Landscape Archives • Page 5 of 5 • phoclab.com travel and landscape photography by Claudio Beffa

Drizzly sunrise

Drizzly sunrise. Seascape of a rocky shoreline in Sardinia, Italy.

Drizzly sunrise, north western Sardinia, Italy. A windy morning, dominated by grey and heavy clouds, turned the idyllic sardinian sea into a cold and plumbeous vision. This is obviously not a negative thing, at least speaking of landscape photography; on the contrary, the bad weather turns out to be the ideal condition because there’s a more fascinating connection between the natural elements. I’ve used a 10 stops ND filter to make the movement of the clouds stronger and smooth the water; in addition to it, a graduated ND filter allowed to balance the light in the scene by darkening the sky a bit.

EXIF:

Camera: Pentax K-3

Lens: Sigma 10-20mm 3.5 EX DC HSM

Focal lenght: 10mm

Shutter time: 30 s

Aperture: F/8

Sensitivity: ISO100

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snow on the Kinkakuji, Kinkakuji, Gold, Pavilion, Snow, Winter, Kyoto, Japan, Pond, Water, Trees, Reflections, Travel

Last snow on the Kinkakuji golden pavilion in Kyoto

2018/05/12 Claudio Beffa Traditional Japan Japan / Kinkakuji / Kyoto / Landscape / Reflections / Snow / Travel / Trees / Water

Last snow on the Kinkakuji.

Last snow on the Kinkakuji. After a light snowfall in Kyoto, some white spots still adorn the dark roofs of the Kinkakuji golden pavilion and its surrounding garden. The lightly rippled surface of the pond reflects the shiny color of this unique monument.

EXIF:

Camera: Pentax K-3

Lens: Pentax smc DA 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 ED AL [IF] DC WR

Focal lenght: 28mm

Shutter time: 1/500 s

Aperture: F/5.6

Sensitivity: ISO200

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Futami, Mie, Japan, Meoto Iwa, Island, Wedded rocks, Gods, Izanagi, Izanami, Shimenawa, Rope, Sea, Sunrise

Meoto Iwa wedded rocks

2014/09/14 Claudio Beffa Traditional Japan culture / Japan / Landscape / Nature / Seascape

Meoto Iwa, the wedded rocks, Japan

It’s May. My journey of discovery of Japan’s natural and spiritual treasures brings me in a place of great importance, both in the meaning and in the scenic way: Futami, Mie prefecture. This is a beloved place for Japanese people, because of the important significance: the two rocks symbolize the gods Izanagi and Izanami and the bond between them through the Shimenawa, the sacred rope. They are the creators of Japan and the father and mother of all divinities.
From all over Japan, many couples come in this place to witness the enchanting beauty of sunrise between the Meoto Iwa and to pray the gods to bless their marriage. I’m very happy for having managed to capture this moment and to contemplate this wonder with my sweet Sara, hoping that Izanagi and Izanami could bless us too.

This image is the result of the manual blending of two shots: the main one is a 108s exposure, while from a longer exposed frame I’ve taken the darker details of the rocks. I took this shot with my K-3, the flagship D-SLR by Pentax (if you don’t consider the medium format behemoth 645z) using the smc K 30mm F2.8, an ultra rare lens back from the 80’s: during the film era it was a wide angle lens, but now on a crop sensor camera becomes a perfect normal.

EXIF:

Camera: Pentax K-3

Lens: Pentax SMC K 30mm f/2.8

Focal lenght: 30mm

Shutter time: 108 s

Aperture: F/11

Sensitivity: ISO100

This photograph has been awarded three times at the following international photography competitions:
Honorable Mention in the 2015 edition of the ND Awards: “Meoto Iwa” – Category Fine Art/Landscape
Honorable Mention in the 2015 edition of the Monochrome Awards: “Meoto Iwa” – Category Landscape
Nomination in the 2017 edition of the Fine Art Photography Awards: “Meoto Iwa” – Category Seascape

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Ainokura, Toyama, Mountain, Winter, Night, Snow, Japan, Pentax, Long exposure

In the coldest winter night

2014/04/04 Claudio Beffa Traditional Japan Ainokura / Japan / Landscape / Tradition / Travel / Winter

In the coldest winter night, the traditional japanese village of Ainokura

A winter night has just fallen on the small valley of Ainokura village, and this is my only chance to capture its beauty, because tonight my girlfriend and I will sleep in one of those Gassho farmhouses. With my backpack full of gear and the tripod in my hand, I undertake the “climbing” of the path that leads to an high viewpoint on the slope of nearest mountain: it’s completely dark, and turning off the headlamp is the same as closing the eyes. The path is steep and incredibly slippery, because the soft snow has turned itself into compact ice; so I proceed with the speed of a turtle for about half an hour. My efforts are repayed when I reach a good vantage point and a beautiful scenery discloses itself at my eyes: the traditional houses are embraced into the warm yellow lights of the lamppost, the same light that comes from their windows sealed with thick rice paper. Outside of the illuminated area, there is the darkness and the silence of the mountains, that is where I am: the only sounds come from my steps and my breath, and from time to time I can hear some little snowdrift falling from the tall trees and rolling down on the slope. If this is not heaven, I can’t imagine what could be: I feel the peace of being close to nature and my soul lightens itself in the thin cold air of this this snowy corner of Japanese beauty.
After about an hour of contemplation, my hands and feet are freezing, I turn on the headlamp again and… a couple of tiny eyes glows in the reflection of the light beam! They are about 100 meters away and I don’t know if they belong to a fox, a raccoon or a wolf, but maybe it’s time to go back to the village cautiously…

This shot is a single long exposure of about 3 minutes, took using the “mirror up” function, in order to avoid the slightest vibration. In the out-of-the-camera shot, the only visible things are the lights and some details of the houses but, thanks to the incredibly high performance of the Pentax K-5 sensor (it has a massive 14EV of latitude!), I managed to recover a lot of details in the darkness.

EXIF:

Camera: Pentax K-5

Lens: Pentax smc A 50mm f/1.2

Focal lenght: 50mm

Shutter time: 185 s

Aperture: F/11

Sensitivity: ISO200

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Toyama, Mountain, Ainokura, Village, Winter, Snow, Japan, Pentax

Ainokura town

2014/04/04 Claudio Beffa Traditional Japan Ainokura / Japan / Landscape / Tradition / Travel / Winter

Ainokura, a traditional and rare japanese town

Hidden between the mountains of Toyama lies a rare gem: the traditional town of Ainokura. Together with Suganuma and Ogimachi, in Ainokura the time flows with a pace completely different from the giant japanese cities. Everything seems to be remained unchanged from the past: the most distinctive aspect of this town are the farmhouses, made completely in wood and built using just the technique of joint; no nails are used and the timber joints are strengthened by thick ropes. The roofs are steep and made of straw, to cope against the winter’s heavy snowfalls and to keep a constant temperature inside the house. This is the only region in which the Gassho-style houses can be found: for this reason these three villages have been registered by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage. When the forest discloses the view on the small valley of Ainokura, the farmhouses are a real beauty to see and are perfectly integrated in the surrounding nature, in harmony.

This shot is an hdr blend of three exposures, executed with the “mighty” Pentax 50mm f/1.2 and the Kenko Zéta EX Circular Polarizer.

EXIF:

Camera: Pentax K-5

Lens: Pentax smc A 50mm f/1.2

Focal lenght: 50mm

Shutter time: 1/25 s

Aperture: F/11

Sensitivity: ISO80

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