Book Sellouts on Amazon and in bookstores around the world! “A World in HDR” is almost impossible to get! Wow! You guys are awesome – thank you so much. I can’t even believe it… After the book was released, it almost immediately sold out on Amazon in the UK (My UK friends are cuuurazy), then Canada, and now in the USA Amazon store. It’s really crazy to sell out on Amazon – so I hardly have enough words to thank you! Check some of the other stores on my HDR Book page to see where it is still avail – these sites typically update inventory on an hourly basis.

Daily Photo – The Temple Deep in the Caves

Borneo is known for its amazing limestone caves. Just on the other side, over in West Malaysia, there are a ton of the same strange cave structures that twist and turn in unexpected ways through old mountains. This one is called the Batu Caves, and if you walk through it long enough, you end up in the very center of the mountain, where an opening appears high overhead. Deep in this innermost sanctuary lies this unique Hindu Temple.

Some of you may remember that old woman who has never cut her hair (2nd photo below), walking up the stairs to visit the temple every day. I’ve never posted a photo of her final destination until now.

There is a very cool and swank area of Kuala Lumpur that has a collection of trendy and well-designed restaurants. The whole place is a photographer’s paradise! The only problem is that the entire place is quite dimly lit. But, as you know, I’m a nerd that takes my tripod everywhere, so that doesn’t pose too much of a problem! Well, it does pose a problem when it comes time for dinner and all my gear takes up an entire table. I don’t like to put it in the corner. Nobody puts baby in the corner.

Kuala Lumpur has one of the best Airport-to-city train systems in the world. It’s fast, efficient, and comfy. It stops here at this train station which is always a nice spot for all kinds of activity. All of the girders, struts, and light makes it a good spot for HDR Photography.

Speaking of that, I heard that many of you are over checking out www.HDRSpotting.com. This site has not been officially announced yet, and it’s still in early testing. Many are asking me personally for access, but I don’t control that list of who gets early private invites… (anyway I am indirectly asking that you don’t email me to “get you in”!) hehe… You can sign up, however, and I know they are keeping track of a list. When the formal announcement comes, I’ll describe more in detail what it’s about. Essentially, it’s a new, eye-candy rich gallery that is designed to drive traffic and attention to YOUR website, YOUR portfolio, or whatever site you might wish.

Isn’t this place awesome? It’s a bar on top of a roof of the Trader’s Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. It looks out across the new skyline at the Petronas Towers. Malaysia is a pretty hot and humid country, so sometimes it’s not quite so comfy to sit outside. I don’t like to sit outside in muggy conditions… I just don’t. I remember that I played indoor soccer there in Kuala Lumpur on another night and it was one of my top 10 sweaty nights. Afterward, the only way to cool off was to drink about 128 oz of iced carrot-milk. That doesn’t sound very good, but it is.

Also, I’ve gotten a few questions about how to make those videos. I use Screenflow, and I I have a little review there along with a video. It’s a great program — only for the Mac, I’m afraid… but very cool and fun to use.

In completely unrelated news (if you follow my Twitter, you already get these little life-tidbits), my 3-year old daughter Isabella will no longer sleep alone because she is scared of the Burger King after she saw this commercial. BTW, I try to keep my tweets about 34% inspirational art finds from other artists, 33% interesting life tid-bits (and no, I don’t tweet when I am standing in line at a coffee shop), and 33% links to new works/projects of my own.

Isn’t it? Of course it is… I’m really not too much of a materialistic guy. I think my three biggest expenses are travel, good food, and camera equipment.

Speaking of that last one there, the Nikon D3x was finally made official, and I’m gonna be the first (or so they tell me) person to get one in Austin! Sadly, I think I will have more fun with that camera than with this car.

It’s a great city! I always have a good time there… I wish I could get back more often, and I’ve been about 7 times! I’m always surprised how I much I enjoy the times over there even though I should be getting tired of it by now.

This is the top floor of the Hilton in Kuala Lumpur.

The club floor lounge area has all this really cool furniture and decor. They serve breakfast in the morning and drinks in the evening. The view is amazing too (as you can tell)!

Hiltons in Asia are typically 100x nicer than most others for some reason. Why this is, I have no idea.

This was one of the most intricate burial sites on a remote hill outside of Kuala Lumpur. Janus and I stopped there on the taxi ride down to Malacca for some exploration and photography. You can look at the large version of this to see all the details of this single family’s grave.

Here is what greets me and several close friends many times a year upon entry into Malaysia.

I hiked through the Batu Caves just outside of Kuala Lumpur and afterwards, I found myself surrounded by monkeys. They were a little more than “friendly”, and ventured into a word that is better described as “vicious”.

They were all over the place, at my feet, above me, jousting through nearby bars. All of these monkeys were utterly wild and in your face.

We had a company lunch today here at the studio in Kuala Lumpur so it was a fun day of eating massive amounts of Chinese food and running around, talking with the team. Afterwards, I went out with Janus and Will to the top of the Trader’s Hotel to visit the Sky Bar for some drinks and snacks.

This bar is up on top of the roof and it is all open air. There is a pool down there that is always available for use, and it is surrounded by a ultra-chic bar. It was raining when I took this… I am up on the 2nd level of the bar, where there is a spa… you can see the little massage rooms down the lefthand side there.

I am here in Kuala Lumpur for another two week stint.  These are the famous Petronas towers that I see every time from almost everywhere in the city.

On Saturday I am taking a side trip down to Java to visit the Buddhist temple of Borobudur, so I am really looking forward to that!

Shot while skydiving and using a tripod.

Shot from the tower in Kuala Lumpur towards the end of the day…

Here is the Chinese graveyard just outside of Kuala Lumpur. They put pictures of the deceased on the outside of the elaborate tombs.

A Hindu family visits the holy site of the Batu Caves just outside of Kuala Lumpur… Behind them in the distance is a giant, and I mean giant, golden statue of Lord Murugan.

Well I am back in Kuala Lumpur today. It’s nice and muggy, like it is 364 days out of the year. On that one other day, it is REALLY muggy.

The 28+ hours spent in planes and airports was once again a wonderful experience full of crying babies and frantic mothers stepping on my toes while I tried to concentrate on my computer screen and Gotan Project blasting out of my earphones…

I took several shots of this cemetery, and this one is very cool because it shows part of downtown Kuala Lumpur and the twin towers in the background after a big storm. During the storm, I actually went into this old and scary mausoleum for about half an hour to get out of the rain and lighting. I just hung out in there and listened to spooky music on my iPod.