Stuck In Customs

A Fun Game for you to Try I’ve been playing this casual game for the past few weeks and having a good time! It is called “The Adventures of Mary Ann: Lucky Pirates“. Actually, my wife really enjoys it too. Maybe it’s kind of a girl’s game. But, I’m man enough to say I like it too! It’s a casual game in the style of “Bejeweled’, but only sorta. There is some fun strategy to it (like Puzzle Quest), and the graphics, sound, and presentation are super-impressive. I’m working on a little “Games” list like my “Books” list, and this will be one of the ones on there!

Thanks again to all the HDR Workshop participants

I think you all will be QUITE impressed at some of the images that came out of the HDR workshop. They all did incredible work and I truly am proud of them all. I’m still putting together a list of many of them, and I will link in the next few days. Besides all the art going on, it was also great to get to know all the participants. Thanks again y’all – I had a very good time and I hope you did too!

Late on Saturday night, the whole crew came back to the Driskill with me to watch me edit photos just like in my nightly routine. It was kind of strange having an audience there to share the experience with! But I quite enjoyed talking to them, answering questions, and thinking out loud, instead if in my head! The photo below is one we processed together.

Daily Photo – Tokyo Way

The architecture in Tokyo is beautiful and made for photography! My friend Alfie took me all over this building, and, since he is a photographer too, didn’t mind that I stopped every few feet to take another shot! It’s nice when you don’t have to feel bad about taking way too many photos!

Synthetic Happiness and Photoshop

I have a strange array of answers I give when people ask me questions at book signings and stuff. I recently met a cool guy named Casey Berner, and he asked me if I ever “go back” to a photo after I am done to work on it again. I told him no, and then referred to a TED video from Dan Gilbert. Most of the time, I say this stuff and people just nod… but I don’t really know if it sinks in. But it did with Casey – in fact, he wrote a whole blog post on it and included the video I mentioned!

Coming to California

I’ll be coming out to California soon… to both LA and Northern California.  I’ll be sneaking into a few bookstores here and there to secretly sign books.  I hope things are warmer there than here!

Daily Photo – Sunset Under the Pier

We had a great time at the workshop today!  After a sunset dinner at the Oasis, we came back to the Driskill and I offered to let people watch me stay up late and process photos.  Everyone came but Cliff Baise who was probably drunk.  (Actually, during the workshop, Cliff uploaded this cool pic to Flickr).

I processed three images, and I had a bear of a time with this one from Manhattan Beach.  It was a class “HDR Problem” shot that had ghosting in the waves, a dirty gray sky, and unfortunate artifacting.  I showed everyone how to fix these problems, and I hope some of it sunk in!

Workshop Fun!

We are just starting an amazing HDR workshop down here in Austin. It won’t be the same as being there, but a DVD will be available soon after, so be sure to sign up for the free newsletter so you can find out first!

The Austin workshop ended up being a fairly exclusive event, and we priced it at $1,000 per attendee.  I  knew it would be popular and that there was an enthusiastic group of people out there, but I did not expect the whole thing to sell out in 11 minutes (after crashing the StuckInCustoms server for 30 minutes after it became available!)!   I’m excited the date has finally arrived and I am very excited to teach people, make new friends, and do my best to take their photography to the next level.

My other workshop next weekend with Scott Bourne in Florida is also sold out!  There may be last-min cancellations, so watch for that.  That will be a fun event and I look forward to meeting a bunch more people and sharing this new sport with them.

People always ask about potentially doing other workshops. I have no immediate plans, except perhaps one in New Zealand next month.

Appearance on Sunday night at BookPeople

On Sunday evening, come to BookPeople before 7 PM to the Austin Photography Group.   Feel free to come by and hear my little talk on HDR.  I’m also happy to meet people, sign books, and this sort of thing.  Come to the presentation hall on the third floor.  See you there!

New Limited Edition Print Available

Every week, we release a new print, and this week’s is One Night in Bangkok. This was shot very soon after I arrived in Thailand. It took me forever to find a good view of the famous Wat Arun. But then, not only did I find the perfect spot, but it happened to be on the deck of a delish Italian restaurant.

