Topaz Adjust Review and Problems

If you want to know more about how the photo below was made, and why it “pops” in that way, see my full Topaz Adjust Review.

So, I still use it from time to time to add some microcontrast to images, but I notice it is going super slow. Is anyone else having this problem? I have a pretty fast Mac Pro too… I just can’t figure it out. Also, I still have an old install of Topaz Adjust 3, which I tried out… but it crashes whenever I try to run it. What a pain!

Daily Photo – Journey of a Lifetime in Africa

I have never been to Africa, but it is very high on the list. Very very high. And I understand from many of my friends that it will get very deep into me, and I’ll want to go back many times. That’s okay… and I look forward to that feeling!

This photo below is taken in Disneyworld in the Animal Kingdom. The Imagineers run around and make everything look all Africa-ey and authentic… I don’t really know how authentic this is… but I certainly liked the feeling and style of this wall, so had to take a photo!

Filed under the categories: Disney World, Florida, Nikon D3X, Orlando, Travel

Getting Back to Spain

I need this to happen!  I had a great time while in Barcelona, and I need to spend more time in the country.  Plus, I know there are many other places…  a few days was not enough.  It’s like a tapas sampler plate… literally. Tonight, my friend Jack Hollingsworth (@PhotoJack) told me about a pretty awesome area of Madrid I need to visit!

Daily Photo – The Azure Cathedral

While walking through the streets around the edges of Las Ramblas, I found this secret place.  I’m not sure I could even find it again.  Maybe one of our smart readers knows exactly where it is.  Anyway, the place was quite beautiful, as you can see.  It was also pretty much empty, so I had no trouble moving around to find the interesting shots.

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

Game of Thrones

I’m so excited! This is my favorite series of fantasy books in the world… I think George RR Martin is pure greatness. I heard HBO was making this series, and I’ve been not-so-patiently waiting. They just came out with a behind-the-scenes preview of the first season. See the preview here on YouTube!

Fail Pictures

My friend John P over at One Man’s Blog put together the best Fail Pictures. Nothing can make you feel better than some idiot doing something stupid.  And I’m not talking about John P there.

Daily Photo – A Child in Tiananmen Square

After I left the exciting-sounding (but actually cool) Beijing City Planning museum, I walked under the street to get to Tiananmen Square. There were thousands of people out celebrating a national holiday. Kids, parents, families, and all sorts of festive activity. Asian kids are always cute aren’t they? You just can’t get away from it…

I found this little one with a busy mom snapping away nearby. Everyone was taking photos everywhere…. it was kind of crazy. I knelt down to grab this one before moving on to find more cute kids.

Filed under the categories: Beijing, China, Travel

First in App Store for Photography!

Thank you guys and gals very much for the support – it wouldn’t have happened without you!

This last weekend, 100 Cameras in 1 (iTunes link), got into the first place spot in the hotly contested photography category for the iPhone. We’re also in the top 10 in 40 different countries – insane (see stats). I never expected any of that… It’s all very exciting and the whole team here is ecstatic.

We’ve heard all sorts of good suggestions, and a great update is coming up soon. The update will be free as always. Besides several new features, we also have some new achievements that we’ve been mulling over. With some good prompting from guys like Charlie Sorrel and Mike Schramm, we’re going to push them through. I don’t think this app will ever be done, but we’ll continue to evolve it as better and better ideas are folded into the mix.

Below are a few of my recent creations with the app… I put them out on Twitter and FB on occasion, but thought I might share them in the main blog here.

Created by mixing together two different effects via the new "Add Effect" button on the My Creation screen.

To make this, I first used the black & white effect in the Zen Effects group before adding two other effects to give it both light leak and some color.

Daily Photo – The Icelandic Phallus

I’ve probably just accidentally offended the fine Icelandic people with that name. Sorry about that… but I don’t know what it is. Most old cultures have statues with some kind of phallus, so it was a good guess. It’s a doubly-good-guess since Iceland is the home to the famous “Icelandic Phallological Museum” (wikipedia link, but don’t click on it), which sounds like a pretty happening place.  I told you not to click on it.

I found this in the middle of another one of those 6-hour sunsets. I had spent the first part of the day in a far northern fjord, at the farmhouse of a good friend.  About 200 km later, I found this spot near a crook in the road, standing up like cairn stones against time.

Filed under the categories: Iceland, Nikon D3X, Travel