Unique Photography for Unique People
Floating Through the Temple (And Tokyo Workshop Details)
March 16th, 2010

Tokyo Workshop Details

Everyone that subscribed to the free newsletter got early notice of this, and now everyone can see at on the weekend Tokyo Workshop page. It should have all the info you need, in case you live there or are looking for an excuse to pop over to Japan in the Spring!

Maybe I Won’t Go to London!

Well, of course I still will, but this article entitled “Photographers to lose copyright and right to photograph in public” gave me pause. What’s going on? If bureaucrats make these kind of decisions, it makes you wonder about all their decisions, eh? Of course, as a die-hard Libertarian, I’ve been saying this sort of thing for years….

Daily Photo – Floating Through the Temple

While in the north of India, I visited this Hindu temple. It was beautiful and decadent inside. I can’t even imagine what it used to look like back in the day. The walls supposedly had inlaid jewels and other precious stones. Despite time, it is still impressive.

I had set up for a normal multi-exposure shot, but then this Muslim woman came floating through the room, so I quickly made some adjustments and grabbed a quick single-exposure HDR.

from the categories: Agra, India, Nikon D3X, Travel | 17 Comments »

The Taj Mahal from Akbar’s Palace
January 21st, 2010

Another Nice Workshop Review

Thanks for all the nice emails and tweets everyone; I’m glad you had a good time. That is right, I still have no plans for future workshops, but I do appreciate all the feedback and kind requests.

Chris Stamper wrote an HDR Workshop Review on his blog that was very nice. Thanks Chris – I am happy you enjoyed it! Keep up the good HDR work and fight the good fight for us! :)

Nikon D3S Review Continues

I have a Nikon D3S still on loan from BorrowLenses.com, and I’m putting together some images for my Nikon D3S Review.  I don’t have it finished yet…. these things take a while, but, so far, I am very impressed!

In fact, I’m so impressed, that I am going to B&H Photo tonight to buy the full thing as a backup to my D3X! (You can see more info there on my Nikon D3X review)

The Taj Mahal from Akbar’s Palace

This image below was made with some textures from my Textures Tutorial. This is the only time that I “color” photos. Many times, I think people might think that I “paint” on top of my photos, but I do not. Sometimes, however, when I have an image that came out, ummm, a little more boring that it should be, I will give it a texture treatment. Maybe you are like me, and, on occasion, you take what you think will be a great shot. Then, you get home, and it just came out sort of boring.. that is always a bummer feeling. To get around that, I often use textures that I have collected from around the world.

Akbar’s palace has about one-tenth the number of visitors of the Taj Mahal, and it is almost just as stunning for photography. There are so many interesting and fun compositions, you just can’t go wrong. I recommend a full day here and a full day in and around the Taj Mahal. Besides these two major locations, the city streets, alleys, and everything in between are also highly recommended!

The Taj from Akbar's Palace

from the categories: Agra, India, Travel | 13 Comments »

Guarding the Portal
December 16th, 2009

Amazon Sold Out in the UK

Thank you London! (and all over UK, obviously!) I can’t believe it… I saw the Tweet earlier today that Amazon UK is out of stock… that is amazing! (But not yet at the U.S. Amazon store!)

I know from looking at the website and newsletter stats what incredible fans we have in London and all over the UK. I can’t thank you enough… I hope you are enjoying the website, and I know you will enjoy the book when you finally get it. We need to do a celebratory photowalk over there eh? !!

[EDIT - I understand it is sold out in Canada too. Thanks cool Canadiens!]

My article on Scott Kelby’s Blog “Being an Artist Sucks. Being an artist is awesome.”

I wrote this long piece recently for Kelby’s blog. I’d like to thank RC Conception for helping to make this happen. It gave me a great chance to write a longer-format piece. I think there are many people here that will find it of use, perhaps. Please drop your comments over there on Kelby’s blog, and I’ll be sure to read them!

Daily Photo – Guarding the Portal

I really wanted to see what was on the other side of these little doors. I imagined scenes from “The Fall” inside there (has anyone seen that movie??). I tried to negotiate with this gentleman, but he just bobbed his head like he didn’t understand. I would have offered him my own shoes, but I left them on the other side of the temple with a young boy.

I never got inside, but we did exchange some pleasant conversation, even though we never really understood a single word.

Guarding the Portal

from the categories: Agra, India, Travel | 16 Comments »

The Timeless Tomb — and the book launch parties announced
November 20th, 2009

Book Parties Announced!