Daily Photo – Getting a Bottle at the Bar

What a cool place! This is another one of those photos that just has amazing detail of the incredible decor. It is an underground bar in Kuala Lumpur that I could not stop taking photos inside! As you can see, there are no bad angles in a place like this, so it is very fun to compose.

I’ll have a little challenge that I will give out at the workshop where we all shoot the same subject matter to see who can get the most interesting composition. This bar is a very cool place because there are a ton of interesting compositions, but also some bad compositions. I’m not sure one can actually “teach” composition… but I suppose I can try!

Digital Audio Redux

Here are a few recent interview on Audio that you might have missed. Enjoy!

• Digital Photo Experience with Rick Sammon and Juan Pons
• Interview on the “Typical Shutterbug” about the upcoming book, HDR, etc. Hosted by Victor Cajiao.

Book Stuff

I know there are many HDR Books out there, so we are happy to make Abduzeedo’s Great Reads for 2010!

Daily Photo – The Deadfall

The hike through this Argentinian national park was beautiful and photographically exhausting!  I usually always carry my camera right on my tripod, and then hold my tripod in my hand as I hike around.  I stop SO often to take photos; I simply cannot imagine all the trouble to re-pack my camera in my bag after every shot.  Then, I feel like, it would be too easy to come up with an excuse NOT to take the photo.

Cali and Neal are doing amazing work… If you subscribe to the free and fun-filled newsletter, you probably have heard me mention Geekbrief.TV several times and what Cali Lewis is up to over there. She uses my art in the background of her shows, and, well, I think they always look amazing. Believe it or not, I can be objective about such matters! Anyway, I was watching a recent Geekbrief.TV episode (see the hi-res too!) and I noticed that they added moving “snow” to one of my images from Whistler, up where they are preparing for the Olympics. The snow looks really great! In other news, Jeff McCord from the Moxie Mo Show is also using my art in the backgrounds of his video podcasts as well. Fun!

Daily Photo – Laser Vision in Las Vegas

The new Vegas City Center has opened. Isn’t “City Center” one of the most boring names ever for such an awesome place? This was surely a name that was decided upon by a committee. And, this is precisely why you never see a statue of a committee.

Thankfully, the architects that designed this 21st century piece of art where not part of the naming committee. It is clear they had leeway to design something unexpected and beautiful. Howard Roark would be proud.

Book Sellouts on Amazon and in bookstores around the world! “A World in HDR” is almost impossible to get! Wow! You guys are awesome – thank you so much. I can’t even believe it… After the book was released, it almost immediately sold out on Amazon in the UK (My UK friends are cuuurazy), then Canada, and now in the USA Amazon store. It’s really crazy to sell out on Amazon – so I hardly have enough words to thank you! Check some of the other stores on my HDR Book page to see where it is still avail – these sites typically update inventory on an hourly basis.

Daily Photo – The Temple Deep in the Caves

Borneo is known for its amazing limestone caves. Just on the other side, over in West Malaysia, there are a ton of the same strange cave structures that twist and turn in unexpected ways through old mountains. This one is called the Batu Caves, and if you walk through it long enough, you end up in the very center of the mountain, where an opening appears high overhead. Deep in this innermost sanctuary lies this unique Hindu Temple.

Some of you may remember that old woman who has never cut her hair (2nd photo below), walking up the stairs to visit the temple every day. I’ve never posted a photo of her final destination until now.

Speaking at Ignite Austin

Ignite Austin is a most unlikely event – an unexpected format.  Here’s the deal.  I get 5 minutes to speak. All 16 participants go one right after the next in a rapid-fire serial pattern.  There are 20 slides that I will speak to, and each one will be up for 15 seconds before automatically flipping to the next one.  I’ve already submitted my plans, and I guess my thoughts on HDR photography looked to be interesting enough!  You can attend too – the cheap seats are only $5!  Get the tickets here.

Another Nightly Twitter Book-Question Answering Session

I decided to do something kind of different and potentially crazy – I do my best to answer ALL questions about the book on Twitter.  I sat down tonight and announced I was open for questions, and many came in both publicly and via DM.  I got them all answered!  I’m not sure I can keep this up forever, but it is very fun.  I thank you guys for getting the book, and I want to be as accessible as possible to help you with the sport of HDR!

