22 Million Views on SmugMug this year!

As many of you know, I moved over my portfolio to SmugMug this year. Have you seen my SmugMug Review? The team there gave readers here the a 20% savings (!!) — use the SmugMug Coupon of “STUCKINCUSTOMS“.

So, I was recently checking stats and I was surprised at how many views we have gotten on SmugMug in such a short time. 22 million in just over half a year, compared to Flickr, which is at 21 million after 5 years! I have posted shots from SmugMug and Flickr below.

Now, most of those views are just because of the blog, but it does show how heavily I rely on SmugMug. There is one “hidden” feature that you may not know about…. and this is a little geeky, but it helps! I have big photos here on the website… you all know this. They are 900 pixels across. Well, Flickr does serve them up in many sizes, and 1024 across is on of the standards. With Flickr, I need to use the width=”900″ in the html, which forces the browser to make a costly size change.

SmugMug, instead, does the processing on their beastly servers.

For example, I can take the default Xtra Large size link from SmugMug: http://stuckincustoms.smugmug.com/photos/974189667_iqznc-X2.jpg

and change the end so that the server resizes to 900 pixels across: http://stuckincustoms.smugmug.com/photos/974189667_iqznc-900x900.jpg

This means that everything is served up super-fast. This is a minor and nerdy point… but it does make the blog a lot faster.

SmugMug has a pretty cool stat tracking system, even though they don't use commas.

I also like the Flickr Stats system, even though I'm 95% sure it is broken.

Still on Flickr

As you can see, I still post all my photos to Flickr as well. I still like Flickr a lot, but it is not where I keep my main portfolio. I find the viewing experience better on SmugMug. Now, SmugMug has less of a community, so that is kind of a minor knock against it… but it’s easy enough to put the photos in both places.

Daily Photo – A Gentle Kiss in the Hot Tub

These snow monkeys are the greatest. I spent so long with them, we almost had a three-way.

They are all wild (in the natural sense, mind you), and they come down from the mountains near Nagano, Japan, for several hours a day to play in the natural hot springs. They gallivant around, have fights, play with their kids, have a bit of sweet carnal monkey fun, check their email, and pose for my camera.

These two monkeys spent a lot of time together… they were in maximum “relaxation mode”. They lounged around in every possible position and took occasional breaks to do a bit of mutual grooming.

Video Recap – Heartbeats of Japan

We have many new people here on the blog that might not have seen this. There’s a lot more snow-monkey stuff in here for you… enjoy!

Filed under the categories: Japan, Nikon D3S, Travel

Burning Man PhotoWalk

See the Facebook event here!

You are all invited to join me at the Burning Man PhotoWalk! It’s free of course… Here are the details:

• Friday, Sept 3 at 6 PM
• Location: Center Camp: Look for all the people with the cameras, and me, possibly in Steampunk Goggles.

What we will do:

• Walk around together to take cool photos of Burning Man (for personal use only)
• Find cool art installations and activities
• Be cool (and not bother people with our cameras…)
• Learn more about our cameras
• Take some HDRs
• I’ll be there to answer questions whether you are a beginner or beyond!

More Resources:

• Photography Info for Burning Man
• Equipment Guide at Burning Man

See these cards below?  I’ll be handing them out around Burning Man…  It’s sort of a “gifting” place, where money is not allowed.  Since one of my only identifiable skills is photography, I am giving people the chance to learn more about their cameras.  I think we’ll have a good time and I hope to see you there.

Below is a Google Earth photo of Burning Man in a previous year… I think it’s pretty awesome.

See you soon at OpenCa.mp

I hope to meet a lot of you soon at OpenCa.mp in Dallas! In just a few days, I’m headed up to Dallas to begin the adventure by jumping out of a plane with the US Army Golden Knights. It’s gonna be a blast!

Daily Photo – Home of the Tree Samurai

This was my second trip to Kyoto, and I decided to return to this amazing treetop temple. At night, the delicate lights turn on and everything comes alive. It’s really brilliant… one of those scenes that makes you think the world is really a wonderful place.

This was right in the peak of the cherry blossom season. The soft pink of the blossoms grabs and reflects the light into an unbelievable prism. It’s all like something out of a dream, and I’ve done my best to bring it back to life here on the blog.

