Upcoming Events for You

The EG Conference

There is more info on the EG Conference website, and I think there is a pretty good chance they will be recording a video that I can share here after the event.

I’m excited about this thing – it should be a blast! See that Freeman Dyson is going to be there?  I’ve got a whole list of questions for him… like, in that episode of Star Trek The Next Generation, you know, the one with the Dyson sphere (“Relics” – Star Trek wiki), well, like, how did Scotty survive all that time in the transporter loop, and like, wouldn’t he lose some weight?  And well, yes, I guess you wouldn’t know that, but, why would any species capable of building a Dyson sphere build it around an unstable star?  I mean, that seems kinda dumb, right Dyson?  Right?

But seriously, I will also have a free photowalk one evening there in the Monterey area.  I’m not sure where exactly… maybe even over in Carmel, but I will announce that soon.

Daily Photo – Queenstown From Above

Ack! I miss Queenstown. When can I get back there? I need to make this happen.

My friend Gordon from Camera Labs (be sure to visit his site) goes up here to test a lot of his cameras and lenses. There’s a mountain here that you can reach by gondola, and the view is, well, as you can see, quite perfect! In this case, I used my new 28-300 lens, which worked out pretty well.

I’ve gotten to know the little town there pretty well. It’s fun looking down and knowing where I can get the best burger, the best chocolate, and five places that all serve great coffee. Jeez… just writing about it makes me want to go back even more!

Filed under the categories: New Zealand, Nikon D3X, Queenstown, Travel

Is my new Japanese Video racist?

I love YouTube commenters. You see a little bit of everything on there. And it’s wide open for every idiot to spout their nonsense. I had not checked the comments on my latest video for a while, so you can imagine my laughing reaction to some of the flotsam that has collected. See the comments here.

How to make these videos

If you want to see more of these sorts of videos, how I do it, more from Japan, and this sort of thing, come visit the Stuck In Motion page here on the site for a full how-to.

Daily Photo – Kimono under the cherry Trees

It was my second time to Kyoto, but my fourth time to Japan. I started to become more accustomed to the times of day and the comings and goings of the ladies in kimonos. You can see them most any time of the day or not, but they flood out of every crevice around this time of night. The pink cherry blossoms made everything seem like it was right out the days of the shogun.

I shot this with my second camera – the D3S that I had across my chest. My main camera is always the D3X on a tripod, and I was getting a lot of night photography shots. But I had my D3S with a 50 prime ready to capture things like this. Another nice advantage is that it seems to make the trees feel a bit more soft. There is another soft aspect to the colors – these prime lenses capture the tones in a very soft way.

Filed under the categories: Japan, Kyoto, Travel

The Big Austin PhotoWalk – Don’t miss it!

Come join us at SXSW for great night of fun photography. All skill levels are invited! Join the Plancast event and/or the Facebook Event.  We’ll be meeting at the gorgeous and famous Driskill Hotel in downtown Austin, which has always been very nice to me in the past… so they get a big thumbs up in my book.

• All skill levels invited – from beginner to beyond
• Great prizes for you!  My friend Jack Hollingsworth is coordinating all of this, so more news to come
• Is it your first PhotoWalk?  Don’t be scared!  Come along with whatever camera you wish.  There will be all kinds of coaches and other nice photographers to help you out.

We recently had an amazing PhotoWalk in London – check that one out and you can see a video, photos, and more.

Daily Photo – In Old China

I was nursing my cracked ribs at this point after my clumsy slip down by the boats. But I had a bit of that post-accident adrenaline that numbed it enough to keep shooting a bit. Also, I think I was a bit loopy because of the pain, but that can make for good artistic endeavors, I think. When I remember walking around this area, it’s all a bit more foggy than some of my other experiences, which are more crystal-clear. In some ways, I almost feel like I didn’t take these photos, even though I know I did. It’s strange thinking about it now.

Filed under the categories: China, Feng Huang, Nikon D3X, Travel

Great Work at HDR Spotting

I started HDR Spotting last year to drive more attention to other HDR Artists out there. Whenever you click on a photo, it will take you to that artist’s website, portfolio, or wherever they wish. In the very beginning, to get it started, I put my own work on there, but I don’t any more since it has a vibrant life of its own now.

The site is still in beta as we add features, but there are still invites floating around out there. Be sure to go check out some stuff on the HDR Spotting main site or the Editor’s Picks. You guys should note that I am not the editor…hehe… We do cycle new editors in all the time and I hear it’s time for another crop to rotate in.

