Speaking at Ignite Austin

Ignite Austin is a most unlikely event – an unexpected format.  Here’s the deal.  I get 5 minutes to speak. All 16 participants go one right after the next in a rapid-fire serial pattern.  There are 20 slides that I will speak to, and each one will be up for 15 seconds before automatically flipping to the next one.  I’ve already submitted my plans, and I guess my thoughts on HDR photography looked to be interesting enough!  You can attend too – the cheap seats are only $5!  Get the tickets here.

Another Nightly Twitter Book-Question Answering Session

I decided to do something kind of different and potentially crazy – I do my best to answer ALL questions about the book on Twitter.  I sat down tonight and announced I was open for questions, and many came in both publicly and via DM.  I got them all answered!  I’m not sure I can keep this up forever, but it is very fun.  I thank you guys for getting the book, and I want to be as accessible as possible to help you with the sport of HDR!

Daily Photo – The Glacially Still Morning Lake

I woke up and my sleeping bag was covered in snow.  Brrrrr it was cold.  And I mean cold!  I had chosen to exile myself from the tent, since I pulled the short straw and had to sleep with Yuri.  He is the worst tentmate ever.  Worst.  Tentmate.  Evar.

Anyway, once I rousted myself (getting dressed IN the snow AS it is falling on you is very strange), I went on a little hike to warm up.  As I crested a hill, I found this beautiful still lake.  The wind had yet to kick up, and I could se the bright blue edge of the glacier burning through the morning fog.  I was so relaxed that I almost forgot to take the shot.  Almost.

Behind the Scenes at B&H

After my talk at B&H Photo a few weeks ago, I had an unexpected event. One of the head guys walked up to me and offered a full behind-the-scenes tour of their operation. Now, I know only some of you know about this place… but it is basically the valhalla for photographers (with valhalla being the ultimate religious destination for your respective religion or pastafarianism). SInce they are partners of StuckInCustoms.com, they have always gone out of their way to help me out, so I am very appreciative of them.

I recommended their store even before they partnered up! Great prices, no state tax, and they sell a lot more than camera stuff. You can even get huge TVs delivered right to your door and set up in right in your home.

For international people, they even have a prepay tariff-calcualtor, which takes care of all that governmental nonsense to get everything taken care of right away. Smart. That means people around the world can enjoy the greatness of B&H.

Anyway, the sights I saw can hardly be believed. I’ll do a full review of my behind-the-curtain tour when I get some time… but it was just wild… from the robotic conveyor belts to a camera room with a guard where nothing costs less than $50,000 to special equipment that can also be used as weapons and can’t be sold outside of the USA — this place is AWESOME.

New Zealand Seems Excited!

I announced in the newsletter a few days ago that I am going to New Zealand, so I started a little page for Kiwis and Wanabiwis to give me some advice! It’s filling up fast – thanks so much! I’m drinking it all in, and I hope to have a little party there with everyone.

Daily Photo – Harmony in Pink

It was my first evening in Patagonia I was hiking over the low-laying grassy hills. Just beyond were the Andes, but it would be too cold and late to go this night. But, just as the sun dipped below the horizon, it splashed pinks and new blues across the icy clouds.

Guest post on Scott Bourne’s Blog – Black & White HDR Photography

I did a guest post over on PhotoFocus about B&W HDR Photography. There is a quote in there that got tweeted out — “HDR is about light; it’s not about color.” It’s true! Anyway, you can go read the guest post on his site.

Review of David duChemin’s book, Within the Frame

“Within the Frame” is a great book and I recently gave it a 5-star review on Amazon. Here is what I said about David’s work:

David presents all of his thoughts in a wonderful and inspiring way.

I find, personally, that the typical photography book is predictable and obvious. I like thinkers that challenge the status-quo, and David certainly falls in that realm. This book will inspire you because he’ll give you new ways to think about stuff you’ve been thinking about for years. If you are the kind of person that just wants old tired dictums being reinforced, then this isn’t the book for you. It’s full of new, fresh thought, smart conclusions, and, of course, beautiful photographs.

The world of Photography is changing, and David is one of the great flag bearers of the new age.

I also invite you to visit David’s website. He’s got his own review of my book there, which was awful nice of him!

Daily Photo – The Long Road to the Andes

There was a series of plane hops and car rides to get down towards the very edge of Argentina. At one point, I felt like I was on this road for a good 5 hours in a very sketchy rental van.

We pulled over to the road to relieve ourselves. I was ill-prepared for how windy this place is. There’s just no good way to capture how windy it was, since everything over one foot off the ground had blown away an epoch ago. The only evidence I have is that this was made with a single RAW file since I could not keep the tripod still for multiple exposures! I could not even keep myself upright! Let’s not talk about how I had to relieve myself; I can simply say there is only one good direction to aim.

The book is “Officially” out

“A World in HDR” is officially released! I’d like to thank all of YOU for your inspiration, your support, and being with us all this time. I truly appreciate it.

I understand warehouses are filling up and orders should be shipping any time! For sure, I stayed up all night signing things for the pre-orders that went through this site. My signatures are all real… and not fake stamps like so many others. I walked into a Barnes & Noble tonight here in New York to see if they had my book yet… They say any minute! But, on the way out, I saw Alton Brown’s cookbook that was an “Autographed Copy”. It was so obviously a stamp that was infused into the jacket! Anyway, I am sorry if they got a little messy around 6 AM, but at least you know they are real! I wanted to make sure we got these out to everyone ASAP… it’s important to you, I know, so it’s important to me.

Peachpit is putting the press release out today, so everything is official. You can visit the HDR Book page to order it from all the popular spots. It’s a mass-market distribution, so your favorite bookseller should have it. And, if you already have gotten in and enjoy it, why not pop over to Amazon and give the book a review? We now live in a world that is powered by people like you and your opinions — and I would appreciate that very much!

Daily Photo:  A Morning at the Secret Lake

This was shot in the Andes of Southern Argentina just near the border of Chile.

I spent several hours of hiking in the dark just so I could get to this spot at sunrise. All the darkness in the lower half is the shadow of the mountain behind me as the morning sun rose above it. I was so thirsty from the hike, and had not brought any water with me. Looking on Google Earth beforehand, I knew there was a lake up here and I could fill up… so I got down on my hands and knees and drank like a horse… oh boy that was some good fresh water… You can see my little footprints in the snow there on the left.

Live Video Chat Thursday Evening in the USA

The video chat is tonight, Nov 19th! Come join us at tinychat.com/stuckincustoms. Everything begins officially at 7 PM CST (5 PM PST). I know we have people joining from ALL over the world. Sorry I don’t have local times for everyone, but I know people around here are smart enough to do the addition in their heads, I hope! 🙂

I’ll start it out with a little announcement that should be fun for everyone!

The Newsletter is Off

We sent off the free Newsletter yesterday. I notice that one of the previous newsletters was opened by over 200% of the people who were on the list! That means that most people forwarded it to at least one person. That’s great. I always try to fill it with pretty pics… so they are the kinds of things that are fun to forward to people that like pretty pictures. And who doesn’t like those? Anyway, since it’s free, I do ask that you forward it around. It brings more people to the site, we get better advertising deals, and then it’s great for everyone! Thanks!

Daily Photo – And then I hiked through the Autumn Trees to find the Glacier

I wasn’t exactly hiking in the safest spot in the world, when I stopped to take this shot. But the tripod helped! I tend to use it like a hiking stick sometimes. I was hiking through a pretty area of southern Argentina in a bitter rainstorm. You can’t see the rain here because I left the shutter open for so long, but you can see the heavy clouds, hanging just a bit over the Perito Moreno glacier.

This Week in Photography show log available

If you wanted some of the links or to find out more about the other photographers on the show, visit the TWIP Log. Also if you found the show enjoyable, please be sure to leave them a comment. I’m sure they would enjoy hearing your feedback!

International Book Pre-Orders Available

In case you missed it, now you can pre-order the book now internationally on the HDR book page. We can’t hit every country yet, but maybe soon! We should note that international pre-orders cannot get the signed copy or the one with the Limited Edition Numbered Series print. My apologies for that… you will have to find a friend in the states if you simply must have one!

Daily Photo – Where the Sky is Torn Asunder (deep southern Andes, not far from Ushuaia)

The morning sun sprayed orange across the top of Fitz Roy, and I could feel those sharp tips slicing into the cold sky. It was really an unbelievable experience being there at the perfect time; I feel very lucky indeed.

HDR Workshop Update

In less than 24 hours, you can register for the HDR Workshop! At last count, after the announcement a few days ago, we had over 130 responses. There are going to be 12 spots available when registrations open, so you’ll have to be fast! Be sure to check back on the HDR Workshop page just after midnight CST on Friday, November 13th (to be exact, in case you are confused by midnight, the midnight between Thursday and Friday!).

