Snow in HDR

This is a common question I get. Basically, I think it is a bad idea to HDR the snow and ice part. It just looks dirty. You want it looking nice and pristine, and the HDR will add a little too much texture and grit for me. This seems to happen to an alarming degree with human skin and snow (and a few other things). Anyway, using layers and masking in Photoshop is an easy way to slice-n-dice your way out of that problem!

Daily Photo – Snow over the Creek

There is a place called Pyramid Lake just past Glenorchy that is perfectly wonderful in the winter as long as you have the traction. This shot is from the end of last winter when I caught a little bit of snow. You’ll notice I don’t have a ton of snowy shots from NZ yet, but I think I’ll get a lot more this winter. I’m really looking forward to some good snowfalls, in fact! I’m sure if you’re in the northern hemisphere that you are sick of the cold and ready for the warm… but I really am looking forward to the change!

Filed under the categories: Glenorchy, New Zealand, Nikon D800, Photography Tips, Travel

Video from the Great Wall

Here’s a video I took while up here!

Daily Photo – The New Garden Path Along the Great Wall of China

Just to get to this point required a long walk through a rocky forest. It wasn’t like the super-pristine part of the Great Wall (which is actually quite fake and Disney-like) — where you can drive up in a huge tour bus and park in huge parking lot. No, it wasn’t like that at all. Instead, there was a “path” that was barely discernible (much less so when I walked back in the dark alone!) that wove up through a forest along an old creekbed. I’m not sure I could find it again if I had to!

Filed under the categories: Beijing, China, Nikon D800, Photography Tips, Travel

Photomatix Presets

Do you have (my!) Trey’s Photomatix Presets? I still use Photomatix all the time, as many of you noticed from my recent tutorial video. I think my presets are much more interesting than the ones that come with Photomatix, but you can be the judge! If you don’t agree, you can have all your money back… no problemo!

Here’s a screenshot for ya!

Daily Photo – The Skies of Sydney

Sydney? Check. Sunset? Check. Easy photo? Check!

Man, this was such a lay up… I can’t claim much credit for it. I just kinda walked up and it was like this. Good sunset shots are not always easy, but this one was… I admit it! Now, it was made a bit easier with post-processing through Photomatix, but I kind of take that for granted now.

Filed under the categories: Australia, Nikon D800, Photography Tips, Sydney, Travel

Sony NEX-7 in Virgin Gorda

I recorded this video with Curtis on Virgin Gorda. You can see more about the Sony NEX-7 Review on that page!

Daily Photo – The rocky beach near dusk

And here is the final photo from the video above. As usual, you can click on it to zoom in and see more details… Every day I upload the full-rez version to SmugMug so you can download the full size version for personal use… that goes for any photo!

Filed under the categories: Caribbean, Photography Tips, Travel, Virgin Gorda

Part 1 and 2 of the Fox Interview

Some of you may have seen this, but I am re-sharing, along with a newly published photo that I took on that day with Clayton! After this, Clayton and I got to be friends and he ended up coming to New Zealand… and he may be coming back again soon, I hope!

Daily Photo – Under the Bridge in Central Park

And here is one of the final images from the second video above…

Filed under the categories: New York, New York City, Photography Tips, Travel

10 From the Couch

This is an interview I did with Stephan Bollinger — many things covered in here that you’ll find useful I hope! I was impressed at how Stephen integrated the imagery back into the interview while we were talking… it must have taken him a long time to put this together!

Daily Photo – Where the Bloody Walls Screamed

Here is one of the many ill-forgotten and scary rooms in the chateau. Some were fully furnished and perfect, but others had fallen apart after years of neglect. Here is one of those many incredible rooms!

Filed under the categories: Photography Tips, Travel

Interview with Commag

Here’s a recent interview I received via email… I decided to go ahead and try doing the interview during a live hangout! Here you can see the results of the experiment…

Daily Photo – The Huge Earthen Arch

People are always suspiciously good at these photo mysteries… we will see how long this one takes.

