Peter Takes Times Square

This is a weird one. Now, I don’t know Peter Lik, and I can’t figure out why in the world he would do this on his Facebook page I got a ton of tweets and emails about it. Anyway, it seems like a pretty sorry thing to do.

I don’t really understand. Peter’s photos are just fine on their own… he (and/or his team) should not need to do something like this. What do you think?

Also, see this video of Lik’s new TV show.

All my photos are Creative Commons Noncommercial. It means anyone can use them with proper credit, as long as it is not for commercial purposes. So, kind of two strikes here. No credit AND this is a commercial purpose. The Internet Knows All. For reference, the original New York City shot is here.

Update:
1) A rambunctious discussion started on Facebook, and then
2) Peter Lik’s team removed the post (a copy for reference), and then
3) A gentleman from their social media team apologized on our Facebook wall.

My Facebook Page

Lest you be confused, pop over to good ol’ “Trey’s Facebook Page”, where you are welcome to continue sharing your own work and I can leave comments for you!

365 New Photos a Year

This is tough! A daily photo that I consider worthy! I’ve kept it going at a good 99% rate here for the past few years, but it takes a lot of work. I’m not gonna lie. This came up in the recent Mostly Photo show with Leo Laporte and Lisa Bettany (PS Leave comments there on YouTube for feedback). I guess people might think it is easy to do this every day… or maybe I am accidentally making it look easy. But, rest assured, it’s hard as hell.

Daily Photo – The Pier at the End of Times

Here is a good tip for you when it comes to sunsets. It also works if you have something in the center worthy of attention, which is commonly the case with sunsets.

When you use a wide-angle lens, like this 14-24, you will automagically get a feeling that everything is pointed to the middle. That is obvious, but you can “help the cause” and make the effect more pronounced by doing the following. If the there are repeating elements of roughly the same size (in this case: 1- slats of a dock and 2- blobs of clouds), then those elements will create leading lines to the horizon as they get logarithmically smaller towards the infinity point. In a sense, the slats only do part of the job, but the clouds do the rest of the job. Then, this allows you to have leading lines that take people in and out and back around the work.

So, one thing to look for when shooting with the wide angle lens is multiple objects of roughly the same shape. After that, you can try to set up so they repeat ever smaller towards the horizon.

This particular photo was taken in Ibiza one evening, just after the sun dipped into the Mediterranean.

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

100 Cameras in 1 for iPad – Finally Available!

You can Get it Now in iTunes!

A Video from Robert Scoble

As you can see in this video below, we rebuilt the whole app specifically for the iPad.

Photo Editing on your iPad to a whole new level!

Here are some sample shots for you!

How does the camera work? (iPad 2 only)

We’ve used an innovative “popup camera” system that lets you take a photo very quickly when you press the camera button. It will switch to portrait or landscape, depending upon how you hold the iPad. When you take the photo, you immediately get all 100 versions, or you can choose to “retake” the photo. Simple!

And here are a few more screenshots!

Filed under the categories: Travel

Live on TWIT today (Tuesday)

I’ll be on live with Leo and Lisa today at 1:30 PM PT. Tune in live at http://live.twit.tv/. I’m not sure what we’ll be talkin’ about… but something cool, no doubt.

HDR Tutorial now in SIX (!!!) Languages

Thanks again to the amazing community that has helped to get this translated far and wide. Awesome!

Welcome to the International HDR Tutorial!

• Speak English?  See the fun HDR Tutorial.
• Vous parlez français? Bienvenue sur le Tutoriel HDR en français.
• Parli italiano? Leggi il tutorial HDR in italiano!
• Fala Português? Confira o Tutorial HDR em Português.
• Hablas Español? Clic Tutorial HDR en Español.
• Mluvíte česky? Pokračujte zde!  HDR Tutoriál v českém jazyce.

Daily Photo – The Gate in Malibu

On my recent trip to California, I decided to stay in Malibu. I’ve stayed almost everywhere in the LA area, but never out here. I found a really cool place on the beach using Jetsetter.com. I’ve used that three or four times now – always with good results. The other places I used it for was London and Ibiza, and both were outstanding hotels.

One sunset, I walked over to the Malibu docks at sunset. They were pretty empty, with just a few people strolling around. And there was this nice painted gate looking so nice in the evening lights. It made for such a good pic that I took one with my phone and my D3X!

Filed under the categories: California, LA, Travel

The Art and Business of HDR Photography

I had a long video discussion about creativity, business, and my thinking on this world of photography. Here are a few topics discussed:

• Micro stock photography and how this is basically slave labor
• Employees and the team at Stuck In Customs and how we operate
• Getty Images and how it’s highway robbery
• How photography and making money can put unnecessary stress on relationships
• HDR photography and how the brain experiences it
• The future of photography in terms if HDR
• How long it takes me to process photos

Thanks to Antonio Marques, Jim Goldstein, Dave Wilson, and Sean Galbraith and the team at PhotoNetCast.