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

Interview Recap

In case you missed this interview with Ron Martinsen, a very nice fellow, you can see it over at RonMartBlog.com. Being a fellow photographer, he asked very good questions and I enjoyed the talk!

Daily Photo – Approaching Roppongi on Foot

On my last night in Japan, I was feeling restless. It sometimes comes at the end of the trip, when I feel like I just haven’t taken enough photos. Of course, that’s never the case, since I usually have thousands in the hopper by that point. But when I know that the city is full of life, I just have to get out there and capture a bit of it.

Roppongi is one of the most happening areas of Tokyo, and the rain makes it all feel even more alive. It’s pretty safe to walk around at night. On the edges, there are some unsavory types about. Typically, they are large Africans who are in the employ of various underground activities. It’s not a good idea to hang around there, so I pass through as quickly as possible, wielding my tripod like a weapon to give them a bit of hesitation.

Filed under the categories: Japan, Tokyo, Travel

New Numbered Print, Limited Edition – The Boat in Portofino

This one is definitely a big favorite, and we have gotten many emails asking about when it will become available. Well now it finally is!

Now, let’s be clear. This isn’t really Portofino, but it sure does look like it, eh? We might even make the case that it is more pretty than the real Portofino! This is a beautiful resort in Orlando, over at Universal Studios. The lake is filled with a bunch of little boats, each of which has a different little Italian girl’s name on the back.

Daily Photo – Shopping in the Rain

Today we have another street photography shot from Tokyo. It was quite late at night, quite cold, quite rainy, and quite dark! But, it certainly made for an interesting challenge.

Street life is quite vibrant and pretty in the rain at night. I always struggle with bringing what is so obvious on the scene into the final photo. Getting the feeling right in the final photo without artificial life is tough.

This businessman was strolling down the street, doing some light window shopping. The 50mm 1.4 prime did most of the work here for me, even though it did require manual focus. That bit was hard. Real hard. But, I’ll do my best to put everything together into an upcoming post on the top 10 tips in street photography.

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

Interview on PetaPixel

Good man Michael Zhang from PetaPixel interviewed me recently. Pop over there and check it out. Also, look around PetaPixel for a while… Michael has done an extraordinary job with that site.

We Computer Science majors need to stick together! So I’m happy to send traffic over his way!

Daily Photo – A Silent Evening in Kyoto Under the Cherry Blossoms

The beautiful white cherry blossoms were in full bloom and their gentle petals would fall down like snow, collecting on the ground.

To get here to Kyoto, I took the bus from Osaka — and this was not the most simple thing in the world. I’m used to traveling in strange places and getting around confusing transport systems, but that doesn’t mean it is always easy! The Japanese transportation system is particularly perplexing. The train system is the easiest to figure out. The bus system is second. The subway is last — dead last.

Many of these places I end up have no one that speaks English, so there’s a bit of guesswork involved. After I’m on a bus for 5-10 minutes, I start to have a sneaking suspicion that perhaps I am on the wrong one! With no one to ask or no one to call, it’s a bit more uncertain than I prefer it!

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

Iceland News on Twitter

Since I only update the blog daily, if you want the absolute latest on the Iceland trip, along with surprise pics, be sure to follow me on Twitter.

New Print Unleashed!

Recently I mentioned the California PhotoWalk in San Clemente where I met David Arkenstone. I listened to his music all the way up the famous Pacific Coast Highway. Here, in Big Sur, I got up early one morning to grab this amazing scene just as the sun was coming over the mountains to the east.

This Limited Edition Numbered Print is accordingly called “Sunrise in Big Sur“.

Daily Photo – Modern Techno Life in Tokyo

What happens in hyper-techno places like Japan and Korea seem to be the techno-canaries in the coal mine for the future of technology and behavior in the west. Several years ago, almost everyone walked around their ultra modern-cities with their heads buried in their mobile phones.

I was asked by many English-speaking Japanese there several questions that amounted to, “What do you think of Japanese people?”

I always had a hard time answering that. I love Japan, obviously… I find the people interesting, different, and wonderfully unique. There is one overall thing about the “general” mannerisms of the average person… it would be “robotic”. I don’t know why this is always in my head, but I often get a robotic sense from strangers, as if they are going through the day, devoid of any outward-facing emotion, buried in technology.