Guest Hosting on This Week in Photography – The technique reveal

I was honored to be invited to guest host TWIP on Monday by Frederick Van. There is a live version of the show where perhaps you saw me in video action! If not, now it is available for audio-download. You can get TWIP Episode 115 here. I had a great time – and I thank Joseph, Ron, and Frederick for humoring me… I think I could talk to those guys all day and geek out on photography!

I revealed that video technique which a clever commenter coined “Stuck In Motion“. I put ALL the information there on that link. It should tell you everything, in addition to what you hear on the show. The original video posting gathered over 240 comments, speculation, and more. I think it’s fantastic how people guessed, poked, and prodded. Experimentation is great!

My friend RC Conception chimed into the chat, and I hijacked his question as an opportunity to talk about HDR not being a fad. Hehe… Anyway, you guys should also check out the great RC on Layers TV if you want to learn some new tricks in the Adobe suite of products.

Daily Photo

I’ve always heard about how wonderful it is to have a ranch near the wine country in Argentina. But not until I was down there did I really find that out in person. The idea of walking across a ranch during the nether hours of the day and seeing something like this… well… it kind of makes me want to just go ahead and retire down there. All I need is broadband and these kind of vistas… that’s the life, eh? I hope I was able to adequately capture the majesty of that place with this photo.

Kiva and Stuck In Customs

Today, I am announcing that a percentage of all book profits for “A World in HDR” will go to Kiva. I have written a little bit about Kiva on the Charity page here on the site. Also, I made this little video to tell you what the heck Kiva is. If you haven’t heard of it before, it’s probably not what you expect!

To get started, come join Team Stuck In Customs on Kiva and let me know your experiences! You can either put it here or on the Charity page.

I’d like to thank Sloane, who runs the Causemopolotan.com blog, who I met through Michelle Greer, who runs MichellesBlog.net (that links to a recent article she wrote after getting some notions from my reading list! – cool!)

Live Interview Today, Nov 9, on TWIP (This Week in Photography)

Watch LIVE HERE!

At 11 AM PST (1 PM CST), tune in live to the video at Leo Laporte’s TWIT cottage here on live.twit.tv. I won’t be talking about HDR today… I think that is being saved for a future interview when the book comes out. However, I will be talking about that video method I used to make the “Moments Between” video.

Come tune in Live and send Tweets along the way to @frederickvan! If you miss it, you’ll have to wait for it to be released on Wednesday! Don’t let that happen!

Daily Photo – The River Runs Through the Andes

Our daily photo today comes from deep in the Andes. Getting to this position was not as long a hike as the others around Patagonia, but it was no cakewalk! It was one of those strange river-rock strewn areas where the rocks seemed to be the perfect size for spraining your ankles. I had the tripod extended to act like a walking stick, although it’s not the most handy walking stick with a giant Nikon on one end of it!

The River Runs Through the Andes

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2020-07-10 09:16:10
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time2
• Aperture22
• ISO50
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+2

This was a hard spot to reach!

It was quite a hike to get up here early in the morning, just as the sky was still in a dawn of deep blue. The two lakes on either side are those pure glacial blue lakes that you sometimes see from airplanes and wonder, “What’s it like to be down there?” I’ll tell ya – AWESOME! I went down there and drank from the lakes like a guanaco on holiday. It was incredible.

Now, a few days ago I started to “Connect the Community“. There are so many clever and interesting people in the community, and I thought you should meet on another! Anyway, it’s really taken off and people from the community are taking it in nice new directions – thanks!

It seems a great many of you are on Twitter, and many of us have created a “Stuck In Customs” group in Tweetdeck or Lists in Twitter. This enables me to sit there and watch/engage in a real-time stream of community activity. It’s cool! I updated that post with a 4-step guide on the creation of this real-time community. It’s very loosey-goosey… as any fun community is! Come in, engage, stay a while… drift off… create… come back and share… drift off… comon back… it’s good and natural!

(and our experiment with a Real-Time Community continues…)

There were 6 of us, which is more or less the optimum number for a good campaign. I was the only Reaganite-capitalist among the five Soviet interlopers. I think, if we broke down people by personality and skillsets, we had a warrior, a shaman, a monk, a bard, and two clerics.

This guy, Vulva, would have been the monk. I’m not sure how to spell his name for sure, but he did respond to the word “Vulva”, if you put a little “w” sound with the “v”. Remember how Chekov was looking for the nuclear wessels? It was something like that. I say that Vulva was the monk of the group because his fingers and wrists were richly festooned with all sorts of Buddhist paraphernalia that he had picked up while in Tibet. He’s the sort of guy that would be really intimidating if it wasn’t for his kindness and zen peace.

Behind him are the Andes on the southern tip of Argentina.