Scene from Sueyoshi

 A Park in Naha City

Sueyoshi Park

Rainy Season in Okinawa Ain't All Bad

 

Stay Home and Complain if, You Like

The full moon was hidden from us this month and that was a little disappointing.

We can't let the rainstorms ruin our whole month. So here's what we've been doing.

Call it Back Roads Waterfall Photography.

It's Therapeutic

We're not talking about some famous falls like Niagara in the USA.

Not even visiting the famous waterfalls in Okinawa.

During the rainy season, some waterfalls, just pop-up out of nowhere.

They may not be bubbling, babbling, and spitting out water in the jungles all year long.

In the hills of Kunigami, there are falls you will hear before you can see them.

Not as famous as all those tourist attractions waterfalls sound good to me.

Here, you can enjoy the exhilarating, breathtaking, calming, splashing outdoors nature.

Call it whatever you like, it's soothing to me and, an important part of Okinawa's rainy season.

SEP 7 2016 Wordless Wednesday Nanataki Waterfall

MAP LOCATION

Tachigaa Waterfall in the Rain Ain't the Same

This visit to the waterfalls provided a good opportunity to do some GPS stuff.

The rains, we had yesterday sort of ruined things for photography.

This animation demonstrates how muddy the water can become at the base of the falls.

One way to eliminate the mud from the scene is to crop it out.

That can be done in camera with a zoom lens, as shown here.

Or, by walking closer to the subject if, you are not equipped with a zoom.

Other options, would be, to crop the dirty water out in post processing.

Or, go back to visit in September, when it's a little cooler and the water clears up !

Related Posts:

A September Scene at Tachigaa Waterfall

Travel Photo: Tachigaa Waterfall A New Angle

Tachigaa Waterfalls Revisited

Photo Essay: The Surprise at Tachigaa Waterfalls

Hiji Waterfall (比地大滝) A Most Refreshing Climb

Nature Lovers Don't Pass This One Up

 

 

The plan today was to photograph some birds at the falls.

There are hundreds of steps going up and down along the trail leading to the waterfall.

They say it's about an hour and a half hike, round trip.

It's probably best to do this before you turn 60 or, you will feel the burn in your legs.

The complete tour take me about three hours.

Remember, I'm a cameraman and, looking for rare birds to shoot.

So, I move more slowly than most people.

Inhaling the scents of the forest and listening to the roar of the stream, I climb slowly.

Waterfalls are always relaxing and invigorating at the same time.

Somehow, it makes you feel like air-conditioning never needed to be invented.

Several different compositions of this scene were photographed.

Up to this point, not one bird was ever seen. Not a good day.

This caterpillar was starting to look like the only wildlife subject, I'd see today.

Being out in the woods, soaking up some nature was fun.

But, I wanted to go home with some bird photos not, caterpillars and waterfalls.

Halfway back down the trail, my dreams came true.

Here's a Ryukyu Robin, the bird that just made my day.

More about this species at Avibase

Trip Advisor:Hiji Waterfall in Kunigami Okinawa Japan 

Google Maps 

Travel Photo: Sometimes Waterfalls Just Appear

Today we went all the way to Naha City, in Okinawa, Japan.

With two cameras, fully charged, downtown we went.

While driving, with no real mission to accomplish, we got caught in a rainstorm.

We goofed-off all morning, had a big lunch and headed home early.

Doc Graff must think I'm getting senile.  I never took a photo, all day.

Got back to the office, put the cameras away and, I took a three hour nap.

There's been an awful heat wave hanging around here the past few weeks.

The rain helped cool things, for awhile but, it's still hotter than most people can tolerate.

Well, I woke-up freezing from the air conditioning and realized, I didn't have a photo for today.

Digging back in the photo files, I found this one.

It was taken, a few years ago, at Sueyoshi Nature Park in Naha.

There's normally, just a little trickle of a stream flowing through there.

So, I wouldn't recommend a visit if you are looking for waterfalls to take pictures of.

But, if you get caught in there during a flash summer storm, it's a different story.

Sometimes, waterfalls just appear.



2012 in Okinawa Japan: A Digital Photo Review

A Month by Month Chronological Photo Essay 

 

It's impossible to post all of the sights seen, in one year on the Ryukyu Islands, here.

So, the random-pick-a-monthly-photo method was used, to browse through 30,000 files.

JANUARY

 The Fukugawa Waterfall

The Cherry Blossom Season was what you might call "too little, too late" in 2012.