Filed under the categories: Japan, Tokyo, Travel

My family of course. But, after I have that, why not ask for a few more goodies? It’s good to have hobbies to keep us productive, after all…

So, here is a great list of…

Photo Toys and Gifts for Father’s Day

Some of this stuff I have… some of this stuff I want.  Either way, it’s a great list of goodies!  If you want more, see my full list of HDR Camera recommendations or Photography Gadgets.

The Awesome Green Cube – Approx $7 See Amazon’s current pricing – The Green Cube Everyone Asks Me About Mini Review – This is a clear, greenish 3-D bubble level.  I use it almost all the time and people always ask me about it.  It’s useful and cool-lookin’.  Even better than a fish-tie.

HyperMac Portable Battery – $199 and up See latest pricing - HyperMac Battery Page Mini Review – If dad has an iPhone, iPad, or Mac laptop, chances are one or all three are always running out of batteries!  This is a fantastic extra battery that powers all three.  I keep one in my bag all the time.  More than handy!

A Very Good Camera for HDR Shooting (or any kind of photography, really) The Nikon D90 – Approx $700-$900 See Amazon’s current pricing – Nikon D90 Body Only with No Lens See B&H’s current pricing - Nikon D90 Body Only with No Lens The Nikon D90 with Excellent Starter Lens - 18-105mm – Approx $1,100 See Amazon’s current pricing – Nikon D90 with excellent starter lens See B&H’s current pricing – Nikon D90 with excellent starter lens Mini Review – I recommend this wonderful camera because it does auto-bracketing, can hold a variety of lenses, and is an amazing camera now and for the future.  You’ll be able to have this be your main body as you slowly build up a collection of lenses in the future, as you get to better know your camera.

The Nikon Lens Coffee Cup - $40 and up, depending on auction price See Latest Prices on Ebay – Lens Coffee Cup – All Mini Review – How could not this be the best thing ever? I can’t think of anything more ridiculous or wonderful!

Daily Photo – My Camera in Tokyo

As you saw in the video a few days ago, I did a lot of night photography in Tokyo. Since I now often carry around two cameras, I sometimes use my second to take a photo of the first! Sometimes, I’m doing timelapse stuff which can take a looooooong time… so I get bored and start taking pictures of taking pictures!

I also included this because it has that green cube thingy mentioned above!

The Awesome Green Cube Everyone Asks Me About

Filed under the categories: Japan, Nikon D3S, Nikon D3X, Tokyo, Travel

Video on YouTube – Japan: Heartbeats of Time

A little tweety birdy told me that smooth operator Frederick Van mentioned this video on This Week in Photography. So, I thought I would use the YouTube occasion to bump it back to the top!

If you want to know how I did this, visit the Stuck In Motion page.

So, I have a dumb question for all you video-smarties out there! I first put this video on Vimeo. By default, it has HD and seems to produce a smooth, HD signal. YouTube, on the other hand, has a more tricky HD Embed option. When I choose it, YouTube tries to force it to 1300 pixels wide, which is wider than this page. I’d be happy with 900 across. Any ideas?

Daily Photo – Traditional Japanese Woman in Tokyo

A few weeks ago I said I was working on some tips and tricks for taking photos of people. I haven’t forgotten about that promise! I’ve just been super-busy. And now I will be in Iceland for about two weeks… but it is still on my to-do list!

Japan is of course a great place to take photos of people… and, if you are like me (I suspect you are, since you are a regular), you like watching people. It’s especially nice to watch people when they look a little different and their mannerisms vary slightly from what we expect. Making that whole experience even more intense is the pure fun of trying to capture a whole person with a single photo.

Tokyo was full of all sorts of pedestrians. Most of them are modern — or, rather, neo-modern. They sport the latest fashions and are as flamboyant as any nation that is comfortable with itself. But, on occasion, you see a traditional Japanese woman gliding through the streets. These sorts of anachronisms are wonderful subjects.

You may also notice her traditional two-toed shoes.  I wore these a lot inside ryokan — the big toe goes into the first slot and the rest of your nonsense toes go into the other part.  They’re a bit like mittens… strange but quite comfy.  How she kept hers dry and clean in the wet streets remains a mystery!

