Brendan Reeves

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My Camera Gear Story — and Why There’s No “Best” System

My Camera Gear Story — and Why There’s No “Best” System Affiliate DisclosureSome links on this page are affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend gear I’ve used myself or genuinely believe is good value. I’m often asked […]

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A summer hiking and photography journey through Daisetsuzan National Park, exploring alpine landscapes, changing weather, and life above the clouds in Hokkaido.

Photographing Daisetsuzan National Park in Summer | Hokkaido

Summer in Daisetsuzan National Park: Hiking and Photography in Hokkaido Summer in the Belly of Hokkaido In the summer of 2025, I travelled to the Daisetsuzan range in central Hokkaido to hike and photograph several routes through Daisetsuzan National Park on assignment for Wild Magazine in Australia. I’d been here many times in winter —

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Why You Can’t Visualise the Final Image Yet — And How Photographers Actually Learn It

Why You Can’t Visualise the Final Image Yet — And How Photographers Actually Learn It When I first got into landscape photography, I spent countless hours watching YouTube tutorials and reading blog posts. Much of it was helpful, but one piece of advice kept coming up that never felt right: “You need to visualise the

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Black and white photo of misty waterfalls flowing down steep mountain cliffs in Fiordland, New Zealand

How I Work as a Photographer With ADHD: One Year of Hard Lessons and Small Wins

How I Work as a Photographer With ADHD: One Year of Hard Lessons and Small Wins It’s been one year since my ADHD diagnosis, and in that time I’ve realised something important:
I don’t want to build a photography business shooting things I don’t care about.
Nature is what inspires me.
It’s where my brain settles, where I

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Nikon 180–600mm Real World Review: 1.5 Years of Wildlife Photography

Nikon 180–600mm Real World Review: 1.5 Years of Wildlife Photography I don’t do technical reviews. I don’t sit in a studio photographing ISO charts or brick walls.
I spend my time in forests, snowstorms, rivers, and beaches—with cold fingers and wildlife that never does what you want. This is my real-world Nikon 180–600mm review, based on

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Small autumn island reflected on calm water at Lake Onuma in Hokkaido, Japan.

Lake Onuma Photography Guide: Islands, Reflections, and Mt. Komagatake

Lake Onuma Photography Guide: Islands, Reflections, and Mt. Komagatake A Calm Lake, 100 Islands, and Endless Compositions in Southern Hokkaido Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you buy something through them, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps support this blog and the work

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Mt Yotei rising above the snowy fields of Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan, under lenticular clouds at sunset.

Landscape Photography Guide to Niseko | Mount Yotei, Volcanoes & Wildlife

Landscape Photography Guide to Niseko – Mt Yotei, Volcanoes & Wildlife Niseko offers so much more than just world-class skiing. It’s an incredible region for both landscape and wildlife photography, shaped by volcanoes, forests, and deep snow. Shaped by volcanoes, forests, and deep snow, Niseko’s scenery changes dramatically with the seasons. Whether you’re capturing Mount

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Ski Photography Tips: How to Photograph Skiing with Best Gear, Settings, and Techniques

Ski Photography Tips: How to Photograph Skiing with Best Gear, Settings, and Techniques Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you buy something through them, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps support this blog and the work I put into creating these guides. I

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Otago Peninsula Wildlife Photography Guide

Otago Peninsula Wildlife Photography Guide Otago Peninsula wildlife ranges from New Zealand sea lions resting on remote sandy beaches to rare seabirds nesting on cliff edges and wetlands alive with spoonbills, shags, and kingfishers. Set on the southern edge of New Zealand’s South Island, the peninsula is one of the country’s top wildlife photography locations.

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Winter Photography Tips: How to Shoot Stunning Photos in Cold Weather

Winter Photography Tips: How to Shoot Stunning Photos in Cold Weather Winter photography opens up incredible opportunities — especially here in Hokkaido, Japan, where I’m based. From minimalist snowy landscapes to action sports like skiing and unique wildlife, the possibilities are endless. But winter photography also brings real challenges: extreme cold, heavy snow, and the

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Cycling Japan’s Yumeshima Kaidō at sunset – Seto Inland Sea photo

Photo Journey Along Japan’s Yumeshima Kaidō

Photo Journey Along Japan’s Yumeshima Kaidō Japan’s Seto Inland Sea is scattered with hundreds of islands, each offering a unique mix of quiet fishing villages, citrus orchards, golden beaches, historic architecture, and active shipyards. While many of these islands are only accessible by ferry, some are connected by sweeping bridges that form part of the

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Photography as Meditation: How It Helps Calm the Mind

Photography as Meditation: How It Helps Calm the Mind Can photography help calm an anxious or overactive mind? For me, it’s more than a creative outlet—it’s become a kind of meditation. Whether you’re managing ADHD, dealing with stress, or just need to clear your head, slowing down with a camera can make a huge difference.

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Yakushima: A Land of Rain, Forest, and Myth

Yakushima: A Land of Rain, Forest, and Myth Yakushima, a remote, mountainous island in Kagoshima Prefecture, lies just off the southern coast of Kyushu. Famed for its lush, ancient cedar forests and intense rainfall, Yakushima is a place where nature takes center stage in its most dramatic form. Locals claim it rains “35 days a

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A Photographer’s Guide to Miyazaki: Surf, Nature & Hidden Corners

A Photographer’s Guide to Miyazaki: Surf, Nature & Hidden Corners Escaping the Cold: Southbound to Sunshine Miyazaki Prefecture, tucked away in the south of Japan on the island of Kyushu, is known for its stunning beaches, great surf, rugged rocky capes, and dramatic coastal scenery. The coastline is full of wild rock formations and subtropical-looking

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Ezo brown bear standing on a rock in a forest stream in Hokkaido, Japan, with wet fur and intense gaze

Ezo Brown Bear Photography in Hokkaido – Ethics, Distance & Field Tips

Ezo Brown Bear Photography in Hokkaido – Ethics, Distance & Field Tips Photographing Ezo brown bears — a subspecies of the Ussuri brown bear (Ursus arctos lasiotus) — offers a rare glimpse into Japan’s wild frontier. These bears roam the forests and mountains of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, and tower in both size and symbolism.

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Two red-crowned cranes calling in the snow in Hokkaido, Japan

A Winter Photography Guide to Kushiro: Red-Crowned Cranes, Eagles & the Frozen Wetlands (Hokkaido, Japan)

A Winter Photography Guide to Kushiro: Red-Crowned Cranes, Eagles & the Frozen Wetlands (Hokkaido, Japan) The Kushiro area in eastern Hokkaido is one of Japan’s best destinations for winter wildlife and red-crowned crane photography, offering vast, untouched landscapes and a rich variety of species. At its heart lies the Kushiro Shitsugen National Park, home to

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The Notsuke Peninsula: A Photographer’s Dream in Eastern Hokkaido

The Notsuke Peninsula: A Photographer’s Dream in Eastern Hokkaido The Notsuke Peninsula is a wild, windswept sand spit on the eastern side of Hokkaido, just south of the famous Shiretoko Peninsula. Stretching 26–28 km into the Sea of Okhotsk, it is Japan’s longest sand spit, shaped like a fishhook with the shallow and sheltered Notsuke

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