiques and comments are always welcome.
I do like trying new places that serve different food. I still love Asian food and am on a cocktail kick, so I decided to check Pig & Khao off my list. Asian places are easy, as they usually have small plates and plenty of bar seating.
Plenty of small plates to choose from, and a great drink menu.
Stuck with the Bangkok Fire. All drinks should have Thai Chili.
Baby Octopus Paksiw
I love places where you can sit right in front of the kitchen and watch them cook everything. Makes deciding what to get that much more difficult when you see all your options being made.
The chef recommended I keep going with the Pork Belly Adobo with a side of coconut rice to soak up the sauce. The poached egg oozing into the gravy was perfect with the rice. I don't think I even chewed this meal, I ate it so fast. So good. One more drink and I called it quits.
Unfortunately I am a sucker for dessert. Literally no restraint. And even more unfortunate for my high cholesterol problem, I walked by the Wowfulls right around the corner on Houston and couldn't resist. Got the "Home Sweet Home" with Captain Crunch Cookies and Cream ice cream, took this shitty picture, and inhaled it. Ended up walking some of this off all the way to the Christopher Street Path station.
Pig & Khao's and Wowfulls. Maybe try these two on two different days.
Finally got to try Mimi's, a tiny French restaurant in the West Village that came highly recommended. Being that this is more of a sit down place rather than my ususal sit at the bar and order food type place, I dragged my sister along who always humors me when I want to try a new restaurant.
Lighting was not great for food pictures, and I am way too insecure to brave the flash for a hipster food pic in a nice restaurant. Drinks were perfect. Never knew I liked blood orange in my negronis, but I do now. Scallops and blood sausage was perfect. And yes I secretly ordered it hoping my sister wouldn't like it, so I would have to eat all of it. But she did. I went for the Ris de Veau, sweet breads, for my main course which was topped with oranges and blood sausage. It was amazing.
We decided to stick with the hot appetizers, although the cold ones looked delicious. I was lucky to grab a picture of this Gnocchi Parisian, topped with cream, cabbage, peas, and ham, before we inhaled it.
Apple tart topped with ice cream was a perfect way to finish up an amazing meal. The two glasses of generously poured wine definitely helped me stomach the bill.
Mimi's in New York's West Village. My favorite restaurant so far. Small venue, great food and service, and has made me a guaranteed return diner.
Mountain Peak in Reine, Lofoten Islands, NorwayA snowy blue hour in Reine, Norway. Early morning lights made for some nice reflections around the bridge towards the peak.
Weather wasn't the greatest, but I still got this bridge shot that everyone gets.
Hamnoy, Norway: A view of the Eliassen Rorbuer cabins from the bridge crossing over to Hamnoy in the Lofoten Islands in Norway.The cabins, restaurant, and location are a popular destination for photographers visiting the Lofoten Islands in Norway in the winter.
Stayed in the cabin in the center of the picture.
Hamnoy, Norway: A view of the Eliassen Rorbuer cabins during blue hour in the Lofoten Islands in Norway.The cabins, restaurant, and location are a popular destination for photographers visiting the Lofoten Islands in Norway in the winter. Accomodations are simple but perfect for a cozy winter setting.
Yellow fishermen cabins of Sakrisoy, in the Lofoten Islands in NorwayBetween the snow, wind, and even some hail, the light broke through the clouds over Sakrisoy occasionally and made for some nice water effects with the yellow homes in the background.
Yellow cabins were a nice change and looked nice with the green and blue waters surrounding this village. I was amazed how clear the water is up here.
Snowstorm Over a Red Fisherman's Cabin in the Lofoten Islands, Norway.Caught some good light as a snowstorm swept in and whited out the area. Had about 5 minutes of the light trying to peak through the clouds and reflect on the water and coastline rocks.
In general, landscape photography involves chasing light. With the amount of snow we were getting on this trip, we stopped any chance we had when we caught the sun popping through the cloudy skies.
Early mornings in Reine, Lofoten Islands, Norway.Skies cleared during the sunrise, so we were able to see the mountains in the distance from our vantage point above Reine Village.
We were guided to some excellent vantage points above the surrounding towns, and when the skies were clear the sunrises were amazing. This was the first trip I tried to take some panoramic shots with the idea of stitching them together in post processing. Got through developing these that shown here, so I plan on developing the panoramics next. Hoping I get at least one that I can keep.
I'll always have a thing for tacos. So quick and easy and tasty. I've been a fan of Goa Taco for a while now. Hadn't been in a long time, and noticed they are expanding....
One of their new locations popped up in the West Village, so naturally I stopped in and grabbed one.
It was already noon on a Sunday, so naturally they sold out quick. Grabbed the last mojo beef one they had before they called for more ingredients from their main East Village location.
Small spot, perfect for grabbing a quick bite if you don't want pizza. They use this Indian flatbread that works perfectly for a shell. Go for the pork belly taco, their signature taco, if they have it.
After some more travel and trying to catch up at my day job, I finally had some time this weekend to try out a new breakfast spot that's been on my list. I work strange early hours during the week, so sleeping in and waiting for the typical brunch spots to open around 10 or 11 is difficult for me on the weekends. When I saw that a new place, Sam a.m., opened up near me and was open early on the weekends, I added it to my list. After a 10 minute ride on the Lightrail near me, I was sitting at the counter drinking coffee and reviewing the menu.
Coffee from Stumptown is always a plus.
A small place in a nice area of downtown Jersey City, they have much more than your standard coffee shop offerings. I was there early, but I can see why this place filled up really quickly.
Stuck with "The Classic", as I feel that's always a good judge of how the rest of the food will be. It didn't disappoint.
Sam a.m. in Jersey City, NJ. I'll be back on an early weekend morning to try the rest of the menu. So far so good.
At the end of February, I took a photography workshop with Daniel Kordon and Alban Henderyckx in the Lofoten Islands in Norway. Again, after my photography workshop in Bhutan, I was hooked on doing something like that again. I've never traveled to a "winter" destination specifically for photography, so this was another first for me. Amazing trip. Met a lot of great people that I will make an effort to stay in touch with, and I learned a lot more about landscape photography. While only a week long, my field notes journal still has a bunch of notes that I need to transfer over to here, however I decided rather than go through a bunch of posts for each portion of the trip, I'd tackle the pictures first. For now, I am trying to grab one from each day before moving on to the next.
Skagsanden Beach, Lofoten Islands, NorwayLong exposure to capture the patterns of the arctic waves on Skagsanden Beach off the coast of Flakstad in the Lofoten Islands, Norway. First time standing in an arctic ocean during the winter.
Found ourselves at Skagsanden Beach as the sun was going down. We had been told to bring waterproof waders for this trip by our guides, and mine were definitely used whenever we were along the coastlines.
Took several exposures using my new RRS tripod (I love this thing). Started with this one in Lightroom.
Adjusted the color and white balance, and warmed up the scene a little.
I used the water from this exposure. I think it looked the best out of all the shots that I grabbed. I blended the water into the other exposures in Photoshop. Added some sharpening to the rocks, and in the end I decided to crop out the house on the right. I thought it was too distracting.
Sunset in Å, the "End of the World", a small town in Moskenes, the Lofoten Islands, NorwayAs the clouds moved in, a snowstorm turned the visibility to zero, but not before we caught some nice light during the sunset viewed from the cliffs around Å, a small village in Lofoten, Norway.
I took several pictures from this location near Å, the "End of the World" according to the Lofoten Norwegians, but I started off with this one. I really liked the light rays around the mountain islands in the distance.
Started off with the shot with the mountains exposed correctly.
Then adjusted the underexposed version to blend in the sky and the reflections in the water.
Any questions, critiques, or comments are welcome. EXIF information for my pictures is always available once I post the gallery.
This blending of exposures is still new to me and I have a ways to go with my post processing skills. But practicing this is fun for me, and a nice break from the work side of my life. I avoided using filters in this scenario as I zoomed into the sunny area, as dumping more glass in front of my lens tends to cause lens flare which can be tough to get rid of in post processing. Hey, it's a first pass. I'm glad for this trip that I planned on doing this type of post processing by getting myself a good tripod and taking a lot of bracketed shots.
More to come as I get through more pictures.
Views from PunakhaPrayer flags and rice fields decorate the landscape in Punakha, Bhutan
Views from PunakhaPrayer flags and rice fields decorate the landscape in Punakha, Bhutan
Naturally I couldn’t sleep because of the excitement from the day before. I was the first one at breakfast, but felt relaxed as we were nearing the end of our journey and didn’t have any more long drives ahead of us. Grabbed a few more shots around the hotel before heading towards Dochula Pass and the western side of Bhutan.
Dochula PassClear skies above Duchula Pass on the road between Thimpu and Punakha, Bhutan
Dochula PassClear skies above Duchula Pass on the road between Thimpu and Punakha, Bhutan
Upon getting to the pass, we took advantage of the clear skies, and even got to see the Himalayas in the distance.
Tachog BridgeA view of a small river crossing in Thimpu, Bhutan
Tachog Bridge: Drupthob Thangtong Gyalpo was the man who built the iron chain bridges in Bhutan in the late 1300s, and is said to have built 108 of these bridges around Tibet and Bhutan. Many of them are still in use today, showing how strong and durable the bridges are.
Tachog BridgeA view of a small river crossing in Thimpu, Bhutan
Attempted a few long exposures of the water underneath a bridge in Thimphu. Our guides informed us that they had closed the bridge for safety. Would have been a better angle standing on the bridge, but that’s if I could have braved crossing a rickety wire bridge.
Made it back to Paro that evening to conclude our trip. After stopping by Yonten’s souvenir shop to pick up a few last minute trinkets (Got a set of Ara cups for my Ara jar), we all headed over to the pizza place to have pizza and beers with the owner of the tour company which had dealt with us these past two weeks. I’ll be honest, at this point in the trip I was looking forward to anything but the standard tourist meals we had been served. Yonten knew we liked our beer cold, so he had planned ahead. The purveyors of Authentic Pizza took care of us.
The next day, the trip was over. Couldn’t believe it. We all packed up, headed to the airport, and once we landed, said our goodbyes in Bangkok. A few of us vowed that we were in on the next trip that was put together. Grabbed food at Din Tai Fung before getting up early the next morning and flying home. After a canceled flight and a layover in LA from Tokyo, I was back in the real world.
Elia and Naomi Locardi and Dream Photo Tours couldn’t have put together a better trip for me. This was my first photo tour, and the most exciting trip I’ve ever been on. Met a lot of great people that I will definitely keep in touch with (eh I’m still scared of dentists), and I know I will do more trips like this in the future. I even appreciated the hand written thank you note I received at the end of the trip. It was so much more than a photography tour. An experience that’s impossible to repeat. The description on their website doesn’t do the trip justice, but it’s well worth it in my opinion.
Went through a lot of pictures, and tried to develop them as best as I could. Elia’s post processing techniques are amazing, and I’m hoping practice will help me. It’s still a learning process, but as I went through them and wrote up my trip notes here, I got to relive the experiences, and am thankful I finally forced myself to do something like this, outside my comfort zone.
Full gallery is located here. Questions, comments, and feedback is always welcome!
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Trongsa DzongDzong in Trongsa, Bhutan
Trongsa DzongViews from inside and around the Dzong in Trongsa, Bhutan
Trongsa DzongViews from inside and around the Dzong in Trongsa, Bhutan
Trongsa Dzong and ValleyViews of the Dzong in Trongsa, Bhutan. You can see a landslide blocking the road in the distance.
Trongsa DzongViews from inside and around the Dzong in Trongsa, Bhutan
Next morning, attempted a few more shots of the valley and Dzong. We learned at breakfast that the landslide that we had experienced a few days ago turned out to be much bigger than expected. The highway was still closed. People had been stuck in the east for around 4 days. Tour groups were running around trying to figure out how to rent emergency helicopters (only two in the country) to get back to the airport. We weren’t exactly sure what we were going to do, so we took a few more pictures of the town and Dzong before heading over to the Yankhel resort for coffee and lunch. Lots of uncertainty for the afternoon, as guides from many groups were trying to figure out what to do. The country was essentially cut in half.
At around 4 pm, we got the notification that the road had opened up and that they were starting to let cars through. It was going to be a long and bumpy ride. Several hours later, as traffic inched towards the cleared blockage, we saw large crowds gathered on the side of the road through the pitch black, and even saw one construction worker being helped by four others limp down the highway, injured from falling rocks. Evidently they were letting only small cars through, but Yonten managed to persuade the government official supervising the crossing to let us try to get our bus across. As we all got off the bus and took a look at the steep muddy incline we had to get past, I don’t know what worried me more. The fact that our bus stood no chance of making it up this hill, or the fact that the rocks above the cleared blockage seemed to be only being held back by the three flashlight beams constantly monitoring them for any potential signs of more slippage.
Our driver didn’t even come close the first two tries, but on the third with the crowds cheering and dozens helping to push the bus over the last 10 feet, it miraculously made it past the hill, and we all sprinted after it, as if worried that if we didn’t hurry it would somehow get stuck or turned around again. Thanks to Rene Sorensen for taking a few of these pics! I was too terrified of the 2000 foot roadside cliffs we were running alongside to even think about taking my camera out.
After hours and hours of bumpy roads, we finally made it to Hotel Lobesa at around 4 am in Punakha. Huge rooms, hot water, and a comfortable bed. We praised our driver, and we all agreed to sleep in the next morning. I attempted to fall asleep, but was still too excited from the events earlier so I planned for an early morning breakfast in a few hours.
Ogyen Choling Palace MuseumViews from Ogyen Choling Palace Museun in Jakar, Bhutan
Ogyen Choling Palace MuseumViews from Ogyen Choling Palace Museun in Jakar, Bhutan
Jakar Village HomeGraciously invited into the homes by villagers in Jakar, Bhutan, near the Ogyen Choling Palace Museum
Jakar Village HomeGraciously invited into the homes by villagers in Jakar, Bhutan, near the Ogyen Choling Palace Museum
Jakar Village HomeGraciously invited into the homes by villagers in Jakar, Bhutan, near the Ogyen Choling Palace Museum
Jakar Village HomeGraciously invited into the homes by villagers in Jakar, Bhutan, near the Ogyen Choling Palace Museum
Ogyen CholingViews from Ogyen Choling Palace Museun in Jakar, Bhutan
Ogyen CholingViews from Ogyen Choling Palace Museun in Jakar, Bhutan
Staying in a museum palace in Bhutan was by far the coolest hotel experience of the trip. Literally as well. It was much colder in the east of Bhutan during this part of the trip. We woke up early that morning to walk around the small town and see the start of the villagers' day. Very muddy walk, with no real roads, running into the occasional cow or chicken on the paths between homes. When Yonten our guide decided to start knocking on villagers doors to see if we could get a look at a typical family's home, I was a little skeptical. I mean if a complete stranger knocked on my door at 6 am in Hoboken, asking to see if they could see my place, I would be pretty pissed off. However the first place we stopped, we were invited in immediately. Our entire group. The family was so nice. Each home has a shrine room, a sleeping room, and a modest kitchen with a wood stove running constantly. All families there are self sufficient, raising cattle, and growing rice and vegetables. We visited two places. Both places offered us Ara, but even for me drinking grain alcohol at 6 in the morning was a little much. We offered gifts of toothbrushes and chocolate to the children as a token of our appreciation for the tours.
Pema Choling NunneryViews of the nunnery in Tang Valley, Bumthang, Bhutan
Pema Choling NunneryViews of the nunnery in Tang Valley, Bumthang, Bhutan
Ogyen CholingViews from Ogyen Choling Palace Museun in Jakar, Bhutan
Pema Choling NunneryViews of the nunnery in Tang Valley, Bumthang, Bhutan
Pema Choling NunneryViews of the nunnery in Tang Valley, Bumthang, Bhutan
Views from Yathra Weaving CenterLocated in Chumey Valley, Bumthang, Bhutan, the locals were always curious to see so many crazy photographers running around taking pictures of everything.
Views from Yathra Weaving CenterLocated in Chumey Valley, Bumthang, Bhutan, the locals were always curious to see so many crazy photographers running around taking pictures of everything.
After a nice breakfast, we left the town and drove back to Bumtang, grabbing a few shots of the valley, Dzong, and a Nunnery along the way before grabbing lunch at Kaila Guesthouse. We had a long drive ahead of us back to the west of Bhutan, so we grabbed coffee at Cafe Perk before heading out. Stopped at the weaving center on the way back towards our destination hotel in Trongsa and got a few pics of the local kids who were curious to see tourists in their area.
Trongsa Dzong and ValleyViews of the Dzong in Trongsa, Bhutan. You can see a landslide blocking the road in the distance.
Trongsa DzongView overlooking the Dzong in Trongsa, Bhutan
When we made it to the hotel, we all tried grabbing shots of the valley view and Dzong at night. Unfortunately I couldn't get around the damn street lamp that was flaring my lens, so I was pretty disappointed with almost all of my night shots. After getting set up with a basement room with no hot water or shower, I was looking forward to an extra beer that night. A few from our group ended up heading over to the driver/guide break room to grab drinks with Yonten and a few other guides/drivers. I will always be a fan of the local Bhutanese Ara.
Looks like we may have a pretty good storm coming through this week. Just my luck as my flight out of here and back to reality is about when they are predicting the most snow is coming. If United offers free flight changes, I may have to extend my trip out here.
Took a break from processing Bhutan pictures to try and grab a shot of a sunrise over a partially frozen Dillon Reservoir here in Summit County. I liked how the ice looked near the dam, and didn't really know where the sun would pop up as it was my first time in this location shooting early in the morning. I think the reflections turned out nice in the ice and lake. I think I could have waited for the full sun to pop up from behind the mountains, but I think the colors were better at this point, and the wind was blowing pretty hard and moving the clouds through quickly. What do you think? As always, comments and critiques are always welcome.
Woke up this morning to no power and a rainy day. Our next destination for the night was the Ogyen Choling Palace and Museum in Tang Valley. Our guides warned us that this was going to be a very rustic place. No internet, possibly no hot water, maybe no power. We decided to delay our departure until late morning. Before getting on the road, we wandered around the local town and grabbed coffee at Cafe Perk. Soaked up as much caffeine and WiFi that we could, as we would be without it for the next two days. Out of all the places that we were going to stay, I was looking forward to this place the most after our guides told us about it. Staying in a Bhutanese museum? Definitely an experience I didn’t plan on getting when I went in blind on this trip.
Rain hampered us stopping along the road to grab shots. We reached the valley and had a late lunch picnic near a small temple structure along the side of the road, trying to shield ourselves from the rain and stray dogs. It was fun watching all the school children hike over the river bridge through the rain and up the hill back to their homes.
