Author: Alik Griffin

Batteries You Should Buy For The Sony A7, A7r, A7s

After shooting with the A7r for the last 6 months I’ve decided to do a write-up on batteries and what batteries you should buy for your Sony mirrorless camera.
Behind The Shot – The Fuji Tunnel

The Kawachi Fuji Garden is one of those hot spots/places to see before you die in Japan. This location has two tunnels, a dome, a small trail, and an additional Fuji flower rack. It is pretty cool and very photogenic. Although I was about a week early to get the full Fuji flower blast, the…
The Golden Rice Terraces

After my fourth visit to Japan, I finally got the landscape photo I always wanted. It encompasses everything I love about Japan in a single shot: the golden sunset over the island-filled seas with the rice field terraces in the foreground. Everything was perfect for this shot, which rarely happens to me. The weather was…
How I Got The Shot – Above Tokyo

My most popular posts often include a breakdown of how I get some of these shots and my different photography techniques. So, with this night-building shot in Tokyo, I’ve decided to do a detailed write-up sharing a few basic techniques because shots like this are a little more complicated than your normal landscape. Above Tokyo…
Sakura Explosion – Tokyo Japan

I posted this photo on Google+ earlier today, letting people zoom in 100%. With the Zeiss Sonnar 35mm and Sony A7r, with its 36-megapixel sensor and no High Pass filter, it’s amazing how much detail you can get from your images. In Japan, Cherry Blossoms are called Sakura. When they are in season, they are…
The Onsens Of Yufuin

We spent a day in Yufuin and a night at the Onsen in Yamashiroya. I wish I had taken more pictures of Yamashiroya because it was super cool. It felt like it was decorated in the ’60s and hasn’t been touched since. There are still magazines and games from that period. And the onsens were very relaxing.…
Last Days Of Kyoto

The last day in Kyoto was probably the most fun day. However, it’s very crowded this time of year with busloads of tour buses and tourists wherever possible. It didn’t bother me; being 6’3″ likely had something to do with it, but it was also an amiable crowd. The people I was with were all…
Nara Japan And The Toji Temple

It took me a while to process all the photos from Nara Japan. I shot more landscape stuff despite it being the middle of the day. Everything here is also shot on the Sony A7r.
Traveling Japan – Arashiyama, Kyoto

The last time I went to Kyoto, I was there for a day and then got sick, so I never got to see all the cool stuff that I’m getting to see this time around. Arashiyama Bamboo Forest Near one of the temples was a bamboo forest. It was not the signature one you’ve probably…
Solvang Poppies

Here’s another shot of Solvang from last weekend. The poppies are in bloom this time of year in Cali. Some areas further north of Los Angeles almost completely cover some hillsides. They are also great foreground objects, with some windmills from Solvang in the background. For this photo, I pulled out Nik’s Color Efex Pro.…