shots from my summer vacation

[MistressPookyChan]

Last month, my hubby and I took a road trip through Nagoya and Gunma prefectures. Most of the shots were taken at Matsumota and Takayama. As I'm sure you can tell, many of the shots show a lot of rain. Gotta love typhoons. >.<;; But it cleared up when we got to Takayama. What a difference!!

If you want to use these for something, please feel free to but PM me first. Also, I'm not really looking for a critique since I'm not a pro and not really looking to be one. I just do it for fun and when the inspiration hits.

Random nature shots:
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/4424/rimg0534qz8.th.jpg (http://img172.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rimg0534qz8.jpg)http://img470.imageshack.us/img470/9448/rimg0535mo1.th.jpg (http://img470.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rimg0535mo1.jpg)http://img486.imageshack.us/img486/28/rimg0537ue2.th.jpg (http://img486.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rimg0537ue2.jpg)

building shots
http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/9611/rimg0585gl2.th.jpg (http://img128.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rimg0585gl2.jpg)http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/5117/rimg0609cj5.th.jpg (http://img371.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rimg0609cj5.jpg)http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/5953/rimg0540cg1.th.jpg (http://img128.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rimg0540cg1.jpg)
http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/9748/rimg0630wv6.th.jpg (http://img164.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rimg0630wv6.jpg)http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/1713/rimg0604cf1.th.jpg (http://img356.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rimg0604cf1.jpg)http://img462.imageshack.us/img462/3043/rimg0543st4.th.jpg (http://img462.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rimg0543st4.jpg)

[_CTA_]

They are so amazing! Beautiful! Oh my God, if I take pictures I usually get them blurry cuz my hand shakes occasionally. XP

[MistressPookyChan]

That's why I hate taking shots in the night. >.<; A tripod is best, but I always end up using a rock, fence post, or shoulder. ;)

[_CTA_]

Why dont you take shots at sunset? Its just my suggestion though.

[GangstaKermit]

Did you do any color/contrast enhancement in PS? And what camera do you use ? Cuz the color in the photos are quite good.
Anyway, the macro shots (flower/leaves) turned out really nice ^_^

[Anime Forum]

wow those pictures are awesome, I might even thieve them later *shifty eyes*

[Lady*Kikyou]

wow those are beautiful!! i love those building shots!!

[MuZ0NaZ]

I demand you show me around Japan one day >_>!

[Twila]

i love how you took all the pictures of the buildings
the positions of the shots complimented the buildings beauty yet made it seem mysterious

[MistressPookyChan]

none of my photos were touched up in PS, though I do have a few that turned out a little dark and should be touched up a bit. The colors were just that bright. The ones of the thatched roofs houses were taken a day after a fantastic typhoon hit the island, so everything was lush and green. Though hellishly hot, Japan is quite colorful in the early summer.

The buildings here are so incredible and I try to make my shots to show off their natural beauty. So, I try to frame them in their natural settings.

I use a Ricoh Caplio R4 digi camera. It's actually quite a good camera for the price, especially if you want something a little bit better than basic but not too fancy. What is unique about it is that it has very good zoom for it's size (7.1x). Wish it was better at night, but I guess I still need to fiddle with the settings.

I'll be happy to show anyone around Tokyo, and even Gunma or Nagano if you're keen! Have car, can travel!

[overwatch]

Not looking to be a pro? Half of good photography (especailly now with digital cameras) is not taking the picture but finding the picture to take, which you seem to have. Its not just about being in focus but taking shots that people enjoy to see - well done keep up the good work

[MistressPookyChan]

Thank you very much for the words of encouragement. I figure that since I will be in Japan for a limited amount of time, I have to make the most of the scenery while I'm still here. :)

Are there any types of shots that people would like to see?