Upon arrival, we were immediately greeted by the museum curator who gave us a brief overview of the history of the place. We were then introduced to the local weavers who had brought scarves, bags, and other hand knit goods to sell. I ended up buying two scarves, figuring they’d make good gifts when I got back home.
Portraits in BhutanPortrait sessions at Ogyen Choling Palace and Museum in Tang Valley, Bhutan
Children of BhutanPortrait sessions at Ogyen Choling Palace and Museum in Tang Valley, Bhutan
Portraits in BhutanPortrait sessions at Ogyen Choling Palace and Museum in Tang Valley, Bhutan
Portraits in BhutanPortrait sessions at Ogyen Choling Palace and Museum in Tang Valley, Bhutan
Portraits in BhutanPortrait sessions at Ogyen Choling Palace and Museum in Tang Valley, Bhutan
To combat the rain hampering our landscape photography, our tour leaders set up a few portrait sessions with hired locals at the museum. This was a really cool experience, but I was a little disappointed with the setup. The subjects were set up in very low light conditions inside the museum, and it was extremely difficult, almost impossible at least for me, to get good shots. I don’t think I was pushy enough to get better angles. Definitely something I would like to try again though. After the sessions, we ended up giving gifts of toothbrushes and chocolates to the kids, and tips to the others.
Finished the day with a great dinner and some amazing custard dessert. Even sampled some more Ara, a sandlewood version, which was much smoother than the egg one I had previously. Finished off the night with a few more Red Panda beers and travel stories before calling it a night. Out of all the places we stayed at, the museum rooms, completely isolated from what it seemed like the rest of the country, with no internet and modest accommodations, was by far my favorite. For a trip wanting to disconnect from life back home, this was the perfect place to stay.
After recovering from my stint of self induced alcohol blindness, I woke up the next morning to chilly rainy weather and immediately made my way over to the kitchen in search for any type of coffee. The places that we were staying in were definitely getting better as we headed east. Power was limited, but there were heating stoves in the rooms, and the showers had hot water.
I was immediately jealous of the 3 Indian guys gearing up to continue their motorcycle trek across the country. Indians are evidently the only nationality allowed to freely enter and leave Bhutan as they wish. Riding through the country on these roads would definitely be an awesome experience.
Breakfasts here are always pretty much the same, but at Kaila they bake their own bread, which was amazing. I am typically up early, so it worked out for me during breakfast as I was always the first to steal most of the bread. I noticed another tourist staying at the hotel had brought his own instant coffee, and thought that was a great idea. Another thing to add to my list of things to bring on my next trip.
We decided to postpone going to the festival at Tamshing Lhakhang that morning for a few hours, as the locals had decided to try and wait out the rain before performing. Spent the morning clearing memory cards and charging batteries.
Tamshing Lhakhang FestivalFestival in Bumthang, Bhutan saw lots of rain and fog, but still a large attendance.
Tamshing Lhakhang FestivalFestival in Bumthang, Bhutan saw lots of rain and fog, but still a large attendance.
Tamshing Lhakhang FestivalFestival in Bumthang, Bhutan saw lots of rain and fog, but still a large attendance.
Tamshing Lhakhang FestivalFestival in Bumthang, Bhutan saw lots of rain and fog, but still a large attendance.
Tamshing Lhakhang FestivalFestival in Bumthang, Bhutan saw lots of rain and fog, but still a large attendance.
Tamshing Lhakhang FestivalFestival in Bumthang, Bhutan saw lots of rain and fog, but still a large attendance.
Tamshing Lhakhang FestivalFestival in Bumthang, Bhutan saw lots of rain and fog, but still a large attendance.
Festival was difficult to shoot in the rain. This one was different from the others in that they had a whole viewing tent set up for tourist seating. It was tough moving around to try and get tourists out of my backgrounds. It was more fun to watch than to shoot to be honest. Not a lot of keepers.
I still can’t believe all the marijuana plants growing along the side of the road. Evidently it grows everywhere, but the locals know it’s illegal so don’t really do anything with it.
Stopped by the local microbrewery after the festival to pick up a few cases of beer for the road. A Swiss guy decided to start his own brewery after moving to Bhutan. It’s a Weiss beer and pretty good. I picked up some of their apple cider for lunch as well. Cider goes great with momos, which are Bhutanese dumplings filled with vegetables and cheese.
Jambey Lhakhang, Bumthang, BhutanTemple goer in Jambey Lhakhang, Bumthang, Bhutan
Jambey Lhakhang, Bumthang, BhutanPrayer wheels in Jambey Lhakhang, Bhumthang, Bhutan
Jambey Lhakhang, Bumthang, BhutanLocals sell souveniers to tourists visiting the temples
Jambey Lhakhang, Bumthang, BhutanTemple goer in Bumthang, Bhutan
Our first stop after lunch was the small Jambey Lhakhang temple in Jakar. Rain was still an issue, but I had not grown tired of seeing new temples. This one was small, and the few locals that were there mid day were still adamant about walking around in a clockwise direction.
Jakar DzongRainy shots from the Jakar Dzong in Bhutan
Bumthang, BhutanInsence in Jakar Dzong in Bhutan
Visited the Jakar Dzong later in the afternoon. Tried a few different angle shots. Wish I had more time there. I couldn’t really come up with anything that I liked.
Rain was coming down that day, so our tour leaders asked if we wanted to either try to get shots from another location they had in mind, most likely washed out by fog and rain, or go back to the hotel where we could get an introduction to Lightroom and Photoshop post processing. We all voted for the latter. I was super excited for this option. I had never attended a course or been taught post processing in person by a professional photographer. Mostly trial and error on my own, and youtube videos. Thinking we would have to set up in the common area cafeteria and huddle around a laptop screen, we were shocked to learn that the hotel owner offered us the use of his second floor conference room and projector setup. Aside from learning more about Lightroom/Photoshop in 2 hours than I had ever learned prior to playing around with it for the past 7 years, it was a really cool experience once you realized you were in the middle of nowhere in a country that barely had power, sitting in a conference room with a large format projector watching a post processing presentation. I filled up three pages in my field notes journal with notes.
Bridge to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal ChortenPrayer flags decorate the handrails of this suspension bridge to the path up to the Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten Temple in Punakha, Bhutan
Khamsum Yulley Namgyal ChortenViews of the Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten temple and Punakha Valley in Bhutan
Punakha Valley, BhutanViews from the Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten temple in Punakha, Bhutan
We had a long drive ahead of us today. After our standard dose of coffee and standardized breakfasts, we headed out to a river spot in Punakha where we would hike up to a stupa to get shots of the Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten temple and surrounding valley. Each hotel we stayed at was better than the last. The weather was sunny and pleasant, making the hike to the top very relaxing. Almost tropical. The bus ride with the windows down and everyone with their cameras on their laps is something I won’t forget. There are not a lot of tourists and tourist groups to run into in Bhutan, but it was fun running into an older Italian guy where I was set up with my tripod, and getting a “Chow Valentino” from him for wearing my VR46 MotoGP shirt. No language in common, just two Rossi fans in a completely random part of the world.
Hike to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten TempleHike to the Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten temple in Punakha, Bhutan
Rice fields of PunakhaViews of the rice fields along the path up to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten in Punakha, Bhutan
Bridge to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal ChortenPrayer flags decorate the handrails of this suspension bridge to the path up to the Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten Temple in Punakha, Bhutan. Apples also for sale to hikers.
Bhutan RainbowCaught a rainbow on the drive from Punakha to Gangtey, Bhutan
After the hike back down, we headed out on the road. Grabbed coffee at Drupchu Cafe, then lunch at a place called St. Wifi Restaurant. By this time I really had started to miss asphalt. The novelty of bumpy and muddy roads were beginning to wear off on me. A pit stop for tea in Kuenphen Restaurant near Nubding rewarded us with a rainbow over the valley before we headed off on the road again. We passed several waterfalls along the muddy highway, and I tried not to think about how all this water could simply wash away the road if it didn’t drain through the right way. That thought, on top of our tires within inches of the edge at all times of the sheer cliffs along the highway didn’t help my fear of heights. Sitting on the right side of the bus, with the cliffs to my right, I think I was leaning at a 45 degree angle towards the center of the bus the whole drive, in the hopes that my lean would somehow save us from dropping off the cliff.
Gangtey Camp in BhutanTravellers make camp near the Gangtey Monastery for the Gangtey Tsechu festival the next day
We finally reached our destination, the Hotel Gangtey Palace, where we would crash for the night in order to attend the Gangtey Tsechu blessing and festival the next morning. When we arrived, our guide had told us that the visitors from around the area would be camped near the side of the temple, and would probably have a night market set up. A few of us decided to try and wander around in the rain and mud to check out the camp. We ended up getting invited into one of the camp tents for a drink with the locals. Awesome experience. They were mostly guides and drivers for other tour groups, gathered around a stove and telling stories. They asked us how we enjoyed our “Bhutanese car massages”, courtesy of the abnormally rainy weather and unfinished bumpy highways. Humorous sarcasm is evidently universal, even in the middle of nowhere.
Gangtey Monastery, BhutanPeople attending the 5am Gangtey Tsechu festival and blessing in the rain. You always have to walk clockwise around a Dzong in Bhutan
Gangtey Tsechu FestivalPeople attending the Gangtey Tsechu festival try and avoid the on and off rain showers throughout the morning.
Gangtey Tsechu FestivalPeople attending the Gangtey Tsechu festival try and avoid the on and off rain showers throughout the morning.
Gangtey Tsechu FestivalPeople attending the Gangtey Tsechu festival try and avoid the on and off rain showers throughout the morning.
Gangtey Tsechu FestivalPeople attending the Gangtey Tsechu festival try and avoid the on and off rain showers throughout the morning.
Gangtey Tsechu FestivalPerformers didn't let the rain or cold weather stop them during the blessing at the Gangtey Tsechu Festival in Bhutan
Gangtey Tsechu FestivalAbbot blesses the festival attendees.
Gangtey, BhutanSmall town of Gangtey and it's monastery in Bhutan
Woke up early the next day to attend the blessing at the Gangtey Monastery prior to the festival. The rainy weather made for some interesting blue hour shots. All the visitors were praying as they were walking around the temple in a clockwise direction. Evidently it is very bad to walk around a temple in Bhutan in a counterclockwise direction.
Valley of Gangtey, BhutanViews of the valley near Gangtey, Bhutan
Valley of Gangtey, BhutanViews of the valley near Gangtey, Bhutan
After breakfast, we packed up and headed out to the bus. Our luck finally ran out with our heavy bus and the muddy roads, and we spent a good amount of time pushing the bus out of the muddy hotel driveway and onto the road. Spent a while walking around the valley in Gangtey to get a few more pictures, before starting our very long drive east towards our destination of Bumthang. Interesting fact, we learned that this whole valley is protected by the government for the Tibetian black lake crane, which migrates here during the change of seasons.
I am naturally paranoid when it comes to driving on narrow roads with 1000 ft drops off the side and no guardrails. But when you’re driving along, and rocks from the cliffs above you start hitting the side of your bus, and your tour leader starts getting a little worried, I get a little nervous. When your Bhutanese guide tells everyone OK now it’s time to get off the bus and run ahead (since we can run faster than the bus can drive along these roads) just in case a landslide pushes the vehicle over the side, you grab your gear and let the adrenaline move your legs for you. The bus slowly caught up to us and we made it through safely, but that’s an experience I didn’t think I would ever get on this trip. Evidently the rainy weather had been playing havoc on the road conditions. There were several more slides throughout the country, and when one happens, it takes a while to clear the road and traffic backs up when there’s only one road.
Trongsa Dzong, BhutanViews of the Trongsa Dzong on the drive from Gangtey to Bumthang, Bhutan
We passed through Trongsa and stopped to grab a few pictures of the Dzong along the side of the road while there was still light. After a normal 4 hour drive turned into 9+ hours, we were rewarded upon our arrival at Kaila Guest House in Bumthang with good beef, french fries, and beer. The owner even gave us some of his locally brewed Ara, made from butter, egg, and freaking pure alcohol. This stuff was great, but it was considered bad luck to not finish the egg. Moonshine infused eggs are not good, and after a few of these, coupled with no power at night and pitch black rooms, I woke up at 3 am and somehow convinced myself that I had gone blind from the alcohol while I searched frantically for my headlamp to prove to myself that I still had vision. Alcohol is bad.
Thimphu DrubchenThimphu Drubchen festival in Bhutan
Thimphu DrubchenThimphu Drubchen festival in Bhutan
Thimphu DrubchenThimphu Drubchen festival in Bhutan. The The Je Khenpo, the Chief Abbot of Bhutan, head of religion
Thimphu DrubchenThimphu Drubchen festival in Bhutan
Thimphu DrubchenThimphu Drubchen festival in Bhutan
Thimphu DrubchenThimphu Drubchen festival in Bhutan
Thimphu DrubchenThimphu Drubchen festival in Bhutan
Thimphu DrubchenThimphu Drubchen festival in Bhutan
Thimphu DrubchenThimphu Drubchen festival in Bhutan
Thimphu DrubchenThimphu Drubchen festival in Bhutan
Thimphu DrubchenThimphu Drubchen festival in Bhutan
My trip in Bhutan continued with a visit to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. After our standard Bhutanese tourist breakfast, we headed out to the Thimphu Drubchen (festival). Finally got a chance to get some better pictures of the locals. Even got to see the Chief Abbot, head of all religion in Bhutan. The costumes for these performances were unbelievable.
Afterwards we headed back into town to grab coffee at Ambient Cafe, a surprisingly modern coffee place, and not what I was expecting at all. Expensive coffee, free Wifi, and locals on their laptops. Could have been located in Brooklyn for all I know.
Thimphu, BhutanViews from the streets of Thimphu, Bhutan
Thimphu, BhutanViews from the streets of Thimphu, Bhutan
Thimphu, BhutanViews from the streets of Thimphu, Bhutan
Thimphu, BhutanThe government tried installing the country's first traffic light here, but it caused so much confusion that after an hour, the king decreed it be removed and replaced by a crossing guard.
After coffee we all got to wander around the capital of Thimphu before heading over to the bus. I remember how everyone has pretty much embraced the stray dog situation. Yonten says he can’t sleep at night if he doesn’t hear dogs barking. The kids here enjoy running around and playing with the strays. Got my tourist picture of the Thimphu crossing guard. Years ago the government tried to install the country’s first traffic light at this intersection. The population couldn’t understand what the light signals meant and it was evidently a disaster, so after one hour the king commanded that the light be removed and a crossing guard be placed there instead.
Thimphu, BhutanTibetan craft stalls in Thimphu, Bhutan
After lunch at Tara Inn, we headed over to a handicraft market. I usually don’t do souvenir shops, but after learning about the local moonshine that was brewed by the Bhutanese, called Ara, I was determined to find a handmade ara carrying jug to take back home with me. Yonten our guide helped us pick one out. Figure it would make a good conversation piece on my bookshelf.
Thimphu, BhutanView overlooking the town of Thimphu, Bhutan and the Tashichho Dzong
We set up for blue hour overlooking the Thimphu Dzong. I think this was the first time on the trip that I focused on framing my shot, then sticking with the same exact frame from golden hour all the way through sunset, thinking I would try my hand at blending in the light from a few different times.
After taking what seemed like way too many bracketed shots, I had a few of these to help me fall asleep. All in all a great day of shooting.
Kuenselphodrang, Thimphu, BhutanViews from the large Bhudda that overlooks the town of Thimphu, Bhutan
Kuenselphodrang, Thimphu, BhutanViews from the large Bhudda that overlooks the town of Thimphu, Bhutan
Kuenselphodrang, Thimphu, BhutanViews from the large Bhudda that overlooks the town of Thimphu, Bhutan
Next morning we got up early to grab pictures of the Buddha overlooking Thimphu before our long drive over to Punakha through Dochula pass. The road was essentially non existent. Just a muddy bumpy drive for what seemed like hours and hours. We reached the top of Dochula Pass and grabbed coffee since we couldn’t really see anything through the fog. Our tour leaders had been here 5 times previously and had always seemed to get stuck with the same fog. After more driving, we checked into Hotel Vara after lunch.
Punakha Dzong, BhutanViews of the Dzong in Phunaka, Bhutan
Got some nice blue hour shots of the Punakha Dzong down by the river that runs near it. Even though we had seen several temples already, I was still enjoying walking around each one. All very similar in looks, but all different.
That evening a couple of us decided we wanted to have a few beers at dinner. We spent the first part of the evening running around the town at night, going from place to place searching for beer. It was definitely an adventure. There are not exactly convenience stores where you can just go and pick up anything you’d like. It seemed like we were going door to door to people’s homes, asking for alcohol. Refrigeration is also not big in Bhutan. That was a must though. Everyone wanted a cold beer. It finally worked out for us. We found a couple watching TV in this little corner “store” who had a fridge in the back and sold us 6 bottles. We then circled back around to the other place we had found earlier and bought another bunch of warm bottles. While I do enjoy the idea of a photo tour where you are driven to ideal locations for shots, experiences like this is really what stick with me. As I continue to go through all my pictures, each one brings back memories of the trip. But the act of running around with a group of people I just met, in a foreign place completely different from what I am used to, with the common goal of just buying and drinking a cold beer is something that I won't need a picture to remember.
Woke up the next morning and packed up all my gear before breakfast, both nervous and excited for what to expect next. Today the plan was to head west towards Haa Valley, and we had a decent drive ahead of us.
Rice Fields in ParoViews of the rice fields of Paro, Bhutan
Rice Fields in ParoViews of the rice fields of Paro, Bhutan
That didn't prevent us from stopping along the side of the road to get a few valley shots of the rice fields of Paro before the drive. Bouncing along the dirt roads, we talked about post processing workflow, file export options, and night-shot gaffer tape photography tips. Probably boring topics to most people, but I had a grin on my face the entire time as I sat and listened. At above 3000m on the canyon roads, you could notice the start of fall foliage colors. The road was interesting, to say the least, with shear drop-offs into the valley below and a width barely wide enough to squeeze one car through, let alone two way traffic. I had expressed my fear of heights, so I was told multiple times to not look out the window.
Finally reached our mid point goal of Chele La Pass, the highest driveable point on the road at 3988 meters, and had a picnic lunch on the pass in the midst of thousands of prayer flags. That sums up the drive and the lunch in one sentence, but I think it's pretty obvious at this point that those few words do not describe this experience the way it should be described.
Prayer Flags at Chele La PassViews from the highest road in Paro on the way to Haa, Bhutan
Prayer Flags at Chele La PassViews from the highest road in Paro on the way to Haa, Bhutan
Prayer Flags at Chele La PassViews from the highest road in Paro on the way to Haa, Bhutan
Caught some good light every once in awhile. It was nice being with a group of people who didn't mind staying in one location for a long time to see if better light showed up. We even hung a string of prayer flags on the ridge line before getting back on the bus.
