I'm very excited that my book The Way of the Digital Photographer: Walking the Photoshop post-production path to more creative photography has been named one of the best photography books…
Before heading to Kyoto on the bullet train, I spent a little time in the morning wandering around Tokyo. These stairs were to a pedestrian walkway over Chuo-dori in the…
The three-story pagoda Seiganto-ji is part of the Kumano Sanzan temple complex in Nachi-san at the end of the Kumano kodo pilgrimage trail. This is a very special place, located near…
I hope to see you at a photography workshop in 2014. I have the following workshops definitely scheduled for 2014: 2014.01.25—2014.01.26—Mastering Creative Photoshop: The Way of the Digital Photographer—This workshop…
My friends at Craftsy write: "With the holiday season fast approaching, remind your followers that they can give the gift of making by gifting your Craftsy Flower Photography class!" It's…
Aya, her father, and a business associate met me at the small Awa Yamakawa train station. It was already getting dark, so we drove across the river to a restaurant…
When Kayoko at the Sakuraya Guesthouse in Nara had helped me figure out my transportation logistics, she saw the Nankai Ferry ticket in the folder from the travel agent, and exclaimed,…
At the long-sought end of the Kumano kodo lies Nachi-san, a sort of religious Shangri-la nestled in the mountains with---finally!---a view of the Pacific Ocean. While some pilgrims do it…
Yunomine Onsen is an ancient spa town in the middle of Kumano kodo territory. A hot creek runs down the middle of the town next to the road; you can…
At 6AM my iPhone alarm rang. I raised my head off the futon, pulled the screen aside, and peered out the window at a world of driving rain. Yunomine Onsen…
The end of the day's walking on the trail was at the Kumano Hongu Taisha. This temple has been the center of the Kumano Shugendo faith for over a millennia.…
Early morning light coming through the Shoji screens woke me. I opened the screen and stared out at a chill world with fog hanging in the distant valleys. This was…
Getting to Mt Koyo from Nara took a taxi, two different trains, a cable car, and a bus. Mt Koyo itself is kind of like Arlington National Cemetery and Westminster…
I am hiking on the Kumano kodo at last. It seems like a long time ago that I started planning this trip. Amazingly, everything is working. To get to the…
There are many things both old and new to be seen when wandering Nara, Japan. I particularly liked the gardens and temples. But oddest of all are the tame deer…
I took a casual inter-urban train from Kyoto to Nara. The ride was about an hour. Nara is a city with ancient roots---it was an imperial capital before Kyoto, and…
It is with sadness that I leave Kyoto behind. I hope I come back soon to this mysterious city (both ancient and peculiarly modern)---so I can learn more of its…
Getting lost can be frightening, and at the least provokes anxiety. But getting lost can be good because it compels one in adventures and directions one would not have undertaken…