Stuck In Customs

New Video!

When I took this photo, I also made another little behind-the-scenes video. Here it is below!

Daily Photo – The Green Pool

The northern island of New Zealand has a geothermal area in Rotorua called Wai-o-tapu that is filled with these strange places. One of the best things about these are the names… Various mysterious pits have names like the Devil’s Throat, Hell’s Gate, and Devil’s Cauldron. You don’t want to drop your cell phone in any of these.

Having a Driver

Having a driver is so nice! Really… it sounds so elitist and decadent to say, I am sure… but it really is wonderful.

Now, here’s the deal… I think it sounds extraordinarily extravagant, but in places like India, China, SE Asia, and hundreds of other places, it really is not. It might only cost $10-$30 a day, and these guys will follow you around all day long. It’s like a mobile base that holds all your extra camera stuff, snacks, drinks, and lots of sweet sweet air-conditioning. So, when traveling to exotic places, even though it can be expensive to get there, you can actually move around within these countries with relative ease and style.

Another $10+ per day will even get you an “umbrella assistant” that will follow you around and hold an umbrella over your head. Again, it sounds so over-the-top, but why the heck not?  If I were feeling generous, I might even pay another $10 to get an umbrella assistant for my umbrella assistant, but that would just be redonkulous.

Daily Photo – Boat in Mumbai

Mumbai and Bombay are the same place. If you say “Mumbai” quickly with a thick Indian accent, you will see what I mean, and understand it why the stiff-upper lipped British just went with “Bombay”.

One of the more interesting bits of the city lies along the waterfront. The quay is filled with hundreds of boats going each and every direction. I popped on my 70-200 after a quick visit to the car so I could find some interesting things out in the water.

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Music in your mind…

Do you all listen to music when out taking photos? Have you ever tried it? I love putting on my noise-canceling earphones and listening to all sorts of things when I am out taking photos… I never see anyone do this, so maybe I am alone in this practice?

Daily Photo – To Another World

There are no short days at Disney! They are all long escapades, filled with happiness, crying, sticky fingers, strollers hitting you in the achilles tendons, and scary people that should not really be allowed to the buffet area.

This was another one of those very long days. Sometimes, towards the end of the day, one of the only things on my mind is getting back home to collapse — especially after carrying around my tripod and D3X the whole day! But, on this particular exit from Epcot, everything lined up so nicely that I just could not help myself!

En Route to Queenstown

We are heading to Queenstown soon, and really looking forward to it. We are informally poking around for places to live… and renting a house in the meantime. We found this cool spot — QueenstownChicChalet.com on the site that suggested here on the blog called BookABach.com. I’ve never heard this word “Bach” before in reference to a rental house/apartment… am I alone in this?

Daily Photo – Under the Umbrella at Sunset

We took this during our fun PhotoWalk in San Clemente. It’s a wonderful beach there – not too crowded, a perfect beach, and an idyllic pier.  Just throw in a few clouds, and we end up with a perfect sunset!

Every 100 feet or so, these thatched-roof umbrellas are spread out.  Composing with these and a wide-angle lens is kind of challenging, but fun.  I noticed that after I got a wide-angle lens that it opened up a whole new range of compositional complexities. Walking around a scene has to be done with a whole new perspective, since you are able to capture more than a human can see in a single viewing-cone.  But, the challenge is kind of fun to compensate for the lens and try to put together something that feels right.

New 28-300 Lens

I could not stand it!  I’ve been on the road for closing on 80 days, going around the world in an easterly direction, and an awesome lens came out mid-trip!  The nerve of Nikon!  Shouldn’t they check with me first?

So, while here on the shaky south island of New Zealand, I had to swing by a camera store in Christchurch to pick up the new 28-300 Nikon lens.  It’s expensive here… probably an extra $700 over the 28-300 cost in the US…  That kinda sucks eh?  Does anyone know why its so expensive?  Are there tariffs and taxes?  Why do governments do this?  (I come from the Milton Friedman schools, as some of you know…)

Daily Photo – The Peony Pavilion at The Imperial Granary

Look at this place! (and it’s worth a 100% zoom to original on SmugMug too)

I was invited to go see a very special event here in Beijing. There is an old area that has the ancient Imperial Granaries that date back hundreds and hundreds of years. One of these has been converted to an intimate opera house. They bring in some of the best opera actors from all over China to perform here.

If you haven’t seen a Chinese opera, you are in store for something totally original!

This particular performance was called The Peony Pavillion, which was written during the Ming dynasty and is a love story about all kinds of crazy mythical stuff that I don’t want to spoil for you. But it’s really a must-see if you are into unique forms of entertainment. And you do feel a bit like a time-traveller, watching a scene from hundreds of years ago.

Even more interesting, there is a trendy and delicious restaurant next door. Everyone eats together and has a wonderful leisurely meal before meandering over next door to enjoy the opera. It’s a great experience!