After the sun started going down, we hopped back on the road for the rest of our drive to Haa and the Risum Resort for dinner, beers, and a good night’s sleep. This place was even bigger than the place before. Had a 3 room apartment to myself, and a rain type shower. No internet access or heat for the night, but I think that made the overnight stay even more relaxing.
Takchu, BhutanView from the small township of Takchu above Haa in Bhutan
Takchu GompaTemple in the township of Takchu above Haa Valley in Bhutan
Takchu, BhutanPrayer flags in Takchu above Haa in Bhutan
Next morning we still had a long drive to the country's largest city and capital, Thimphu. First we drove up a canyon road to get a few pictures of Haa Valley and visit a temple in Takchu. Didn't have sunny blue skies and it was a little wet out, but the views were still nice. Ran into a few cows on the road. Hoping at this point I’d have some keepers as I took a bunch of bracketed shots. Monk children pounding away at the locally grown hemp for incense was fun to see, and they didn’t mind getting their picture taken by a bunch of crazy tourists. We learned that there was practice festival dancing going on at the local monastery in Haa. The monks would be performing the Black Hat Dance, so we thought it would be a great chance to practice dance shots before the official festival in Thimphu that we would be attending the next day.
Black Hat DancePerformers practice a traditional dance in a monastery at Haa, Bhutan, before the festival the next day in Thimphu
Black Hat DancePerformers practice a traditional dance in a monastery at Haa, Bhutan, before the festival the next day in Thimphu
Black Hat DancePerformers practice a traditional dance in a monastery at Haa, Bhutan, before the festival the next day in Thimphu
Black Hat DancePerformers practice a traditional dance in a monastery at Haa, Bhutan, before the festival the next day in Thimphu
Black Hat DancePerformers practice a traditional dance in a monastery at Haa, Bhutan, before the festival the next day in Thimphu
Black Hat DancePerformers practice a traditional dance in a monastery at Haa, Bhutan, before the festival the next day in Thimphu
Spectators of HaaLocals watch a practice performance of the Black Hat Dance in Haa, Bhutan
Tried getting some shots of the performers, but was more interested in just watching. I had originally thought the clowns were there to interact with the crowd and chase away the stray dogs loitering in between the dancers, but learned that they were actually the dance leaders. In addition to their entertainment duties, they walk around and let the dancers know if they are messing up during the routine. Started to rain towards the end so we headed back to the hotel for lunch.
Haa ValleyViews from the road to Thimphu from Haa, Bhutan
As we departed the down, we stopped along the road a few more times to get shots of the valley town. Light seemed to be getting better. Drive was long and bumpy. I remember being happy sitting in the back of the bus, watching everyone edit their photos on their Macbook Pros while driving.
Dzong in Haa, BhutanSunset making it through a cloudy sky on the road to Thimphu from Haa, Bhutan
As the sunset started approaching, we made it to a view of another temple in Haa. In between moments of wind and rain, there was some nice light peeking through the clouds. After the sun went down, we packed up the tripods and kept heading towards Thimphu. Once we got there, it was definitely a change from what we were used to. A larger town than we were used to for Bhutan, but for the largest town in the country, it was surprisingly small. We stopped at an Indian restaurant because our hosts were afraid we would need some western food. We all ended up ordering Indian food anyway.
Pre-warned about the stray dog population, I was grateful for the earplugs our photographer guides gave us at the beginning of the trip. Overnight it sounded like there was a war going on between something like 100 packs of wild dogs.
Still trying to develop all of my pics. As I start to get into a rhythm of keeping only the pics I like, I keep getting hung up on certain shots and trying to apply all the new post processing techniques that I learned on this trip. In the past I would do some basic Lightroom editing. Now I'm going a little nuts with blending layers, brushing, curves, and luminosity masks! My goal is to finish going through everything by the end of the month, but I'll still take the time to write up everything while it's still fresh in my mind.
After trying to get some sleep and failing, wandered around the area to find a crepe place for breakfast. I had the entire day to kill before meeting the group the next day for our flights to Bhutan. I had packed for cooler weather, so I wasn’t really prepared to explore Bangkok in 100% humidity and 90 degree heat, all while pouring rain. The rolling power outages in the city didn’t help either.
Found a few coffee places and tried not to worry about meeting up with a group of strangers the next day. When I try not to worry, I usually end up worrying more. Not sure why. After grabbing Din Tai Fung, I went back to the hotel to try and get some sleep before my 3 am cab to the airport. Didn’t sleep at all.
Luckily my apprehension about meeting new people dissipated when we all met as a group and introduced ourselves the next early morning at the airport. I kept my sarcasm at a minimum, although I did tell the two navy dentists on the trip that I was scared of them and their horrible profession of distributing pain to others for no reason. Apprehension soon faded to excitement as we all searched for coffee before the flight. Traveling with fellow photography enthusiasts was going to be fun.
Listening to everyone talk about gear, travel, and taking pictures through airplane windows was just nice. I even liked the Bhutan Airlines logo enough to keep the in-flight magazine and air sickness bag as souvenirs. A quick stopover in Kolkata, India, and we were off to Paro, Bhutan, flying near the Himalayas with everyone trying to grab a shot of Everest through the airplane windows. After an incredible approach, flying through a valley with hills and mountains literally on both sides of us, we were in country.
Our group was introduced to Yonten our guide and Tenzin our driver, and we were on the bus headed towards Khangkhu Resort, our hotel for the next two nights. Driving down the road next to the airport and seeing the simple housing and sparse landscape surrounding the airport, reminded me of no other place that I had ever been to. It was nice to see something brand new.
We checked into the hotel and the staff were more than helpful, insisting on lugging all our camera gear and luggage to our rooms. The rooms were very nice, and the views were perfect for the first day in a new country. Tourism is strictly regulated by the Bhutanese government, and any place that houses tourists needs to be sanctioned by the government, taught to cater to tourists and prepare government recommended meals. After settling in, we grabbed our gear and headed for the bus to grab lunch in town before heading over to the Paro Dzong that we were all staring at from our hotel room.
Bhutanese food involves a lot of red chili paste, cheese, red rice, and chicken or beef (for the tourists). I loved it the first day. Different from anything I had ever had, which is what I was hoping for.
First stop that afternoon was the Dzong and Museum Fort in Paro. Light was harsh but we all still snapped away. Valley overlooking Paro and the surrounding farmland was nice, and my pictures definitely don’t do it justice. I liked seeing all the chilies grown by all the farmers being dried on the roofs of all the houses. The museum above the Dzong was my first Buddhist museum. No photos allowed. While the masks of the faces of Buddha were impressive, I think we were all drawn to the metal detector that our guide was insisting could tell the difference between men and women. That made no sense to any of us, but it seemed to work.
After a few more shots of the valley and museum, we headed back to the hotel as our tour leaders had scheduled a dance performance. We were going to need some practice shooting dancers before heading to the festivals over the coming days. I was definitely out of my element during this. I was happier to watch the performance than focus on my shooting location and composing my shots.
Dinner consisted of good food and Bhutanese beer. Much needed after trying to process the events of that day. Lots of talk on post processing….I tried writing everything down but looking through my notes, not a lot of it makes sense. One interesting note...no mountain in Bhutan has ever been climbed. The Bhutanese believe that their gods or spirits live in the peaks of the mountains, so they won’t let anyone climb them like they’ve done in Nepal with Everest. That was something that stuck out during the evening’s conversation.
After a relatively early night’s sleep, we were ready for our hike the next day. I dosed up on hotel room coffee before a good breakfast, as I can never sleep anymore anyway, then we drove out to the trail leading up to the Paro Taktsang, also known as Tiger’s Nest. Our tour leaders had recommended we rent mules to carry our gear half way up. Elevation change was noticeable, and it was wet and muddy, but not the worst hike I’ve ever been on. Interesting fact picked up during the hike. Our guide Yonten only has one name. Names are chosen by the monks when Bhutanese are born, after reading the astrological signs. There are only about 20 names total in Bhutan, mostly chosen for the spirit at the temple closest to where the baby is brought. I couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic about the total amount of names...my sarcasm radar for the Bhutanese is non-existent.
Spent the day getting shots of the temple, having lunch on the overlook, and chasing away the stray dog packs from knocking over our tripods. We were able to visit the inside of the monastery as well. About 8 or 9 monks live there at any given time, and were broadcasting their daily prayers/chants through a loudspeaker for everyone to hear.
Started the hike back down early to avoid hiking along a steep muddy trail in the dark. Dinner was capped off with some chocolates from Japan. I still couldn’t believe how much travel everyone else in the group has done. I have a lot of catching up to do.
Filled up 32GB of cards during the first two days of the trip. Before leaving for Bhutan, I was determined to disconnect for two weeks from work and life back home, so I forced myself to not bring a laptop and brought along my traveling Chromebook for backups. After dinner I spent the evening transferring everything to my two external hard drives, a very slow process, but excited for the next day to see how Tiger’s Nest could be topped.
Tiger's Nest MonastaryTaktsang Palphug Monastery, also known as the Tiger's Nest Monastary, is worth the hike up into the mountains.
Bhutanese MusiciansDancers and musicians stopped by the Khangkhu Resort for a practice session before the festival the next day.
Paro ValleyA view of Paro Valley in Bhutan
Where to begin...
I’ve been back home for a few weeks now, and I’m still somewhat in shock over what I was able to experience during my recent trip. Aside from the the far-off location I was able to visit, sights I was able to see and photograph, and culture I was given a tour of, I am having difficulty trying to figure out how to tell people how special this trip was for me. Any time I try to talk to someone about the trip, I just end up giving up because what’s the point….I don’t think I can ever convey in words or pictures how this trip was for me.
I love travel and I love to take pictures. More so the act of traveling to get the pictures I would say. I don’t know. Maybe the travel photography experience? Decided I would pick a destination I hadn’t been to yet and really focus on photography.
I’ve traveled alone to new places many times. Traveled with friends and family to other places as well. Why not try something different this time? I scrolled through my list of photography website bookmarks that I frequent, and finally started clicking on the destination workshops links. Tagging along with professional photographers and a group of strangers who share common interests in photography and travel (and hopefully food and sarcasm)? I could do something like that, I told myself, despite my social retardation.
What better way to experience something like that than doing a tour in Bhutan? For some reason as I was navigating through the various options and destinations, the place just caught my eye. Knew nothing about it, or even where it was, but the one or two photos I saw of the temples looked like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and “the land of happiness” description sounded exactly the kind of destination I needed to visit at this point in my life. Finally got up the nerve to send in my deposit payment, and from there it was just eager anticipation every day, waiting for more info on the tour itinerary and flight information. I will admit, I was a little freaked out about the welcome kit...summer and winter clothing, headlamps, camera gear….not really overwhelming per se, but more so the fact that this list was telling me this trip was going to happen.
The only other thing I bought for myself for this trip was a set of field notes journals. I figured I’d be traveling on a once in a lifetime trip, and I was determined to disconnect and not bring a laptop, so why not write down everything that came to mind during the trip. I’m glad I did. As I’m slowly going through pictures and writing up some of my experiences, I realize I’m doing it more to relive and remember the experience rather than to pass along an unfortunately redacted trip report due to poor writing. But reliving the experience is definitely worth it as I’m stuck back in New Jersey at work, so I might as well try….
El Matador State BeachLong exposures taken at sunset of the Pacific Coast Highway
Venice Fishing PierLong exposure of the pier at Venice Beach
El Matador State BeachLong exposures taken at sunset of the Pacific Coast Highway
Santa Monica Pier
Manhattan Beach Pier
Runyon Canyon Park
El Matador State BeachLong exposures taken at sunset of the Pacific Coast Highway
Downtown LA from Griffith Observatory
Manhattan Beach Pier
El Matador State BeachLong exposures taken at sunset of the Pacific Coast Highway
Runyon Canyon Park
Santa Monica Pier
Venice Beach
Venice Fishing PierLong exposure of the pier at Venice Beach
Venice Beach
Manhattan Beach Pier
Manhattan Beach Pier
El Matador State BeachLong exposures taken at sunset of the Pacific Coast Highway
Manhattan Beach Pier
Venice Beach
Finally got around to finishing up my California pictures. I got to play around with my ND filters during the day and I like the way the waves blended together. And yes, I lugged around my two pound glass ball most of the time in my camera pack. I guess I do spend a lot of time under bridges and piers. No judgement.
Took about 50 or so keepers. I wish I could have gotten some better night shots of the downtown LA cityscape, but I didn't luck out with the hazy weather. I see myself making a habit of quick weekend trips out to explore more beaches and sunsets on the West Coast.
After a big breakfast at The Sidewalk Cafe in Venice Beach, and some preflight snacks at Hennessey's Tavern in Hermosa Beach, I'm ready to come home and start getting for my next big trip in October.
Decided to sit down at Intelligentsia Coffee, which had a cool industrial look going, but a lot of people on Macbook Airs working on their movie scripts. I immediately noticed the drip coffee pourers so I ignored the rest of it.
I still love this way of brewing coffee.
$8 for two cups of really good coffee. I guess that's a good thing? Eh there are better shops closer to Venice beach.
Tried out Kreation Kafe on the recommendation of our Lyft driver from the previous night. This seemed more Venice Beach.
Probably the healthiest meal I ate for breakfast that trip.
That didn't last though....the place was right next door to Blue Star Donut, and I had to try the strawberry margarita donut.
Grabbed the gear and got a few more long exposures that day. One final spot on the list for the weekend was to head up to Griffith Observatory to try and get some night shots of Downtown LA. I had been there once before years ago, but remember a lot of haze and limited visibility. On the way there, we decided to stop at a Thai place with good recommendations called Jitlada.
The food was amazing, but in my haste to pic something off the menu, I went for one of the "chef's specialties". There were like 12 dishes listed there I think, so I picked the fried pork one that looked interesting. It was interesting, in that it was beyond spicy. Next thing you know I had downed two glasses of water and was sweating profusely. I couldn't feel my lips for a few hours after the meal had ended. Food was great, but expensive and painful. I'll stick to donuts for dinner next time.
The Rad Muffin breakfast sandwich from Flake in Venice. Great way to start the day. Spicy sauce was perfect, but obviously one cannot simply eat just a ham egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast while on vacation. After downing the iced coffee, headed over to check out the pre-arrival researched donut shop.
I never stand a chance at a place like this. Blue Star Donuts on Abbot Kinney has a huge selection. I had to try the Cointreau Creme Brulee after seeing the hand torching the baker was doing.
They give you a pipet of orange cointreau to inject in the middle of the donut. Amazing, but definitely needed to walk this off after I splurged on an apple fritter to wash down the donut.
Luckily there are plenty of coffee shops everywhere to dose up on caffeine after crashing on all that sugar.
And plenty of beaches and boardwalks to wander.
Shrimp fajitas for lunch from La Fiesta Brava seemed like a more healthy choice.
After pretty much ensuring a mandatory Lipitor prescription and yet another "you're a moron" talking to from my doctor next month, grabbed the camera gear and headed up the Pacific Coast Highway to get some sunset shots along the coast. I think I got a few keepers. Going through all of them will take a while. Wasn't as relaxing as I'm used to when waiting around for long exposure shots to finish. Between worrying about the high tide stranding us in the spot we had picked, and the news of an explosion in NYC and spotty cell phone service, we finished up quickly and packed up our gear.
Destressed at Cha Cha Chicken, one of my sister's favorite places in Santa Monica. Great recommendation. Red lighting was terrible for taking hipster food pictures, but the food is perfect. I've added this along with In N' Out Burger to the list of repeat places to visit on my next trip to the West Coast.
Even after a night of drinking, I still have no moral problems with finishing it up with a giant tub of frozen peanut butter yogurt and some unhealthy toppings. Still going through all of my pictures from the weekend. I'll post them up once completed.
The last time I was in Venice Beach was 10 or so years ago when my sister lived there. I loved the area back then, and the idea of a 6 hour flight to visit a busy downtown with city traffic didn’t appeal to me, so staying near the beach was a must for me.
Friday travel is never pleasant. United Club was full for the first hour I was at the airport. Finally got in to grab a few free drinks and some snack food. After a long flight, passing in and out of consciousness from either a lack of interest in the movie I was stuck watching, or from listening to the background banter of my fellow economy class passengers complaining about the cost of the tapas snack pack, I got to settle into a nice one hour wait for the Dollar Rent a Car reservation clerk to hand us the keys.
At about 1 am, we finally got out of there with the car and headed for what we had been craving since the mention of LAX several weeks ago.
I don't know what it is about In N' Out Burger, but these things are incredible. We were definitely the only sober people in that place at 1 am, but because of the perfect burgers, handcut fries, and yes I got a chocolate milkshake, I can see why everyone shows up there. Totally worth all the travel aggravation.
After west coast gluttonous activities, we made our way over to the AirBnB to crash and plan out the rest of our itinerary, because unfortunately, the bulk of the planning was consumed by ensuring we'd get at least one double double during our time on the opposite side of the continent.
When you're in California, yes there's wine and beaches and plenty of amazing restaurants to try, but you need to grab a burger at In N' Out Burger at least once in your life.
Still a fan of tacos, and finally ordered food from Orale Mexican Kitchen during their Taco Tuesday special. Half price tacos, cash only. The weren't the best I've ever had but they were pretty good. $9 for five machin tacos. Roasted bone marrow topped with crispy pork belly and shredded cabbage.
While I am ready for cooler weather and ski season, I am going to miss the frozen margaritas.
Came home today to find one of the green ones lying dead on the floor. Couldn't believe it. Haven't lost a parakeet on my watch in a long time. They usually pass away when my sister or dad was taking care of them. I was surprised. They were all flying around yesterday just fine. He looked old and had an arched back, which is what I'm used to seeing when they get old. Kinda sad. What am I going to do when there are only two or one left? They will be so lonely! I may have to get some more just to keep the one company.
My sister suggested we go to Miss Favela as it was in the area we both happened to be in after work. I'm always up for trying new places, and when my dad was involved he liked sticking to the one cheap Thai food place in Hoboken for our meetups. It had been a while since I had Brazilian food, so I was up for it.
Caipirinhas are just dangerous, but delicious. I had way too many of these.
Picadinho A Carioca: Chopped beef, rice and beans, collard greens, and fried banana, topped with an egg. I inhaled this.
Go for the happy drinks, and if you're braver than me like my sister, evidently this spot is very popular for dancing.
My sister's sarcasm is evident in her caption, but true I guess.
Downtown New York City and the Williamsburg Bridge at SunsetSunset viewed from Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Shot using a Lee Filters Big Stopper, edited in Lightroom and Photoshop.
Not a long exposure, but the water still looks nice.