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

Free Breakout Session at Vanelli’s Workshop!

I’m giving away a few goodies at Vanelli’s Workshop.

• All members of his workshop get a free copy of my new Workflow eBook
• One lucky winner will get to attend a free breakout session with Randy Van Duinen

To sign up and see if you are winner, visit Vanelli’s Workshop page!  Now, that session will be in St. Augustine, Florida… so I suggest that you only register if you are in that immediate area.

Daily Photo – Mikimoto

It wasn’t until my third trip to Tokyo that I finally got to explore more of Ginza. It’s a pretty high-toned area that is filled with the best of the best. Every elite store you can think of is fully represented, and the designers have pulled out all the stops to make sure they get noticed.

Although not on the main street, this amazing Mikimoto store grabbed my eye. I walked around the building a few times to find an interesting angle and shot away!

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

New eBook – First goes on sale to Newsletter Subscribers! For the past few months, I’ve been working on a new eBook. It’s very cool — a very detailed description of a best-of-breed digital workflow. Are you starting to feel like your digital photos are a little unorganized? I’ve put together a great system for you! The first shot at it will go to Newsletter subscribers. It’s free to sign up, so just do it below! First Name: Email: 5 Tips for Photographing People in Public I’m working on an upcoming post that gives some practical and easy-to-follow-through-on advice on taking photos of people in public. I get a ton of questions about it in Twitter and whatnot, so I am happy to share these tips. You’ll notice a lot of this activity in the new video below…. and I know everyone enjoys and wants to take pictures of people in public, but are sometimes unsure of how to go about it.

New Video – Japan: Heartbeats of Time

I spend a lot of time thinking about the way memory and sight work together. I don’t think we remember in “pictures” or long videos… but something in between. Perhaps we also sense, at times, more than 30 fps, and unexpected parts of the brain fire when we are presented with certain objects and forms.

If you want to know more about how I did this, visit the “Stuck In Motion” section of the website. Good news – the best bits now only require a $200 camera!

Also, you may enjoy seeing my free HDR Tutorial, which describes how I accomplish some of the other favorite photos below, which were also shot around Japan.

A Few of my Favorite Photos from Japan

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

Big Video Event on May 21

I posted a new photo from the streets of Tokyo tonight in celebration of the completion of a new video work (which is Japan-centric).  The video will be released on May 21.  Stay tuned here and we’ll all have a good time together!

Daily Photo – In the Rain in Tokyo

Most of my walks around the city streets had me carrying two cameras.  I keep the D3X on my tripod, and have that ready to go for serious HDR work.  But over my right shoulder, I carry the D3S with a fast lens.  In this case, I was using the 50mm prime (see my Nikon 50mm Review) to capture quick scenes in the streets.

I carry two cameras because it takes much too long to change lenses.  Also, it’s a real pain to do that sort of thing in the rain.

There are often questions about how I go about taking photos of strangers.  I have a post coming up in the future with five great tips for this sort of thing… I’ll try to get everything into one spot for you, since I know we all want to be able to better capture interesting people here and there as they pass through our worlds.

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

Newsletter Torpedo Away!

The Newsletter has left the building. It should arrive in your Sunday morning email box, shiny and happy. I hope you love it…

Good Night with Jack and Brian

I had a nice evening last night with Jack Hollingsworth and Brian Matiash. We went out to do a bit of HDR shooting, talked for a while at Mozarts, and then had some great BBQ at Rudy’s. After that, I brought them over to my place and showed them a secret new video (which you all will see as soon as it is done!). They are both very nice guys… and I am going to get Brian to do a guest post very soon.

Daily Photo – Ancient Nikko

I have a bunch of these textured shots (See my Textures Tutorial) that I will be posting over the next few weeks. I showed this one to Jack this evening when he came over, and he seems to like the look as much as I do!

This is my first shot from Nikko, Japan. Nikko is famous for all the incredible temples from the Edo period. I woke up early (violently early, let us say) to go out and visit all the sites before the tourists came. You guys know I don’t like tourists in the shots… Actually, to tell the truth, I don’t like them around at all. I like to listen to my strange music and roam around these ancient places by myself, stopping to take photos when I am ready.

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