steven-west - Tumblr blog

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I’ve just started sailing and picked up a few textbooks on Oceanography, reading water, clouds and so on. Really fascinating stuff! No, really! So, there’s this weather front hitting east Japan now. It’s been a constant 20knts for 4 days solid. Apparently this will last for a few more days yet. At the beach 4am to see if there were any ‘crazies’ out on the waves yesterday making the most of it all. Check out @kensuke_tsuno here practicing before classes! I admire the dedication of people who love their passion so much they squeeze it in when the rest of us are still in bed! . . #zushibeach #windsurfing

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It's been a rough week here in Palau with a typhoon and getting too sick to dive!! But, this picture sums up how I'm feeling today! Typhoon passed, recovered from a nasty cold and about to head out for a day of diving. #dolphins #smile

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One from yesterday in Palau. The Blue Hole dive site where a 6ft Giant Barracuda resides. #diving

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This one is from Mikurajima in May this year. Large pod of Indo-Pacific dolphins just passed by and I got this shot. #dolphins

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If you're going to back yourself into a corner, why not make sure it's one you're happy 😊 hanging out in!? Miura is only a short drive from Tokyo and the water is pretty clear! Wherever you are, have a great weekend! #paddleboarding #mavicpro

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It's not complicated - even when you have nothing but a simple view to entertain yourself, it's still a thousand times better than watching the 📺 or messing around with a shiny new gadget! It's easy to forget we're traveling through space on a spinning lump of rock which just so happens to be really quite spectacular. Take time to stop and wonder! 🌋 #mtfuji #dawn

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It was about 20°C cooler today than it has been for sometime. I've always loved ❤️ summer and I never thought I'd actually be relieved 😌 to see it coming to a close, but it's been brutal this year. I don't expect next year is going to be any cooler either. Lucky my second favorite season, Autumn is just around the corner and looks like it might get a promotion to first place... Anyone here peg winter as their favorite? I'd love to know why... #seasons #paddleboarding

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Apologies for not posting any pictures last week but I hope this image makes up for it. I've been working on a project for the last 2 months and I ended up not having any time for anything else. I hope this picture of a 🐬 inspires you to seek out a wild encounter for yourselves. It's truly a great experience to have another species interact with you. It glues us together and we can feel that although we may differ in appearance and biology, we're all sharing the same space. We're all dependent on one another. We all live here. We all call this rock 'home'. We're all entitled to what it has to offer and we're all responsible for its wellbeing. #natgeoyourshot #dolphins

[steven-west]

Only 1.5 hours drive out of Tokyo and you can be immersed in nature. One of my favorite escapes is Lake Motosuko, next to Mt. Fuji 🗻 By far the best time of day to experience a lake like this is at dawn. Some wonderful light displays, clouds and mists all contradict the calm water. Blue hour should be extended for at least 2 more hours! All in favor? #canonjapan #natgeoyourshot

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Not all landscapes show miles and miles of rolling hills, mountains, sea and sky. Some can be found in their very own worlds. Can anyone guess where or what this is? Hint: it might be closer than you think... #canonjapan #captionthis

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The largest pod of dolphins I encountered was a group of around 30. They suddenly appeared out of the blue (literally!). I didn't notice it at the time but when I checked the footage there is this amazing sound that can be heard as they approached. I guess it's sonar - checking out what was up ahead of them but it's almost like music.ill have to post the video sometime. #natgeoyourshot #goprohero5 #dolphins

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Being a visual person I've always loved looking at aerial views. Not only because it's a perspective we don't get to see very often, but because there's so much you can see in one one instant. Vacuuming up all that visual data in one go like a hungry hippo! I confess, I've spent many half days just lost in Google Earth exploring the furthest corners of the globe and wondering what it would be like to be there. Have an excellent weekend. If you're heading to the ocean, have fun and stay safe! #dronestagram #natgeoyourshot #drone

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A curious couple I met up in the mountains of Kirishima, Kyushu. I learnt if you don't look wild animals directly in the eyes, you can approach them slowly, little by little and most of the time they'll let you get quite close. But as soon as you look at them directly in the eyes -- Poof! They'll be gone! Great tip for photographing timid creatures like these! #canonjapan #natgeoyourshot #deer

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How's everyone doing? Hot? It's hot here in Tokyo. It's 'I wish I was a dolphin' 🐬 kind of hot! Maybe in another life! #goprohero5 #natgeoyourshot #dolphin

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Fishing boats at dawn on Lake Motosuko. #canonjapan #canonjapan #natgeoyourshot

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I grew up next to a lake which might be why I love them so much. I love the ocean too, but there's something less transitional about lakes. Somehow they have a history oceans don't. Maybe because the water is stuck in one place and It's transiting, it gives us the sense that it holds memories, it keeps secrets! #canonjapan #chuzenjilake #natgeoyourshot

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This is a two click wonder. One click of the shutter and another in Lightroom. I've started to develop a few presets specifically for the kind of landscape pictures I take. Usually I spend a while working on images but I clicked my preset and was like, OK, that's done ✅ My fondest memories of waterfalls are not from waterfalls I've ever seen in real life. They're of waterfalls in old black and white films where there is something hidden behind them. Whenever I see one even now, I'm wondering what secrets it might be protecting! #natgeoyourshot #canonjapan #waterfall #nikko