Daily Photo – Business in London

Walking along one side of the Thames after visiting some museums brought us to this business district. There was a misty rain for most of the day, so it set down a nice sheen of reflection. There’s a tiny water canal that runs through the center here, and the line leads right to the Tower Bridge (thx for edits in comments!), which you can see in the distance.

Filed under the categories: London, Nikon D3X, Travel, UK

LA Times Article on HDR Photography

Thanks to Robert Lachman over at the LA Times who wrote this article on HDR Photography. As you can see, Robert is also a photographer that has the HDR bug! You can see that first image in there is his… not too shabby eh?

Daily Photo – The Creepy Green Stairs

Why are the stairs green in this? Anyone, Anyone? Bueller? Voodoo economics is the answer.

Instead of answering directly, I’ll let you clever readers figure out the answer and put it down in the comments… I have faith in you guys to figure it out!

This was taken in Kyoto, Japan on a rainy evening. This is one of the main temples that stay open late into the night. It’s one of my favorite times to come, because the crowds are gone and everything is extra-eerie. It makes it even more special while I’m listening to my special playlists on my ipod. It really gets me in the mood to make these sorts of shots.

Filed under the categories: Japan, Kyoto, Nikon D3X, Travel

HDR Tutorial now in French

A big thank you to Sylvain Montreuil for the French translation!

The International HDR Tutorial!

• Vous parlez français? Bienvenue sur le Tutoriel HDR en français.
• Fala Português? Confira o Tutorial HDR em Português.
• Hablas Español? Clic Tutorial HDR en Español.
• Mluvíte česky? Pokračujte zde!  HDR Tutoriál v českém jazyce.
• Speak English? Howdy! Visit the English HDR Tutorial.

Daily Photo – Sunday Brunch in London

I don’t know London very well at all. I can’t ever decide if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. It’s just a thing, I suppose. And it’s neither nor.

While walking through the streets you come across places that you should probably know what they are. Or maybe you see a charming old pub and you just assume that it’s quite famous. But I don’t know. I can’t tell one thing from the next…

But I did see this little restaurant one morning. The outside was covered in ivy and flowers, and this old couple was sitting outside on the bench. I don’t know why I set up for a picture… it was both mundane and not.

Filed under the categories: England, London, Nikon D3X, Travel, UK

Newsletter released! More servers Max Out!

Daily Photo – Ensnared in Flame

On my first evening in Barcelona, I dumped my bags in the room them went right out to explore. Unpacking is so boring… let’s face it.

I started going down side-streets and back alleys to where I heard activity and motion. I was more or less zig-zagging my way to Las Ramblas, where there’s always a lot of activity. But I didn’t want to go right there. During the weaving, I found this enormous cathedral nestled between a square of classical looking Spanish buildings. A performer had lit a unique homemade contraption of flames and was whirling it about. I got back behind her and set up for this shot.

Filed under the categories: Barcelona, Nikon D3X, Spain, Travel

New eBook for Canon Shooters!

This brand new 100+ page eBook from Joseph Linaschke (get it on Flatbooks) is amazing. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. It is just now available, and if you have a Canon camera, this has to be part of your world. Joseph has really raised the bar on these eBooks. He’s making me look bad! Besides the length of the book, it’s full of great tips and ideas whether you just got your Canon or if you’ve had it for a while. Trust me – you’ll love it.

Daily Photo – The Love Locks in Paris

There is a little bridge in Paris – maybe you have heard of it – where starcrossed lovers visit. They bring tiny padlocks with them. Sometimes they are decorated, and sometimes they are just fanciful. They affix them to the bridge that overlooks the Seine. Now, the bridge has thousands of these little love locks… It’s all very nice, and perfect for some low f-stop photography, of course!

Filed under the categories: France, Nikon D3S, Paris, Travel

More from Burning Man

Today I’ll just post one from Burning Man, even though I have been posting them in smallish groups. If you want to see more, explore the Burning Man category here on the site.

Daily Photo – Biking Across the Playa

I think I need a bike this year at Burning Man! And, I need an awesome bike… with all kinds of lights and perhaps some speakers where I can plug in my iPod. The only problem is that I am not handy. I have only a few skills, and none of them seem to include all the things that everyone at Burning Man can build except me. Wherever I go, I’m surrounded by all kinds of nice hand-made art exhibitions… fanciful and crazy stuff is everywhere. Sure, I’m handy with a stylus and a Wacom tablet, but that doesn’t do me much good in the desert.

