Unique Photography for Unique People
The Flying Buttress
March 5th, 2010

Thanks Christchurch!

I very much enjoyed the photowalk and talk yesterday. Everyone was genuinely nice and engaged. I got a bunch of good questions. People in NZ were even nicer than I expected! I look forward to seeing the Flickr group for the event…and perusing people’s shots! Feel free to post it below!

Daily Photo – The Flying Buttress

I mentioned during the photowalk tonight this effect of the wide-angle lens. Whenever you aim it above the horizon, everything leans in a bit. Now, I occasionally get negative comments that think that this “leaning” looks bad, unprofessional, and unrealistic. I have to disagree! It doesn’t bother me a bit. My eye adjusts, and, well, I think it just looks cool.

The church below is from Dresden, Germany.  I am 98% sure of this… I don’t know why I am having trouble remembering…  I think I am getting old.  I did have to wake up at 5 AM to go to the bathroom last night… a bad sign.

A Leisurely Dinner Under the Stars
July 23rd, 2009

Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a place like this? I like these old European streets where great restaurants line edges… Let’s all move there… we can just go out and dine on the streets every night, eat fab food, see street performers, talk about photography, geek out, etc etc. Yes that sounds quite wonderful.

As you can see, I left in the HDR ghosting. Sometimes I quite like it, especially in these scenes where there is motion and feel like that’s part of the gestalt. I think these sorts of words are okay to use, even when not standing on a German street.

I am very appreciative to all the eyes out there scouring the intertubes! I had a nice girl who gave me the heads up on someone using images without permission. Her name is Shannon, and you can see her Flickr stream here. Thanks Shannon :)

A Leisurely Dinner Under the Stars

A Night Out in Germany
June 4th, 2009

This is something so many European cities seem to have… a nice cobblestoned area in an old part of the city where people just mill around from wine to dinner to gelato to aimless wandering about. I think these areas are always full of life and excellent for people-watching. Often times, this is why I don’t mind being by myself in these foreign places… it’s very nice to sit back and just analyze people as they come and go.

This was shot in the middle of Dresden when there was just a few degrees of sunlight left behind the old church. Once things get too black in the sky, I usually pack up the tripod and then head to the best looking gelato place I had surveyed earlier in the day.

Thanks again for all the feedback on the newsletter yesterday! We should get all of this cleaned up and ready for the first release sometime within the next two weeks or so… I hope your expectations aren’t TOO high… although I’ll do my best of course. Right now I think we’ll have links to two new reviews that the newsletter crowd can check out for a few days before they are publicly linked.

A Night Out in Germany

Steam Train 52 5448-7
May 22nd, 2009

These old trains in Europe are always cool. I can’t imagine how incredibly heavy they are. All that cast iron just looks like it might create its own gravitational force. I like looking at all the machinery and piping and stuff. I’m the first to admit that I don’t know a dang thing about trains, but I do like looking at them.

I visited a train museum also while I was in Dresden. It was really interesting looking at all the tiny inventions that had been deprecated and forgotten over time. They would have extremely specialized tools that would only do one thing for a technology that only lasted a short time. Some of these things must have weighed several tons, and the only task it could perform is maybe a mounting harness for a cast iron part that only fit one sort of train that was only in service for a few years. It was a cool museum. I guess it is kind of a guy thing… it must have been, since I didn’t even see another woman in the whole place!

Steam Train 52 5448-7 (by Stuck in Customs)

Grabbing a bite at sunset
May 13th, 2009

For those interested, I was recently interviewed by Jim Goldstein about photography, HDR, and the like on “EXIF and Beyond”. You can hear the podcast here.

Whenever I am Europe, I have more snacks than my 3-year-old in the US every day.  I can’t believe how much my daughter eats.  I don’t know where it all goes.  She is like a tardis and has the metabolism of the entire Chinese gymnastics team.

This was shot in the streets of Dresden.  I had just grabbed a snack to carb up before the upcoming sunset.  These sunsets are supposed to be relaxing, but I had to hot-foot it around from location to location to squeeze it all into the hour.