Williamsburg BridgeShot using a Lee Filters Big Stopper
North Brooklyn Farms was a nice surprise. I was trying to find another spot along the river to shoot the bridge and came across this area. It was tough finding an angle without showing all the new construction going up around this garden. I think this place would look great at night.
Williamsburg BridgeShot using a Lee Filters Big Stopper
Still a fan of long exposures during the day to make the water nice and smooth, and the clouds somewhat blurry in the background.
I'll definitely be back Brooklyn.
Downtown Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge at SunsetSunset viewed from Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Shot using a Lee Filters Big Stopper, edited in Lightroom and Photoshop.
A few more from the same spot in Williamsburg. This sunset was epic, and the long exposures did some nice blending of the colors in the sky. Didn't really do too much editing with these, other than add some sharpening.
Stopped into a few more new places this past weekend as I was wandering around for pictures.
Becoming more and more of a fan of coffee shops lately. I still have four noisy parakeets going strong in my apartment, and I get sick of sitting there when I have some work to do. I had a bunch of pictures to go through for uploading to Getty Images. Lots of keywording and metadata to update and make sure is correct before hitting the submit button. I had a batch of about 50 pictures uploaded, and had been putting off sorting through them and finalizing the submittal for a while, so I threw the Chromebook into my backpack before heading over to Williamsburg. Sometimes adding a destination to a procrastinatable task helps me get it done. Coffee shops are also an excuse to leave a bunch of my contact cards with the rest in the stacks.
Grabbed a few shots along the East River from Williamsburg, then decided to wait out until sunset hour at Blank Cafe, a small coffee shop that serves Japanese comfort food like Nanban chicken and house made teas. I feel guilty that I only got an iced coffee. Plenty of outlets and tables too. Quiet area of Brooklyn, not busy, and outdoor seating. Although it's a little out of the way for me, I will definitely be back. Williamsburg is a great area with so many things to see and places to try. I can understand why I always see people in these types of coffee places with their headphones and laptops. It was strangely relaxing. Got my work done. I am such a yuppie. Also interesting is that it transforms into a burger place at 6 pm. Out come the different menus and signs and everything. Didn't feel the need to try a burger, so I left and went next door.
Right next door to the coffee spot is Donna, a cocktail bar with tacos. Seriously. Like I could resist a place like this? Even the menu had the types of glasses the drinks would come in, so I could prepare myself for any potential social anxiety coming from drinking out of a martini glass.
Stuck with the Tiger Lily and a socially comfortable glass, although the flower backfired on the whole decision making process. Tried the Cult Classic as well, and halfway through that one I realized I would have trouble with my tripod and filters if I kept trying things. Ended up getting some sunset pictures I was pretty happy with after leaving here. Might have to make this a standard ritual.
Tacos from Oaxaca Taqueria. Quick, easy, and open late. Delicious.
Mushroom and sauerkraut pierogies, along with a lemon sour beer, from Greenpoint Beer & Ale. They add this optional house lemon syrup upon request. I highly recommend adding it. Doesn't make it sweet or anything, but makes the beer perfectly sour. And who doesn't love pierogies to snack on. Nice layout and open to the street. Perfect for the end of summer.
Sangria and patatas bravas from Cork N Fork in the East Village. Eh who am I kidding. I was in the area and knew this place was low key, has great sangria, and I get a bonus 5 frequent flier miles per $ spent, on top of 5% cash back.
Downtown New York City and the Williamsburg Bridge at SunsetSunset viewed from Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Shot using a Lee Filters Big Stopper, edited in Lightroom and Photoshop.
Sometimes it's nice to leave the headphones off and just enjoy the view while you're waiting for a 110 second exposure to finish. Definitely got lucky with the light and clouds. I have a bunch more to go through but these are my favorites so far.
Questions and comments are always welcome.
Izakaya NoMad on 26th is worth the visit. This place always seems to be packed, but they have a nice long bar where you can usually get a seat. The music is a little loud, but definitely fits with the casual ambiance of the place.
Plenty of Japanese beer available. I took it easy and avoided the extensive sake menu this time.
Small plate menus are a weakness of mine. So many things to choose from. As soon as I saw that okonomiyaki was available, I had to get it. A Japanese "pancake" filled with seafood and covered with fish flakes, it's normally shared with two people, but I didn't let that stop me from ordering it. This was very good.
Gyoza, perfectly fried and crunchy with a meat filling.
The big draw for me to these places is the yakitori options. Skewers of meat, seafood, and vegetables grilled up quick and served on small plates go perfectly with a few beers. I controlled myself and just tried one, the beef short rib. Next time I come back, I'll resist the pancakes and dumplings, and just stick with the skewers. Maybe some sake.
I think the house looks great now with all the floors cleaned up and the walls painted. Even my dad now regrets not doing it sooner. I don't know, I just kind of felt like getting a bunch of pictures of the place before I leave it for good. It's sad seeing it empty now, even though it looks so nice to me. So many great memories growing up there.
Even the garage is empty now! I took as many tools as I could fit in my tiny Hoboken garage, more for the fact that it didn't sit well with me getting rid of them. I'll probably never use them. I am definitely going to miss the times going back to change my car oil with my dad in the driveway. How do I end up missing a driveway? I do know that my mom could never have handled the clean out. She was always a hoarder, and it would have killed her to see us throw out so much stuff. There was just so much of everything....endless clothes, dishes, backpacks, ski equipment, THINGS. Most of it rarely or never used, and all that it accomplished was that it hurt throwing it all out.
This whole process has taken it's toll on my dad. He just seems so sad all the time. Nothing I can do about it, except to assure him that he will be less stressed out once he's settled in Florida and Colorado. The weeks and weeks of endless trips to the city dump to throw out accumulated stuff from 40 years even got to me, but I would always have the option of escaping the purge by running back to my apartment. I know he always wanted to see either me or my sister inherit this place, but what am I going to do with a four bedroom house? Such is life. I already have a ticket to fly down to Florida for a long weekend to check in on him. It's tough feeling guilty about things when there really isn't much you can do about it. But I do think there's hope in the future to put the stress behind us and savor the happy memories this place brought our family. Looking forward to ski season in Colorado.
Brookfield Place ViewsTaken with a wide angle 16-35 F2.8L a 3 stop graduated ND, and a 10 stop ND
It was looking to be a hot, humid, and rainy morning so I decided to go over to the waterfront around Brookfield Place downtown. If I got too hot, I would be able to easily duck into an air conditioned coffee shop for recovery.
The light was a little rough, so I brought along my new Soft graduated ND filters to go along with my 10 stop ND to get some long exposures of the harbor.
Westfield World Trade CenterOpening of the new mall in the World Trade Center
Westfield World Trade CenterOpening of the new mall in the World Trade Center
The new Westfield World Trade Center mall is pretty nice. It's right at the entrance/exit to the WTC PATH train so it's a quick 10 minute ride for me. First thing I noticed was that a new Nespresso store will be opening up there soon. I can do some damage at that place.
World Trade CenterTaken with a wide angle 16-35 F2.8L
Brookfield Place ViewsTaken with a wide angle 16-35 F2.8L a 3 stop graduated ND, and a 10 stop ND
Clouds were moving nicely, but kept hiding the sun so the filters were tough to get right. I like the look of the sailboat masts swaying back and forth from the long exposure as well.
Westfield World Trade CenterOpening of the new mall in the World Trade Center
Westfield World Trade CenterOpening of the new mall in the World Trade Center
Brookfield Place ViewsTaken with a wide angle 16-35 F2.8L a 3 stop graduated ND, and a 10 stop ND
This person had the right setup. Grab a chair and people watch through a giant window.
The food courts at Brookfield Place are amazing. Black Seed Bagels, Umami Burger, Mighty Quinn's BBQ, Blue Ribbon Sushi, Num Pang Sandwich Shop, are located in the upper Hudson Eats food court, just to name a few. Downstairs in the French food market, there are a few restaurants and bars where you can select your own cut of meat or fish and have them cook it up in front of you at the bar.
Ended up getting a snack of pork and chive dumplings from Norther Tiger. I'm still a sucker for dumplings.
Clouds over the Hudson RiverLong exposure of Downtown Manhattan from Hoboken, NJ
Clouds over the Empire State BuildingLong exposure of Midtown Manhattan from Hoboken, NJ
Clouds over the Empire State BuildingLong exposure of Midtown Manhattan from Hoboken, NJ
Still playing around with my 10 stop ND filter. Clouds were nice today. I used to wait for blue hour or sunset to get the smooth water look. Now, with the filter I can make that happen during daylight hours and still make happy hour. God I am getting old. I did notice some darkening around the edges in some of my longer exposures. I'll have to read up on why that's happening. I only brought the 16-35mm with me this time around. I'll stick with the 24-105mm for shots across the river. At 16mm, all you get is a big picture of the river with some of the city way in the background. I think I'll venture into the city and try and set up the tripod / filter on a busy street to get some better blurred motion shots. I always enjoy staring out at the city from across the river, but I need a change of scenery.
Downtown ManhattanTaken using the Lee Big Stopper, 20 second exposure, f / 8.0, ISO 50.
Finally got to play around with my "necessary" purchases for my upcoming trip. I've always liked the look of long exposures taken at night. The waves blend together to form almost a foggy like look for the water. I've been seeing a lot of landscape pictures taken with these effects during the day, so I bought myself a Lee Big Stopper ND filter. It's a 10 stop neutral density filter. It reduces the amount of light coming into your camera, so that you can increase your shutter speed by 10 stops.
The above pic was taken with a 20 second shutter speed at f/ 8.0 and a 50 ISO. Obviously I am neurotic enough to where my shaky hands make a tripod necessary for this setup. I didn't think the clouds were moving all that much, but it looks like they were, even in the span of 20 seconds. I set up the shot, metered it at f/ 8.0 in automatic, which gave me a 1/60th shutter speed. Then I threw the camera into manual, turned off autofocus, dropped in the filter, and dropped the shutter speed to 20 seconds (approximately 10 stops).
Downtown ManhattanTaken using the Lee Big Stopper, 10 second exposure, f / 8.0, ISO 50
Added a few filters to this one. I'll keep an eye out for the clouds and waves the next few days. I have a few more ideas where I think a daytime long exposure would look nice.
I really liked watching this video, which sold me on the idea of a drop in filter system instead of a screw in filter system. As you can probably guess, I'm already thinking about getting some of the graduated filters as well, but I think I'll have fun for now playing with this filter. As always, comments, even anonymous ones, are welcome.
I wanted to get a picture of the coincidentally aligned mixer levels, but this damn margarita kept getting in the way.
I tried three more times, and after consistently repeated photobombs, gave up and decided to leave this awful place and get food.
I've always wanted to try this place. Opened up Google Maps on my phone, and realized it was only a few blocks away. It's a Venezuelan restaurant located in Chelsea that always seems pretty popular with the locals. Walked around the block two times before forcing myself to go in. Definitely my type of place. Small table settings, friendly service, not too quiet, and you don't feel out of place grabbing a meal on your own. I've been to a few arepas in the city, as well as in Venezuela, so I'm familiar with the food. What caught my eye when browsing the menu for this place was the description of the merengadas, traditional Venezuelan milkshakes made using juice and powdered milk.
GUANABANA MERENGADA Totally worth the social anxiety.
PABELLÓN CRIOLLO Venezuelan national dish. White rice, black beans, sweet plantain and a selection of El Cocotero homade stews
BIENMESABE Sponge Cake soaked in sweet coconut milk topped with whipped coconut cream and toasted coconut flakes. This was amazing.
I think this place would be great for a small group of people. Plenty of appetizers to try, and they have beer, wine, and sangria, but I would stick with trying out the juices and milkshakes.
Damn you B&H and your mobile app
Ralph Bunche ParkTudor City, NY
Tudor City BridgeTudor City, NY
Tudor City LookoutTudor City, NY
Tudor City BridgeTudor City, NY
Ralph Bunche ParkTudor City, NY
Construction SiteTudor City, NY
Tudor City ApartmentsTudor City, NY
A few more from a rainy weekend in Tudor City. Took the wide angle lens, my raincoat, and just wandered till I felt better. Looking forward to October travel.
SuperpowersTudor City, NY
I most definitely have superpowers.
Walked around Tudor City in the rain. I love the city when it's quiet during a rainy weekend.
I had to give this place a try eventually. Growing up in New Jersey, a bacon egg and cheese on a roll was a common breakfast meal. So a place called BEC that makes specialty egg sandwiches? Definitely worth the visit.
Small place in Chelsea with several versions of an egg sandwich. Perfect to duck into early on a rainy Sunday morning.
I went with the "Roadhouse", with two eggs (perfectly runny), sweet Italian pork sausage, cheddar cheese, avacado, slaw, BBQ sauce, on a Ciabatta roll.
Add BEC to your list if you ever need a gourmet breakfast sandwich for breakfast in the city. Take a break from donuts.
While I always look forward to travelling and all the good memories that come from any trip that I take, I can’t help but recall some of the frustrating things I’ve encountered during a few trips abroad.
Getting access to the local currency is always a necessity. It shouldn’t have to be difficult nowadays, and for the most part, it isn’t. There are plenty of no foreign fee transaction credit cards out there, as well as debit cards that reimburse you for any fees which I will talk about some other time. However you will always end up running into a situation where you try to use your cards abroad and they get locked down due to some automated fraud detection system. This will happen even if you’re like me and call in travel notifications to every one of your credit and debit cards, even the ones you don’t take with you. Yes, I am paranoid and thorough. I’ve been using Google Voice ever since Google bought out GrandCentral and offered the service to Google account holders. It’s a free phone number that you can link to any phone number you have control over. I use it as my main number, and link it to my home, cell, and office phone. It’s especially great to have one if you like to travel abroad. You can make free phone calls, and send free texts, to the U.S. from your gmail account wherever you can get an internet connection. I use it as my number for all my credit cards, so if I ever have any security issues, I can take care of it via a quick phone call from my “home” number. It’s also great for calling your dad who refuses to pick up the phone if he doesn’t recognize the number on caller ID.
Mobile Passport (Android / iPhone)
There is nothing like sitting in coach on a flight back from Tokyo for 14 hours, filling out a paper customs form after prying your eyes open from a crust of melatonin and red wine, then having to sit in a customs and border control line for two hours after getting off the plane. While I still recommend getting your Global Entry card to skip the lines and baggage check, it may not be worth the $100 fee for others. Mobile Passport for your phone is a nice alternative. It allows you to fill out the form electronically from your phone, and even has dedicated lines starting to pop up in a few major international airports. All for free. Definitely worth downloading and setting up.
While I do cook at home almost every day during the week, I still enjoy going out and trying new spots for food and drinks. I get plenty of comments about how I must go out all the time from other people and how it's such a waste of money. When I get cornered into one of those conversations, I usually just keep my mouth shut and later make sure I buy an extra spite round of an overpriced NYC cocktail and drink to their judgement.
Been on a cocktail run lately. There are so many different ones to try. I think I'm starting to wind down on my taco cravings, but I will always grab some if asked by a friend to join them, and margaritas are still great during the summer. I eat healthy for the most part during the week, but when I scroll past a donut pic on Instagram, I somehow end up making my way over to the city one weekend morning. I will admit, my food photography is sub par. Usually try to sneak in the pic with my phone, trying not to be too obvious about it. I will have to force myself to eat and drink out more, strictly for the pursuit of furthering my food photography skills.
Planning a trip in the fall and I'm super anxious about finalizing it. I've made all my travel plans...tickets and hotel rooms booked with miles and points. Now I just have to wait on others to finalize, which always stresses me out. I've already started organizing my photo gear, and as usual with any trip I feel like I need more. I'll try and keep a clear head about what I “need”, so hopefully I just end up with an extra memory card. Maybe a third battery. Oh and a 9 or 10 stop ND filter set. I think I'll need an adapter for that so the filters work with my lenses. No lenses….no lenses. Ugh I don't think I have a polarizer for my wide angle.
I'm always looking for food and drink recommendations!
SkyhawkEssex County Airport Photo Missions
Finally bugged my pilot friend long enough to get his night certifications up to date, and decided to try out taking a few sunset and night shots over the city. The flight was surprisingly smooth. I was expecting a bumpy ride with the evening winds, but it turned out great. I think the bike ride home was way more bumpy. Haven't done a lot of night riding in a while, and some of these New Jersey potholes popped me out of my seat a few times.
We did a few circles around mid and downtown. Flight lasted about an hour. I filled up my 32 GB card with some golden hour and blue hour shots, so now I have a ton of development work to do. I had to stick with very high ISO settings when it got dark, and my F4.0 lens was not that fast, so hopefully the pictures aren't too noisy. Here are a few I've done so far.
Flying over Newark Airport was pretty cool. Planes were coming in for landing to the left of us, and below and to the right of us, planes were taking off.
It was still light out, but dark enough to where all the building lights started coming on.
Added some filters to these. I like the way they turned out.
I'll link these to the full resolution pictures once I'm done going through the rest. Register, and you'll get an email notification once the gallery is complete. I think I'll have at least a few keepers. Towards the end of the trip, while flying back up the Hudson River to turn west towards Teterboro Airport, I put my camera down and just enjoyed the view. It's always nice to get away from everything every once in a while.
Full Gallery is done and located here. Comments are always welcome!
Empire State BuildingEnd of golden hour over Downtown NYC
One World Trade CenterEnd of golden hour over Downtown NYC
One World Trade CenterEnd of golden hour over Downtown NYC
One World Trade CenterEnd of golden hour over Downtown NYC
One World Trade CenterEnd of golden hour over Downtown NYC
Empire State Building4th of July Colors
I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of the views of the city along the Hudson. I'm still trying to find a few different angles, and I can't for the life of me find the location for that twisted dock shot that everyone gets of downtown NYC, but when the skies are like this, I don't mind wandering down the river to look around.
Started off with the vines growing on the side of the porch. My parents had hung wires across the screens to allow a grape vine to grow. I liked them there. Gave a little more natural privacy to the screened in porch. I felt bad ripping them all down, but evidently the town wouldn't issue a certificate of occupancy if they were still there.
Basement clean out continued as well. Got rid of a bunch of old ski trophies and other high school things. I haven't looked at any of this stuff in years, so it wasn't too hard throwing this stuff away. I still can't believe how much junk was in that house. My mom kept everything! My dad had a friend come by and take all the furniture out, except for his bedroom. It's definitely awkward seeing the house so empty now. My dad has decided to get the floors cleaned up, the walls spackled and painted, and the outside of the house powerwashed. I think it's needed and will definitely help sell the place, but at the same time it's awful seeing my dad so down, now that everything is gone.
Found these toy cars during the clean out. I just couldn't bring myself to get rid of them, so I took them back to my place.