So where was this photo taken? There’s not a lot of clues here, other than you can see the enormity of this limestone formation. I’m also interested to hear your guesses!

Filed under the categories: Australia, Photography Tips, Travel

Paris Shot How To

I’ll be in Paris in just a few weeks for the workshop at the chateau (see the Photography Workshop Schedule)! Here is a video that I made during my last trip to Paris that you might enjoy if you have not already seen it…

Tanya Rochat’s Digital Castles

Tanya Rochat’s new eBook, Digital Castles, is insanely cool. Even if you think “I can’t do that!” I invite you to get into the book anyway. No doubt you will discover many new tricks in post-processing that you can re-use in your own craft.From the description: A matte painting is a painted representation of a landscape, set, or distant location that allows filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that would otherwise be too expensive or impossible to build or visit. Historically, matte painters and film technicians have used various techniques to combine a matte-painted image with live-action footage. At its best, depending on the skill levels of the artists and technicians, the effect is “seamless” and creates environments that would otherwise be impossible to film.

Daily Photo – The Movie Set of New York City

I shot this from the Google offices in Manhattan a few weeks ago. Luke and I ended up staying up late at the offices, and we wanted to wait until the sunset rolled through… and when sunset finally came, we discovered that we could not even go outside! All the windows and doors had been nailed shut by security, so there was no chance of getting out. Instead, I had to commandeer a conference room and turn out all the lights so I could get a clean shot out the window.

Over on the left side, you can just see the edge of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Filed under the categories: New York, New York City, Photography Tips, Travel

Interview with Astrum People Part 2

Yesterday was Part 1 and here is Part 2!

Daily Photo – The Painted Mountains of Death Valley

I woke up on the final morning to go find this special area of Death Valley. I tried to get to things as early as possible before the heat came along. The middle of August is about the worst time to be in Death Valley, but it did do an excellent job of getting rid of the crowds for me!

Filed under the categories: California, Death Valley, Photography Tips, Travel

Interview with Astrum People Part 1

Here’s part 1 of the interview below – enjoy!

Daily Photo – Eat at Facebook

Last week I spent the day at Facebook and got a private photo-tour of the campus. They just moved to their new HQ, so it was interesting to see how everything was spread out.

I was first escorted by a private security guy. He was ex-Marine and kind of a bad-ass. I asked if there were a lot of ex-Marines now hired at Facebook and he said there were quite a few… I figured they were the ones that were most badass.

I took a ton of photos, and I don’t know why I am sharing this one first, but here it is anyway. There are many cafeterias all over the campus, and I thought that this one was kinda cool…

Filed under the categories: California, Nikon D800, Photography Tips, San Francisco

Part 2 of the Fox News bit in Central Park

Here’s the second part of my day with Clayton Morris in Central Park… enjoy!

Trail along the Andes

I’ve heard of a wonderful trail that goes along and through the Andes. Do you know what it is called? This might be an interesting hike some day… I’m not above hiring a few porters to help carry my stuff so I can just enjoy the walk with me and my camera.

Daily Photo – Crossing Rivers in the Andes

I worked my way back and forth across this river a few times on this evening. I was trying to figure out a way to get closer to the mountains in the distance. It was pretty much physically impossible without risking extreme danger to my body, which I’ve grown to like over the years. So I just remained in this area to take photos and explore the river with the mountains beyond…

Filed under the categories: Argentina, Patagonia, Photography Tips, Travel

The Google+ Photographer’s Conference

Right after I did this photo, the conference began. In case you missed it, here is the finale of the event when I did an on-stage interview with Kelby…. enjoy!

(Jump past the first 10 mins or so… the encode quality of that video came out bad… that is available elsewhere on YouTube)

Daily Photo – In the Park in San Francisco

Our PhotoWalk in San Francisco ended in this spot. At first, I thought the photowalk would just take a few hours, but I think it ended up taking four or five! That’s okay, we had a good time and only got kicked out of one place… we ended up here in this fantastic park… the sun was shining and it was perfect to round things off

Filed under the categories: California, Nikon D800, Photography Tips, San Francisco, Travel