Wineglass Bay Tasmania

Ah, Wineglass Bay.  Among the most beautiful spots in all of Australia.  Rated as the 4th most important thing to do / see in Australia, according to Australian Traveler.  This may be the only thing I do in the top 10 while living here.

We stayed at Freycinet Lodge, rather rustic, but charming all the same.  Took the 2 hour up, and 1 hour down trip to the lookout, overlooking this site.  A bit challenging climb, but very rewarding in the end.

Canon 7D | Canon EF-S 10-22mm | 22mm | f/22 | 1/30th | ISO100

Great Southern Ocean

We have traveled to Tasmania twice this year – what a great place!!!  Very pretty, the people are great, and there is a distillery in Tasmania that I absolutely love!!!  Lark makes some really cracking single-malt.  I’m getting away from the point though.

This is on Bruny Island, a small island just on the south side of Tasmania.  There’s really not much there, but it does house one of Australia’s finest bays – Wineglass Bay.  This photo is just south, right along the Bruny Neck, overlooking the Great Southern Ocean.

Canon 7D | Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8| 17mm | f/22 | 1/20th | ISO200

The Golden Buddhas

It’s been nearly a year since I last posted. It’s not a lack of photos. It’s just a lack of time to post.  So, my early New Year resolution – more photos, more posts.

This is at the Grand Palace in Bangkok.  I didn’t count how many buddhas there are in the Palace, but it must be in the hundreds.  It’s a fantastic place to visit. However, I don’t recommend going in the middle of the day. During that time, it’s in the 30’s C / 90’s F and about 90% humidity.  It would be much better to visit in the late afternoon or early evening. The sun starts to go down then. You can enjoy that nice, soft evening glow on everything.

Sony A7R II | Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM | 29mm | f/2.8 | 1/60th | ISO400

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sydney is really a stunning city.  Every once in a while, the city just catches you off guard. That’s when I realize how great of a city it is.  A few weeks ago, we went to a concert at the Sydney Opera House. The singer commented multiple times on how impressive the sound in the hall was.  And the city is like that all over.  We finally went on the walk around the South Head. I couldn’t help but think how well the city reserves public green spaces.

This shot captures a better known monument in the city, the Harbour Bridge.

Canon EOS 7D | Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 | 28 mm | f/11 | 6 secs | ISO2500

Road Through the Vineyard

I’ve commented on it a few times. We had a magical long weekend in Yakima Valley. It was a few years back.  We were in the middle of a photog class and the missus’ project was HDR photos.  I’m not sure how we managed it, but we discovered a relatively remote set of vineyards. It was just about an hour before sunset.   She took some really incredible shots, these have to be the best memories of that weekend.

We also went to ~6 wineries, which always makes me happy.

Canon 7D | Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 | 17mm | f/4.0 | 1/3200th | ISO100

Dinner Delivery

At our hotel in Langkawi, as happens in many island locations, a boat would come by every night. It dropped off the catch of the day. This catch turned into dinner.  I often wonder how these guys manage to live on just delivering the latest catch. But then I guess they also keep a few fish for themselves for dinner.  I suppose they’ll never go hungry…

Canon 7D | Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 | 55 mm| f/6.3 | 1/60th sec | ISO200 

Bali Sunset

I don’t think I need to say much more.  Taken at Potato Head bar/lounge in Bali.  We’re heading back for New Year’s Eve this year.

Canon 7D | Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 | 13 mm  | f/10 | 1/1250 sec | ISO 100

Singapore at Night

This is a parallel to my other photo of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.  I spun around and took a shot of the Singapore skyline.  This would probably be a lot better if I had a proper tripod. Instead, I sat the camera on a stanchion and held it tightly for a few seconds.   I had to redo it a few times because the camera would shake.  This one turned out the best.

Canon 7D | Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 | 20 mm | f4.5 | 1 sec | ISO250

Lanterns for Luck

On a recent trip to Koh Samui Thailand, we had a barbecue seafood dinner on the beach at our hotel.  After dinner, the staff was kind enough to get a few sky lanterns. We could light them off and make a wish.  Making the lantern float away was surprisingly harder than I imagined. It was difficult to have a candle emit enough hot air.  We decided to have a lantern for each couple. There were three couples on the trip. As the saying goes, if the lantern fails to float away, it means the couple will break up.  Luckily, the hotel staff and a very persistent member of our group helped us. All the lanterns flew away safely. I imagine they made it all the way to Cambodia.

Canon 7D | Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 | 28mm | f/2.8 | 1/60th | ISO400

Guardian of the Stairs

When we were in Langkawi, we saw a handful of monkeys, or more specifically macaques.  They were a little sneaky and a little rambunctious, but for the most part they kept to themselves.  There was one little guy. He stepped at me like he was going to attack. I backed off a little. He did the same.

This one, on the other hand, was sitting on those steps. It seemed like he was there to collect a toll for those going upstairs. Alternatively, he might have been a chaperon who would only let the appropriate people by.  Sort of reminded me of sleep-away camp when I was a kid.

Canon 7D | Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 | 55mm | f/6.3 | 1/20th | ISO200