More details to come soon, but save the dates and come RSVP on Facebook! I’ll be signing books, meeting you, and hanging out. I hope you can make it! Don’t worry about coming alone… you’ll make friends with the nice people there soon enough!

The Timeless Tomb

The Taj Mahal is an awesome place. I mentioned it last night in the live video chat (thanks to those of you that could make it — we should have a recording up soon). I spent the day taking photos of the place, and I was dog-tired when it was all done. Plus, my feet were hella dirty. You have to take off your shoes there. It turned out, actually, to keep me pretty cool. It was a very hot day; the marble was nice and cool on my feet.

I obviously used a special texture treatment on this one — if you’d like to find out more, there is indeed a “Textures Tutorial” here on the site.

The Timeless Tomb and Three Book Parties Announced!

from the categories: Agra, India, Stuck In Customs Textures, Travel | 10 Comments »

Getting Water for the Village
October 10th, 2009

Here is a wonderful scene from India. I am sure that people here find these women to be rather commonplace and uninteresting, but I thought all their little movements were photo-worthy. I’m sure they thought I was a nut following them around, so I tried to remain fairly clandestine, so as to not to interrupt their natural behavior. I sort of felt like I was tracking wild animals in their native habitat. That sounds strange, I’m sure!

Yes, I used a texture on this one from one of the texture tutorial packages. Note that I won’t do this for everyone, but I wanted to point you to my friend Scotty Graham’s blog in Indonesia, who is re-selling these textures. If you buy from there, he is donating his profits to children that suffered from the earthquakes in Sumatra. Anyway, as you can tell, he’s a nice guy, and his site is certainly worth a visit!

Getting Water for the Village

from the categories: Delhi, India, Travel | 6 Comments »

Romance in India
September 13th, 2009

My first impression of romance in India came from Bollywood.  I was pretty sure that everyone fell in love then spent a long time dancing around a grapefruit tree.    There are other dancers involved, nearby, of course, as well as a series of fountains, slow-motion cattle, Hinduesque yodeling.

But then, after being there, I saw romance was the same as just about everywhere else.  I did capture this couple together, exploring Humayun’s Tomb in the middle of Delhi.  Enjoy!

Romance in India

from the categories: Delhi, India, Stuck In Customs Textures, Travel | 11 Comments »

Flowers of Diwali in India
August 10th, 2009

When walking around New Delhi and getting lost in the backstreets, I came to an active area where everyone was selling accoutrements for the Diwali festival. I think the ladies knew that I was not a potential buyer, but all of them on the street were very happy to show me what they had to sell. Delhi itself is a very gray and dusty town, so it makes these colorful outfits and flowers stand out even more.

Diwali

from the categories: Delhi, India, New Delhi, Travel | 8 Comments »

The Blood-Colored Walls of Tomb
July 13th, 2009

This is Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi. It’s a wonderful place full of a rich bouquet of textures and light. There isn’t a bad shot of it to be had in this well-preserved Moghul tomb, and these light levels were made for HDR.

I’ve put another image of this tomb in the upcoming book. I talked a little more about the shot and some additional explanation about how it was made. When I go around and give talks, get feedback, and hear all the comments here on the blog, flickr, and facebook, I get a lot of repeat questions. I think the book will be a good chance to get them all in a nice definitive place where almost everything can be addressed. At least, I hope so!

The Blood-Colored Walls of Tomb (by Stuck in Customs)

from the categories: Delhi, India, New Delhi, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 19 Comments »

Approaching the Taj
June 28th, 2009

The Taj Mahal is an extremely crowded place! People from all over India, which tends to have a lot of people, come visit this mausoleum from every corner of the country. It’s right near the northern border of the country, and I know first hand how difficult the journey can be to get to this point.

Just beyond one of the official entrances to the Taj is the interior of a huge gatehouse, that was teaming with people trying to get a closer look. I held the camera high in the air after trying to position myself as centered as possible to try to capture a sense of the huddled masses.

Approaching the Taj (by Stuck in Customs)

from the categories: Agra, India, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 16 Comments »

Scooping Junk in Mumbai
June 22nd, 2009

These three guys spent at least eight hours out in the bay of Mumbai (Bombay is the British name) scooping up junk into their little boat. I know this because I kept passing the same place over and over again by the seafront. This was actually right by the Taj Mahal Hotel that was recently bombed, so I remember it very well.

