Portfolio is Growing

I’m still happy with my move to SmugMug several months back. If you decide to try them out, just use “STUCKINCUSTOMS” to save 20%. If you want to know more, see my SmugMug Review here on the site. I have a new bit in there about how it compares to Flickr with pros and cons. I still use Flickr too, and my photos from SmugMug get copied over there, since I intermix with many communities.

Now, daily, I upload a new photo to the Portfolio and it is appended to the end. I need to get in there and re-arrange things a little bit. But, for now, the portfolio goes into a slideshow mode that starts with some of my favorites and then cycles through all of them. You can start the slideshow, if you wish, by clicking the photo below!

Daily Photo – The Megapolis

I was spending the day with various characters including June Arunga, Paul Roussin, and Cali Lewis while hunting around New York City for some interesting shots. I never get tired of shooting there. It’s a bit like the ocean in a way… it changes and cycles with the light and the motion. I find myself circling back to the same bits again and again to see how things have changed.

I don’t know why I happened to be posting this one so close to the Petaluma puddle shot from a few days ago… I suppose it is just somewhat of a coincidence! The hardest bit about these shots is getting my head so close to the ground. It’s impossibly awkward, and I’m sure I look like quite the loon, splayed out across the pavement of Times Square!

Filed under the categories: New York, New York City, Nikon D3X, Travel

Out of a Plane, onto the blog…

In a few weeks at Openca.mp (you guys are coming to hear my speech, yes?), I’ll be jumping out of a plane with the famous Golden Knights from the US Army! These guys are basically like the Blue Angels, but way more insane because they actually jump out of the planes.

If you jump over to the blog of Cali Lewis at CaliLewis.Me, you can read even more about it. I think she was a little freaked out by the idea of jumping, but she seems all for it now.

If you want to know more about the Golden Knights, you can visit them at http://armygk.com/.

And yes, I’ll have my camera and will be taking photos and video of the whole thing!

Daily Photo – The Inner Sanctum

Here is a cool and relatively unknown place in San Francisco. Can anyone figure out where this mysterious location is?

I went in here with my dad while we were looking for cool photo-ops. We weren’t so sure we were allowed in this place, but we just busted in quickly for a shot before anybody said anything.

Filed under the categories: California, Nikon D3X, San Francisco, Topaz Adjust, Travel

The eBooks are Selling Great!

Click on either of the two book covers to the right for more info. And thank you very much everyone for trying these out! I’m glad you like these, and I do need to make more. But who has the time? I’d like to churn more of these out, but they do take a lot of thought and work… For now, these will have to do. But thank you for all the feedback and keep it coming!

Daily Photo – The Cavebirds in the Gentle Evening

How awesome is his little gem in Iceland?

It’s a small town not too far from that big volcano called “Vik”. It is the home to many different birds, and a lot of them nest inside these tiny caves in the cliff walls. In this area just north of the town, the local residents decided to light the side of the cliff at night to give it a special feel.

Filed under the categories: Iceland, Nikon D3X, Travel, Vik

Free HDR Videos

Are you just getting into photography and want to see how to take some HDR Photos?  I have a bunch here on the site!  Just check out the HDR Videos link here and there are several to choose from.

I know many people want to see my actual workflow, and we do have that coming up soon in the HDR DVD.  It’s getting closer and closer to release!

Daily Photo – Heavy Industry in Petaluma

This is the second photo I have released from Petaluma.  I stopped there while visiting my mom up in Napa.  I didn’t get to spend a lot of time in the little quirky town, but I did take an hour or so to randomly walk around the town and find interesting bits.

Taking photos near ground-water can be very interesting. And hard! Getting near that puddle is tough because you have to splay out the tripod. Even worse, you gotta kneel down in the muck (since puddles usually involve nearby muck). But, these are all relatively high-grade problems, all in all.

Filed under the categories: California, Nikon D3X, Petaluma, Travel

New Main Level Article

I did a piece for Smashing several months back called Ten Principles of Beautiful Photography. Since the recent re-design, I made it one of the top-level articles for new people that are just discovering the site. Thanks for all the comments on there. I don’t always get a chance to respond, but I do read them all!

