Here’s a photo I recently finished from the Guangxi province of China. It wasn’t the easiest shot to get as I had to climb up one of those big hills you see in the distance. I was a hot sweaty mess when I got to the top… but just after I took the photo, a Spring rain came down on me to cool me off.

Guangxi Atmosphere

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-01-06 00:52:47
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1.3
• Aperture6.3
• ISO200
• Focal Length61.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

This is most of what the Great Wall of China looks like as nature reclaims itself. I took this with a drone while we slept in one of the old guard towers.

Nature and the Wall

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-06-06 13:26:40
• CameraFC220
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/500
• Aperture2.2
• ISO100
• Focal Length4.7 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias-1.34

Only New Zealand would actually have a little town called Paradise. It’s not even really a town, but an area at the end of the road past Glenorchy that has a few farms and a few little places to rent. The hikes are unbelievable and you see scenes like this in every direction.

Paradise

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-01-17 09:34:53
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/125
• Aperture11
• ISO100
• Focal Length85.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

In the Spring of each year, the lupins come out to play. Some local Kiwis don’t like them because they think of it as a weed. Well, as far as weeds go, they are pretty spectacular.

Tekapo Lupins

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2012-12-05 11:29:09
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/15
• Aperture11
• ISO50
• Focal Length28.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+1

The far southern tip of the South Island of New Zealand has an endless network of beautiful fjords. For some reason, this area is called Milford Sound, even though it’s technically a fjord. It’s beautiful any time of the year, but every now and then, if you are patient, you can see an amazing sunset.

Mitre Peak in the Fjords

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2012-08-08 03:02:26
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/8
• Aperture5.6
• ISO50
• Focal Length18.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Lake Hawea is another beautiful and relatively unpopulated lake in New Zealand. Every time I drive over here to take photos, I think, “Wow I should really come over here more.”

Hawea

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2012-06-09 22:55:20
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/250
• Aperture5.6
• ISO100
• Focal Length135.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+1

Most people know New Zealand from the Lord of the Rings movies. That’s how I first started thinking about moving here. What some may not know is that there is actually a Hobbiton with about 40 little hobbit holes on the North Island. Well… most doors are fake except for Bilbo’s home.

Hobbiton

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-10-17 17:39:56
• CameraNEX-7
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/100
• Aperture4
• ISO100
• Focal Length13.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

I feel like seeing a dolphin is a bit like seeing a unicorn. They are so rarely seen, but these two came up to ride the wave in front of our boat. I get excited like a little kid when I see dolphins. Also, I think it kinda looks like they are holding hands.

Milford Sound Dolphins

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-02-10 00:11:30
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/200
• Aperture6.3
• ISO640
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1

These very unusual boulders are located over on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. I used to have a double major in Computer Science and Geophysics, so I’ve always been fascinated by weird stuff like this but I don’t actually know why these have this shape. I know I could look it up, but I prefer to wonder. Adults don’t wonder enough… it’s an important muscle to train.

Moeraki Boulders

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2010-03-02 21:48:08
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/60
• Aperture13
• ISO100
• Focal Length19.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

This is where I live! Queenstown is on the South Island of New Zealand and it is a big destination for snow sports and all other sorts of adventure activities. This is one of my favorite places to watch the city below and it’s also a launching point where I would paraglide off the edge and soar across the city before landing in a little park below.

Queenstown Night

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2012-06-04 15:53:16
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time15
• Aperture5.6
• ISO200
• Focal Length28.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+1

This is a view from my home which is between Arrowtown and Queenstown. Those mountains are called The Remarkables and they look incredible at any time of the day and in any season. It’s truly a tableau vivant.

Arrowtown

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-04-19 19:02:31
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/350
• Aperture
• ISO160
• Focal Length0.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Lake Tekapo is one of the countless glacier fed lakes where the water takes on a beautiful level of clarity. Like many lakes in New Zealand, nobody actually lives by the lake so it maintains an idyllic purity.

Tekapo

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2012-12-07 11:39:46
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/4
• Aperture8
• ISO50
• Focal Length28.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Right at the end of this 40km hike, we ended up here where all the pilgrims do. After having a big farewell dinner, we all went and had some more drinks, Then I headed out to take photos through the night till I was exhausted. I was already pretty tired just from the hike, but I used all the power I had left for one last sesh of photos.

Nearing the End of the Santiago

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-10-02 07:03:59
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time3.2
• Aperture8
• ISO100
• Focal Length75.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Yep, this is just how people hang out at the airport. It’s really fun to see these anachronisms that abound all around Africa. And the best part is, everyone is super nice. People in Africa (at least in my experience) are some of the kindest and most lovely and happy people in the world. The whole place is just heartwarming.

Airport in Zimbabwe

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2019-09-28 11:37:04
• CameraPixel 3 XL
• Camera MakeGoogle
• Exposure Time1/412
• Aperture1.8
• ISO52
• Focal Length4.4 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias

We had to search high and low to find one of these traditional Chinese tea houses, and this one was about an hour north of Chengdu. We were super happy to find it and we had some incredible tea. One of my favorite things about it was all these old communist posters on the wall. I also kind of like that the place was mostly a wreck… they make great tea, but they’re not the best at tidying.

Who’s in charge of cleaning this tea house?

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-06-15 16:59:23
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1.3
• Aperture7.1
• ISO200
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias