Stuck In Customs

HDR on the iPhone 4 with Leo

Hey everyone. Leo Laporte asked me to be on his show today (Saturday) at 11:30 AM Pacific. We’ll be talking about, among other things, HDR on the iPhone. I’ve gotten a thousand questions on twitter and everything about this… just finishing my analysis and will share it all!

Tune in on live.twit.tv to see the live video feed. See you soon!

More Burning Man to Come!

I’ve processed many photos from Burning Man. It was an amazing time, and I took a different approach. I did the usual HDR style on a few, but I also experimented quite a bit. I’ll share some of this in an upcoming post — I’m aiming to get them up sometime this week if I can! So stay tuned…

Daily Photo – Steampunk at Burning Man

I’ve always been a fan of the Steampunk genre. Have you never heard of it? I’m not sure I can explain it perfectly, but it mostly involves a parallel universe in which electricity never was invented and harnessed. The technology of steam is what continued to evolve to produce amazing machines, more sophisticated zeppelins, and fabulous gear-cog mechanisms of every size, shape, and function. Some movies that use this theme are the City of Lost Children, Sherlock Holmes, Steamboy, and more. I just finished a good book recommended by my uncle called “Boneshaker” that is also set in the milieu.

Anyway, everyone at Burning Man is in costume all the time. That’s about 50,000 people at a week-long costume party that becomes pretty intense. On the night of the actual burn of the tower (which you can see in the background), there was a little gathering of steampunk players toward the inner ring. One of the girls saw me taking photos, and came over to compare goggles for a bit. I grabbed this one of her just before it was time to return to her party.

Enforced in London

Well I’ve already been nearly to jail twice in London. And yes, just for taking photos.

My UK friends have warned me about how insane the rules are here, and they are right! I wouldn’t mind if there was ANY logic or reason to it whatsoever. But it’s artistically and personally offensive to me.

The first time was inside the first 10 minutes of shooting in Waterloo station. A security guard came right up to me and said, “This is private property.” I said, oh, that’s nice… It’s a train station and 3,000 other people are taking cell-phone pics at 5 megapixels and up. Then he sent me to the big boss, who was busy eating dinner behind a row of monitors. I asked him if I could take photos for my blog. He said absolutely not that it is a security risk.

And then I went over to the London Eye (the big ferris wheel). Two security guards came up to me there and said, “No tripod.” I asked why, and they said it was a legal risk that if anyone tripped, they could be sued. But there was no one near me within 50 yards except for the security guards! So I took off the camera and held the tripod, asking, “Can I hold it in my left hand while taking a photo with my right hand?” He said, “Absolutely not.”

These are the two reasons I hear again and again… Security Risk OR Legal reasons… just more evidence that governments and lawyers (especially, working in concert) are inane entities.

London Photowalk Tonight!

I’ll meet many of you soon! Looking forward to it! For details, see the London PhotoWalk Facebook Event!

Daily Photo – Approaching London

Despite being accosted by imbeciles on multiple occasions, I’m still having an amazing time in London. I go out just to take photos for a few hours, and then end up staying out past midnight! This great city has been on my list for a long time… so I am happy to finally make it.

The afternoon yesterday had a typical London rainshower. But it cleared up just before sunset to reveal magnificent clouds. I crisscrossed the Thames River many times to find the right light. After the sun dipped below the horizon, the light finally fell behind Westminster with a delicate palette.

Renting a Car in Paris

No, I’m not renting the car below. But I am a little flummoxed. I’m taking the train from London to Paris, then spending about a week in France before going to Spain. I can’t decided if I want to go through the trouble of renting a car, or if I should just take trains everywhere. I don’t have quite as much time as I would like to explore the French countryside, so maybe I will stick with trains. My current plan is to spend some time in Paris, then go to Nimes before heading over to the Cote d’Azur. After that I’ll head to Barcelona by train for sure… but… in between, I just can’t decide.

Whenever I travel, I usually go into it with half-a-plan, as you can plainly see. I sometimes like to just figure things out on the fly and be flexible. Sometimes if things are overly planned, they lose some of the spontaneity of the adventure and the required intuitive creativity in dealing with new situations. I don’t know… maybe I am just rationalizing being a hit-and-miss planner.

Daily Photo – A Mercedes in Paris

While walking along the Champs-Élysées in Paris, I came across this really slick Mercedes dealership. I don’t even want to think about what the lease for this space is… but it is super cool.

I wonder if they would have let me walk in and take it out for a spin. I mean, you’re allowed to test-drive cars, right? I wonder if they’d be alarmed if I brought it back with a big Slurpee in the drink holder.

Hollywood Adventure Redux

I did take this bigger HDR photo below during that period I mentioned in the long-form story. In case you are new to the site, you might enjoy that much longer, 3-part story from last month. To get there, just hop over to “My Hollywood Adventure.”

Daily Photo – Play in Beverly Hills, Shop in Beverly Hills

Well, those signs pretty much say it all. The city council voted down the less-popular alternatives, “Get Mugged in Beverly Hills, Get Ladyboy Hookers in Beverly Hills”. Those were right out.

While I was shooting this, a stretch limo pulled up beside me. The driver and I had a nice conversation… He had someone in the back, but the screen was up to keep out noise and wandering eyes. The driver was cool… I don’t even remember what we talked about. He was doing his thing, and I was doing my thing.

As he drove off, we exchanged the nods that two men sometime exchange when acknowledging one another’s jobs with respect.

The Genuine Fractals Review

Here is a review that I haven’t mentioned in a while. It’s a handy piece of software for cleverly making photos bigger without losing resolution. See more in the Genuine Fractals Review.

Daily Photo – The Abandoned Farmhouse

This place was another one of those New Zealand fence-hoppers.

I’m never 100% sure that jumping over fences is a great move. But if the place looks abandoned, I just go for it. I don’t mean any harm…. I’m just going to take photos. So far, this has never caused me an issue (except for when I forget to check to see if the fence is electrified).

I don’t do a lot of these urbex shots, but I certainly do enjoy them. Did you know there are several forums out there that have listings of abandoned buildings around the world? They list out old abandoned hospitals, theme parks, hotels, and more creepy places like you see in zombie movies. It’s all great for photography, of course, and I think a few of my London contacts may be hooking me up with some abandoned spots around their neck of the woods.

London PhotoWalk Reminder

In just a few days, we’ll be having the big London PhotoWalk! I look forward to meeting readers in the UK. Feel free to come on out and walk around with us, even if you are not a photographer!

Daily Photo – When the Earth was Young

This unique area of Iceland has new surprises at every turn.

The strange milky-blue water boils up from underground. There is a big part of you that wants to touch it to see how hot is is. The other part of you is scared to touch it. These two parts never stop fighting until you go ahead and touch it. Then, you discover it’s not all that hot after all, and it only reinforces a already poorly-reinforced decision matrix for the next time.

Thinking Like Da Vinci

Have you all ever heard of a book called ‘How to think like Da Vinci’, authored by Michael Gelb?  I came across some info on the web and wanted to share it.  There are a few principles in the book that boil down to:

1) Curiosità – Quest for Curiosity, both in life and learning.

2) Dimostrazione – Commitment to Test knowledge through Experience and the willingness to learn from mistakes.

3) Sensazione – Continual Refinement of your senses.

4) Sfumato – Willingness to embrace ambiguity and uncertainty.

5) Arte/scienza – Maintenance of balance between science, art, logic and imagination.

6) Corporalità – Cultivation of ambidexterity, symmetry and to be fresh and alive.

7) Connessione – Recognition and appreciation of the interconnectedness in everything you see, hear, feel and touch.

I won’t re-analyze each of them, but I think they speak for themselves…  and they are quite nice.

Daily Photo – The Secret Church

Who would have ever guessed that this immense, classically architected church is in the middle of Chicago, Il? It’s quite amazing, isn’t it?

My friend Fiona took me here around the time of the Chicago book launch party. It is a great place place for all kinds of HDR photography. It’s a fun challenge to move around these environments and see how many interesting compositions you can make out of a structure like this.

Viveza 2 Review

I have recently created the Viveza 2 Review. Have you ever heard of or used this product? You should! Check it out at that link for more.

Daily Photo – France, Through the Centuries

I’ll be arriving in France soon, and I can’t wait. There is something very comforting about some of these places where time seems to stand still through the ages. Notre Dame on the Seine is one of these places. I take photos every time I go… It’s always the same, but it shifts gently with the light and angle. I think this is very nice.

This photo was taken as part of the Viveza 2 review above. You can see a few more details about how I achieved the photo there after the link!

Taking photos of Rainbows

I’ve taken a few of these in my life… mostly out of luck! But, I wondered about your experiences with rainbows. Do you get many photos? What is your favorite lens to use to capture the whole thing? In the one below, I used a Nikon 14-24 on a full frame body (the D3X).

Daily Photo – The Rainbow After the Storm

In the afternoons in Montana, sometimes a summer storm would come rolling through the Rockies. I think everyone loves a good storm, mostly because it changes the mood. An unexpected mood change always adds a bit of spice to the day, don’t you think? And, since these afternoon storms come and go, the sun comes back out again, giving us the opportunity for rainbow shots.

All that’s missing from this one is a unicorn. This is one reason I am excited about genetic engineering. I think that some odd-ball researcher is going to make a real unicorn one day… and everyone (well, MOST everyone) will love it. Hey future-unicorn-genetic-engineer, please contact me after you successfully bring one of these to term so I can take the first photo. That would be very cool.

The Original

I know many of you have already seen the photo below of the Taj Mahal. It’s one the most famous photos I’ve taken of India. It is related to the daily photo…

Daily Photo – The Rest of the India Story

So, I took the photo above from across a slow-moving river. After shooting, I explored a bit more as the sun was setting, then returned to the same spot, rotating the camera about 45 degrees to the right. This is what I saw.

In the distance, you can see how it is a layer of smoke in the air. This is where families come from all over the Agra area to burn the bodies of recently deceased loved ones. They then throw some ashes in the river to begin the cycle again. Indians come from all over the area to visit this river, see the Taj Mahal, and visit other local temples. It’s a very peaceful place… I hope this photo helps to describe the general feeling of the place.

The Rest of the India Story

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2007-11-10 06:43:04
• CameraNIKON D2Xs
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/25
• Aperture5.6
• ISO320
• Focal Length20.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+2