So, we did some off the beaten path things with the cameras.

FEBRUARY

  

Cherry Blossoms Cornered at a Sacred Site

This had to be the prettiest cherry tree, to be found so, it had to be photographed.

Had the woman in the village office not given permission to shoot, I'm afraid.....

.....her words would have fallen upon deaf ears.

MARCH

  

Iris Festival 2012

Cherry Blossoms bloom during the winter months, in Okinawa.

The Iris Festival, though, is a sure sign of spring.

When the Iris flowers bloom, every kind of flower imaginable, gets the word.

And, everything starts blooming.  Yea !

APRIL

An Okinawan Mineo Band

On occasion (ahem-ahum) Ryukyu Dudes get invited to these night time events.

Well, this one likes to drink.  But, takes photography too seriously.

So, no drinking takes place 'til after the shooting is done.

Anyway, somebody got drunk, that night and left my umbrella on the bus.

Well, I know the guy who was driving and will hunt him down. 

Where's my umbrella ?

MAY

Shuri Castle Gate

This photo was taken to use in the Okinawa Then and Now Series.

The girls were paid for posing but, they got framed prints of the photos, too.

JUNE

Itoman Dragonboat Races

This was a most unforgettable experience.  

See, I have this notion that it's a good idea to mingle with the locals.

So, RyukyuRusty and I went down to Itoman the night before the event.

We partied with the people 'til the wee hours and got some sleep at the fishing port.

Well, the next day, one of us had a little run-in with the law.

Ain't sayin' who it was, cuz his Mom reads this stuff !

JULY

Red-headed Egret

These characters are called Cattle Egrets. 2012 was the first year I saw any around my town.

Now, I'm not sure if they just started migrating to Okinawa or, are always here.

We had dozens of them flying around.  But, there were no cattle with them.

They were easy pickings, with the Sigma 50-500mm

And one of them made it to Finalist in a photo contest for me.

AUGUST

The Terns of Komaka-jima

Some of the craziest things happen when you leave your biggest lens at home.

Three of us traveled to Komaka-jima to check the island out.

RyukyuRusty and the Map It Okinawa Dude went all over, exploring the place.  Not me.

These birds, from Australia, kept me busy, the whole time we were there.

And all I had on the Pentax, to shoot with, was an 18-250mm lens.

We will have to go back there next year.  That's because two of us are travel writers.

We sort of forgot something.  I need to make a checklist so we don't forget again.

People need to know if the crappers work !

SEPTEMBER

Ie-Shima at Sunset

Sunset photography can be tricky when clouds hug the horizon and block out the show.

But, every once in awhile, the sky turns some cool colors.

This sunset, from Motobu Peninsula gave me a great silhouette of Ie-Shima.

OCTOBER

The Character

If there was an award for Character of the Year, my vote would go for this kid.

Two framed prints were sent to the school, one for the main office and, one for the parents.

But, I still have no idea who he or, she might be !

NOVEMBER

On the Prowl

Firing away, in burst mode, at a fast-flying Grey-faced Buzzard Eagle got me this shot.

When you are panning the camera and, the sun lights up that gold eyeball, you know it.

Instinctively, you know, you have nailed a great shot.

The jury is not out, yet, on this one. The verdict, for the contest, is still pending.

DECEMBER

Ladies in Waiting

That's a title, I just made up.  This photo isn't going in any contest.

Right now, we are working on a big story.

It takes place over the course of two weekends. And, we're only half way there.

In a centuries-old Ryukyuan tradition, water is drawn from two separate locations on Okinawa.

Then, it is mixed and presented at a shrine in Shuri Castle.

The young ladies above, are waiting for it to start.

See the one on the left smiling ?

Well, I'm not sure if she knows me or, was just laughing because my beard got caught in the tripod !

Photo of the Week: The Sacred Site at Kijoka Falls in Okinawa

This photo of an Utaki, or sacred site, was taken at Kijoka Waterfalls Ogimi Okinawa, Japan.

Pentax K5 and 18-250 lens at 21mm

f/16   0.8sec   ISO 100

More about Kijoka Falls

Visit my website for today's Feature Photo

Photo Essay: The Surprise at Tachigaa Waterfalls in Okinawa

Going down the stairs to see the waterfall there is plenty of shade in the forest.

It takes a few minutes to find the waterfall but, you can hear it, somewhere off in the distance.