Most of the plants are gone now, but we couldn't bring ourselves to throw away this 3 foot cactus. My mom always liked this cactus. It was a pain (literally) bringing this thing back to my apartment, but I like the memories it brings sitting next to my bookshelf.
Towards the end of the day, we came to all the Christmas stuff we had stored in the basement. My dad got really sad at the thought of throwing out all our Christmas ornaments and stockings that we would hang up in front of the fireplace. These obviously came back to my garage. I'll fly them out with me when I go to Colorado for Christmas this year and surprise him with them.
I told him we could go anywhere for dinner that he wanted, and this is what he chose. Rolling my eyes as we drove up, he told me him and mom used to come here a couple times a week for lunch. I guess he wanted something familiar. I wish I could make my dad feel better about this whole process, but I guess I just have to let the whole thing run its course. I try to get him to come into Hoboken during the week to get dinner. He must be having a rough time, because I think when he actually goes to a restaurant that I've picked and spends money, he enjoys himself instead of worrying about the final cost. Hopefully this home sale will be behind us after this summer, and he can try and relax out in Colorado.
Still got the birds to keep me company, and my dad enjoys saying hi to them whenever he's in town.
Colgate ClockView of downtown NYC and the Colgate Clock from Jersey City
Colgate ClockView of downtown NYC and the Colgate Clock from Jersey City
I'm not going to lie. I was on a mission to try a taco place that I've passed by a million times, so I forced the idea of shooting the sunset near the Colgate Clock in downtown Jersey City, near Taqueria Downtown. I think it turned out well. I had some excellent tacos and a really awesome margarita (or two), and got a few keepers from the shoreline. I went with a few different long exposures while the light changed. I always liked the look of crisp objects in almost foggy-looking water. Orange, purple, and blue/green. I'm partial to the purple one. I think I'm going to pick up a 9 or 10 stop ND filter to try for some long exposures during the daytime. As always, any comments and critiques are welcome. You can click the above pictures to go to each one's individual photo page, where larger images are available to view.
So many different ones to try!
I'm only doing one of these next time. These were strong, but still highly recommended.
Central TerminalOld Train Station In Jersey City, New Jersey
Ellis Island DepartureOld Piers and Landings at Ellis Island
Central TerminalOld Train Station In Jersey City, New Jersey
Goldman Sachs BuildingGS Building In Jersey City on the Hudson River
Life Size ChessLiberty House Restaurant in Jersey City, New Jersey
Walked down to Liberty State Park after a big breakfast one morning. Nice to get out and walk around. I think I was more interested in the old train terminal and the old ferry piers that used to connect Ellis Island to New Jersey.
I am definitely from New Jersey. Still appreciate a giant breakfast at a 24 hour diner. Brownstone Pancake Factory in Downtown Jersey is worth the trip.
Delmonico'sDowntown New York City
I've been coming into the city for a while, and I can't believe I've never noticed this building.
Delmonico'sDowntown New York City
Tried a few different angles. I bet this building will look better at night.
Depth of FocusPillars in New York
I was just playing around with my fast lens here, seeing if I could get some good DOF.
CirclesArtwork in the Financial District
No CarsSigns in Downtown New York City
Coffee Shop Warning SignsSigns in New York City
You can always find interesting signs in the city. This coffee shop definitely has one of the better ones that I've run into.
I'm running another giveaway on my friend's raffle site, JackRaffit. Works great, free to join, and you get a $50 gift certificate for anything from my site. Definitely worth checking out and signing up. They run free giveaways every week.
Use this link to join my raffle. Let me know if you have any issues, and feel free to share!
I'll never forget the look my dad gives me when I do something stupid. I think it's the same look I give to people when they ask me stupid questions. Yes, I went back home to help him clean up, but I knew there would be stuff that he would want me to keep and take back to my place. Not exactly easy to throw a bunch of stuff in the trunk of my bike to bring back to my garage. He gave me the same look when I rode up that afternoon, as when he first taught me to change the oil in my car. I was laying underneath the car after warming up the engine for a few minutes. He was laying under there with me, making sure I wouldn't screw up anything. I decided to position myself right underneath the oil pan so I could get better leverage on the drain bolt. I mean literally right in front of the thing. As I started wrenching on it, my dad was giving me the same "you idiot" look out of the corner of my eye. Needless to say after a few more turns, I had hot engine oil spilling all over my face and chest. I think my dad still regrets sending me to college to this day.
I can always tell when my dad makes a new purchase. You'll see something at the house out of place, like his new running sneakers. I even know the thought process behind this purchase...find the cheapest possible running sneaker on Amazon. In this case, hot pink ladies running shoes. He was even going to wear them to the Italian restaurant we were going to for dinner, but luckily I am socially retarded enough to where I couldn't handle something like that in public, so I made him change his shoes.
Spent much of the day taking loads of old clothes, books, and just junk, over to the city recycling center via my dad's old trusty trailer. All these bins were completely full of stuff at one point or another. Now we are just dumping the bins. Still a ton of stuff to get rid of.
Home is definitely "emptier" with all my mom's plants gone now.
My dad kept this cactus for me though. He knew my mom loved this one and wanted me to have it. It will look nice in my apartment. I think this guy is as old as me.
Still going to miss this place. It's been in the family for 40 years.
One of my main jobs when I get home is to try and make sure my dad isn't eating like a complete savage. He uses me as an excuse to go out and buy polish sausages, kielbasa, and pretty much anything else that's terrible for you at a Polish butcher shop. So like the good son, I try to eat as much of it as I can before he just eats it all himself. Woke up Sunday morning to watch the MotoGP races, and unfortunately the only coffee I could find was this sealed can of instant Cuban coffee. I believe the can had a very faded date of 1987 on it, but it was sealed and I needed coffee. Between the sausages trying to stop my heart, and this super charged caffeinated Cuban motor oil making my heart explode, it was the perfect balanced meal.
After watching the first two races over breakfast, we lounged and watched the main race. It was an amazing race. My dad has been a Rossi fan since we both started watching in 2003. Best race of the season so far.
I still need to clean out the garage. Lots of tools and camping to go through and save. Two kayaks to move to Florida, and one Sunfish sailboat to move to Colorado. We'll figure it out. It's tough for me and my dad, again more so mentally than physically, but I know he will be happier in the end without this place to worry about anymore.
Even he, who wants to get rid of everything as quickly as possible, will every once in a while stop to play. After trashing endless amounts of books, sewing supplies, and old posters in his back office, he decided to wind up this old coo coo clock hanging on the wall. After waiting for the bird to start blaring, he decided he would lug it down to Florida after all.
After cleaning up all day, we went to dinner at an Italian place in town. He even swung for an appetizer, now that he could afford it since he was selling his house. After a second helping of free bread, not one ounce of sauce was left from that stuffed mushroom order.
Italian usually cheers us up, but in this case it wasn't that good. After leaving the place, my dad insisted on walking past the old ski shop in town where my mom used to work. He was so happy that after four years, they still have her picture up in the storefront window.
On the drive home, he got a call from his realtor with another offer on his house, so that cheered him up. He mentioned to me once that he'd like to go back to Alaska one more time, so I think I'll start looking at trips after he sells this house. I need to get back to taking pictures.
I've been meaning to try this place out since it's right around the corner from me, and since I heard they make a bacon and egg sandwich on a cheesy biscuit. Still a sucker for breakfast sandwiches. Comes from growing up in Jersey I guess. The sandwich didn't disappoint. No miles from this place, but the sandwich won me over.
I'm glad I always have the option to quickly get into the city. I never need a specific destination. I just hop on the train, pick a stop to get off at, and wander. You can always find something.
Once I find a new doughnut shop, I become obsessed with trying out all the different ones. I've gone down the road of getting 2 or 3 at a time before. I won't do that again. The peanut butter and jelly from The Doughnut Project is worth trying.
Tried the Tacombi up on 24th. Big space with plenty of seating. Wasn't too crowded when I went. Tacos were very good, but a little on the expensive side for what you get. I'll have to try a few of the drinks they have there. I like the Bleeker street location better. Nicer area.
As soon as I realized I was near Madison Square Park, I had to run over and grab a dessert. Double chocolate ice cream sandwich from Melt Bakery. The ice cream is perfectly hard so that when you bite into it, it doesn't spread out and go everywhere.
Sunburst Espresso Bar is an all day coffee and breakfast place. Free Wifi, and offers a nice break spot from wandering around. You get 5 miles per dollar spent there, so the guilty iced coffee doesn't make you feel so bad.
Cooper's Craft and Kitchen has a bunch of awesome beers on tap. Haven't tried the food yet. 5 miles per dollar here as well.
Cork N' Fork is a small tapas bar on the east side. Great sangria at happy hour, and you get the miles for it.
Nice little taco spot that serves miles as well.
Back to thinking about a trip somewhere. Not looking forward to the 3 day weekend. No plans, and it's a little too hot for me to wander around taking pictures. The city will be too crowded for me. Maybe a ride upstate somewhere.
Hiked over to Brooklyn and the East River State Park to scope out some potential city scene shots from the river. It's nice being able to walk up right on to the river in the park. This area of Brooklyn is very nice...plenty of restaurants and bars in the area to sneak into for a break. It was super windy next to the water, and my lightweight tripod didn't hold up so well for long exposures, but I got a few keepers. For the first one, I tried out a Nik filter, now available for free from Google, after combining a few bracketed exposures in Lightroom.
It brings out the clouds which is what I was going for. Clouds were perfect right before the sunset, but the wind was strong and cleared the skies right as the sun was going down. I'll keep this location on my list of places to hit again. There's a Brooklyn Barge bar up the street from here that I will have to check out. Outdoor settings and city views....can't complain. I think dealing with river winds and sunset shot setups will be easier after a few drinks.
I look forward to my weekends because I enjoy getting up early and going out to grab coffee and breakfast. La Isla in downtown Hoboken is always a favorite of mine, and I still get the stuffed french toast every once in a while. Their Cuban Latte is still the best in the city. They are open early enough on the weekends and have a nice counter top dining setup, perfect after wandering around for some early morning pics.
Another favorite of mine is Ultramarinos, a Venezuelan cafe a few blocks away from me. You can't go wrong with chorizo, eggs, and toast. The spicy hot chocolate is amazing.
After an early happy hour with a friend in the city, I decided to stick around for the sunset on the Hudson river. I needed to grab something to hold me over, and didn't feel like eating at another bar. Stopped by Pho Sure to grab a Tiger and some Banh Mi.
Sunset was great, and ended up getting a few keepers. See my previous post.
Sometimes you just want to go to a diner and get a giant omelette and coffee. I'm a fan of Hudson Diner right off the Christopher Street PATH stop. Friendly service and comfortable booths.
Other times, you'll just have a craving for a donut. The Doughnut Project opened up a few months ago and I finally decided to try it out. They had not yet baked their chocolate and bone marrow donuts yet, so I had to settle for a coffee and the salted chocolate with buttered pretzel topping donut. Awesome place. I was the only one in there early on a rainy Saturday. They were playing the new Star Wars, and I got to enjoy a funny argument between the two owners and baker regarding light saber colors.
For dinners, I am generally always happy with grabbing Italian food. I found myself in Brooklyn waiting around for another evening shot, and ended up walking by The Meatball Shop. I didn't even know they had a location in Williamsburg. I like this one the best out of all three. Bigger than the others and a nicer crowd. I could have ordered another 4 meatballs without any problems, but I held back.
Looking forward to a rainy weekend coming up. Maybe some reflection shots. Mugello race on Sunday!
Sunset over Downtown Hoboken on the Hudson River, viewed from Pier 45 in New York
Blue skies above Jersey City
One World Trade Center viewed from Pier 45 in Downtown NYC. If you look closely you can see a ghost who wandered into my shot.
A view of Downtown Hoboken and the W Hotel from across the Hudson River from Pier 45
Long exposure of the Pier 45 area and the Empire State Building
Met up with a friend for a quick happy hour in the city. Since it was mid week and she was able to get out of work early, we started early and called it quits early. Stopped by Pho Sure to grab a quick bite and before heading over to the PATH, I walked over to the river after noticing the cloud cover. I stayed around for sunset and got a few long exposures. Awesome night out, and it was nice watching people doing Tango dancing on the pier.
There were actually a few people in the comments section who were also inspired by this picture. I threw myself into the comments thread, and went on an Amazon shopping spree. Obviously I remembered to get the MileagePlusX miles before buying it.
Roosevelt IslandFounders memorial on Roosevelt Island
Queensboro BridgeViewed from Roosevelt Island
Queensboro BridgeViewed from Roosevelt Island
Ravenswood Generating StationViewed from Roosevelt Island
Hopped on the F train over to Roosevelt Island. I hadn't been there yet, and wanted to check out the scenery. Roosevelt Island is worth the trip if you want somewhere quiet to walk around. I did the whole loop around the island, taking reading breaks on any benches I came across. Visited the memorial at the southern tip, and saw some guy trying to teach his girlfriend how to ride a motorcycle in the northern lot. There were a lot of stalls. With that many restarts, I'm guessing he had to push jump start his bike at the end of the session. No way that battery still held a charge.
Only thing that really drew my eye was the power station. I guess I've been a chemical engineer for too long. There weren't too many people around so I brought out the glass ball and started playing around with different angles. I don't think my hands are steady enough for holding it up and taking a picture at the same time, and they are definitely not steady enough for bracketing shots. I'm partial to the last one, where you can see the bridge in the background, but see something totally different in the ball. I ended up tagging the three people in the last photo, which I posted to Instagram, who mentioned their glass ball purchases as well. I'm hoping to see some of their shots soon!
Old vs NewDowntown Manhattan, NYC
Church StreetDowntown Manhattan, NYC
One World Trade CenterFreedom Tower, Downtown Manhattan, NYC
Started off in Downtown, then made my way from the PATH over to to the F train. It was such a nice day out. Purposefully left the headphones off.
Brooklyn Bridge Pier 5 ParkBrooklyn, NYC
Brooklyn Bridge Pier 6 ParkBrooklyn, NYC
Brooklyn SpringtimeBrooklyn, NYC
It was nice seeing so many people using the public grills along the river. Walking up and down the piers, I didn't end up finding the location I was looking for, so I made my way back to the Carroll Gardens area. I'll have to do some more Google Maps research before heading out there again. In my typical can't make up my mind mindset, I set out with an idea for night shots, but end up going out there too early and burning myself out walking around. One day I will actually make a plan and stick to it.
Had a friend who used to live in this area and ended up stopping by Wingbar to grab an unhealthy snack. Wings are still great here, and the dive bar atmosphere was comforting. I can't remember the last time I've had wings. I love this place, and wish there were more like it where I live. Save it to your Google Maps and stop by if you're ever in the area.
Nice video on leaving your comfort zone and trying something new.
Follow my blog with Bloglovin'.
If you're interested in free Google Drive storage, check out Google's Local Guide program. You use Google Maps on your phone to leave reviews and pictures of places you visit, mainly restaurants and bars, and you earn points for your reviews.
After enrolling in the free program, you'll probably already have a bunch of points as you've probably rated places you've been to when using Google Maps on your phone.
They have 5 different levels, but once you reach level 4, one of the main benefits is that you receive 1 terabyte of Google Drive storage for 2 years. Normally, 1 terabyte is $10 a month, so I think it's great that they are giving this away for free. If you're like me who has a lot of pictures and videos that you don't want to lose, having a backup copy in the cloud is a nice option. No external hard drives to worry about crashing.
Another benefit is that you can see the viewer count of your pictures. You will end up mostly taking pictures of your food, but it's always fun for me looking through the view counters.
For some reason and I have no clue why, this breakfast picture from Austin's Le Cafe Crepe has over 40,000 views. I don't even know why I bother with my own website.
Follow my blog with BloglovinI first had pork belly bao during my second trip to Taiwan. My coworker got them for us at one of the night markets we went to. It was a small sandwich in a Taiwanese bun, only a few bites, but it was delicious. I remembered seeing a place in the city that was reviewed on one of Anthony Bourdain's shows, Baohaus, and tried it out. Been there a few times now.
Small place on East 14th giving off a divey vibe inside, but the people taking orders and making the food are more than happy to chat with you about their favorites and recommendations.
The Birdhaus Bao (chicken) and the Chairman Bao (pork belly). I've tried everything on the menu so far, but my favorite is still the Chairman Bao. Still not as good as the ones I've had in Taiwan, and definitely not as cheap, but pretty authentic. Grab one for a snack if you're walking around in that area.
I'm hoping this Taiwan trip materializes and I get some free time. I had always assumed I'd be taking many more trips out there for work, but unfortunately the project that was taking me out there ended. I regret never getting any good shots of Taipei at night, as well as not one single good night shot of Taipei 101. Not the end of the world though. Taiwan is a great place to visit, and I could easily spend a week or two there on my own for a vacation.
Still trying to figure out where I took this picture. I think my GPS unit wasn't working at the time, because Dazhuang is much further to the south, and I think this place was north of Taipei.
They've recently joined the MileagePlus dining rewards program, so I tend to feel a little less guilty when getting 5 miles per dollar.
It's a small spot that plays good music and has friendly bartenders.
They have a nice wine list, even a few on tap. Their beers are great. I've been on a sour beer kick lately.
The bone marrow and brisket burger. Worth stopping by this place for it. They have a great house cocktail menu as well, so I'll definitely be back. I don't really like eating at bars by myself anymore. I've done it too many times on business trips and after work in the city, but this place gives off that comfortable vibe to where you don't feel out of place stopping by for good food and drinks on your own.
As usual, I had my camera gear with me. Still trying to get a few more night shots with my new lightweight tripod. After this burger and two beers, I just didn't have it in me to wander the city. Left very satisfied though.
Located on Washington Street in Hoboken, this small cafe makes all kinds of Argentinian empanadas fresh daily. They also serve strong coffee which is always a plus.
The chorizo empanada was delicious. For $3 an empanada, it's definitely better than grabbing a hot dog from a street cart in the city, or overpriced bar food. They do catering and online orders as well.
Empanadas Cafe on Washington Street in Hoboken.
I prefer Thai food, so I took him to Sri Thai and we've been back a few times ever since. My favorite Thai place in Hoboken.
Started off with some steamed dumplings.
I stuck with the Kai Sup-pa-rod. Chicken with pineapple, cashew nuts, and thai chili sauce.
My dad even sprung for dessert. Some Thai custard.
If you're looking for a quick, cheap, tasty Thai meal, Sri Thai in Hoboken is great. I'd stick with the curry, or if you're with a group just get a bunch of the appetizers and small dishes to share.
I'm still trying to get dad to a nice restaurant. It's something I've been trying for years, but it's tough to get him to try new places. He is always always reminiscing about how he used to be able to get a lunch special meal for $7, and I don't have the heart to tell him that I was paying for $21 beers in Singapore. Times definitely have changed. I'll figure something out eventually. Pass along any recommendations you may have for my situation.
