DRAGGING THE SHUTTER...07.24.17

Went back to Makapuu Beach this past Sunday, I saw something the week before as I was walking back across the beach that I wanted to explore. Unfortunately the tide was too low & the surf was too small. I decided to try something else & instead of cranking up the shutter to freeze the waters motion I went the other way & slow the shutter down, using my 100-400mm lens . Not like my really long exposures of 2-8 minutes but just a fraction of a second. I was pleasently surprised with the abstract look it gave the moving waves.

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

ROCKY ROAD...07.16.17

It's ALOHA FRIDAY once again! Have a safe & great weekend everyone...it's time to play!!!

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

A SMALL PIECE OF THE PUZZLE...07.16/17

I shot at Makapuu beach the other Sunday from a different location & wasn't able to get the sun back lighting the waves. Had a whole week to figure out where to shoot from & figured out where I needed to be & luckily it paid off! I got 3 usable frames out of 317 total frames. Not a good percentage at all, but with each failure comes rewards! Failure & persistence is a very good combination, IF you learn from your mistakes. With each failure, it brings you one step closer to be coming a better photographer or anything in life!

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

 

A SMALL PIECE OF THE PUZZLE...07.16.17

I think I'm starting to get the hang of this, shooting waves thing! Still far from where I want to be, especially on locking down that focus, it's a work in progress! The early morning sunlight back lighting the waves is a small part of my puzzle that I see in my vision. Slowly but surely the pieces of the puzzle are falling into place.

I saw something as I trekked back to my car on the beach & stopping to observe the waves, going to try to shoot it this coming weekend. A lot depends on how large the surf & tide conditions will be on Sunday. I might get wet, but I think the shot is worth it! 

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

GREEN RIVER...07.16.17

I shot at Makapuu beach the other Sunday from a different location & wasn't able to get the sun back lighting the waves. Had a whole week to figure out where to shoot from & where I needed to be. luckily it paid off! I got 3 usable frames out of 317 total frames. Not a good percentage at all, but with each failure comes rewards! Failure & persistence is a very good combination, IF you learn from your mistakes. With each failure, it brings you one step closer to be coming a better photographer or anything in life!

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

FROM THE HEAVENS...07.08.17

There's something about the Koolau's that just fascinates me! Perhaps teh beauty of the valleys as it swoops down from the heavens into the ocean. When the first light of day rims the valley tops & fades into shadow as it separates each cut of the mountain. I was never able to do justice in my wide shots but now with the 100-400mm I can pull all that mass of light, shadows, dirt trees, clouds, & valleys so much closer to me. It's a starting point...the journey continues!

It's ALOHA FRIDAY once again! Have a safe & great weekend everyone.   

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

COMPRESSION...07.09.17

Still trying to wrap my head around long lens photography while shooting landscape/seascape! One thing I love about shooting with a long lens is the compression & how it pulls the background mountain closer into the middle ground. I'm aslo purposely shooting at the widest aperture to slightly blur out the background elements.

Sunday I had a chance to fully test out the Sirui PH-20 gimbal head, shooting waves & I loved it! The swing arm is not at smooth as the RRS gimbal head but very usable, & it makes a big difference not having to hand hold the camera & 100-400mm lens! 

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

LONG EXPOSURE, LONG LENS...07.09.17

This is my first attempt at a long exposure with my 100-400mm lens. The only problem I foresee doing long exposures with my 100-400mm is if the wind or waves hit my tripod that'll cause a little bit of vibration that will give me a slightly blurry image, especially on the long end at 400mm. The farther I push it out to 400mm the more sensitive it gets to vibration. This image was taken at 226.6mm, using a Lee Filter Big Stopper & a 3 stop soft GND. Not anything great to write home about but it was a successful attempt. I did very little to edit this image, the colors are how the XT2 captured it.    

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

PEAKS OF THE KOOLAU'S...07.08.17

We decided to head down to Waiahole Beach Park to shoot sunrise this past Saturday. It was a very low tide & the mud flats were exposed. I had my Fujinon XF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR locked & loaded onto my trusty XT2. I had 1 shot stuck in my head & wanted to shoot the Koolau's. To stay out of everyones way I walked to the right of the park & trekked into the wet, sticky mud. The wind on the ground was pretty still but on the peaks of the mountain the low lying clouds were being pushed by the gusting winds.

As I was setting up before we started shooting, my buddy Dave, let me borrow his RRS Gimbal head, I loved it! The panning & swing arm was super smooth. The only thing I disliked about the setup was the weight. It was a fun sunrise shoot & even "funner" breakfast with friends & eating a roast pork loco moko with fried rice at Times Coffee Shop, was soooo ono!!!