So, if you come out to the playa and have an extra amazing bike sitting around, let me know. I’ll bring you some Belgian gourmet chocolate for the trade.

Filed under the categories: Burning Man, Nevada, Nikon D3X, Travel

HDR Tutorial- Five Languages Soon!

The HDR Tutorial is already in four languages, and the fifth, French is coming soon!

About 80% of the shots I put on the site are HDR, like this one below. I hope the Tutorial helps you out… if you have any questions, feel free to leave me a tweet or comment.

Adobe Speech Soon!

The event in San Jose is coming soon… The talk is free to all, and it’s on Feb 24th at 1 PM PDT in the Park Auditorium at 345 Park Ave in San Jose. There’s more information on the Adobe Distinguished Lecture Series page.

Daily Photo – A Rainy and Romantic Night in Ibiza

Part of Ibiza is an old walled medieval town that is surrounded by layers of winding streets old shops intermixed with homes. A few streets away from the walls, some of the streets are full of pubs and quirky shops… I think it’s better to explore them at night than in the day — and especially so in the rain.

On this night, it was a little chilly and rainy, but that does not effect my camera. I’ve never had a problem because of rain or cold or heat or anything. It just works!

The rainy streets were full of colors and life. I saw this couple quickly walking under an umbrella so I took a quick one to capture the scene.

Filed under the categories: Ibiza, Nikon D3X, Spain, Travel

Bad Internet Marketing

Because of the popularity of this blog, I get these emails just about every day. It is so crazy… I want any potential “internet marketers” that are reading this site to know that I don’t do paid-blog posts or any of that nonsense.

Companies send me FREE STUFF all the time. You should see my studio – I’ve got piles and piles of crappy stuff… everything from camera equipment to gadgets. I always tell people ahead of time that I only review it if I actually like it. This is because I am super-busy… and people are too busy to read 1000 reviews… so I just stick with the best stuff.

So, of the hundreds of things I have to review, I usually do only about one every two months. Don’t get your hopes up, marketers… and certainly don’t send me lame emails like this one I got a few days ago:

One of our major clients are currently working on making their website more visible in a particular Google search and we have indicated your site as a potential partner in this venture.

What we would like from you is a banner on the homepage and/or an article in the form of a blog post, product review or something similar. Our content is bespoke, tailored for your site and written by one of our professional in-house copy writers; we always ensure that content is relevant to both the client and the hosting site.

Daily Photo – Time Frozen in the Ancient Village

I feel like I’m in a hurry to take photos of all these ancient places before they become homogenized. I worry that in 10 years that every place will look like a typical street corner in Plano, Texas. Know what I mean? There’s nothing horrible about having a Home Depot and an Applebee’s within every five mile pod of super-structure, but it can lose a bit of charm after a while.

This is a famous old village in China where the legend tells of two phoenixes hovered endlessly, transfixed by the beauty they saw below. It’s located in the western part of central China’s Hunan Province. It’s called Feng Huang Cheng (“feng huang” being the Chinese name for the phoenix), and I’m happy I got to spend a few days wandering around its mysterious bits. This is a good overview of the city, and I’ll have many more from the insides coming soon enough.

BTW, if you are wondering how I made this… you may be interested in the textures tutorial.

Filed under the categories: China, Feng Huang, Nikon D3X, Travel

Miss Part 1?

Last time, I put up a little bit of part 1 from our YouTube channel. But, YouTube really limits the length, so there is really a longer part 1. To see the whole thing, go to Part 1 of 3 here on Vimeo.

Part 2 of the Student Interview

And, below is part 2 which gets started on question 11, where I discuss the following:

• Tell me about your company there at Stuck In Customs…
• Do your friends treat you differently now?
• Do other photographers get mad when you give away secrets?
• The eBook business compared to the traditional ebook business
• How did you take that HDR of the fireworks that was in the Smithsonian?
• Archiving and organizing photos

Daily Photo – Blue Metal and Light

Many regulars know that I like to get “lost” in cities and find little secrets here or there. But, that’s often in the older, charming part of cities. I rarely go into the commercial or mega-residential areas because sometimes they are more sterile or less interesting. Well, this part of Beijing is sort of a neo-industrial jungle of wild architecture and unexpected forms of light. There are dozens of brand-new buildings, each with interesting designs and countless angles. I ended up staying in this area deep into the night.

Filed under the categories: Nikon D3X, Travel