Daily Photo – A Girl and Her Grandma in Beijing

As I came out of a museum, I saw this young girl sitting with her grandmother and reading books. They were sitting on a simple bench and there was a wall of bamboo behind them. The light was falling perfect, so I dropped down onto one knee and took a quick shot.

Do you like taking photos of strangers in public? Or maybe you have a bit of a problem with it? If so, I wrote an article last year called “Five Tips for Photographing People” (click link to read).

Filed under the categories: Beijing, China, Travel

I met Jen Scheer, head of the Space Tweeps society, at SXSW. We spent a few hours planning out the shuttle launch, viewing angles, time of day, etc etc.

Upcoming Trips…

I’ve spent the past week arranging a ton of flights, cars, and all sorts of stuff. Here’s a list of some upcoming travels. First, I’m headed out to Monterey, CA to speak at the EG Conference. We’ll also have a PhotoWalk out there.

Then, I have tickets and some very nice inside access to go see the Space Shuttle launch. I’m so excited. I’m also really thinking about taking a cool photo. This has occupied way too much of my brain in the past few weeks. I hope my brain works it all out so I don’t have to.

After that, I have Iceland for the solstice, then Yellowstone, Paris, Nimes, Switzerland, Burning Man, China and probably another trip to New Zealand before the end of the year. Man, I gotta pack!

Daily Photo – Flying Through the Night Skies of Kuala Lumpur

My grandmother told me that Kuala Lumpur was one of my grandfather’s favorite cities. I wonder what he would think of it now… but I know what he means – it’s also one of my favorite cities! I have many friends there, and people are generally as friendly as can be.

Filed under the categories: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Nikon D3X, Travel

Recent Article You May Have Missed

According to the stats, most people come every day, but some people come every other day or perhaps once a week. That means sometimes things may slip through the cracks!

I recently wrote a long-form article called “Nine Things For Your Photo-Brain To Consider” that you may enjoy. Enjoy!

Daily Photo – The Soft Hills on the way to Paradise, New Zealand

Just beyond Glenorchy, which is just a shade beyond Queenstown, lies a little place called Paradise. The road gets tinier and tinier as you get closer. A few miles before the road becomes all dirt, I pulled over to these soft rolling hills. They were covered with little sheep families, walking to and fro.

One the rare occasion when I am in the field with students, I have them notice a bunch of things. I’ve touched on this before, and this is another good example. It has to do with the location of the sunlight. There are three elements that can be lit here – the hills and/or the mountains and/or the clouds. Every combination looks dramatically different in the final shot. When you are there on the scene, the light changes so gradually, you don’t notice. So you have to teach yourself to be mindful of the untimely flow of light.

Filed under the categories: Glenorchy, New Zealand, Queenstown, Travel

Poll – How do you read eBooks?

We still have a free eBook over at Flatbooks.com when you sign up for that newsletter — and I was wondering how most people read the eBooks. Our eBooks arrive as PDF files, and you can read it in many different ways. We have a 24-hour support team, and we get all kinds of questions concerning how to read the eBook. Most of them are about “How do I get this eBook on my iPad?”

Anyway, we really have very little data about how people actually consume these eBooks, so I am very interested!

What is the primary device you use to read eBooks?

• Kindle
• iPad
• Computer/Laptop Screen
• Smart Phone
• Other

View Results

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Daily Photo – The Sanctum of the Santa María del Mar Cathedral

Here is another amazing place in Barcelona, Spain — this is the famed Santa María del Mar Cathedral.

I do like taking photos in these old churches, and I hope one day to photograph the inside of the Sagrada Família. It’s still under construction, and I think getting the right kind of permission is fairly difficult. I’d like to be there at the perfect time of day with just the right kind of lighting. I don’t mind all the construction going on — I think something pretty amazing could come out of the shot. Anyway, this is one of those things on my personal photo bucket-list!

Filed under the categories: Barcelona, Nikon D3X, Spain

Facebook Likey Likey

All my Facebook friends are full, but if you click “Like” below, then you can stay involved there too. Cool.

New Video of the PhotoWalk

Thanks to Pinhead Doll Productions for this great video !

Award Party Soon!

The coaches/judges on the PhotoWalk are currently going through the submitted photos to the PhotoWalk SXSW Flickr Group. We’ll have a little gathering down at Mozart’s here in Austin to hand out the prizes, hang out, and have a bit of coffee. I’m not sure when that date will be, but I’m sure good man Jack Hollingsworth will help me figure it out!