Daily Photo – The Glacially Still Morning Lake

I woke up and my sleeping bag was covered in snow.  Brrrrr it was cold.  And I mean cold!  I had chosen to exile myself from the tent, since I pulled the short straw and had to sleep with Yuri.  He is the worst tentmate ever.  Worst.  Tentmate.  Evar.

Anyway, once I rousted myself (getting dressed IN the snow AS it is falling on you is very strange), I went on a little hike to warm up.  As I crested a hill, I found this beautiful still lake.  The wind had yet to kick up, and I could se the bright blue edge of the glacier burning through the morning fog.  I was so relaxed that I almost forgot to take the shot.  Almost.

New Weekly Print Now Available

There is a new Limited Edition Numbered Print available. As always, prices start at $99 for the smaller paper numbered print and then go up if you want a giant canvas on your wall at home. We just got done showing a bunch of these amazing canvases at the book party in Chicago – they always look so impressive in person!

The print today is a summer reflection of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming across a high-running stream. While I was shooting this, a buffalo snuck up on me from behind. Those things are so big and quiet, it is a little unnerving! There is more info about the process on the Prints page as well.

Daily Photo – Red Temple in the Moon Forest

Most people don’t know this, but I wrote a novel about 15 years ago. The reason no one knows about it is because it was so awful that no one would publish it. I printed out the first few chapters of the book, sent them to countless publishers, and then received countless rejections. I should have saved of them. It was quite depressing at the time, and it only took me 14 years to get over it.

Anyway, I bring this up because part of the story was based in Kyoto, Japan, where this temple is located. I had never been there before, but this is exactly how I always pictured it: peaceful, still, natural, ancient, with the soft sounds of the woods echoing around the old wood. It’s a wonderful place. I’ve done my best to capture the feeling of the place. I only hope I’ve come close to succeeding.

Thanks for coming to the Chicago Party

I really enjoyed meeting you guys and gals that came.  It was a great event and I want to thank you all!  We do have a fun photowalk that we will be doing Sunday at 10 AM – meeting in the lobby of the Hotel Sax.  Anyone is welcome!

Daily Photo – The Way to the Penthouse

This incredible spot is located at the bottom of the MGM Grand in Vegas.  It’s one of those places that you will walk by after a day of visual-overload in Vegas and not even notice!  It has taken me some practice, but I try to look at each new room anew, and do my best to bring it back to you!

See you in Chicago!

The Chicago Book Launch Party is tonight at the Hotel Sax. It starts at 6 PM, and I’ll be speaking around 7 PM. If you are in the area, stop by so I can shake your hand and say hello! More details on the Facebook Event Page.

Secretly Signing Books at Borders I’m going into bookstores all over the place to secretly sign my book. I did one today off Michigan Ave in Chicago, put up a quick iphone pic on the FB Fan Page, and sent out a tweet. It’s causing little tweet-flash-mobs and is very fun! Whenever people are browsing in the section, and then I come up and start writing in a book — they certainly do give me some strange looks! I just give them a knowing nod, and that seems to do the trick.

Daily Photo – Peaceful Disney in Resplendent Color

Dinseyworld is probably the most awesome place in the world, at least, if you are like me and haven’t yet lost your childlike fascination with the fanciful.

I like to visualize things, and I always imagine a membrane in my brain between fantasy and reality. If you have children, or hang out with them much, then you know they have a razor-thin membrane, and thoughts swim back and forth between the two sides. In one moment, they are talking about something completely impossibile and in their heads, and in the next, they are talking about something right in front of them.

As we get older, that membrane thickens and solidifies. The realm of fantasy is for children and the harshness of reality is for adults. At least, this is what society at large wants us to believe. The only time that “grown-ups” are allowed the occasional dalliance into the realm of the fantasy is once or twice a week when they go see a movie. Only in these pre-described theaters and environments are grown-ups allowed to get lost in the fanciful side of things.  (or, maybe you are more like me!)