Grabbing a bite at sunset (by Stuck in Customs)

Relaxing in Dresden (and speaking in Austin)
February 26th, 2009

Dresden had beautiful building after beautiful building!  They were just all lined up, waiting to be photographed.  As blind luck would have it, a storm had just ripped through, leaving this incredible purple sunset.  Well, heck, I guess I don’t have to tell you… since you can just look below and see! :)

And any of you in the Austin area that are coming tonight to my talk and tutorial (it’s free and you don’t have to be a mac user – more info here), be sure to come over and say hello! :)  Don’t be shy — I’d be happy to meet you in person!

Relaxing in Dresden

The Holy Ones
December 17th, 2008

These are the venerated ones! Their grisly visages encased in dark oil paints to keep this part of the inner cloister feeling rather dismal.

I looked and did not see a lot of women up there at all. I also didn’t see any heiro-clergy holding a fluffy white cat like a Bond villain. That would have made my day… but, alas… nothing quite so interesting as all of them solemnly looking across the way at one another, and down at whoever has scuttled in on their knees.

The Holy Ones (by Stuck in Customs)

The Purpling Storm
December 8th, 2008

As night was falling in Dresden, I moved from location to location around the city to chronicle the changing light conditions across the old buildings…

The Purpling Storm

The Bombing of Dresden
October 29th, 2008

This is one of the most famous churches in Dresden that was bombed to bits in WWII. When it was rebuilt just recently, they reused some of the old burned black bricks in the construction. If you look close, you can still see them in there on occasion.

This comes from my photography tutorial, located here!

The Bombing of Dresden

Just North of Bavaria in Old East Germany
June 18th, 2008

I never thought East Germany would be such a great place for photography. There were a ton of places for good photos and it was all a bit overwhelming… It was nice to take breaks on occasion for some hearty German snacks to keep my carbs at manageable levels.

Just North of Bavaria in Old East Germany

Old Germany
February 13th, 2008

Captured near the rebuilt center of bombed-out Dresden.  This is part of a new textures tutorial I have going up  later this week!

Old Germany

Rushing Past German History
February 8th, 2008

This reminds me of my best friend and partner who majored in 19th Century German History. I am sure he knows who all those people on this famous Dresden wall are. And what good does it do in our friendship and business? None.

Rushing Past German History

The Bridge of Death
February 2nd, 2008

The bridge where they moved the excommunicated to execution…

I was there towards the late afternoon and there was an eerie red light in the sky over the blackened bridge.

The Bridge of Death

The Gates of Saint Peter
January 29th, 2008

This was shot in Dresden, Germany. Again, I was not supposed to be anywhere close to this area with a camera, but I gave serious nods to the right people and before they could get their bearing, I got enough shots to show everyone how awesome this place is!

The Gates of Saint Peter

Central Dresden
January 14th, 2008

A perfectly clear day in Germany… although, truth be told – I prefer a bunch of crazy-lookin’ clouds!

Central Dresden

All Dressed up for Sunday Service
October 28th, 2007

Oh this old thing?
Dressing up for Church

Triangles in Germany
October 9th, 2007

This is from one of the city squares, which I guess is really a triangle, in Dresden.
Triangles in Germany

Restaurant Row in Dresden
September 30th, 2007

This is a narrow street full of restaurants near the big church in Dresden.
Restaurant Row in Dresden

The Free State of Saxony
September 10th, 2007

This is the Zwinger Palace in Dresden.

It was built when Augustus the Strong returned from Versailles outside of Paris after visiting Louis XIV. The Neoclassical architecture here is different than the baroque style through the rest of Dresden.

To the right you can see the art museum called the “Old Masters Picture Gallery” where I spent the afternoon. They had many Raphaels, Rubens, Canalettos, and even a Rembrandt there along with an array of work from other northern Italians.
The Free State of Saxony

Dresden Frauenkirche
August 28th, 2007

This church was completely destroyed during the firebombing and was just rebuilt and completed late last year. I was very lucky to capture it without anyone standing in the middle of the shot!
Dresden Frauenkirche

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