Pushing past | Kyoto | December 2024

Autumn in Kyoto - December 2024

If and when America finds a way out of authoritarianism, not only will ICE have to be abolished: All these people will need to be held accountable in a court of law for the monstrosities they are committing - those who are ordering them as well as those who are carrying them out. Every single one.

When nature sticks its tongue out at you. :p

Welcome back from the retro walk down memory lane. Now - we dive back into the latest edits from last year in Tokyo and Kyoto. This fern is from December in Kyoto.

Throwback to somewhere in the Danish countryside | October 2014

Finally - something interesting out of Sora perhaps? Sora 2 looks very promising. Can't wait to play with this one a bit. www.youtube.com/live/gzneGhp...

Continuing my series from the archives - throwback to a very special place in Northern Arizona | October 2017

Every time I see these my heart aches for the suffering that has transpired since we had our visit. Myanmar was my favorite of all the places we got the chance to explore in the region. This image is another in my current walk down memory lane. Bagan, Myanmar - July 2016

Today’s image from the archives - Bagan, Myanmar | July 2016.

When translations go bad… The first time the post was displayed in my feed it was just the translated text. No context. And I thought - wow, that’s quite an aggressive take Norwegian! Turns out it was just Meta AI translate being naughty. Too funny not to share.

Somewhere in southern France | May 2018

Continuing my series revisiting images I haven’t looked at or shared in quite some time - now let’s jump to a very unique waterfall in southern France | May 2018

Today begins the process of removing interpretive assets across National Park Service sites that violate the president's EO. If you work for the NPS, please let me know what, if any, changes are taking place at your site. No names will be used. Thank you. #NationalParks 🗃️ cwmemory.com/contact-me/

One more from that same very special day at the Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina. I’ve always loved this image and the photographer and how he adds a sense of scale. Image made December 2010.

Continuing with my walk down memory lane - another from the archives - Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina. December 2010.

Season 3 Episode 8 of Star Trek Strange New Worlds was an absolute hoot. Just good ol' fashion fun.

I only like losing when who and what I lose to are exceptional, inspire me, and are truly top tier work. At this point the NLPA awards are one of only two photo contests that consistently deliver. This years winners and finalists are exceptional. Enjoy! naturallandscapeawards.com/2025-competi...

Another from the archives - this one is also southeastern Colorado - July, 2019.

Continuing the throwback theme - this is southeastern Colorado. July 7, 2019.

Another throwback to Vietnam in 2022. These back roads were magical.

Currently delayed from the latest edits due to other obligations - so thought it was a nice moment to dip into the archives and reshare a few images. This is from Vietnam in April of 2022

At Denmarks SMK (state museum for art) last night I saw this painting from a spot I often walk by in Copenhagen. This morning I went back to the spot and took a photo. Fun to see ehh? The painting and my photo from today beneath it.

An ode to the beauty of earth, wood, and berry | Sweden | August 2025

Super interesting. Have to test this for my A7RV and see how much maps across. www.sonyalpharumors.com/bobby-tonell...

Swedish countryside in its full summer beauty | August 2025

This is super cool - the new Nordhavn Park they have planned. I figured they’d just build and build out there. But it’ll actually be a quite lovely green space. #copenhagen www.kk.dk/politik/poli... kk.sites.itera.dk/apps/kk_pub2...

Southern Sweden | late August 2025

Recognition of what has been plain to see for quite some time. www.wsj.com/tech/google-...

A turn in the road - a path to new delights and wonderful light. The beauty of Kyoto at sunrise. December 2024. #japan #sonyalpha #sunrise

Kyoto in December - who would have thought? This is one of my very latest edits as I work through my photos chronologically. This morning was one of the absolute highlights of the trip as the morning light cast incredible gold and red colors across the autumn foliage. #japan #kyoto #sonyalpha

So often the photos we see of bamboo groves are carefully manicured and clean. This wild raw corner of the grove was a beautiful stark contrast seen here in the early morning light. #japan #kyoto #sonyalpha

Today I released my podcast episode with @klausaxelsenphoto.bsky.social, who launched the pre-orders for his book today! I'm honored to have written the foreword for the book. I think you'll really love learning about his journey! www.mattpaynephotography.com/gallery/find...

A brand new edit from my December visit to Kyoto. I arrived in the pre dawn hours to enjoy the bamboo forest in relative peace. This was one of my favorite spots due to the light. #kyoto #japan #sonyalpha

Hah. Just passed 30,000 photos on flickr. Pretty wild to think about.

I loved the juxtaposition of new and old in this moment. Image is on the outer edge of the imperial palace in central #tokyo.

Growing up in the American Southwest one thing you learn is the value of a piece of grass/stem as a toothpick. So, when I spotted this white egret in downtown Tokyo doing the same all I could do was nod in appreciation. Seems like a Japanese cowboy in the wild. #tokyo #japan

Shrine Boughs | #tokyo

Still captivated by these autumn colors - the backlit light on the leaves in the crisp December air was such a wonderful surprise. The colors were later than normal coming to Tokyo last year and I really couldn’t have gotten luckier with my timing. #tokyo #autumn

Decided to finally ask who the morons behind the trend plaguing hotels these days where the toilet and shower are a performance event. Interesting insight. Just incase you’ve also wondered. Booking vendors should name and shame as a manditory room flag.

The juxtaposition of these two fascinates me. It’s such an interesting comment on how powerful and disruptive old highways were when put in. Also how the utility of one, makes what would be a beautiful spot so much uglier and unwelcoming. Can you spot the egret? #japan

I’m torn about this but see what I see. On one hand, this is a beautiful piece of a wonderful shrine. A place of quiet worship and reflection. On the other hand, all I could see was what felt like inspiration for the original Super Mario. Which begs the question - what was the ACTUAL inspiration?

These teleport me back to my time in Sedona growing up. Bit further to the south, but close cousins for sure. Beautiful work Dan.

Wouldn’t be a visit to Tokyo without some fun black and white street photography right? ;)

Time for a change of scenery - not to be a bit koi with you, but can you guess where in Tokyo this photo is from? I’ve started to edit my December photos from Japan - so stay tuned as we switch to some nature and urban scenes. Full res edits/latest edits are up over on Flickr as I go. #tokyo #japan

Watching StarTrek Strange New Worlds, eating a bowl of watermelon, and editing some photos. Pretty much the perfect Monday evening. Only complaint is I'm probably going to eat the whole watermelon.

Stumbled on this contemporary masterpiece during my walk home today in Copenhagen. #IYKYK

As a photographer who doesn’t clone things out - utility poles/power lines are basically the Where’s Waldo present in every image. There’s one in there somewhere, you just have to look hard enough. It’ll be there. Somewhere. Staring back at me. Unblinking. Watching me. Just hanging around.

Closing out my series of edits from Norway last September - this waterfall made for a wonderful stop. With a balanced volume the strands of water brought that beautiful separation I love in a long exposure without the loss of detail that comes during nighty flows. Still was anything but delicate.