Later that afternoon I dropped by my friends shot in Aiea, Pro Camera Hawaii, I saw Tony had posted that he had a carbon fiber gimbal head by Sirui, PH-20 to be exact, was in the shop. It was much lighter, about a pound, &  a bit more compact, so I took the plunge. Not a big fan of the swing arm locking screw. The RRS swing arm with the lever clamp style is so much more easier to attach & remove the camera. The RRS arm does fit onto the Sirui so I ordered the RRS arm & will make that mod to the system. I do have to admit that the RRS PG-02 FG: Full Gimbal Head is much more smoother than the Sirui PH-20. For now the lighter weight of the Sirui carbon fiber gimbal beat the RRS by a hair & it was half the price! I just need to see how the workmanship of the Sirui will hold up to the abuse of the salt spray & water while shooting sunrise. 

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

ON THE CREST OF THE WAVE...07.02.17

One of my favorite shots from Sunday. I still need to work on my focus tracking, the tides look pretty good this weekend, so Sunday going to shoot more waves & have fun!

It's ALOHA FRIDAY once again! Have a safe & great weekend everyone. 

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

SURFING WITH ALIENS...07.02.17

Surfing with Aliens, I parked my car walked to the edge of the parking lot to see a guy bodyboarding with a LED light, I'm guessing  it was a Lume Cube LED light or something similar to that. Leaning on my car, I just sipped my coffee & watched this guy surf & then the caffeine hit me & realized that I should be shooting this! I already had my 100-400mm mounted on my camera so I threw it on my tripod & loosened the ballhead & used it to support the weight, as I was able to move it easily up, down, right & left. The problem was trying to track this guy as he surfed into the shoreline. Dragging the shutter at about 1sec was where I wanted to be & it worked!

I noticed that a tour van drove in with photographers on it, so I decided to pack it up & walk down to the rocks to kapu my spot. Lucky thing I did because there were about 10 photographers spread out near the rocks where I was.  I wish I had more time to play with my setting & shoot more of this surfing with lights, next time for sure!

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

SURFING WITH BOKEH BALLS...07.02.17

Sunday morning, still exploring the super tele lens I pick up about a month ago, Fujinon XF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR. The pictures coming out of my camera with that lens is freakin' amazing, So excited, like a kid in a candy store, I'm seeing things that I've never seen before! I'm shooting detail from places that I thought I would never be able to capture. I still have a bit of envy, awe & a lot of respect for those guys I see in the water capturing images of the tube as the wave curls, so much beauty & power. At my age that's where I draw the line at my craziness!

In this image the wave must have been breaking at least 75 yards out & grabbed this image, love the bokeh! The sun was still low in the sky as it rose above the horizon & kissing the water droplets. Perfect amount of out of focus background & foreground to accent the tiny little splash.

There is 1 drawback to that amazing lens, it's the weight...sort of?! I really have to admit that it's not that heavy, & I've been hand holding all my surf shots, but after a while it starts to get heavy & with my tendonitis in my right elbow it's painful at times. So I've been contemplating on getting a Really Right Stuff Gimbal head. I know that the RRS brand is very expensive but I've had too many experiences when I've bought the cheaper brands & ended up tossing it into the garbage 2 months after, to me that's wasted money! 

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

REFLECTIONS OF A GOLDEN GLOW...06.25.17

Yes the image is slightly blurry but it's something I'm striving for. I love the textures & how the golden glow is being reflected off the surface of the wave as it curls. Going to try to shoot waves again this weekend, wish me luck!

It's ALOHA FRIDAY once again! Have a safe & great weekend everyone. 

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

FIRST LIGHT...05.15.17

The most amazing light is just before the sun hits the horizon. The horizon glows with that golden yellow, orange & with any luck the bottom of the surrounding clouds will reflect that light closer & closer to the shoreline. The 1st light of the day, is so beautiful at times but it isn't always this way. I've learned to take the good with the bad & find peace in whatever God present's to me on any morning with a smile!  

