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!

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.

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.

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!

This red-stoned temple had hundreds of tiny rooms scattered all over the grounds. The light streamed in from many angles to light up the walls and carved details. I only wish I was around 1000 years ago with my anachronistic digital camera… that would have been good, except for the no flickr part.

Here within the sprawling palace of Akbar, just outside of Agra, is another intricately designed tower. The redness of everything was even hotter in the Indian sun, and the deep textures bled through.

This was shot inside a nearly empty palace in the far north of India. As you all know (and probably agree), it is rather annoying to have tourists in these shots… unless that is part of the look you are a-goin for… which I rarely am! Anyway, this place was great…

I was barefoot for about 3 hours as I moved my way through the palace with tripod in tow….

It was a very long day that I spent in Akbar’s Palace. Early in the day I parted ways with my guide to walk around the grounds by myself. The palace was relatively empty, being a bit out of the hustle and bustle of Agra. Most everyone else tended to go over to the Taj, but I found the most delicate and beautiful parts to be in these oft-neglected quarters.

Akbar the Great was quite a guy I am sure. This was shot in his palace near Agra. Most people go to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal, but in my estimation, this is a much more exotic and interesting place to explore.

Shot on the steps on the way to Akbar’s Palace.

This is the larger than life Buland Darwaza in Fatehpur Sikri, in the far north of India.  I spent a long time around here, looking at all of Akbar’s Mughal architecture from every angle.  I pictured many a fantastic battle being fought for control of the palace and inner cloister.

It’s the highest gateway in the world and you can easily see the detail of the red sandstone and the inlayed white marble, which still has remarkable architecture, even though it has been there for over 400 years.  A very close look uncovers verses from the Koran, winding their way up and around the towers.

This mosque was not easy to get a shot in… and they even made me wear a little hat… but I am happy with the results, although everyone inside wondered what a WASPy-lookin guy was doing with a camera!

When wandering around the outskirts and wilds of the Taj Mahal, where no tourists can be found (you all know I am not fond of clueless tourists that use their flash when they are 500 yards from the subject… you all probably feel the same way!), I found this other wandering camel that stopped for a rest. I don’t know what all the brands on his neck are for – although I assume they denote ownership to the boy in the red’s family.

I would appreciate your vote for the 2008 Bloggies! I hope you vote for www.stuckincustoms.com in the "best photography of a weblog" category!