A few more from playing around with my new wired shutter release. I like how the water looks smooth in these pics, but I think I could have accomplished the same thing with a 10-15 second exposure. I'll watch the wind and sky for the next round. Click for a larger version.
My dad's parakeets have moved in. I already feel sorry for my neighbors. With the traveling and house showings my dad has coming up, we thought it would just be easier if I kept the birds at my apartment. The ride over here in their little travel cage was bumpy and rough, so they were quiet, but as soon as they got back into their big house, they are chirping away. And with that, I'm going to get coffee.
What's great about Austin is a combination of things. It's in the south, so the weather is almost always nicer than in Jersey, almost all of the bars and restaurants have an outdoors space for eating/drinking, and most importantly a lot of places that only serve drinks (no kitchen) will have a small taco truck attached to them somehow. We've been going to Austin for the past several years and the one place we discovered is Valentina's, a small taco truck next to Star Bar in Downtown Austin. They were some of the best tacos I've ever had. You grab a beer and drink it on the outdoor patio, and if you get hungry you run over and grab a few tacos. Perfect setting. Prior to flying down this trip, I looked up Valentina's and was shocked to learn they had moved from their original location. I was devastated, but I quickly learned that their sister truck, The Violet Taco, had taken over their original location.
This place did not disappoint. Star Bar decided to upgrade their patio with newer tables and a full outdoor bar. This taco truck had their own take on tex-mex tacos, plus they had all of Valentina's tacos available for order as well!
As usual, I went a little nuts with my food order. Got three tacos: Valentina's Smoked Brisket Taco, The Mighty Moe, and The A.C.P. They were amazing. I will be back next year. There is nothing better after a day at the track than having a few beers outside and stuffing yourself with tacos.
As I said before, tacos can be found everywhere in Austin. I picked up some great barbacoa tacos from the Rosarito Food Truck at the Circuit of Americas track. For "stadium food" these were great.
And like I said before, almost all bars have taco options. One of the places we stopped by to grab a drink was Bar 96 on Rainey Street, and naturally when I saw they had a taco truck, I placed an order. Got the buffalo chicken and pork carnitas taco. If you're tired of the 6th street scene in Austin, check out Rainey Street. It's a row of old houses that have been converted into bars (some with taco trucks). Never knew that street existed, but will return the next time I'm ever in Austin.
If anyone has any other taco spot recommendations in Austin, please let me know.
Bought a Vello wired remote switch and tried out some long exposure shots. It was a little windy this night, so I was worried about my lightweight tripod moving around. Not quite as sharp as I'd like it to be, but I do like the effect long exposures have on the water, giving it that glossy look. There were no clouds in the sky so I don't think this type of shot really warranted a long exposure. I'll keep an eye out on the sky this week and see if I can get something better.
Got a few typical racing shots. There aren't a lot of places around the track to get a clear, close shot of everyone, but I manage with my 70-200mm/extension tube, and obvious cropping.
This time around I only kept the ones that I thought looked good. No more dumping 100's of pictures into an album.
We still get the paddock passes every year. It's nice walking around and seeing all the racers you've come to idolize over when watching races on TV. Dani Pedrosa. 5'3" and rides a 230 mph bike like it's nothing. I really hope he wins a championship before he retires.
Marc Marquez, 2 time world champ, and the guy who ruined my life.
Scott Redding. Super nice guy. Met him at the Red Bull after party after the races were over.
Maverick Vinales. New guy to the paddock, but already on a factory ride and rumor has it will be going to Factory Yamaha next year.
Alex Rins. Dominated the Moto2 race.
Eugene Laverty, on one of the non-factory teams, but still doing great in the series this year so far.
Maverick in full power ranger armor.
Rossi (God for short).
Pol Espargaro. Hasn't had much luck these past few seasons, so we'll see where he ends up next year.
Took a few more "candids" to keep myself interested in developing the pictures.
I'm sitting here with $6000 in camera/lenses/extenders shooting over the fence, and these two idiots are 30 feet away from the action shooting it up with cell phones. I give up.
I had no problems playing fan photographer in the paddock. If you like racing, you should definitely get to a MotoGP race. The one in Austin is a blast. Amazing food, and when the weather holds out, it's perfect.
Full gallery is here: Austin MotoGP 2016. As always, questions and comments are always welcome.
Over the past years, the house has been more of a maintenance headache than anything else. When my dad is in Colorado for the ski season, I end up taking care of the parakeets and plants, shoveling the driveway, going through all the mail, and keeping the boiler full. When he's in Florida I do all the yard work. However it always felt nice having that feeling of coming home every once in a while. It will be tough to see this house go to someone else, but it's definitely time.
It is definitely hard on my dad. I hate seeing him close to tears every time he talks about the house, or the viewings scheduled by the realtor for the next day, or packing up stuff to move to storage. I can tell he takes it personally when someone comes to see the house and leaves after two minutes. How can anyone not love the house that he's lived in for 30 years?
Got my dad to go out to dinner, which is something not easily done. He is always worried about spending money, and has been known to collect empty pizza boxes from the neighbors' recycling when he goes running in the morning, because if you collect enough of the barcodes from the boxes you get a free pizza from the pizzera in downtown Summit. Yes, I worry my dad will get arrested for stealing garbage.
We both got the same....his favorite Italian dish. Shrimp Fra Diavolo. We had our typical conversations about the stock market, skiing, work, selling the house, etc. I know he worries to death about me and my personal life, but he never brings it up with me, worrying even more that he will spook me into not speaking with him. I wish he wouldn't worry about me, but I don't think that will ever happen.
I always end up hearing something new from my dad. He is full of surprises. I've always been bugging him to go back and see his family in Slovakia, but he is always worried about ticket prices and the house. This year, his old college ski team from Brno is having a reunion in Brno, and he has decided to go. I am so excited for him. He even has old friends that he will stay with while he is there in Brno, before taking a train over to Kosice to see his brother.
While he is telling me about his itinerary, he remembers that his old professor got in touch with him and will be at the reunion. He tells me a story that he stuck at a international ski race and was going to have to miss this professor's exam. Missing the exam would have resulted in him being kicked out of "college". He uses the term loosely as college in communist Czechoslovakia is much different that what I was used to. More of a forced technical school...the government decided what you would be good at and what you would study. Evidently my dad was to be an electrician. So getting kicked out of school would have been a very big deal. This professor ended up filling out the exam for him and turning in the results. My dad says he owes this guy his life. Who knew...my dad cheated in college. I would have loved to have this piece of information as I was getting yelled at for failing intro to electrical engineering in college. I had a good time at dinner, and wish I could go to dinner with my dad much more than I do.
Coming back home, he'll start going through all the stuff he needs to get rid of, but every once in a while he'll give me something that he wants me to keep.
He found this cigarette holder and insisted that I keep it. Not sure what I will do with it, but it is made of pure silver so I'll hang on to it. I'll decorate my bookshelves with it.
I have no idea how old these cigarettes are, but they look pretty old.
Selling this house will be very difficult for my dad. The whole process will be draining for him, but in the end he is happier when he is skiing at Copper Mountain, or spending time with his friends and family in Florida. I will miss the house I grew up in, but I know it's time, and for the best.
Walked in and jumped in line, not really knowing what we were doing.
We asked the guy cutting up the meats what he recommended for two people, and he said to go for a half pound of each. Luckily we toned that down to a quarter pound of each. Got the brisket, beef ribs, jalapeno and cheese sausage, and prime rib. They slice it up and wrap it in to-go paper for you.
They also have sides and desserts ready to be packed up for you. Got both types of mac and cheese, and coleslaw. I usually go nuts at places like these, so I held myself back on ordering the desserts, but they looked amazing.
You get your order to go, but they have plenty of seating indoors and outdoors.
My favorite was the beef ribs, but the brisket was a close second. I could feel my heart stopping after eating this meal. I wish I had gotten dessert.
Cooper's Old Time Pit Barbecue in Downtown Austin. Amazing food and definitely a good alternative to some of the other popular places with obscenely long wait times.
Just finished a trip to Austin to see the MotoGP races. Had a blast and ate a lot of great food when not burning in the sun at the track. I have a ton of motorcycle pictures to go through. For now, I'll just post a few reviews of the food spots we tried.
We found a great breakfast spot in downtown Austin that opens early enough to grab a big breakfast before heading over to the track. They make excellent crepes and have a good house blend coffee.
The Morning Crepe with mushrooms, spinach, cheese, and tomatoes. You get a bowl of fruit as well.
Went a little overboard and had a nutella, banana, and whipped creme crepe to finish the meal.
Le Cafe Crepe in Downtown Austin. Highly recommended if you're in the area.
Looking forward to disconnecting, watching some motorcycle racing, and eating barbeque.
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View of Harbor from Victoria Peak, Hong Kong
One example of when I don't follow this rule is when I go to Hong Kong. I am always hoping for a clear shot of the city skyline and harbor from Victoria Peak. I still haven’t gotten a clear day. I don’t let getting the picture consume my time there. If I did, I'd be hanging around Victoria Peak all day, which is definitely a tourist trap. However I am always checking on the weather. If it is clear out, I'm definitely grabbing a cab to the Peak and setting up my tripod. This was the clearest day I got during my last trip. Foggy and rainy. The clouds did end up making for a nice picture, but I still haven't gotten lucky with the weather. I’ll have to go back. This is definitely a touristy shot that I'm going for, but it's one that I want.
In some cases since I know I won’t have Google Maps with me, I’ll make “notecards” to find my way to the places I want to see. I made these for my Singapore trip. I had them printed out on 4x6 inch photo paper. I included pictures of the destinations next to the maps, just in case I couldn't spot the places.
I also research the local food.
I am adamant about not eating anything but local food when I travel, and I have to try any local specialties. I’ve never been good at taking food pictures though. I tend to eat everything and only after the meal is finished do I remember that I should have taken a picture. At the same time, whipping out my huge dSLR in a restaurant is also pretty lame. This was dim sum from a place in Kennedy Town, Hong Kong. I went early in the morning, and I definitely got some stares from the locals. With enough pointing at the pictures on the menu, I was able to eat. Couldn't force myself to order the chicken feet though, which was what literally every old taxi driver was eating for breakfast.
I’ve also gotten better about buying gifts. Yes, I will still stop at the duty free shop to pick up scotch or sake before coming back, but aside from the experience, I think the pictures I take are enough for me as something to bring back. I used to pick up a shot glass from whatever airport I was at, but I ended up getting annoyed at all the space they took up in my small kitchen cabinets. If I do bring something back, I tend to stick with unique items that remind me of my trip.
Hand-Made Japanese ToothpicksNihonbashi Saruya in Tokyo, Japan. Definitely one of the more interesting souveniers that I've brought back with me from a trip. I don't think I've ever used any of them.
These are hand-made toothpicks from Nihonbashi Saruya in Tokyo. I remember walking into the store. I saw two old toothpick makers in the back who stared at me like I was lost. I started looking at all the items in the display cases and when a lady came forward to try and see what I wanted, I ended up pointing to a set of three toothpick cases that looked like they may be for sale. Not a word of English was spoken, at least when I visited. It may have changed since then. After a lot of pointing, and the lady finding a really old calculator, I ended up getting through the purchase. In two of the cases, each toothpick had an paper sleeve with something written in Japanese. I don't think I will ever be able to bring myself to use any of these. They are too nice.
When visiting the area of Tokyo where all of the fake food displays are made, I had to get something to bring back. The level of detail that goes into each piece of food is amazing. This was definitely more of a touristy destination, but I think it’s worth visiting. I’ve definitely caught a few people in my office thinking that I’ve left uneaten food under my computer screen.
In the end, travel is about the experiences and memories for me. Tourist pictures and trinkets will always be a distant second.
It's a small French bakery and cafe that serves breakfast pastries and baked goods. They also provide bread for several restaurants in the area.
Plenty of seating so you'll find your typical people with their laptops working on their novels and blogs, and it's open earlier than typical brunch spots on the weekends.
Almond croissant and a large latte, done right.
It's nice having places like this within walking distance. They currently show two locations on their website, but I believe they've just opened a third location in Jersey City Heights. Glad they are doing well.
Choc O Pain in Hoboken and Jersey City
Spring is here, and it was nice to get out and walk around the city after work. I took the PATH train over to World Trade Center. Just got a new tripod and wanted to see how it worked in the wind. It is much lighter than my main tripod, so I was worried it wouldn't be very stable. Carrying it is definitely much better than expected. Fits nicely in my shoulder bag. Ended up keeping only a few pictures, and not even the ones I took with the tripod. Didn't like the way the colors were looking, so I did some conversions in Photoshop using some Topaz Labs filters. The bench one is growing on me. It's a different perspective than what I usually take.
There is a bodega in Hoboken that has great prices on fruit. Every once in a while I pick up two large boxes of strawberries and two boxes of blackberries for $8. I like to mix them with non fat yogurt and granola for my breakfast. I get sick of oatmeal.
I usually end up having too much fruit, so I got out some mason jars and baked some cakes in a jar. I'm also finishing up my latest batch of chili where I used hot Hungarian paprika, so I was looking to have something sweet for dessert.
You just need flour, sugar, salt, fruit, and a few jars.
I added some flaxseed meal, to attempt to be somewhat healthy(er). Mix everything together.
Coat the jars filled with fruit with everything.
Top with a nice heaping teaspoon of butter.
Bake for an hour until golden brown and the cake rises.
And you're done. Let cool for 20 minutes. So simple.
Top with cream and inhale. I don't think I even chewed. Save the rest in the refrigerator for later, although I probably could have eaten the rest.
Pier C Park, HobokenA View of Pier C Park with Hoboken and Downtown NYC in the background
Pier C Park, HobokenViewing Magnifier in Pier C Park, Hoboken
Pier C Park, HobokenHeart lock in Pier C Park, Hoboken, NJ
A few from a walk around Pier C Park in Hoboken, New Jersey. After a breakfast that was too much food and too much coffee, I had to walk around. I liked the lock on the fence and grabbed a shot of it, since it will be taken down at some point. Holidays are still hard for me, with my dad in Colorado and sister always busy in Brooklyn. Glad it was a nice day out for walking around and clearing my thoughts.
A small local cafe in Hoboken that's been there forever, the owner gets pastries from Balthazar and makes great omelettes and breakfast sandwiches.
There is usually space if you get there early enough on a weekend. Small place with home cooked food, and the owner loves to talk to his customers.
Veggie omelette and a steaming hot cup of coffee. Bring your kindle to enjoy after a nice breakfast.
The Little Grocery, Downtown Hoboken.
They have a happy hour special: 3 tacos and a drink for $12 from 3 to 7 pm.
The place is small and cozy. Easy to miss as it's down a steep set of stairs.
I love Mexican sodas, but I stuck with beer.
Got the chicken, barbacoa, and pork belly tacos. The barbacoa was my favorite. I was in and out of there in 20 minutes. Perfect place for a quick snack.
This definitely looks promising....
The Taco Shop NYC, highly recommended.
When I travel, I naturally take a lot of my photo gear with me. It has to travel with me as my carry-on. I would never recommend checking any type of valuable electronics. Unfortunately I am also a terrible packer and take more gear than I need, so I have to cut back on some of the other things that I typically take. Over the years, I think I've whittled it down to my essentials.
Chromebook
I just picked this up today ($177 including taxes on Amazon). I lent mine to my friend for his 2 week Asia trip and it ended up breaking, so I had to get a new one. I'm a big fan of these. They are extremely cheap, light, and serve my internet needs when traveling. I bought one initially for the purpose of connecting an external USB hard drive to clear my camera's memory cards too, as well as backing up photos to Google Drive when I could connect to the internet. However after using it more and more, I realized it served as the perfect travel laptop: Google Voice and video calling, email and internet access, Google Drive to write up offline blog posts, and 9+ hours of battery life to watch movies on the 15 hour direct flight to Hong Kong in coach. This thing is much easier to sneak into my photo backpack than my 17 inch laptop.
So because I have a ton of movies that I put on my Chromebook for the plane rides, I naturally end up just reading instead. One of the best purchases I've ever made. I'm talking about Kindles in general here. I had the original Kindle keyboard edition for years and finally last year, the blotches on the screen got too big and I ended up splurging for a Paperwhite. Why lug around a ton of books for reading on the beach when you can just bring this thing.
Molskine and Pen
This is one thing I never travel without. I always find myself needing to write something down. I've had this thing for years. It came in handy in Japan when I became obsessed with getting all the stamps at the temples and castles that I visited. I'm actually 12 years old. I also got fed up with pens going bad so I splurged and got myself one of those Fisher space pens to keep in my passport wallet (of course I own one of those). That pen always works.
Anything you think I'm missing, let me know.
That's all I've got for now. Finally finished my taxes, and I'm still dealing with the aftermath of too many half price German beer and mussels. I'm eating soup for dinner and calling it an early night.
Spaulding BowlSpaulding Bowl entrance sign at Copper Mountain, Colorado
First few days on the mountain, and I was skiing under sunny skies and 55 degree weather. They still had plenty of snow, but it was melting fast.
Jacques PeakView from the back side of the Spaulding Bowl ridge to Copper Bowl, Copper Mountain
Copper BowlCopper Bowl Ridge, Copper Mountain
Copper BowlCopper Bowl Ridge, Copper Mountain
Snow CatsFree Snow Cat Rides at Tucker Mountain, Copper Mountain
My ride for the day. Free cat skiing at Tucker Mountain.
Sky ChutesView of the Sky Chutes and I-70 corridor from the top of Copper Mountain
Views are still amazing from this place when you have clear skies.
Board WalkBoard Walk in Spaulding Bowl, Copper Mountain
Calendar ChuteView from the top of Calendar Chute, Copper Mountain
Clouds started rolling in towards the end of my trip, making for some nice early morning cloud cover.
Spaulding BowlMy dad, still skiing every day during the winter season, in Spaulding Bowl, Copper Mountain
Spaulding Bowl GladesView from Spaulding Bowl Glades, Copper Mountain
Spaulding Bowl GladesView from Spaulding Bowl Glades, Copper Mountain
Mountain Chief LiftMountain Chief Lift, in Copper Bowl, Copper Mountain
MulligansMulligans, Center Village, Copper Mountain
My last night there, it started nuking.
Center VillageCenter Village, Copper Mountain
Before my afternoon flight, I left the camera at home and played in powder the whole morning.
Copper ended up getting over 27 inches that week. I guess I should have extended my trip. I may come back here in April. There should still be plenty of snow.
Came back from Colorado late last night. When I got to work early this morning, I had a nice package waiting for me.
The packaging was a lot nicer than I thought it would be for a stack of contact cards.
Even got a compliment card.
I am super impressed with the way these turned out. Can't wait to hand some of these out in Austin next month.