There are a couple of places along the way where you can step out in the sun and view the falls.

All the way down at ground level is the best place to take wide angle photos.

Getting up a little closer could get a person and their camera wet.

But,  that's where you discover the surprise.  There is a cabin off to the right of the falls.

And, if you weren't so busy looking for the falls on your way down the stairs, you would have noticed it then.

Not a problem, just take some photos on the way back up.

But, keep your eyes open for A REAL ANGRY CATERPILLAR along the way.

MORE INFORMATION ON TACHIGAA WATERFALLS

Cherry Blossoms (桜) and Waterfalls (滝) in Okinawa, Japan

Today's report on the Cherry Blossom (桜) situation up in the northern mountains is a little brighter.  Looking at Mt. Yadake crews could be seen setting up the festival tents for the Sakura Matsuri ( Festival ) and that's a good sign the place will get busy this weekend.

This photo with just a few Sakura (桜) blossoms on it was taken in Nago, before even heading up to Mt. Yadake.  So, I expect to see lots of Cherry Blossoms on Mt. Nago by the end of the month.

The reason I went north today wasn't really to shoot Cherry Blossoms.

It was to check out Todoroki Waterfall (轟の滝) one more time.

Shooting the falls from some different angles was the plan.

This photo with the waterfalls in the left third of the frame was one of my favorites.

But, you won't catch me trying to duplicate this shot for awhile.

I'm sitting here with a bag of ice tied to my back because I slipped and fell on the rocks trying to come back down after taking the shot.  Dagnabbit !

The moral of this story is old folks should stick to taking photos of Cherry Blossoms.

Let younger folks climb hills to take pictures of waterfalls would be a good idea, I guess.



Visit my Homepage for The Photo of the Day:  BAREFOOTIN'

Photo of the Week: Waterfall and the X, Ahem, Ahum, O-Files

Here's a photo of Todoroki Waterfall in Nago Okinawa, Japan taken Oct 23, 2011.

One of these days I have to go back up there and check the place out, again.

I have a couple of reasons.  Call them unsolved mysteries, if that's allowed.

RyukyuRusty thinks one of those big rocks, near the white water in the photo, is petrified wood.

Well, I think he's been watching too much TV or something.

So, we'll have to bet some beers on it and go back up there, just so I can get free beers.

Another reason I want to go climbing up that waterfall is something I saw when I was developing.

It looks like there is some kanji ( Chinese character ) engraved in one of those stones, right near the one Rusty thinks the petrified wood rests.  So, I want to take a closer look.

Lots of places we go shooting photos around the Ryukyu islands, we come across things that need further investigation.  I call them unsolved mysteries.  RyukyuRu was calling them X files.

Well, one day, goofing around online, we Googled X files.  And, we came across this article about somebody getting sued for using X files.  It had to be some sort of joke, I hope.

Like, some knucklehead lawyer is going to tell me I can't use the letter X, anymore ?

Just to be on the safe side, though, RyukyuRu started calling unsolved mysteries "The O Files".

You don't suppose the unsolved mysteries and X files people could really take me to court over using the same letters and words they did, when I write about a waterfall, do you ?

Someday, maybe someone will own the letter "O" too.  Hurry up and use them while they're free !

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

RyukyuRu's MAP IT OKINAWA DIRECTIONS TO THE WATERFALL

Video courtesy of OkiNinjaKitty

Photography Tips: Shutter Speed on Waterfalls (Images)

The speed of your camera's shutter plays a big role in how you capture an image of a waterfall.

In today's photography tips, I am posting some examples to show how you can use shutter speed to control the appearance of flowing water in your photos.  This picture was taken at 1/6th of a second.

With the camera mounted on a tripod, as all waterfall photography should be done,  another shot was taken at 1/ 160 sec. Notice, higher shutter speeds will do what's called, freezing the motion.

This photo was taken using a 0.6sec shutter speed.

1/8sec was used as shutter speed on this vertical shot.

Then, 1/320 on the next photo.

And, 1/5sec on the final image.

Try using different shutter speed settings on waterfalls, or any scene where you want to capture an image of moving water.  It will have an impact on the appearance of the water in your final photo.  Some people prefer the veil, or soft effect, others go for the crisp look of motion freeze in their waterfall photography.  Whenever I shoot waterfalls,  I take several shots each way.

HERE'S AN EXCELLENT ARTICLE ON WATERFALL PHOTOGRAPHY


MORE PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS HERE