Printing 101 eBook

Printing 101! If you are printing-curious, and I know many of you are, here is a great eBook from Ron Martinsen.  From emails and other communications, I know many of you are interested in learning more about how to make your own prints at home.  This eBook is incredibly approachable and thorough.  Enjoy!

Daily Photo – Brian Rose in the Holodeck

When I was in Venice, I visited the beautiful new Google offices there.  It’s where most of the photos team is based.

We had a fun little giveaway where I invited a winner to join me for the day at Google.  The winner was Cam Meadows, so he joined me and Tom Anderson on a grand tour around the offices.  Along the way, our host, Brian Rose, led us to the Google Holodeck.

It’s fully integrated into the latest version of Google Earth, and you can zoom and fly around anywhere in the world.  I grabbed the controls to zoom into San Francisco then asked him to smile while I grabbed a quick photo!

Filed under the categories: California, LA, Nikon D3X, Travel

Trey’s Variety Hour #22: Patrick Rothfuss – The Name of the Hangout

Don’t forget you can subscribe for free in iTunes: http://goo.gl/ZAKd8 (or other options at http://twit.tv/tvh) if you want to get these first, or have them available later on your computer, iPhone, or iPad.

This show was a very special one for me (sounds like a very special episode of Blossom, when she gets a visit from Aunt Flo), but you’ll probably detect this while watching. During the first bit, we talked about art, sharing, the human condition, and unexpected benefits of creating art in a vacuum. In the second bit when Veronica Belmont joined, we started going off on all sorts of fantasy tangents. This may or may not have included dipping our wicks into Vaginal Fantasies.

Want to know what book of his to get first? Just get “The Name of the Wind” (Amazon or Audible) and thank me later!

Daily Photo – The Gentle Rays

On my first evening in Yosemite, the sun did some amazing things. There as a big group of Google+ people converging on Yosemite, but I arrived a day early for a little “me” time. Nature must have felt my mojo because it all conspired to create some interesting results as the rays tumbled across the valley floor.

Filed under the categories: California, Nikon D3X, Travel, Yosemite

Subscribe to the Show

If you were already subscribed at http://twit.tv/tvh or iTunes Link: goo.gl/ZAKd8 , then you would already have the show below.  So… why didn’t you do it yet?  Or better yet, why didn’t you tell your friends!?

Trey’s Hangout #21 – Horror Stories

Here’s the new video where we share all kinds of stories… This show had +Scott Kelby +Jeremy Cowart +Nicole S. Young+Catherine Hall +RC Concepcion +Gordon Laing.  Enjoy!

During the “Discoveries” portion, here are the photographers we showed off: +Gregory Colbert+Isabel Sousa Silva +Isabelle Lafrance +Nori Sakamoto +Dean Bradshaw +Ibarionex Perello+Ryan Dyar +Mihailo Radičević +Brad Moore +Douglas Sonders

And thanks again to the production team: +Leo Laporte and +Tony Wang from TWiT.tv and +Dave Veffer

Daily Photo – The Lodge at Night

On the final night of the Yosemite PhotoWalk, we ended up here to explore the evening.  This is the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite, and I hope I made it look as beautiful as it really is.  This is also the place that Steve Jobs got married.

Karen Hutton and I arrived here very late at night after our extra-long walk!  We could even see a few people camping for the night halfway up the mountain they were climbing.  After going around the back side of the lodge, we saw the stars and trees and cliffs above…

Filed under the categories: California, Nikon D3X, Travel, Yosemite

TWIT Schedule for Show

Tonight is the night!  So many have asked for it to be a regularly-schedule thing, and now it is!

• Time: See you every Monday (tonight!) at 7 PM PT (Your World Time)
• Location:  Live.twit.TV
• Live Chat:  Join us for a live chat too!  Just click on the “Popout Chat” button on the website and join in the fun.  Ask questions, etc etc.
• Podcast Location:  Link to iTunes –  Thanks Tony!

