Monterey PhotoWalk

See the Monterey PhotoWalk Plancast page for more info. And here is the route we will walk along together!

Want to see a video of a PhotoWalk to see what it is like? Follow that link!

Daily Photo – The Singularity Device

This photo is strange isn’t it?

Even when I was standing there, I had to wait longer than expected to grok it. And maybe photos like can help you understand how technologically advanced the Chinese have become. In fact, they are absolutely bathed in it.

This screen in “The Place” (great name, huh?) that faces downward is supposed to be one of the biggest in the world. I don’t know if it’s bigger than the one in Texas Stadium, but it must be longer.

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

SmugMug is using Amazon S3 to serve all these up... and I feel like I'm kind of eating too much at their all-you-can eat buffet of data!

175,000 Photo Views a Day

You guys are crazy! It’s been a while since I checked the SmugMug stats, so I was surprised to see the ever-steady increase in the daily photo views.  When you combine this with the 22 million from Flickr, we are well past 60 million views.  I guess the photos are good enough to keep people coming back – so thank you very much!  I’m still very happy with SmugMug — if you are thinking of switching to put your portfolio and photos there, I still highly recommend it.

See my full SmugMug Review for more.

I got a question at the meet-up the other night about how I make my blog posts and embed my SmugMug code. I’ll paste today’s here so you can see:

<a href=”http://stuckincustoms.smugmug.com/Portfolio-The-Best/your-favorites/10668747_AuyBk#1239691821_7npbB-A-LB”><img title=”Perito Mereno Glacier Image” src=”http://stuckincustoms.smugmug.com/Portfolio-The-Best/your-favorites/The-Glacier-Wide/1239691821_7npbB-900×900.jpg” alt=”Perito Mereno Glacier” /></a>

Daily Photo – Deep into the Patagonia Glacier

This is where my Russian friend first produced a bottle of cognac from his inside breast pocket. And it was not a small bottle.

Even more baffling, during at least ten other major photography moments, he would pull a brand new cognac bottle from a different pocket. He was like a clown with endless streams of hidden tardis-like pockets. On one of the final nights of the hike, in fact, we were running low on food and there was nothing to drink. Upon hearing this, he simply raised his eyebrows and pulled out three full bottles of cognac and set them upon a log.

This is the Perito Mereno Glacier, and this thing is over two miles wide. Unfortunately, everything is so huge in the photo that you can’t get a sense of the scale. When you see huge chunks cleave off, it all happens in slow motion, just like the movies. And the sound is like an icy thunder.

See the Argentina category for more shots from this area!

Filed under the categories: Argentina, El Chalten, Nikon D3X, Patagonia, Travel

Austin Awards Ceremony!

Thanks to all the nice people that came to the awards event tonight in Austin. We had people come in from Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Katy! It was a great crowd, and I think I got a chance to talk to everyone there at least for a little bit. At least, I tried my best! Thanks again to all the judges and coaches and Jack Hollingsworth especially. The PhotoWalk (click to see recap and video) was really a special event, and it was fun to cap it off with this little awards event.

Daily Photo – Late Night in Old China

The town of Feng Huang in Hangzhou district is as old-fashioned as can be. But at night, a few of the side streets and secret alleys light up with a vibrant night life. No one was surprised as me!

I went out to get a late night bite, sit by the river, and work on some sketches. I figured the light would be too low for anything of interest. But luckily, I brought my big rig just in case. And then I found this little street that was totally full of life. I could hear noise from a few streets away, so I felt my way over there until I stumbled into this.

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

Special Photos – Dinner in Akureyri

Normally, I do one new photo a day, but today I wanted to do ten of them! Something a bit different to keep things fresh, perhaps!

So, when I was in Iceland, I went to visit my friend Helga Kvam who lives on a fjord in the far north near a town called Akureyri. She lives in a farmhouse right up against the water. Helga was with her long-time boyfriend Völundur Jónsson, who is also a photographer. Even though they live in a beautiful place, I don’t think they ever take it for granted… this is a nice side-benefit of being a photographer. You can read more about them on their About page on their website.

I slept in their basement one day, and woke up in time for dinner time (I stay awake all night to take photos and sleep during the day). Völundur and Helga were hard at work making a fantastic meal! I pulled out my camera and took some photos of the evening, so I can share it with here below.