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved  

BEHIND THE MIST...06.24.17

This Saturday I woke up & failed miserably, with that said I went out to shoot waves at Sandy Beach. The funny thing is that while I was shooting these amazing & beautiful waves I felt like a kid with a new toy! I stepped out of my comfort zone & left my ND filters & wide angle lens in my bag, locked on my Fuji XF 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR onto my XT2. I shot 540 frames & about 90% were slightly out of focus & picked only 7 frames that was worth editing. The above image being my favorite from the picks. Love how the water dropplets are so small, it turns into mist, the camera captured that mist & makes it look like film grain with the mysterious surfer hiding behind it. The surfer was clear over on the other side of Sandy's about 150 yards away. The lens was racked out @ 400mm as I shot into the sun, it gave the image a nostalgic sepia look. There was nothing done in post to give it this look, it's a side effect when shooting into the sun. It was a happy mistake!

This is where I failed, I've never shot moving things or objects with this camera, & on the XT2, there is a learning curve on how to set your focusing mode. So begins the trial & error process on what works & what doesn't work. I also did the same thing on Sunday at Sandy's but rattled off close to 800 frames. picked 18 usable frames & edited 5 images. Pretty bad keeper rate but hopefully it'll get better in time. Why so much frames? The XT2 with the battery grip allow the camera to rattle off 11 frames per second with the mechanical shutter & 14 frames per sec. with the electronic shutter, while in continuous high setting. I stuck with the 14 frames per sec :) Failure is a good thing, so long as you learn from your mistakes, which in my opinion helps you grow into a better photographer & person. 

"Faliures are part of life. If you don't fail, you don't learn. If you don't learn you'll never change or grow as a person" , unknown author

Embrace your failures, my friends!

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved  

FEEDING YOUR SOUL...06.22.17

Been in a funk for about a month, pretty much just going through the motions. A very good friend of mine gave me some amazing advice, my sister from another mother Darshall D,  "Sometimes inspiration comes to you where you least expect it to! Take a step back & open your hear to let it come to you!" I'll take that advise to heart & go out with a open mind. I don't expect it to suddenly appear this weekend or next, I know it's going to take some time.

I have found a new interest with my new lens, a 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6 OIS WR with a 1.4 teleconverter. I'm hoping that this will reignite the fire! However shooting with such a long lens is an art form in itself, one I'm going to try & attempt to master. I've been drawn to shooting the moon with this setup & I find it very soothing to capture the different phases of the moon & pulling out the details in the craters. I've never had the equipment before to be able to shoot the moon with such detail, it's new & exciting!

I've also been wanting to shoot big waves as it curls & crashes into each other, giving that almost glass like texture to it, with the colors of the golden sunrise as a backdrop. I have a lot of experimenting to do but have been shying away from doing it. I think it's because I'm not sure what I'm doing with this long lens photography & hiding in the back of my brain, the fear of failure. But I know that without failure I cannot grow! So onward I will trek until I find my mojo once again!

It's Aloha Friday, have a safe & great weekend everyone!!!    

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved  

TIME PORTAL...06.10.17

It's ALOHA FRIDAY everyone, have a safe & great weekend!

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved  

GOLDEN BOOM!...06.11.17

As I shot & sketched the landscape looking for that perfect composition, I gazed up to the sky & saw these amazing clouds! At that point I knew that the sky would explode with the anticipation of that golden light! Mother Nature didi not disappoint! 

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved  

MOONSET ON THE BEACH...06.11.17

This past Sunday I drove out to Sandy's a little bit earlier, hoping to have clear skies to shoot the moon. There were passing clouds which was moving fast so I was able to grab a few bursts of the moon, a shot I've been wanting to capture ever since I picked up my Fujinon 100-400mm lens. On the XT2 that would make the lens a 150-600mm with the crop factor. I did have my 1.4 teleconverter which would have boosted the focal length up to 210-840mm at the long end but didn't use it...next time. This shot was taken handheld @ 1/250 sec...I love my Fuji!!!

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved  

THE WIND,THE SALT SPRAY...06.04.17

The wind, the slight drizzle & the nasty salt spray a combination that has hammered my Fuji XT2 for the past 7 months. My shutter button has started to get sticky & after a thorough cleaning on Saturday, not surprisingly I noticed that some of the tiny screws on the flip out screen was showing signs of rust. Part of the job discerption & hazards for a seascape photographer & living on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean! I don'y baby my gear, many time I'll push the limits to get out a little farther on the reef to get that shot, safely. If you don't take that chance your images will look like everyone else's, this is what drive me. 

I did make another unplanned investment in a 2nd XT2 body. My plan is to send the 1st body in for repair & service while I have the 2nd body to shoot with. I've been wanting to have a backup body for those important  shoots where it's like playing Russian Roulette if my main body craps out on me. It's always comforting to know that there's another body in my bag to grab.    

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved