Japan to Amsterdam with the Fuji X-T1 & X-T10
I spend most of my time pursuing my passion for Landscape photography in Japan and Holland. My weapons of choice are the Fuji X-T1 for landscapes and portraits and the X-T10 for street photography. I took an early retirement in 2015 to pursue my passion and haven’t looked back since.
I am the owner of a small photography business, and also teach Lightroom to aspiring photographers, Navy personnel, and their spouses here in Yokosuka. Living in Japan can pose many challenges as a photographer, or anywhere in the world, because everyone has some sort of digital camera.
However, here in Japan, it is especially frustrating due to large crowds or congested traffic, which makes it a challenge to get to any location. My advice is to prepare yourself for these inconveniences, if you ever decide to come to the Land of the Eternal Sun.
My quest as a Landscape photographer is to try to capture all the beautiful sites Japan has to offer. I love exploring, or for better words, getting lost and coming back with photos of iconic places.
Recently, I took a photographic journey back to my beloved Amsterdam, a city complete with canals, bicycles, and plenty of opportunities for street photography with the X-T10 and the 18-135mm lens and the X-T1 with the 10-24mm lens for landscapes.
I have lived previously in Germany for 27 years and always came to Amsterdam with the family for vacation. It is truly a city where you can walk all day and get lost, and still have a smile on your face, with no worries at all.
The 10-24mm ultra wide zoom lens was a great choice for Amsterdam, from the tight alley ways, to the canals, to the Rijks Museum, and to the endless fields of colorful flowers. The 18-135mm, in my opinion, is the best street photography lens, and my walk around lens for the X-T10 because you can zoom in and out to get that perfect image without being noticed.
I’m already planning on another trip, but in the summer here in Japan, starting from Yokosuka, to the castle in Matsumoto, to Lake Biwa, staying in Kyoto for 3-4 days and then, heading off to Osaka, and ending my journey at the beautiful Nachi Falls.
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“Hello, my name is Manuel Alvarez and I am a retired Culinary Arts chef living in Japan, in the Kanagawa Prefecture. My main passion and focus in Photography are landscapes, portraits, and street photography.”
Trevor Sherwin
April 29, 2017 @ 9:56 pm
Some cracking images and a great story. Amsterdam is certainly on my todo list for a photography trip some time. A beautiful city.
David Thompson
May 1, 2017 @ 6:45 pm
Beautifully captured I like them a lot. I’m particularly impressed how you have controlled the light in the landscape images. Well done.
Manuel Alvarez
May 3, 2017 @ 12:21 am
Thank you for your kind words.