A weekend in Maui

Sunrise at the summit of the Haleakala volcano (about 10,000 ft). In the distance, you can see the peaks of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii.

This gallery contains 8 photos.

In the beginning of October, we spent a long weekend visiting fellow photographer and friend Karim Iliya in Maui, Hawaii. As always, shooting with him is a fun, inspiring, creative and productive process – here are some of the results.

Money laundering

This is a photo taken at the Zeniarai Benzaiten shrine in Kamakura, during a very inspiring photography trip with the Tokyo Digital Artists Group. This small Shinto shrine is very popular, despite its small size, because the waters of a spring in its cave are said to be able to multiply the money washed in it – so, locals and tourists alike come here to wash 1000-yen bills but also, occasionally, wallets and credit cards.

Money laundering

Blood Moon in the garden

This is the second in a row of four consecutive total lunar eclipses in 2014 and 2015, photographed on October 8th from our garden in Menlo Park, CA. If you’ve missed it, here’s our photo of the first total lunar eclipse in this series of four taken in April from much the same location. This time around, we kept true to the name of our blog and added a little pink flavour to the composition:

The second in a row of four consecutive total lunar eclipses in 2014 and 2015, photographed on October 8th from our garden in Menlo Park, CA.

And here is a more conventional photo. You can see the stars come out as the Moon is dimmed – and not only the stars! The bright point to the left of the Moon, about a lunar diameter away from its limb, is the planet Uranus.

Total lunar eclipse on October 8th, 2014.

 

 

Summer Fireworks

Fireworks launched just above the surface of the ocean during the Kamakura Fireworks Festival 2014.

This gallery contains 8 photos.

From celebrating high-school graduation in Moscow, to Bastille Day in Paris, to one of many summer Hanabi (花火) festivals in Japan, to burning the Man in style at Black Rock City, Nevada – what an intercontinental light show this summer!

Burning Man 2014

The last sunset of the Man, the evening before is was burned. A dust storm is just rolling in, adding to the already mystical atmosphere.

This gallery contains 13 photos.

The Playa dust hasn’t even begun to settle, but I simply had to put the cleaning and exhaustion aside and go through the amazing collection of photos from this year’s Burning Man. Our precious Canon 5D Mark III camera looks like it’s been through hell and back, and has ingested … Continue reading

Color me Japan

Millions of paper cranes are offered each year to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, as prayers for peace and the end of all the world's conflicts.

This gallery contains 8 photos.

I can’t believe it’s almost exactly a year ago that I signed my work contract with JAXA! It’s been a wonderful year of adventures and frustrations, a year of meeting amazing new friends, learning how to navigate life as an illiterate person, and last but not least a whole year … Continue reading