Don’t forget the Live Show

I hope you enjoy the Live Show Tonight at 7 PM PT! And you can also subscribe via these methods:

• Option 1: Subscribe for free in iTunes: http://goo.gl/ZAKd8.
• Option 2:  It’s not in “podcast” form, but you can subscribe to My YouTube channel.
• Option 3:  There are other subscription options avail on the TWIT page at http://twit.tv/tvh

Live Show Time and Location:

• We are live every Monday night at 7 PM PT  (sample World Time for a show)
• Watch live on http://live.twit.tv
• Join above location for Live chat too.

Sony NEX-7 Review Video

Did you see the Sony NEX-7 Review here on the site? I’ve now added the hangout below…

Who’s in there? Sergey Brin from Google, Kai Wong from Digital Rev, Gordon Laing from CameraLabs.com, Keith Barrett from Vidcast Network.

Daily Photo – Awesome Car in Tokyo

Tokyo has a bunch of cool cars all over the place.  And look at that license plate!  How do you get that number?  Maybe you have to part of the Japanese mafia or something…

I took this photo a long time ago but only recently processed it.  In fact, I took it while we were doing the Tokyo workshop.  Remember that thing?  I only dedicate about 10-15% of my year to “teaching” stuff, since I am so busy with other things.  This year I’m working on a bunch of different things to help this scale, however, since it is hard to be everywhere physically at the same time.

Filed under the categories: Japan, Nikon D3X, Tokyo, Travel

New Hangout Monday Night

The new show is Monday at 7 PM PT (Your World Time).  This show will be lots of fun. We’re talking about “Horror / Embarrassing / Funny stories from various photo-outings… either for a client or for yourself.” This week, the hangout will have Jeremy Cowart, Nicole S. Young, Catherine Hall, RC Concepcion, Brian Matiash, and Gordon Laing..  Joe McNally is a 50/50 chance… he’s traveling perhaps out-of-pocket, and I’m sure he has more stories than all of us combined!

Daily Photo – The Mighty Ship

I went crazy in this place with my camera!

There are so many incredible angles inside the Tokyo International Forum — it’s almost like cheating.  When I’m in the middle of amazing architecture, it’s awe-inspiring and I really want to try my best to capture it in a way the architect would appreciate.   I went up and down every floor of the structure and spent most of the afternoon here.  It was one of the best afternoons ever… I’m still going through shots, and this is my latest.

Filed under the categories: Japan, Nikon D3X, Tokyo, Travel

Google Currents

Have you installed Google Currents on your Android device or your iPad? It’s pretty cool. If you add me in both places – both as a “Curator” and as in the Lifestyle category, then you can get my stuff ahead of time!

Daily Photo – Monkey Monkey

This might be the dumbest name for any photo ever, but all bets are off with these snow monkeys.

Did you know that Nolan Ryan from the Texas Rangers has a bunch of snow monkeys in South Texas? Oh yes, listen here. Really – listen!

Filed under the categories: Japan, Nagano, Nikon D3S, Travel

New Books En Route to Flatbooks

Thanks so much for enjoying all the eBook offerings over at Flatbooks.com ! I appreciate it, and so do all the other authors there…

We have a great new eBook on the way… and it is being written by the very same Jaime Ibarra that I mention below. It will be an amazing one…

Also, don’t forget to check out the new printing eBook from Ron Martinsen that was released a few weeks ago.

Daily Photo – The Snow Monkey

I found this guy right outside of Nagano, Japan.

I’ve had this photo for a while, and I decided to process it today while hanging out with Jaime Ibarra from IbarraPhoto.com (nudity warning. nudity opportunity.) We spent all day and night processing photos. He’s a great guy. His techniques are so unique! I was able to convince him to write an ebook for Flatbooks.com — I can’t wait to see it. We hope to get it out before Thanksgiving!

Filed under the categories: Hakone, Japan, Nagano, Travel

Of a Feather

I didn’t really intend this, but I find today’s photo very similar to yesterday’s. I guess it is just a coincidence.

Daily Photo – The Japanese Cemetery

I do love Kyoto and the quaintness of Japanese design. Of course, cemeteries all over the world are different, and each one is kind of like you expect. I don’t really know what I mean by that, since you don’t know what you will see. But it is never surprising when you finally lay eyes on it. Of course, you don’t know what any of it means, or the traditions involved, but you can sort of intuit the inner meaning of it all. And that is kind of nice.

Filed under the categories: Japan, Kyoto, Nikon D3X, Travel

Things you don’t see

So, I’m always taking photos… usually more significant ones in a grand scale… I spend all day making these… but maybe I will start sprinkling in other little bits from time to time… like this one.

Daily Photo – Alone in a Foreign Taxi on a Rainy Night

Many of my travel nights end with a taxi ride back home. I’m usually exhausted after a long day. I may have a snack or a drink that I pick up from a little store… munching away in the back seat… my eyes dart this way and that… not used to moving so fast… and I see little things like this.

Filed under the categories: Japan, Tokyo, Travel

Movement in HDR

How do I handle moving subjects in HDR? This is one of the most common questions I hear. All of that and more is answered here on the site inside the HDR Tutorial. Enjoy!

