Nikon D3 / 20mm / f.22 / 2.5 sec / ISO 200
Nikon D3 / 20mm / f.11 / 1.6 sec / ISO 200
Taking a shot of the stars is too much time consuming process. An image needs at least a 30 sec exposure. Since the stars are barely seen through the view finder, before the actual shot, you need to take a trial shot to make sure if you've got the right settings such as focal length, exposure time, white balance and etc. It's not hard to learn the technique to take a shot of stars. But the tech doesn't guarantee getting the right image we want to get. 
The most important matter in the star photography is whether or not we can have a good weather; no clouds, no mood light and no artifical lights. The image above was taken even under the difficult condition. There were the strong artificial lights from the city when taking the image above. I could see only a few stars at that night. I only got some stars in it. We, therefore, need to go to a remote place to avoid the troublesome light. 
I often go to Bayswater Marina to take a shot because the place is near home. But I was not lucky enough to get what I wanted to get untill yesterday. After the dinner, I went out to get some fresh air and take some shots hoping to see wonderful sunset. The sky looked just as usual. It seemed that nothing was going to happen. But suddenly, everything was changed. The sky started getting red like someone splashed the sky with red ink. That was something beyond what I expected yesterday. It was so beautiful. 
A Photographer is like a seeker after the truth. I, as a serious amateur landscape photographer, always hope to meet an amazing light and try to capture it by interpreting it in my own way just like a seeker eagers to find out the unescapable truth. The great photographers can't be made by their techniques but by their passion to grasp something amazing (or to make something wonderful). They make constant [and desperate] efforts to capture meaningful moments and bring them into permanent images within their own hermeneutical frame. 
We can actually communicate with people in this isolating world. because the images have lots of stories to tell. It can funtion as media to deliver massages even to those who I haven't met at all. There is no a language barrier in the field of photography. The world can communicate in the images. At least, I hope so.
Cathedral Cove is one of the most beautiful places in North Island of New Zealand, located around two and half hours away from Auckland City. I saw an image taken by both Dave Norton, one of famous British landscape photographers, and a flickr friend of mine. When I saw the image, I started wondering and googling where it would be. In fact, I've been to Cathedral Cove before, but I haven't seen the place where it was taken. Finally, I found out that it was taken at somewhere in Pa site near Hahei beach, New Zealand. I decided to visit there to take a sunrise shot. 
I woke up at 2:30am and drove to get there under a crescent moon. When I got there, the sun still was below the horizon. In dark, I put on a head lamp and climbed up the hill with a hope to find the exact spot. Luckily, I found the same tree I saw in the image and happlily took a shot.