Daily Photo – The TWIT Network Mothership Table

The studio is cool because they have a number of different “sets” there for different shows.  This is the main round table where Leo Laporte does some of his biggest shows, like This Week in Tech, MacBreak Weekly, This Week in Google, and many others.  He lets anyone in the area come sit in as a guest to watch the live production… and that’s a lot of fun too because of all the geeky equipment around.

On this particular day, my mom came to sit in the audience (after she got lost and needed Tony to go rescue her!).  She brought a load of fudge with her and made everyone happy… she even got a hug from Leo

Filed under the categories: California, Nikon D3X, Petaluma, Travel

The Star Trails eBook from Jim Goldstein

Visit FlatBooks.com to check out Jim’s latest eBook!  Here’s a little sample page… really awesome stuff.  Thanks for supporting the authors over there!

Daily Photo – The Mariposa Woods

While we were at Yosemite for the big PhotoWalk, we took an evening to visit the Mariposa Woods.  They were very close to our hotel, and it was an easier drive than going all the way to the main park at Yosemite.  Plus, I had a feeling the sunset would be quite stunning through the trees.  My feelings don’t always work out, but this time it did.

My methods still haven’t changed for these kinds of shots.  Seven exposures:  from +3 to -3 seems to get the job done.  I end up with more than enough light for the post-processing.

Filed under the categories: California, Nikon D3X, Travel, Yosemite

Great Hangout Last Night!

Art is sort of a peaceful Switzerland where people from all walks of life can come together.  And I think this Switzerland of sorts is why Sergey Brin, who is also quite an enthusiastic photographer, joined the hangout last night.  We had a great time talking with Sergey and Gordon Laing, Thomas Hawk, Karen Hutton, Kelli-Seeger Kim, and Chee Chew.

Watch YouTube.com/stuckincustoms for the video when it comes online!  You may have to click on “Uploads” to see the most recent things.  I have a number of playlists on there too.

Daily Photo – Google Doodle

The new Google offices in Los Angeles are right in the heart of Venice.  After passing through some hardcore security, you walk down this hallway, which I guess is a bit like dying and going to Google heaven.

You probably know about all the various Google doodles that decorate the home page.  I heard the first one was of Burning Man.  I didn’t see that one on the walls… but maybe you can!

Filed under the categories: California, LA, Nikon D3X, Travel

Big News – New Show to TWIT!  Tune in Monday!

I’m excited and honored to be taking our show to Leo Laporte’s TWIT Network!  I’ve always been a fan of Leo ever since the days of the Screen Savers.  So, this is all totally surreal for me.  His new venture has been a smashing success, and his team has built proto-network of the future.

What is TWIT Live?  The network now has over 40 hours of live streaming video per week that is viewed by over 4 million people every month.  And maybe we can add a little more steam to that engine with your help.

• Our Regular Weekly Time:  Monday at 7 PM PT – Your World Time
• Location to Watch:  Live.TWIT.tv (There is Live Chat there too)

Daily Photo – TWIT Studio

Several weeks ago I went to Petaluma to visit Leo to be on his show with Catherine Hall.  We all had a great time together, as usual.  I arrived beforehand to take a few photos of the studio while he was filming MacBreak Weekly with Alex Lindsey and Andy Ihnatko (another show worthy of a podcast subscription).  Here’s the first one I wanted to share with you all.

And get ready for an amazing show for Trey’s Variety Hour #20 tomorrow night… I’m planning something special!

Filed under the categories: California, Nikon D3X, Petaluma, Travel

Facebook Best-Of

I notice that my Facebook page has really taken off lately with a lot of subscribers.  So, I’ve been putting a bunch of my old favorites there on FB.  I think most people there have never seen them!  Of course, they are all from the blog here… maybe even a few years ago… but it has been kind of fun to dredge up some of the old favorites!

So if you’re new here to the blog, you may enjoy visiting my timeline there too!

Daily Photo – Mountains Forever

During the Yosemite PhotoWalk, the sky was beyond belief for the first few nights.  The second half of the trip had fairly mundane skies.  So, I was happy I went out there and got a lot of shots in the beginning!

I’m often optimistic about the “future” of the trip, assuming that the sunsets will always get better and better.  This rarely is the case, so I don’t know why I’m consistently optimistic about the prospects.