Daily Photo – The Pub

Now, I did not take this one on the PhotoWalk in Austin — at least, not on THIS PhotoWalk. My apologizes, but this has been a busy time for me and I haven’t had a lot of time to process the most recent photos from SXSW! I do have a few, and they are coming up quite soon.

Also, you can tell this was taken in the winter, because the sign mentions that the rooftop is heated. In the Texas summer, all rooftops are automatically heated!

This reminds me of another photo I took on South Congress of the famous Continental Club. Maybe you have heard of this place?

Filed under the categories: Austin, Texas

Chernobyl Story

I spent a day in Chernobyl and wrote a two part story about it. This is from a while ago, but I thought maybe it was timely… The situation in Japan is different of course.

Print for Red Cross Charity

We started the bidding at $49 and it ended up at over $1500! Fantastic! There was a happy anonymous winner somewhere in the Mountain View area. The print is being assembled and crated right now… on the way. It arrives in a huge Raiders-of-the-Lost-Ark-crate! Thanks again for participating.

If you still want to be involved, even at a lesser level with one of our other charitable offerings, come join Team Stuck In Customs on Kiva

Daily Photo – Japanese Girl with Mask

The white mask is a popular meme in Japan. It’s pervasive and it affects all ages. I see school children wearing masks, old people in the subway, and everyone in between. I was waiting to see a new trend where the face masks have designs — quirky, cute Japanese designs. If no one has done it, then there’s a great idea for you.

I like them, I suppose. In a way, it makes everyone look a little bit mysterious, and that is sort of interesting.

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

This Week in Photo Interview

Listen to the interview on Frederick Van’s Blog. We talk about all sorts of things:

• The business versus the art of Stuck In Customs
• Licensing photos and how Getty is a dinosaur
• Flatbooks.com and self-publishing eBooks versus traditional publishing
• The crowded market of camera apps

Coming to Switzerland – Any Suggestions?

I’m 85% sure that I’m coming to Switzerland this summer. I’ve been to Zurich and Lugano, but only for a short time. This time, where do you suggest I go? I’m looking for a picturesque, relaxing, and awesome place.

Daily Photo- The Teleporters

I’m not even sure which hotel in Beijing this is! (edit: comments indicate it is the Grand Millennium Hotel in Beijing) I was randomly walking around an urban area and peered inside some windows to see this. It looked so amazing inside — I had no choice but to go right into the lobby to set up! I was able to squeeze off a few rounds before security stopped me.

Security came up to me and asked, in perfect English, “Please, sir, you cannot take pictures!”

I responded by saying, “But sir, you don’t understand! I don’t even speak English!”

This left him confused for long enough for me to take another bracketed set. Then I left.

Filed under the categories: Beijing, China, Nikon D3X, Travel

Japan Charity Week – Last Day

The bidding ends today. Thank you all for participating; and thanks for being interested even if you did not jump in. If your budget is smaller, you can always donate to the Red Cross directly, or, if generally in the charitable mood, join Team Stuck In Customs on Kiva, where we’ve raised over $10,000.

That’s the print that is on auction there to the right. We only do limited edition prints here, so each one is unique. This particular one is numbered 9 out of a series of 50. It’ll look great in your home or business!

Daily Photo – The Lights of Japan

One evening I was walking around Roppongi, taking in all the sights. There doesn’t seem to be a bad direction to go. Everything was alive and full of life.

Getting into this particular position took a few Cirque de Soliel moves that no one was around to appreciate (or warn me against). There is a pedestrian set of stairs that blindly switchbacks its way up an outside drum-tower of sorts. I had a feeling that on top of this little tower would be a good vantage in this particular direction, which I had not seen, but I had mapped out in my brain. I did one of those moves like children do when they work their way up a doorframe — but I did it in a narrow stairwell. It got me to the top, which was extra-difficult with the tripod! I ended up with a clean view of everything. But then, only then, did I start to wonder how the heck I was going to get back down.

I waited for a nice-looking stair-walker to pass by underneath, and then I handed down my camera before performing an unceremonious jump/fall.

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

Japan Charity Week Continues

Just around one day left, and we’ve broken $1,000 — great stuff. Now, get in there and bid! All the revenue goes to the Red Cross for Japan.

Daily Photo – Old Beijing in the Morning

I need some better photography-gloves, I came to realize on this particular morning. I’ve got some pretty good ones with the fingertips that flip up, but there are a few annoying things about them. I don’t want to bore you with all the details, but if there are ever any flaws, all you can do is think about them.

When I travel, I usually collect dozens (or hundreds) of textures from the environment. I like to re-constitute them back into the work itself from time to time. There’s no rhyme or reason for when I choose to do it… just whenever it feels interesting or right. Many of the textures I take don’t work or are not appropriate, but I do enjoy the process of going through them all.

Filed under the categories: Beijing, China, Nikon D3X, Travel