@biffnix@discuss.online cover

I’m just this guy, you know?

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. View on remote instance

Parker Lake, Mono County, California, USA ( discuss.online )

I took this the morning of Aug. 14, 2023. The sun was shining through clouds. It rained off and on all morning. This was on a short backpack in. My son’s girlfriend had never been backpacking before, so we took her on this short overnighter. Taken with a Canon R5, 15-35mm f/2.8L lens.

That time I went to Bagan to see the sunrise, and all kinds of hot air balloons got in my way. ( lemmy.world )

This was just before the whole Rohingya thing got started. I wouldn’t go now. But seeing the sun rise above the many temples of Bagan veiled in the mist from thousands of wood stoves being fired up to cook breakfast is really something.

McClure Meadow, Evolution Valley, Sierra Nevada, California ( i.imgur.com )

This is one of my favorite campsites ever. This is sunrise over Evolution Creek and McClure Meadow, in the high country of the Sierra Nevada mountains, in Kings Canyon National Park, in California. I’m fortunate enough to live relatively close, in Bishop, California. Still, there are no roads here - you must make your way on...

Kintai Bridge, Iwakuni, Japan (iPhone 14 Pro Max) ( i.imgur.com )

Iwakuni is where my parents met, in 1960. My little sister and I visited in March of this year, and were able to scatter my older sister’s ashes in the Nishiki river, and commit them to our ancestors. I haven’t visited the Kintai Bridge since I was a boy. It still looks the same. Fond memories…

Night shot, Kyoto, Japan (iPhone 14 Pro Max) ( i.imgur.com )

Took this back in March, while visiting our daughter, who is teaching English in Japan for this past year. We took the opportunity to take a couple of weeks to travel around Japan. She is in Hirado, south of Nagasaki. I didn’t want to haul my DSLR, so I made do with the phone camera.

biffnix OP ,
@biffnix@discuss.online avatar

I debated quite a bit before deciding not to bring my “good” camera. But, as they say, the best camera in the world is the one you have with you when you see something interesting…

Kyoto was great. If you’re not familiar, and aren’t sure what to see, I highly recommend a tour guide. They can show you what you want. Kyoto has a famous geisha district “Goin” which has a fascinating history, if you enjoy cultural history. A food tour would have been great there, as well - but we did that for the Izakaya area in Tokyo earlier that week…

biffnix OP ,
@biffnix@discuss.online avatar

The iPhone does have a pretty good night mode, but this wasn’t shot in that mode, as there was plenty of ambient light.

I think this one was in wide angle. I do always shoot in RAW, though, so I can post process in Lightroom. The iPhone does do a lot of color processing on-camera, which I don’t usually like, hence my preference for RAW photos to tweak later.

biffnix OP ,
@biffnix@discuss.online avatar

Thank you.

biffnix OP ,
@biffnix@discuss.online avatar

Because Korea is more developed, I would imagine. And Syria has state department advisories as a dangerous location for Americans to travel. Teaching English is a good way to travel abroad and not have it cost a lot, since they have guaranteed employment in their host country.

The program my daughter is on does all of the hard work in finding a place to live, arranging a vehicle, work visa, all of those complications for a young person living abroad.

biffnix OP ,
@biffnix@discuss.online avatar

I highly recommend it. It is remarkably easier these days, with Google maps for transportation. Public transit is amazing there. I’m fortunate that since my mother is Japanese, language isn’t much of a barrier for me, but I saw tons of folks using Google translate just fine. And the dollar is strong against the yen right now, so it’s a great time to go there!

biffnix OP ,
@biffnix@discuss.online avatar

Yes, we chose Spring deliberately, for the weather. While it did rain a bit in Hirado (southern Japan), it was lovely everywhere else we visited. The timing for Kyoto was really good - just before peak cherry blossom blooms, by just a week or two. So while it was a little crowded, it was nothing like full bloom tourist crowds!

biffnix OP , (edited )
@biffnix@discuss.online avatar

When were you there last? I hadn’t been since 1990. A lot has changed, of course. But, it’s still a great place to visit.

biffnix OP , (edited )
@biffnix@discuss.online avatar

I’m sorry you feel that way. Cultural exchange programs such as the JET programme in Japan, and whatever equivalent there is in Korea are wonderful programs which promote and encourage understanding amongst nations. And the world can certainly use more understanding instead of less. I appreciate the perspective, though.

biffnix OP , (edited )
@biffnix@discuss.online avatar

And if you wanted to teach Korean in another country, would you rather teach in Syria, an African country, or the US or Europe?

biffnix OP ,
@biffnix@discuss.online avatar

Heh - I think this is just an old drainage ditch. I imagine post war it was mostly a sewer…. ;)

Hiking in the Swiss Alps I got to see snow for the first time ( aussie.zone )

Went to a festival and had 1 day before the festival started. Hiked up the nearby mountain and was greeted with semi frozen lakes and plenty of snow. Being my first time seeing snow it was an amazing day, even got to slide down some of it on my rain jacket.

biffnix ,
@biffnix@discuss.online avatar

Ok, I’ll bite. Where did you grow up that you have never seen snow?

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • random
  • All magazines