Daily Photo – Work in Tokyo

I set up here for an HDR multi-exposure shot, but then people started running into the office. I thought their running was so nice that I made sure to change my settings around a bit to capture the rush of it all.

I didn’t intend to spend so much time around this office building, but I ended up there for about an hour. There are so many nice lines and compositions with the sort of ultra-modern architecture you get in modern buildings…

Filed under the categories: Japan, Nikon D3X, Tokyo, Travel

Free HDR Tutorial Video

Okay now that I let it out there with a smaller beta crowd, we can make it official! The HDR Tutorial has been totally re-made and we’ve worked out all the bugs. Also, I made a new video to accompany it that shows how I at least start the process. Enjoy!

Daily Photo – Snow in Nikko

It was a freezing cold morning when I woke up to explore this temple area of Nikko. Luckily, I was the first person to arrive, and I was pretty much alone for this early morning because of the snow. It gave me a peaceful period to explore with my music on… taking my time and moving around the temple to take in the big picture and all the nice little details.

Filed under the categories: Japan, Nikko, Nikon D3X, Photography Tips, Travel

Japanese People

Aren’t Japanese people pretty awesome? I mean, this is sort of a sweeping thing to say, I know… but, really… whenever I talk to people from various countries, most everyone finds the Japanese to be wonderful and quirky. There’s never one single thing that people mention… but there is something about it all that is quite nice.

You probably think I’m crazy now.

Daily Photo – The Hare in Harajuku

Every time I go to Tokyo, I try to spend some time in Harajuku. It’s one of the wildest and most unique places in an already unique city. It’s the sort of place where you take a people-shooting lens because of all the various types of people you see walking through the streets. And even more unique than the people are some of the shots and the decor, as you can see here…

Filed under the categories: Japan, Tokyo, Travel

Travel Days

Tips for Managing Airports:

1) Bring snacks from home – You can’t ever find just what you want at the airport… and, when pressed, you may end up getting crappy food that makes you feel kind of junky on the plane.

2) Laugh at the TSA – It is indeed “security theater” as you watch them pat down grandmas and children. I’ve seen so many stupid things they do just to give the “impression” of security, that I try not to get mad any more… and I just try to remember that TSA stands for Tub Stacking Authority. And, also, whenever possible, travel outside of US Airports, where they treat you like a human and not a guy in line at Taco Bell. Try the Japanese airports and you will have a happy experience.

3) Watch people’s eyes – I like to analyze people by looking at the way they are taking in the world around them. It’s very interesting… maybe you can see it too… when people just have a look in their eye like they’ve given up on life. You know what I mean… and then you see the eye of some other people and they look amazingly full-of-life and ready to engage in the world.

Daily Photo – Snowy the Snow Monkey

This little guy and I had a little friendship after a few days.

I spent time all over the hills and rivers here outside of Nagano taking photos of these snow monkeys. And you get to know them after a while… there are a few that you see over and over again. I started giving them names… the same way my daughter gives names to everything… and all the names were quite childish… Like I called this guy, “Snowy.” It wasn’t very creative, but he didn’t seem to mind.

He followed me around morning and night. And he posed… oh how he loved to pose. Some other monkeys I got too close too and they gave me the wide-mouth attack move…. but I never got too close to Snowy. I didn’t want to ruin the little grizzly-man thing we had a-goin’ on.

Filed under the categories: Japan, Nikon D3S, Tokyo, Travel

Daily Photo – The Lake at Nikko

This place was Cold with a capital C, as you can plainly see.

And worse, I had forgotten my special little gloves with the flip-up fingertips.

So I was goin’ finger-commando while trying to line up this shot. The wind was pretty stiff in my face. The wind always seems to be against you, eh? I think I just never notice it when it comes from any other angle.

By the way, there is only one place that is convenient to quickly warm up your fingers.

There is an older, historic part of Nikko that is about a 30 minute drive away. The drive is practically straight up a mountain, through a series of switchbacks. During the entire time up the mountain, I was surrounded by clouds. I thought it would be quite miserable at the top. But once I poked out, everything was free and clear. I was between cloud layers, exactly where this chilly lake sat at sunset.

Filed under the categories: Japan, Nikko, Travel, tutorial

Your Favorite Inclement Shooting Conditions?

Okay, let’s take perfect weather, sunrise, and sunset off the list. So, do you prefer a rainy morning, a snowy evening, a good lightning storm at night, or what?

Daily Photo – The Gentle Path to the Beyond

The little train that carried me into Hakone started winding through misty mountains. The trees were thick and a fog was rolling in. I had a feeling that it would stay wet, moody, and fairly perfect. It had that heaviness that made you feel like it would remain like that for a few days, and it did.

Before I get on train rides, I have a wonderful but dangerous habit of loading up with pastries. Train stations seem to have nice little selections of all sorts of foreign twists on the usual subjects. And, since I consider myself an explorer, I thought it would be good to get a TON of pastries and try them all. It’s very nice… sitting there… looking out the train window at a new land… rain falling… eating pastries… (and I’m only a little ashamed to say that, upon arrival, my pastry bag was empty.)

Filed under the categories: Hakone, Japan, Nikon D3X, Travel