After my third go-around, I leaned over the sea wall as they approached. After I got a few shots in, they all waved happily. There were not many white people around there, so I think I kinda stuck out, especially with the big ol’ camera.

Scooping Junk in Mumbai

from the categories: Bombay, India, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 12 Comments »

The Bats in the Belfry
June 13th, 2009

India is full of timeless slices of life like this.

I set up for this shot and then sat there for a while.  I had heard some sort of aviary commotion and hoped that creatures would come streaming out at some surprise moment.  I kept my finger over the trigger just in case, and then, like magic, they all came ripping out with quite a commotion.  After this, I packed up my tripod and decided to head towards this little temple to see what was inside.  I’ll be sure to put those up in coming weeks…

The Bats in the Belfry (by Stuck in Customs)

from the categories: Delhi, India, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 8 Comments »

The Guardian of the Ancients
March 13th, 2009

I found this daunting chap while trekking to northern India. We stopped to rest on the long road to Agra at a fairly imposing little structure on the side of the road. I was curious to see if I could find a drink or maybe a bit of food.

As I approached, this guy stood out front. I was pretty sure he didn’t speak English. We regarded one another for a bit. I tried to survey the authenticity of his weapon and the his circumspect agility. He examined at my anachronistic garb and camera for a bit. Then I gave him the international symbol for, "Can I take a photo?" He stiffened proudly in a pose. I took a quick shot, nodded, then passed by to see what he was guarding within.

A Guardian on the way to Agra

from the categories: Agra, India, New Delhi, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 18 Comments »

A Godly Dance at the Taj
March 5th, 2009

I was barefoot like the rest of them.

The day must have been around 95 degrees and as stuffy as can be, but the cool marble seemed to keep me from being drenched in sweat. After a long walk, I had finally made it to the inner core of the Taj Mahal, around the main tomb structure where pilgrims from all over the country had gravitated. The faithful coiled in long lines and snaked their way around the complex, waiting patiently to reflect at the megamausoleum and communing with the god of their choice. How could a billion people be wrong?

When I travel, I actually always enjoy talking to Indians (or whoever) about their religion. Here is a little thing I do… I’m not sure it’s totally ethical since I say the same thing over and over, but I enjoy seeing people’s reaction as a probe a panoply of personalities. Inevitably, when I’m in a taxi or man-powered trike-mobile, there is some sort of deity that is jiggling about on the dashboard or handlebars. It can be anyone from Shiva to Brahma to Vishnu to Krishna to Ganesha and beyond.

So, I always ask, “Who is the god to whom you pay reverence?”

They respond quickly and directly, usually naming one from of the top ten from the pantheon of possibilities.

I respond back, in all seriousness, “Oh! He is a very powerful god!”

To this, they always turn to me and nod gravely.

My guide there was from no from one of the traditional Hindu sects — he was a Jain. The Jain don’t recognize the divine origins of the Vedas (made popular in the US from Oppenheimer’s re-quote after testing the Bomb), nor do they believe in any one supreme deity. They instead revere Tirthankaras who have raised themselves to divine perfection. So anyway, if you ever try out the little trick above, don’t bother with a Jain because they will just give you a funny look and a wobble of inconsequential solitude.

So if any of you get the chance to go, I recommend it.  The people are all nice as can be and very eager to engage in conversation about just about everything.  Or, of you’ve already been, then you know what I mean!

By the way, this comes from my new Lucis Tutorial.

A Godly Dance at the Taj

from the categories: Agra, India, LucisArt, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 25 Comments »

1001 Arabian Nights and the Wily Scheherazade
January 31st, 2009

Do you recall this tale?

The Persian king Shahryar got somewhat upset with one of his wives, had her killed, then married a fresh virgin each day. Then he had them beheaded the following day, which was generally bad in form. Then, as the kingdom ran out of women, the vizier’s own daughter, Scheherazade, married the king with a plan… She told him such interesting stories and things night after night (1,001, to be exact), he became endlessly enraptured.

1001 Arabian Nights and the Wily Scheherazade

from the categories: Delhi, India, LucisArt, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 12 Comments »

Stopping for a snack on the way to Agra
January 23rd, 2009

The road between Delhi and Agra is really somthin’ else. If you are not swerving around giant potholes, it could easily be a dead cow, a live cow, or something in between. It’s never good to make fun of the cows with your driver, so that is right out.

I’m adventurous on these things… probably too adventurous. I always like to try new foods, and I’ll eat about anything from street vendors. Usually if it looks thoroughly cooked, it generally won’t get me sick…I’ve developed a tough stomach, although I did end up getting a bit sick in Mumbai… but I think that is because I was dumb and let some mysterious ice melt in my cup.

It was a long drive to Agra, and in little towns, the traffic would slow. I occasionally jumped out of the car to get some little snack (and take photos, of course!). Here is one of an interesting chap that had some food I could not pronounce.

Stopping for a snack on the way to Agra

from the categories: Agra, Delhi, India, LucisArt, New Delhi, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 6 Comments »

Alone and Dejected in a Strange Place
January 16th, 2009

I sensed a profound sadness in him. He was totally alone, seemingly waiting there for someone or something. I’ll never forget it.

His name was Marzouq. He was nice and solemn. As we talked I certainly felt an emptiness there with him. I’m not sure what it was, but it was like there was something wholly unrealized in his life. While we talked, he looked at me strangely at times, a look of not knowing what to think of me and accepting me at the same time. It was comforting, and he was nice to talk to. He created the distinct impression that he was thinking about my questions before answering.

We were there, totally alone, in an unexpected rear corner of a Moghul monument. I always like to go around the backside and try to see the things that are not obvious.

After sitting to rest and talking a bit, he motioned behind him with a quick glance and raised eyebrows, and said cheerfully, “Want to see the bats?”

I said, “Are you kidding? Let’s go.”

Marzouq ducked down about ten feet from a smallish door with hard black shadows shooting inside. He began a near crab walk even while approaching the tiny door. I ducked my head too, which felt strange in the open air. Maybe he was afraid of bats streaming out, which I suddenly realized, causing me to duck down a little more than him.

He made little grunting sounds and kept waving his hand to the side for me to follow. After entering the door, a short walk, and a few turns, we ended up in what felt like a chamber. It could have been darker in there, but I don’t know how. He grunted in a way like “watch this” and he flipped on a flashlight, shining it up into the half-domed room. There were hundreds of bats hanging there, totally silent. It was eerie as heck. I set up my camera but it was way too dark even with a slow shutter speed… and I didn’t feel like light-painting with the flashlight because I thought it might look stupid and not really capture the mood anyway. We sat in there for a while handing the flashlight back and forth and making little grunt sounds. It was very strange, but entirely delightful.

Alone and Dejected in a Strange Place (by Stuck in Customs)

from the categories: Delhi, India, LucisArt, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 17 Comments »

Alone in the Bhagavad
January 15th, 2009

I feel like I end up walking alone through the epic book of the Bhagavad Gita. These mythical places are made manifest in unexpected ways as I look around. It feels somewhat empty inside, like it needs to be shared with someone. The only devastated remnants I have are these little pictures, which seem a poor substitute.

Alone in the Bhagavad

from the categories: Delhi, India, LucisArt, New Delhi, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 13 Comments »

Spending Time Inside My Head
November 28th, 2008

I do tend to distract myself, rather than have ample time to sit around and think about things. Why I drive myself to distraction is another matter altogether, but one that usually has delicious complications. And then I come across men like this one, several hundreds of miles north of Delhi in India. He has nothing but time to sit around and think about things. I wonder if he is able to better figure things out.

Spending Time Inside My Head

from the categories: Agra, India, Travel | 13 Comments »

The Taj, Framed
November 1st, 2008

I recently gave a few talks here in Austin (one at UT and one at ACC) about photography, this technique, and various other meandering topics on the brain and perception that I hope did not bore the crowd! This is one of the photos that we worked on during the class, so I thought I would upload to share with everyone!

I also provided a link to my tutorial in the class… here it is for those of you that are interested!

The Taj, Framed

from the categories: Agra, India, Travel | 9 Comments »

Khamali in the shadows of Moghuls
October 20th, 2008

Khamali sat there smiling at me every time I walked by. I would always smile back at her and nod in a generally friendly way. She didn’t ask me for money or anything, although she seemed to ask others, I noticed.

I passed her a fourth time because I was going back to the temple as the light was changing.

She bobbled her head in a pleasant manner. I stopped to give her some rupees and she quickly secured them in the folds of her saree. I made the international sign for “can I please take your picture”, and she shook excitedly as some nearby boys came over to watch.

Khamali in the shadows of Moghuls

from the categories: Delhi, India, New Delhi, Travel | 3 Comments »

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