Daily Photo – When the Songs Were Forlorn

Today we have another new Iceland shot!

By this time, I had been in Iceland for about two weeks. Again, this was just after midnight and I was up, quite alone, in the northwest fjord area. I listen to music all the time while hiking and shooting. I had started to enter a non-stop dreamy state after so long out on my own, sleeping days and staying up all nights. When you are surrounded by constant strange-light, everything feels like a waking dream.

And when I reached this point, my iPod playlist started getting into the forlorn songs. It did nothing to help the reality of the situation, if there was one to begin with.

Filed under the categories: Iceland, Nikon D3X, Travel

Interview Recap

In case you missed this interview with Ron Martinsen, a very nice fellow, you can see it over at RonMartBlog.com. Being a fellow photographer, he asked very good questions and I enjoyed the talk!

Daily Photo – Approaching Roppongi on Foot

On my last night in Japan, I was feeling restless. It sometimes comes at the end of the trip, when I feel like I just haven’t taken enough photos. Of course, that’s never the case, since I usually have thousands in the hopper by that point. But when I know that the city is full of life, I just have to get out there and capture a bit of it.

Roppongi is one of the most happening areas of Tokyo, and the rain makes it all feel even more alive. It’s pretty safe to walk around at night. On the edges, there are some unsavory types about. Typically, they are large Africans who are in the employ of various underground activities. It’s not a good idea to hang around there, so I pass through as quickly as possible, wielding my tripod like a weapon to give them a bit of hesitation.

Filed under the categories: Japan, Tokyo, Travel

Updating the D3S Review

As I take more and more photos with the D3S, I add them to the Nikon D3S Review here on the site.  Whenever possible, I try to include info such like the ISO, shutter speed, and this sort of thing.  I hope it is helpful, even if you are not going to get the camera!

Daily Photo – Wrapping Around Time

The ancient ruins of Angkor Wat are wild and unprotected.  I think the country just cannot afford to properly keep the sites maintained.  This is both good and bad.  It’s good for me, since I can go anywhere, climb anywhere, and take photos of anything.  I’m very careful when I am near these places, and I don’t disturb the natural order of things. The bad part is that graverobbers are everywhere, snatching this and snatching that.

These old banyan trees grow up and around everything.  The roots become crazily and beautifully entangled.  If I’m not mistaken, I believe that these are also sometimes used as bonsai trees.

Filed under the categories: Angkor Wat, Cambodia, Siem Reap, Travel

Interview on Trip Atlas

I'm making this 200-400mm lens look a lot lighter than it actually is. Shortly after this shot, I collapsed in screaming agony.

There is a new interview at Trip Atlas. We talk about this and that. How’s that for a description?

Nikon 200-400mm Review

I have put up a new Nikon 200-400 Review here on the site and sprinkled many new photos inside! I rented it from Borrowlenses.com last week while I was in Yellowstone. It was a fun lens to use and quite different. I pushed myself to do a few landscapes with it, and one of these is posted below!

Daily Photo – The Forest on the Mega Volcano

I would guess about 50% of people know this, and I should not take it for granted that everyone does.  But Yellowstone sits on top of a giant caldera, and it’s due to go off any time (at least, geologically due!) If you look at a map of Yellowstone from above, you can see the clear outline of the caldera.  When the mega-volcano strikes, it’ll be a doozy!

In the meantime, the ultra-thin crust of this area gives way to some remarkable geothermal events. There is a period of the morning when the air is cool and the earth is hot.  It creates an exceptional amount of steam in some areas.

I woke up about 5 AM to go catch this morning steam.  I use the D3S as my backup camera, and I had the 200-400mm affixed.  I challenged myself to capture some compressed landscapes, and this area seemed just about perfect.
This is a single-shot HDR that came from a RAW file.  These RAW files contain a lot of light information nowadays.

Filed under the categories: Montana, Nikon D3S, Travel, Wyoming, Yellowstone

New Numbered Print, Limited Edition – The Boat in Portofino

This one is definitely a big favorite, and we have gotten many emails asking about when it will become available. Well now it finally is!

Now, let’s be clear. This isn’t really Portofino, but it sure does look like it, eh? We might even make the case that it is more pretty than the real Portofino! This is a beautiful resort in Orlando, over at Universal Studios. The lake is filled with a bunch of little boats, each of which has a different little Italian girl’s name on the back.

Daily Photo – Shopping in the Rain

Today we have another street photography shot from Tokyo. It was quite late at night, quite cold, quite rainy, and quite dark! But, it certainly made for an interesting challenge.

Street life is quite vibrant and pretty in the rain at night. I always struggle with bringing what is so obvious on the scene into the final photo. Getting the feeling right in the final photo without artificial life is tough.

This businessman was strolling down the street, doing some light window shopping. The 50mm 1.4 prime did most of the work here for me, even though it did require manual focus. That bit was hard. Real hard. But, I’ll do my best to put everything together into an upcoming post on the top 10 tips in street photography.

Filed under the categories: Japan, Nikon D3S, Tokyo, Travel

My Friends Have eBooks Too!

We’ve got a thriving community of photographers out there writing eBooks. I can’t possibly give everyone a link that asks, so I will do so randomly from time to time. A bit like a lottery!

Joseph’s Aperture eBook – Do you guys know of Joseph Linaschke? He’s a good friend that I first met when we co-hosted This Week in Photography. Anyway, he’s quite the Aperture expert. With Aperture 3 out, he’s got a nice eBook there that can help you get the most out of the software.

SAFARI, A Monograph – I’ve talked about David here on the site before. He’s a great guy and a hardcore photographer. This is the 2nd book in his “Print & Process” series (I think!). He fills the book with beautiful photos and then gives exact specifics about equipment, tools, and techniques. His eBooks get raving reviews, and there are several there to choose from!

The Metal Moose

After the book party in Chicago (thanks again for all of you that showed up!), we had a little photowalk the next day. Along the way, we stopped outside an office building near Michigan Avenue that had this enormous metal moose. I’m not a big fan of taking photos of art, but this was an exception.

As usual, I enjoyed meeting everyone on that photowalk and sharing stories and tricks. I think the next one we do will be at Burning Man, followed by London. Those will be great fun too!

Filed under the categories: Chicago, Illinois, Nikon D3X, Topaz Adjust, Travel

Creative Commons Under Attack!

Michelle Greer  recently wrote an article that believers on Creative Commons (like me) should read.  What’s with these people?

I know we’ve got people like Joi Ito, Cory Doctorow, Xeni Jardin, and many others in our camp…  I have no doubt we will win the fight, but it’s still a worthy cause for artists and the web.  I know that not all photographers agree with me, and that’s okay.  (You’ll come around!)

If you are still flummoxed about IP and Art, I invite you to see a new perspective from a TED speech.  See my Best TED Talks page — there is a new one from Johanna Blakeley who gives a counter-intuitive talk about copying and the fashion industry.

Daily Photo – Tokyo Tunnel

During a fun photowalk in Tokyo, we were doing our best to get a city shot around sunset.  We speculated that perhaps the best way to get from Point A to a mysterious Point B was to go through this tunnel.  It didn’t quite get us where we wanted to go, but we did arrive someplace different.

Halfway through the tunnel, I asked my mates if I could set up for a quick HDR.  Luckily, I was surrounded by people that also love HDR, so they agreed with knowing smiles.

Filed under the categories: Travel

Daily Photo – Pasture Sentinel

After I drove through Nelson, I was ripping along the highway and noticed an old farmhouse. I’m not sure how I noticed it, but the area was so different, I just had to stop. I spent 90% of my time taking photos of the farmhouse, and on the way back, I saw this tree. It stood solitary and wonderful; I had to grab a shot.

Filed under the categories: Nelson, New Zealand, Nikon D3X, Topaz Adjust, Travel