If you're looking to make contact cards, I highly recommend using Moo.com. They provide Photoshop and InDesign templates for you to design your own cards from scratch, and also provide standard designs. Once you finish a design, you can upload it and they provide you a free PDF for proofing before you order. If you're interested in buying their products, use my referral link to receive 10% off your first order.
I'm looking at their MiniCards next. Seems like a great idea for something small and simple to hand out at gatherings and events.
Now to start going through some Colorado pictures.
More from Google's Blog.
I've been using Google Flights a lot lately to look up potential vacation spots and getaways. It usually works pretty well as a starting point.
I gave it a quick try, and it seems to at least work for the more popular destinations.
Didn't work for others though.
This is definitely going to take up a bunch of my time at lunch, and eat up a lot of my shared mobile data plan. If anyone has any luck using this, let me know below. I'm trying out Disqus comments instead of the built in Zenfolio comments. It's a better setup with more options, but guest comments are somewhat tricky to find. Just click in the comment area, then click the name area under "Sign Up with Disqus", then you'll see a checkbox option to post as a guest without registering. Or you can register through Google, Facebook, etc.
These showed up in the mail today. Three day tickets and paddock passes to the Austin MotoGP races. Well actually they were delivered to my coworker, so I just opened his mail.
This will be our third time going to this race. We usually run around like idiots trying to get pictures of everyone for the first two days, then on race day we calm down and watch the races. He insists on getting his picture taken with everyone. Obviously I have no issues playing the role of the personal photographer. Don't let the shirt fool you though. He's a closet Lorenzo fan (#vamosjorge). Lorenzo is basically the New England Patriots of MotoGP, and has ruined my life.
I'm usually pretty negative at the beginning of the season, especially this year as Rossi got shit on last season. The year before, Marquez ended up winning by what seemed like 45 seconds. Complete joke. However what usually happens is I'm bitter going down to Austin, saying that I'm really going for the BBQ, then as soon as the races are done I convince myself that I absolutely have to go to another one later in the season. I'm going to shoot for Italy this year, if I can convince myself to go.
The Austin race is awesome. The city has incredible food The airport is small and since MotoGP is pretty unpopular in the U.S., you see all the racers walking around waiting for their flights and most people don't even know who they are. Even if you have absolutely no interest in the sport, I highly recommend watching Fastest, a documentary narrated by Ewan McGregor. I've been watching MotoGP since 2003 (#forzavale) and I told my coworker to watch this documentary a few years ago. Now I think he's more obsessed with it than me.
Traveling to Colorado today. I'm going to try and disconnect for the long weekend and get some good skiing in.
Grabbed my tripod and took the light rail down to the water in Jersey City with the intent of getting a night shot of downtown. It was more hazy than I'd like, but the long exposure from using my ND filter made for a nice glossy water look. For some reason I could only get my camera to a 30 second shutter speed. I'll have to look into how to get it to go longer.
Afterwards I grabbed a quick happy hour drink at Taphaus. Pretty normal bar, except the views are great. Mostly a finance professional type bar, so I fit right in with my jeans, hoodie sweatshirt, and Copper Mountain vest.Called it a night and went home to make dinner.
Set up the ride for the morning commute first though. As soon as it's above 45 in the morning, the commute is much more fun.
Still can't believe only a few days ago it was freezing and snowing in the morning. Now it's going to be in the 70's this week.
Met up with a few people this past week for a drink. The meet ups were all separate, but the conversations were very similar. They were stressed about things in general, and I think they just wanted someone to listen. I am always happy to listen.
I know how hard it is to talk to other people about things that bother me. I can count the number of times I've opened up to people in my life on one hand. I rarely do it. But when I do, I know how relieving it can be to get something out instead of keeping it bottled up inside. So I appreciate the fact that these people feel they can talk to me about such things. When people open up to me, I tend to do the same. Not always the best thing to do I guess. It can be a bit selfish on my part, but I know I have a lot of the same stresses that others have, and I think its good to share concerns when they are similar. I spent a lot of hours talking this week, and I'd like to think it helped those people stuck with me. We'll see. It definitely helped me. Hopefully there are more conversations and I didn't scare them off.
These talks brought up a lot of memories of my mom. Pretty much the only person I could ever force myself to talk to. I remember those hugs you get when you go home for the holidays after not seeing your parents for a while. I always looked forward to those, and miss those the most.
Needless to say, I was spent at the end of the week, and needed a distraction. Something new.
Typically I would just hop on the bike and take off somewhere for a few hours. That freaking thing is a great distraction. There is no feeling on earth like riding around on a bike. Way more fun than a car...you don't have the feeling of a steel cage around you as you fly around the roads, and you get to dress up in ridiculous looking superhero body armor. At the same time, you are forced to focus on the basics when riding, like not getting run over and dying. If you let your mind wander to things that are troubling you, you tend to fly into the back of a truck or get hit by suicidal pigeons. It was too cold that day.
Another go to option for me would be to find a random bar and grab a few drinks alone. This option can be fun occasionally. Trying new drinks, talking to random people you meet at these places, or disappearing in the crowd can be a way to get away from it all, but more often than not it's a temporary solution that costs you too much money and makes you feel like garbage the next day.
I had wandered around the city the whole week getting a few shots for my album, so I really didn't feel like going in again that day. Walking around gives you a lot of time to think.
I didn't feel like reading...couldn't focus, didn't feel like cooking....didn't feel like doing pretty much anything.
I found a spot on my wall that could use yet another print or frame, and started going through my Hong Kong pictures to see what I could put there. Perfect space for a large print, but in the end I didn't feel like spending the money. Some other time.
Then I remembered the photographer I met on this trip. We were both roughing it out in the rain, getting shots of the harbor and skyline. I remembered wanting to have a contact card I could hand to people I meet when traveling, making exchanging info easier, so I started playing around in Photoshop with some ideas.
I started off with some basic layouts, using my standard logo.
Then I tried moving the circle logo into more of the background.
Played around with some options for the back of the card.
Photoshop has never been my strong suit. I usually stick with Lightroom for the bulk of my photo editing. But playing around with different layers and layouts got the creative part of my brain going again. I think too much alcohol and a tight Arai helmet have been squeezing that part of my brain for a long time.
Took a few screenshots and sent them out to a few friends for their opinions.
Luckily they were still sober (or sober enough) on a Friday night. My one friend who went through this when starting his company (check it out and join a free raffle), gave some good feedback, and I settled with this layout for now, with the intent of putting one of my photos on the back of the card. I'll keep tweaking it before getting anything made up.
Definitely a nice distraction to finish off a rough ending to the week for me. I think my mom would like what I came up with.
As always, I welcome any comments or thoughts.
Chimay. Great beer that goes perfectly with watching recordings of the first two World Superbike races in Australia.
Took the subway into Brooklyn to try and find another spot to shoot the bridge. I wasn't the only one. I got there around 4:30 and decided to wait until the sun got low enough for some better light and shadows. It was much colder than I expected, and I definitely didn't dress well enough once the wind started picking up. Out of all the ones I took at this spot that day, I liked this one the best. Having a person in the picture makes it better. She did her prep work and probably stayed around long after I ran from the cold. I will be back here once it warms up a bit. I'll drag the tripod along and see what night shots I can get.
I liked this one as well with the sun in the background, but I wish I had been able to get to the construction spot in the lower left to get the picture. I think it's a little distracting. Which one do you prefer?
I was speaking with a friend about his upcoming multi country vacation, and it reminded me of some of the things I learned from my past trips that I passed along.
I was traveling to Taiwan for work, and I was lucky enough with this trip to be able to schedule in advance a stay in Japan before going to work in Taiwan, then staying in Thailand after finishing work, before flying home. My company purchased me a ticket through United going to Taiwan from Newark, and returning from Japan to Newark. I purchased my Taiwan/Thailand and Thailand/Japan tickets separately. To help me organize my itineraries, I've been using Tripit for a while now, and highly recommend it. Everything travel related is done electronically via email or an app or whatever, but when I travel I am always paranoid about my phone or laptop crapping out on me (it's never happened to me) so I make paper copies of everything, including my passport, ID's, and credit cards. Probably overkill, but I'm just an anxious traveler I guess. I throw my copies, Tripit itinerary printout, plane ticket receipts, and hotel reservations in a plastic document sleeve and throw it in my camera pack.
Getting back to my trip, I went to the business class counter to check in. I was shocked to learn that I wasn't going to be allowed on the flight because my outbound destination was Taiwan, yet I was returning from Japan. Evidently Taiwanese customs and immigration would not allow United to let me board the flight from Newark if they didn't know how I would be leaving their country. LUCKILY, my paranoia paid off for once, and United asked me for proof of my itinerary. They did not like my Tripit printout, but when they looked through all my plane ticket and hotel reservations, they were able to confirm my story and allowed me to check in.
TLDR, bring paper copies of your reservations and plane ticket receipts when you travel internationally, just in case.
If you're traveling to a country you've never been to before, I would also recommend registering with the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, or STEP. It's a free program where you can register your trip online with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. You provide the dates and destination of your trip, your hotel and contact information, and if anything happens prior to your departure or during your trip, the U.S. Embassy will be able to get in touch with you. Now you may say I'm way too paranoid, but I was told of this program by a consultant working with me in Taiwan to does much more travel than me. While in Taiwan and Japan, I was warned of incoming typhoons via email, and also warned of government unrest in Thailand preceding one of my trips there. Nothing ever happened, but it can never hurt to let the embassy know you're in the country. You remain on the mailing lists for whatever countries you're visiting until you unsubscribe. A lot of good information when you want it.
One final recommendation for today is if you can, enroll for the U.S. Customs' Global Entry Program. If you are planning on doing a lot of international travel, there is nothing better than being able to skip a 2+ hour customs line at the airport after flying 15 hours from Hong Kong to Newark.
When I was flying enough to make Premier 1K on United, I was given a credit for the application fee, but now that I've used it I will definitely be paying for it after it expires. I think my card is good for 9 years. You even get to skip the customs line at baggage claim.
That's it for now. As I think of more things I've learned during my travels that makes things easier, I'll post them here. Any questions or comments, please leave at the bottom (login/register for private comments) or feel free to email me.
When asked for advice by people just getting into photography, I would say the best thing I ever did was a photo a day project for a year. My friend from college had gotten her camera and came up with the idea that we would start a blog, and each of us would post a photo a day to a post, for an entire year. She had seen the idea of photo a day projects, and thought it would be a great idea for us to do one together to motivate the other to keep up with it.
The rules were pretty simple. The picture for the day had to be taken that day, but could be posted later if necessary. You couldn't just go out and take a bunch of pictures at the end of the week and post them for the week if you fell behind. If I was the first person to post a picture for the day, I would start the blog post and save it as a draft. Then she would add her picture and publish the post for that day.
Forcing yourself to take a picture a day is a great way to learn how to use your camera. It's also a great way to keep your eyes open for all sorts of shots. I was constantly thinking about getting my daily shot, and carried my camera around everywhere.
365 Anythings: A Photo Project By Andrew and Jennifer
I would wander around the city taking pictures of random events, like a wedding photo shoot (?) in Central Park.
I would plan days to set up specific shots with my macro lens and tripod.
I'd also take pictures of random objects that caught my eye that I thought would make interesting contrasts to whatever my friend would post. I saw this rusty chain and lock, and thought what in the world would she take a picture of today? I was going into New York City a lot to get shots, and she was living in the midwest with her husband and two kids. The subject matter of our pictures made for nice contrast.
I'll be honest, I had such a blast doing this project. I took my camera on business trips, and even took shots of my office when I figured I wouldn't motivate later to get my picture for the day.
About nine months into the project, my friend stopped posting. She had fallen behind before so I didn't think much of it. She had two kids and was always super busy. This time was different though. The posts just suddenly stopped, hence the reason you'll see September 3, 2010 as the last post. After that, she went quiet. Never really heard from her again. Maybe a sporadic email here and there, but never contact to the point where we started talking again so I could ask what happened to the project.
I ended up finishing the project on my own, and posting my pictures on their own as a photo a day project.
It has always bothered me that we never finished our blog. It was something I was really into, and for it to suddenly be incomplete has stayed with me for a long time. Recently, I've started thinking about past friends that I've fallen out of touch with, so I reached out and jokingly gave her a hard time about not finishing the project. Point blank. Out of nowhere.
I'm really glad I did. She responded immediately. It turns out that she went through some difficult personal stuff during that time at the end of the project, and had to disconnect. Understandably. From my side, it was almost like a huge question had been answered that had been lingering for way too long. It will take time, but I'm hoping we start talking again like we did before.
I will always continue to try and push myself to keep people in my life that matter to me. I know I'll be happier in the end for doing so.
I walked by this old building in Tribecca and noticed the note left above the mail slot. Four different colors, and a thanks as well. The residents definitely put some effort in to this. Maybe it is that simple.
View of Our Lady of Pompeii Shrine Church from a Father Demo Square bench in New York City.
I went into the city after work. I wanted to get out and walk somewhere (and to get Goa Tacos). It was cold and windy. After wandering around for a while, not seeing anything that caught my eye, I started walking back to the PATH. I sat down for a rest in the park, and ended up grabbing the only shot for the night that I liked. This was hand held. I tried bracketing it but the combined results didn't really look that great. Didn't do too much post processing on this one, other than some denoise, sharpening, and clarity. I liked how the sky looked with the church.
Evidently it makes a huge difference if you are truly interested in furthering your knowledge in the subject matter. It was fun noticing that the presenter does similar "quirky" things that I do to streamline workflow using the software. I found myself actually taking notes from the presentation on my laptop while I was watching.
The hour and twenty minutes flew by, and I found myself with a satisfying sense of fulfillment from learning more about the hobby that I love.
Tim Grey's video is below, and I highly recommend it if you're interested in Lightroom. His views on color and how it pertains to post production and printing is worth the watch.
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I liked how the rocks along the river looked with the city in the background. I took 5 pictures at different exposures, and combined them in Lightroom to get the equal light effect and HDR look. Click to view the large version.
I've walked down here before at night to try and get some long exposure shots, but never at sunset. Click for a larger version.
It's been a long time since I just set out with the intent of taking a specific picture at a specific time. I have a few other spots I want to hit with views of the city, and I'll add to this album as I get them. I've also ordered my first ND filter to get some long exposure shots during daylight, and as the weather starts warming up I plan to use it more often.
After walking around, and after eating oatmeal for breakfast and a salad for lunch, I caved. I made up the excuse that I had walked around for a few miles, so I deserved an unhealthy meal. Ridiculous.
Burger from PJ Ryans in Downtown Jersey City (5 miles per dollar). Great happy hour.
I am definitely turning into one of these, but at least I'm collecting miles.
Register (through Zenfolio) to leave private comments and feedback. I'm always happy to read and respond to questions and comments.
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The most epic ski trips of my life. A week of skiing with Canadian Mountain Holidays. Instead of a lifts taking you up to first tracks on trails, the helicopter would drop you off at the top of a new mountain each run, and pick you up at the bottom. I was definitely not in shape for a week of non stop powder skiing. And I'm talking 4-6 feet of powder, minimum. Imagine falling and trying to get back up without being able to use your hands. The powder was so deep, if you tried to help push yourself up off the ground, your arms would just push right through the powder. Had to lift yourself up using your ankles.
Venezuela: Caracas and Margarita Island
Friends of ours from college got jobs with the state department down in Venezuela, so we decided to visit them for a week. I think this is the trip where I realized I loved traveling to new places. We were also new to traveling, and we ended up missing our flight from Houston to Caracas because we didn't realize they had changed the gate on us. Bunch of rookies.
One year artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude decided to decorate Central Park with large orange gates. At the time, I had no interest in going to see it but my mom really wanted to go, and I figured it'd be a good opportunity to play around with my camera. Glad I went.
The gallery caption sums up this trip perfectly. It rained the whole time I was there, so the pictures were not that great. However this was the first time I had really traveled alone to a country I knew nothing about, didn't speak the language, and didn't really plan out. I was going to Valencia, Spain for work, and decided what the hell, might as well go a few days early and explore. This was a big step for me, as I am socially retarded. I was happy I pushed myself out of my comfort zone. I wish I had gotten more pictures of the food there. It was amazing.
What do you do when you graduate college, get a job, and have some money in your pocket? You go out and blow it all on a sportbike. Best decision I ever made. My college friend and I decided we needed a destination. He had a friend at Cornell med school. That looked like a destination we could get to using back roads in Pennsylvania, so that's where we decided to go. No Google maps, no smart phones, and obviously riding 8 hours on a sportbiike through torrential rain and winds, no brains. Just a paper map, guesswork, and a lot of gas stops. It was the best road trip I've ever done, and I hope to do one again.
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I got into the city, and grabbed coffee from 11th Street Cafe while cleaning up my lens. And yes, they offer 5 miles per dollar with MileagePlus Dining. I am obsessed.
I wasn't blown away by this place, so I ended up looking for another place to grab breakfast. The Bus Stop Cafe around the corner (5 miles per dollar, yes the first step is admitting you have a problem) was a nice little diner and exactly what I was in the mood for. Perfect for breakfast as the morning light filled the place through their large windows.
The more I looked at the sunny warm weather outside, the more I felt the need to go back home and take the bike out. With 60 degree weather in February, how can you pass up a day like this? You can't, so I put the camera away, walked back to the PATH, and bailed on taking pictures in the city for the day.
By 10:30, I was apologizing to my friend who was going to be in the city taking pictures, and I was flying up river road to the park by the George Washington Bridge. It felt great to gear up and go riding.
Brought my camera and Kindle with me, rode around for a few hours, and took a break to read in the park. It was lonely, but I didn't feel too bad. Nice break from life.
I made it back to the chili cook-off.
Tried pretty much all of the chili to fill myself up, voted for my friends' chili which was 80% bacon and cholesterol, drank some free beer samples, and left with some free ice cream. It looks like it will be in the 50's again tomorrow, so I'll throw the camera in the backpack again and figure out a place to go while I'm on the road.
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I think this shot I grabbed pretty much sums up the night.
She was almost terrified that she didn't have any more wine for me, so she started digging up gift bottles of whisky from her vacation to Ireland for me while she fed her 6 month old. I was laughing at her effort. It was totally unnecessary. I was fine with the conversation and no alcohol. I think she was paranoid that I would not be able to handle dealing with the kids, which is understandable as I come off as socially awkward during adult situations. Everything was great though, and we didn't break into the gift whisky. Talked about life and work mostly, but it was still a refreshing Friday night for me. Hope I get invited again.
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Did brunch at Sweet Science with my sister and her friend today. Way too cold and windy to be walking around, but it was great to meet up. Gotta do this more often.
