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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 360 — map & image data — nearby photos
Breakfast is (Self) Served
at the Atta Terrace Hotel, Okinawa Japan, January 2009
Just getting started with passion fruit, sweet potato, some local bitter greens, and more...

We're preparing for a short trip into snow country, packing warm coats and gloves and such for a few days of what will mostly be Anthony snow play. I'm quite looking forward to it, but am also reminded that our New Year's trip a year ago was to the warmer climate of the Okinawan mainland, staying at the Atta Terrace Hotel.

The trip was just two nights, yet among the half dozen posts I wrote soon after, I wasn't able to get around to posting anything from the third day, and barely touched on what we did the second. So I'll catch up just a bit with our first breakfast on Okinawa...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 28 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 4000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Breakfast Buffet

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 50 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 2200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Mmmm, Cheese and Tomato

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 45 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Choice Table

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 27 mm — ¹/2500 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Choice View
( that would have been nicer if the weather had cooperated )

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ready to Eat
photo by a passing member of the hotel staff

Facing the pool from the side was a lounge / library / bar kind of place, that I thought was photogenic...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/16, ISO 1250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lounge / Library / Bar Kind of Place

The attention to detail was evident at the hotel with the little table-top floral pieces. A year ago I used examples from this room to fill a post titled “Japanese Attention to Presentation”.

Here's a small one that was on each table...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Refined

Here's a big one on an end table near the bar, stylized with pumped-up brightness and a white vignette ...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Color
( would look better if my blog color theme were white )

We then started our only full day on Okinawa with a drive on which we found some New Year's cherry blossoms, explored tiny and rural Kouri Island and its photogenic late-afternoon sun, then toward dusk I took advantage of the low light prowess of my Nikon D700 to capture a shot of a lonely little island the size of a haystack in light so dark and gloomy that I shouldn't have even bothered trying. But I did try, and emboldened with the results, returned to the photogenic hotel to really try pushing the limits of low-light photography.

All in all, it was a great day (remember, a good breakfast starts a good day!), but I've still not gotten around to posting about the best part. I guess that'll have to wait a few days until we get back from our snowy trip...