If you’d like to see some other photos I took in and around this area, check the Iceland category!

Völundur is outside getting the grill ready. The weather was perfect and Helga opened the windows so we could smell everything. You can see the fjord behind Völundur...	Helga, for being a photographer, is very shy about having her photo taken! So I took this one of her sitting with her nephew in the window sill, as they watched the food cook outside.
While dinner is cooking, Helga's nephew goes outside to play and shows me where he built his tree house earlier in the day.	He prepared a ton of amazing and fresh food. I think the only time they get to cook outside is the summer, and they take full advantage of it.
Helga was telling me about what things have been like after the economic crisis in Iceland recently. She said people have gotten back to the basics, and she knitted these gloves for herself. I tried to convince her to make finger-flapped knit gloves for photographers and I would help her promote on the website! But I don't think I convinced her...	Her house has all sorts of nice details and colors. Even before I met her, I knew she was very into rich textures and colors.
Helga and Völundur go into her kitchen to make last-minute preparations for dinner.	This meat was incredibly tasty and tender. I won't tell you what it was... since people often seem overly judgmental (or stuck in customs, the second meaning of the blog that few people ever get).
Fresh vegetables on skewers. They tasted as good as they look.	And for dessert, we had these insane bacon-wrapped dates. These things are amazing. I did find them one other place -- at a tapas restaurant in San Antonio. But anyway, stay on the lookout for these things!

Also, I just got a note from Helga that her mom has started an Icelandic skin care company called Urtasmidjan. So there you go… you can vist to get some Icelandic products… looks like a girly thing

Filed under the categories: Akureyri, Iceland, Nikon D3S, Travel

TWIT Photography Show 2

Here’s another show for you full of helpful tips! It was a good one with Lisa Bettany and Leo Laporte. We talked a lot about mobile photography, and I spoke a lot about creativity. We also touched on things like the Space Shuttle launch, some fun gear from my bag, and more. If you have comments for the hosts, it’s best to leave the on the YouTube page.

And… shhh… this isn’t officially announced, yet, but it is available in the App Store. Version 3.0 of 100 Cameras in 1 is out — featuring a brand new camera interface! (see screenshot)

Daily Photo – Four Horses

It was one of those long summer afternoons when you are sure it must be 5 PM, and you check the clock and it’s only 2 PM! You know these days. Anyway, I decided to pick up my camera and walk around the ranch in Yellowstone for a little while The stable area is always a target, rich environment, so I headed right over there to find these four horses lined up so nicely.

Filed under the categories: Montana, Travel, Wyoming, Yellowstone

EG Conference

This is the first print release of the new year. This is the stunning azure blue pool in Hearst Castle.

I know we’ll have a few people attending the EG Conference in Monterey next week, so be sure to come up and say hello! If you’re not coming to the conference but are in the area, maybe you can join us at the PhotoWalk on Sunday (see below)!

Free Monterey Area PhotoWalk

This will be on Sunday evening on April 10th at 6:30 PM. See and contribute to the details at PlanCast! I don’t have a path figured out yet… so please drop your ideas there into the PlanCast!

Carmel Area suggestions for lodging?

After the conference, I’m staying a few extra days and wondered if you had some suggestions? Perhaps a few nights in Carmel and one down in Big Sur. I usually find my own places, but I find that YOU are such a tremendous resource for suggestions, that I should ask your opinion!

New Print Available!

This is the first print I have released in 2011. As you can see on the Prints page, these are all available in unique numbered series on paper, canvas, and metal.

This photo, like the one below, was taken on a trip up the California coast. I stopped in Hearst Castle for an amazing private tour of the facility. While there, I visited the indoor pool area and had to sidle along a wall to get to this spot. I had a feeling it would splay out some nice shapes for me.

Daily Photo – Off the PCH at Sunset

Whenever I go to California lately, I have meetings in both Los Angeles and San Francisco. Rather than fly between the two, I like to take my time and drive up the Pacific Coast Highway. It’s such a famous highway, but it’s usually fairly empty. There is always a beautiful sunset… it’s pretty much a guarantee. I popped out of my car and hiked through the brush a bit to grab this one so you can see what it looks like.

Filed under the categories: Big Sur, California, Carmel, Nikon D3X, Travel