Filed under the categories: California, Nikon D3X, Travel, Yosemite

Stuck On Earth hangout

We had a great hangout to talk about Stuck On Earth (iTunes Link), the community, and more.  Here is a recording.  Enjoy!

Daily Photo – Darkness in the City

Sometimes the art gets a little bit dark, yes?  These moods are kind of good and kind of fun… and productive in a few different ways.

I found this location through Stuck on Earth.  We have a Top 50 Secret Spots list in the app from my friend Thomas Hawk.  It got me a great shot looking in the other direction.  But then, I very simply turned around and saw this out the other window!

Filed under the categories: California, Nikon D3X, San Francisco, Travel

Big Chance-of-a-lifetime opportunity tomorrow!

Be sure to watch this space tomorrow…  something very very very very cool is coming…  I’m excited to offer it to you here on the blog!

Daily Photo – Blade Runner

I was staying at my friend Tom’s house (see the post tomorrow!!!) in the Hollywood hills, and we decided to head off to one of the nearby trails that overlooks the city.  I took photos in one direction of Century City, but then turned around to zoom in on downtown LA to get this shot.

I don’t know if this is fog or a cloud or smog or a combination of all of them, but it made for a lucky and nice effect!

Filed under the categories: California, LA, Nikon D3X, Travel

No I don’t…

It seems like every day I get a question about whether or not people pay me to post about things. People think I do this because my Klout (meaningless) is 83 and I have over 750,000 followers on Google+ and another 100K or so on Twitter + Facebook, but no, I do not:

• …do paid posts from Nikon for money
• …do paid posts from Sony for money
• …do paid posts from Apple for money
• …do paid posts from Google for money
• …do paid posts from Facebook for money
• …do paid posts from … you name it… SmugMug, American Airlines, Four Seasons, Banyan Tree, Fuji, American Express, etc etc… for money

The thing is… I can’t be bought. The blog is already profitable and we have a healthy and happy team of employees here at StuckInCustoms that I appreciate very much. This means I don’t have to accept money to post on the blog or various social networks to artificially “plug” something. If you ever see me mention a product or service, it’s simply because I wanted to… because it fits in with the story or it is a product or service I recommend.

When people see me write an article that is critical of future Nikon DSLRs and says that I am Sony-curious, some assume that Sony is paying me to say this. That is absurd. I am totally independent.

So, with me, you can be assured you’ll always get my pure opinion.

There are always behind-the-scenes stuff happening that we reject all the time. I’ll listen to any proposal, as long as it does not include me being disingenuous to you, my gentle reader.  If you’d like to read more about this policy and all the ins and outs on the website, visit my Ethics Statement.

There are continually confusing situations that I try to avoid. For example, Lytro offered to send me a free camera in exchange for me sending them my Lytro photos to be featured on their website. That would be seen as an official “endorsement” of sorts by me. Anyway, I told those jokers no way. Even though I would not be actively posting about it, the association could be seen as disruptive and not respectful of you.

Daily Photo – The Lonely Woods, Forever

Here is another photo from our recent Yosemite PhotoWalk last week. The valley floor is full of dense forests that can go on for an eternity. I had a wonderful time exploring these with all my fellow PhotoWalkers. I can’t wait to do it all again soon.

Filed under the categories: California, Nikon D3S, Travel, Yosemite

Google Talk Today

I’ll be at Google Austin today to give a talk about photography and the future of it.  It’s a closed event, unfortunately, so I can’t invite you guys in…  Maybe next time I’ll plan something with a bigger venue.  Either way, I think the Google team will record it so I can share later.

Daily Photo – The Yosemite Valley

This was my first trip to Yosemite ever, so I was pretty excited.  I’ve been to Yellowstone about a dozen times, but this has always been a blank spot for me.  It was a great trip and we had all sorts there from the Google+ PhotoWalk.

The first evening there had a nice set of pinks and some vermillion reflections that cascaded down the valley.  Subsequent days had me traveling all the way down the valley to see all the same mountains from a variety of perspectives.

Filed under the categories: California, Nikon D3X, Travel, Yosemite