I brought along my camera to possibly get some street shots, but the wind was blowing so hard I was getting wind burn through my hat, so I bolted for the subway and came back to my warm apartment.
]]>His opinion was that they were too much of a hassle to deal with, and it was just easier to find the cheapest ticket on the cheapest airline. To an extent, I agree that you should always go with the cheapest ticket, however as I have always traveled a lot for work, we tended to stick with United/Continental out of Newark as they had the most flights out of all the airlines. Back in 2003 when I first started my current job, I signed up for their rewards program, and have pretty much always tried to stick with them ever since. I do not fly or travel as much as others, but I've traveled enough to where I've formed an opinion on the various rewards programs.
My take on rewards miles is pretty simple. If they are free, you should collect them. Try to stick with one program in an alliance, so that you can make them add up. Same thing goes with hotel rewards. If you're staying in that hotel, you might as well collect the free points, whether they be hotel points or converted airline miles. I have gotten many free plane tickets using rewards miles, as well as free hotel rooms in Hawaii, Ireland, etc. using collected hotel points.
When it comes to rewards credit cards, I differ from most point collectors in that I think cash back credit cards offer a much better reward. You can use cash for anything. When traveling for work, I've been using a 2% cash back card from Fidelity for years. Yes, I still make sure I collect the miles when flying since they are free, but I'd rather have the cash back which I can use for whatever I want, and I don't think 1 mile for $1 spent is worth having the credit card.
That being said, there are still ways to pad your mileage account without having the co-branded credit card. I'll use my MileagePlus account as an example.
This is a free program to sign up for, and you can find many participating restaurants in the NYC/NJ area. You get 5 miles per dollar spent dining out. You can register as many credit cards as you want. I register all my cash back credit cards, eat out or grab a drink, get my cash back as I normally would, but collect the free miles at the same time. It definitely adds up. I picked up a $200 happy hour receipt recently with some friends, and ended up getting more rewards miles than my one way flight to Denver from Newark.
This program works out great for me, as my local bar right around the corner from me, Jack's Cabin, participates in the rewards program.
I get 60 miles every time I order this bloody mary.
Ever order anything off of Amazon? If you're like me, with multiple orders a month, would you like to earn free miles with your orders? Using this app, you can buy Amazon gift cards and receive 2 miles per dollar. Amazon gift card balances never expire. So if you're going to buy $17 worth of oatmeal, just buy a $17 gift card first using the app and apply it to your Amazon account, then buy the oatmeal. It's no cost to use the app, so you might as well collect the free miles.
So that's my opinion on miles. Stick with cash back rewards credit cards, but collect miles if they are free. Feel free to leave any comments if you agree or disagree, and any other tips you have would be appreciated.
]]>One of my least favorite things to do is eat out by myself. Yes I have one or two friends and family that I can force into coming out with me, but there is almost always schedule or financial issues. Why spend the money? In my haste to press the issues, I usually offer to pay, not realizing that sometimes offends people. I consider myself fairly frugal, but when it comes to saving, I think spending money on good food, ambience, and exploring new places while disconnecting from home and work life is well worth it, so I am always happy to eat out, often doing it alone. Usually the good food distracts me. Such is life. I think it ties in to my travel bug. Finding a new place to eat and hang out in for a few hours is almost a mini-vacation in itself.
I found myself in the city yesterday afternoon, and the feeling of needing an escape hit me pretty hard. Luckily my friend and his girlfriend were in the city as well but had already eaten, so I decided to grab lunch at a place that I had been to before, but wanted to try again. Yes, I know it's not new, but it's always difficult for me to just walk into a new place by myself. I'll circle the block 3 times before finally opening the door. Didn't feel like dealing with that nonsense, so I went back to a familiar place I had been to once before.
Noodle Bar, cash only. Cheap but good Asian comfort food. Guilty pleasure. Coconut shrimp and spicy noodles.
After a late lunch, I met up with the friends to walk around and they invited me to tag along for dinner. Normally I hate being the third wheel, but I was able to brush that off that day.
Coffee from Nolita Mart and Espresso Bar
We had drinks at Whisky Tavern while waiting to get into one dim sum restaurant, but ended up getting screwed because we didn't have reservations. It worked out fine for me, as we got into one place that I'd never been to.
Crispy garlic chicken, dim sum dumplings, and Peking duck from Golden Unicorn.
What better way to end the cold winter day, but by getting shaved ice cream from Snowdays in the East Village. I had never heard of this stuff, but it was great. Very light.
For me, I will always appreciate days like this.
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Finished another Colorado trip last week. This trip was different. Made some new friends. I typically don't get to take people shots, but luckily I was able to ski ahead and grab some action shots. Click here to view the gallery. Hopefully there will be more trips with these guys.
Sunny days at the beginning of the trip. Prost bratwurst and beer.
Buffalo short ribs from Hearthstone.
Last day of my friends' trip, a snowstorm was coming in. They were offering free flight changes on United, so I extended my trip. Tried convincing them to extend their trip, but I think they were done with skiing.
The last three days of my trip were epic. We had a ton of snow, and I skied so much I rubbed the skin off my shins. Gotta love race boots in powder.
Demo day at Copper
Buffalo chicken mac and cheese, and a bloody mary.
Beef short ribs from Vinny's.
Looking to get back out here again either in February or March.
Miss you every day mom. Wish you were still here.
]]>It was snowing hard night Friday and Saturday. It actually wasn't that cold, and walking around during the travel ban was nice.
Coffee shops were open.
Walking down the river was not that fun. The wind picked up the chill from the water.
Bars were open. House of Que was serving dollar beers...
Then I switched to a new drink called "The Jonas" which after several of these, made the walk home even more fun.
Some cross country skiing...
Sunday, two of my neighbors and I spent several hours digging out our 3 driveways and 3 cars. After that, I felt I deserved an alcoholic brunch. French toast from Jacks Cabin....
......along with one bacon bloody mary, and one cucumber bloody mary.
Woke up sore on Monday for work, and realized I had to go back to my dad's house and blow out the driveway and sidewalks.
Not a very easy task. We got around 30 inches at his place.
Took me forever to get the damn blower to get started, and the snow was still too high for it.
Then the blower died, and after slicing up my knuckles trying to get it started again, I gave up and just did the sidewalks by hand.
Finished up some work early on Tuesday, got to the airport which was shockingly empty, and used up a United Club pass. After a weekend of shoveling, I'm ready for my long weekend in Colorado for some skiing.
Thanks United.
Our company went through a round of layoffs today. Remembering everyone's faces in tears instead of the smiles that I've grown used to. Too many happy people caught a run of bad luck today, and I know their luck will turn around soon. Hopefully my good memories supress the bad.
]]>Buffalo chicken sandwiches.
I admit it's pretty lazy having everything delivered, but I still enjoy it.
]]>The show was at midnight...I can't remember the last time I stayed up that late for something. My cousin and I planned to meet up at 10:30 to grab something to eat at a nearby place that we like, then head over to the show and make an appearance.
My cousin texted me that she was going to take a nap at 7, so she could make it through the show without falling asleep. This was a smart move. I unfortunately decided to panic and go to the city early and start drinking. I don't know why I get nervous over these kinds of things.
Top Hops Beer Shop has some great beer.
Luckily I didn't freak out too much, and met my cousin at Cafe Katja for dinner (and another drink). After that we made our way over to the show.
I am so happy that I went. The show was great. My sister definitely knows how to sing. I wish I hadn't left my camera in Colorado, and I'd like to think I would have been able to get some good pictures, but I probably wouldn't have had the nerve to get up and take pictures. I got one, basically hiding behind my cousin. Ridiculous.
A better one from my cousin...someone with a spine...
After seeing the show, I immediately regretted not seeing the other two. I can definitely say that if there are more events that I'm invited to, I will push myself to go.
My sister's band's website: Simple Lovers
I ended up getting home around 3:30 in the morning, and slept until 8. I haven't slept that late in a long time.
Bloody mary and a breakfast burrito from Del Frisco's for brunch the next day hit the spot.
Started off with a good storm. Nice to finally have a white Christmas.
Good local beers.
Mexican food and drinks at Hacienda Real.
Breakfast at Butterhorn Bakery.
Home made paprika chicken and spatzel.
Italian subs in Colorado are tolerable, but I'm spoiled living in Hoboken.
Surprisingly good pho at Pho Bay II.
Home made buffalo chili.
Home made mushroom chicken and potato pancakes.
Breakfast at Log Cabin Cafe.
Finally a helmet that fits me!
New lens.
Can't wait to go back.
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Started off cold...
Warmed up a little when the sun came out.
They are getting plenty of snow out here. Patrol is trying to keep up with the blasting and opening up terrain.
It's nice being out here during Christmas time. Have the mountain all to myself.
Buffalo meatballs from Ollies were pretty great.
Poutine from Endo's was alright, but I'm spoiled from my travel in Canada.
This year, I'm spending Christmas and New Years in Copper Mountain with my dad and sister. I'm looking forward to getting out there, as they've been getting a ton of snow, and it's 60 degrees on the east coast.
After a direct flight and an eventful 2+ hour shuttle drive to the mountains (driver was old and decided to just randomly swipe the guardrail on I-70 for no reason) I finally made it. Plenty of snow, and they're forecasting another 8 inches of new snow tonight.
The mountain was already closing, so I picked up my season pass to be ready for tomorrow, and headed to Frisco and Back Country Brewery for a Breakfast Stout. I've been looking forward to that beer all year.
Grabbed some breakfast at Hudson Diner, then headed over to Brooklyn Bridge Park to play around with it.
I'll definitely have to come back here for a sunrise/sunset shot with my tripod.
Downtown NYCView from Brooklyn Bridge Park
Downtown NYC and the Brooklyn BridgeView from Brooklyn Bridge Park
After coming home around 1, I decided to try a place that I've always passed by, Ultramarinos on Willow Ave. It's a small Venezuelan grocery. Had the steak sandwich and this brown walnut cake. Highly recommended. I will definitely be back during a morning to try their cafe con leche.
Crock Pot Chili from Jacks for dinner and football.
Decorated my ficus and windows, and now I'm done for the day.
With sunny skies and 60 degree weather, I headed up and rode around Bear Mountain for the morning. Great day.
Definitely nice to get away to the beach for a while. Weather is perfect.
Food and drinks are nice and unhealthy as well.
Feedback is always appreciated. Register (it's through Zenfolio) to leave private comments and suggest photo edits, or email me with suggestions.
While I missed out on good weather, the cloud cover over the harbor proved for some interesting pictures. It was tough taking long exposure shots on the last night because the high winds were moving around the camera.
View of Harbor from Victoria Peak, Hong Kong
The walk in aviary in Hong Kong Park was a nice change of pace.
Edward Youde Aviary, Hong Kong ParkWalk through aviary in downtown Hong Kong
Bird street was not that great. Just a bunch of birds in tiny cages.
I did get some clear days and nights looking at downtown Kowloon and Hong Kong.
International Commerce Center, Hong KongView of the International Commerce Center from Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Harbor
In the end, the trip was a nice escape from home and work.
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When its windy and rainy out, sometimes it's better to grab a drink at a local bar and people watch through the window, rather than sit couped up in your apartment doing work or running Lightroom.
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Leaves are raked at my dad's house. Although I definitely didn't think this through. Not sure how to get these bags to the recycling center...
]]>I started looking through some of my night shots. I was worried that with all the cloudiness and haze, that I wouldn't have anything good. However some I think will turn out well. I'll post the rest when I'm finished.
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This Chromebook has worked out very well for me. Offline editing in Google Docs syncs up fine once reconnected, although there are some quirks to starting a document. I also figured out that you can connect your phone as a media device and grab pictures off of the SD card. At 11 inches and a 9+ hour battery life, my back is much happier with this instead of my 17 inch geeked out photo editing laptop.
Decided to write up a summary of my trip, more for my notes than anything, and because I’ve seen all the movies on this flight from my Taiwan travel. The Grand Budapest Hotel is still a great movie to play in the background though.
Hong Kong is a great place if you’d like to go to Asia for the first time. It’s a very safe city, everyone understands English if you’re worried about language barriers, and the public transportation system is awesome and cheap. It’s a huge city so you’ll find your typical tourist traps, as well as lavish and expensive restaurants, but what’s nice is that you can still find great chinese food, better than most upscale restaurants, at very inexpensive prices. Dim Sum is a must here. If you’re interested in visiting other locations in Asia, I’d recommend taking a direct flight to Hong Kong for a 3 day layover first, to enjoy the city and get over any jet lag you experience.
I found a cheap last minute ticket on United, direct to Hong Kong to Newark. I still like United and am loyal to their frequent flier program. And yes I admit, these flights will bump me up to Gold status for 2016.
I had planned to use my Holiday Inn points to stay at the Holiday Inn Express in Soho, but even with points/cash, it didn’t seem like a good deal. Two days before I left, I found a good deal on Tingo and reserved a room at Butterfly on the Waterfront, a boutique hotel a few blocks away from the Holiday Inn.
Rooms were small, but this is typical for any place in Hong Kong as space is at a premium here.
The main thing for me was that this hotel was a 2 minute walk from a subway stop on the island line. I could get anywhere in Hong Kong for next to nothing in about 20 minutes.
If you’re going to Hong Kong and plan on using public transportation, definitely get an Octopus Card. It’s similar to a Metrocard and you can use it on the subway, buses, 7-11’s, convenience stores, and most coffee shops and cafes accept it. It’s also perfect for the Airport Express train to Hong Kong once you land.
One additional feature of this line of hotels is that they provide you with a smartphone with unlimited local calling and 3G data. This worked out great for using Google Maps and the internet while wandering around new locations in the city. Don’t get me wrong, this is a nice to have, but not a must for this city, as there is free WiFi almost everywhere if you really need it, and there is something to be said for “disconnecting” when on vacation.
All in all I’m happy I took this last minute vacation. Now I have a bunch of pictures to develop in Lightroom/Photoshop, and will post here once I’m done.
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Watching Terminator Genesys. Captain comes on and says to buckle up for “moderate turbulance”, then the movie screen goes blank and this pops up. God I hate flying.
Heading home today. I think 5 full days in Hong Kong is just the right amount of time for this city. All in all I am very happy with the trip. Ate a lot of good food, saw most of what I wanted to see, and made a list of what I want to do the next time I come back.
I still haven't gotten a good picture of the city/harbor skyline at night due to the weather, so that's still definitely on the top of my list of things to do on my next trip. I made several trips to Victoria Peak when scoping out the weather for the day, but ended up catching fog or haze every time once I got to my planned shot location. One day I even took a cab to the peak at 5:30 am while it was still clear out in the hopes of getting a sunrise shot over the harbor. As soon as I got to the top, a nice rainstorm came in. I stood around in the rain for about 2 hours to see if the rising sun would break up the clouds, but it didn't happen. My waterproof bag definitely held up though, and I was glad I brought all my rain gear.
On the last night, I went back to my spot and set up my tripod. There was a lot of cloud cover, but the city still looks great at night. We'll see how these pictures turn out. It was super windy, and I have a feeling my tripod was moving around during a lot of the long exposure shots I was doing. I have about 14 GB of raw files to go through, so I'm hopeful for a few keepers.
Met a photographer from Portland, Oregon who set up right next to me. He was an older guy and it was his first time in Hong Kong. He came for the night city skyline shots, same as me, but had been going to the observation deck at Victoria Peak for the past few nights. He didn't even know about the peak road that we were on until that night. I gave him a few more locations on the same road to try out. We exchanged a few more stories, and after the wind and after an hour or so of wind and rain, I caught the bus back to the hotel.
I definitely need to get some business cards printed up to make exchanging information with people easier.
I have some American coffee, Advil, and melatonin. I'm as ready for 15 hours in economy as I'll ever be.
Minced beef rice noodle roll
Shrimp pancake
Shrimp dumplings
Sponge cake
Beef meatballs
Steamed BBQ pork buns
Rice and beef egg rolls
Dim sum is somewhat difficult when travelling alone. I want to try a lot of things but since I have to eat everything, I fill up pretty quickly. I definitely recommend getting dim sum with a group of people.
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Ever since going to Woobar (bar/lounge at the W Hotel) in Taipei, I've always liked checking out the others in different countries. Hong Kong's Woobar at the W Hotel in Kowloon is very nice, but I'm still keeping Taipei at the top of my list.
Entrance
Bar
Lounge
View
View
After a few of these, I stopped taking pictures.
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Didn't get any better when the sun came out, so I left. I'll try again tonight. I'm flying out tomorrow, and not surprisingly my flight is already delayed 3 hours due to "operational issues."
So my one main goal for this trip was to get a better shot of the harbor at night. So far every day has been foggy and hazy. Only one more day left before I leave. I'll have to start planning on coming back here again next year....
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This is the reason to come to Hong Kong in my opinion. Great cheap food.
Started with the tea, and saw that the locals used the tea to clean out the bowls and utensils, so I did the same.
Crab Roe Siu Mai
Vegetable Dumplings
Steamy Custard Buns
Turnip Cake
Shrimp Dumplings
The meal including the tea ended up costing me $56HK. Highly recommended.
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Nice thing about Hong Kong is that with the time difference, I can watch MotoGP live. It's also nice that there's actually somewhat of a following of MotoGP internationally. It is playing with volume and a full crowd at a sports bar in Kowloon here. Great way to end the season. Hoping for a Rossi number 10 championship.
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Some good coffee spots in Hong Kong. I can't help myself every time I pass one.
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Beef tacos
Seafood Oyster Pancake
Sapporo
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Didn't go to Victoria Peak today. I wouldn't have gotten good shots with the cloud cover. I ended up wandering around Soho and the Queens Blvd areas, exploring the various stores and temples that popped up. I'm staying right across from the harbor on Hong Kong island, so I was able to grab a few night shots of Kowloon and the bridge.
Can't connect my Chromebook to the garbage WiFi at the hotel, so only phone pictures for now.
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Definitely helping with the jet lag on a hazy humid Hong Kong morning. I've been up since 6 am and that's definitely too early for this city.
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I definitely miss my Premier 1K status. Melatonin and Advil got me through this with no problems though.
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I went to Hong Kong for a weekend back when I was working on a chemical plant start-up in Taiwan. After being in country for 30 days, I’d have to leave for a few to renew my Visa, and I had picked Hong Kong as one of the destinations.
The trip was fun, but not exactly my type of vacation. I did a bunch of work, and sleeping, the first day from the hotel. The next two days were spent just trying to decompress, rather unsuccessfully, before going back to work in Taiwan. On top of that, it was pretty hazy out for the night shots I had wanted to get, and I forgot to bring my tripod.
I found myself saying repeatedly during the trip that I’d have to come back here again. I always say that when I leave a place, but never really mean it. With everything else going on, I think that time I meant it, so I decided Hong Kong was perfect for this last minute decision.