Travel – Page 356 – Stuck in Customs
10
Mar 2014 : Monday
filed under  Matamata, New Zealand, Travel

Arriving in Hobbiton in the Early Morning

Many cool new things coming!

Seeing this photo reminded me of some of the new videos we are working on for you. There is a lot of amazing stuff in the works, and I am super excited!

Daily Photo – Arriving in Hobbiton in the Early Morning

When I arrived here for the Air New Zealand shoot, it was about an half-an-hour before sunrise. The sky was very light already, as you can see below. They have these little lanterns that hang down and around the Green Dragon Pub. I got in close to one to show the detail, and in the distance, you can see many hobbit holes reflected across the water.

Arriving in Hobbiton in the Early Morning

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2013-10-17 17:27:55
  • CameraNEX-7
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/13
  • Aperture4
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length14.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
9
Mar 2014 : Sunday
filed under  Japan, Tokyo, Travel

Exploring Roppongi in Tokyo

The Best kept Neighborhood Secret in Tokyo?

I have a feeling there are some secret areas of Tokyo I haven’t visited yet. If you have any ideas, please let me know! 🙂

Daily Photo – Exploring Roppongi in Tokyo

It’s so interesting and fun to explore all parts of Tokyo, but this is the first area that I really got to know quite well. Almost every time I go to Tokyo, I stay here in the Roppongi area. It’s one of the busier and more modern areas of the city with a bunch of cool architecture. You can basically walk around there all night and see places like this around every corner!

Exploring Roppongi in Tokyo

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2013-10-02 12:41:14
  • CameraNEX-7
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time2.5
  • Aperture7.1
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length10.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias+2

Comments
8
Mar 2014 : Saturday
filed under  New Zealand, Travel, Wanaka

Across the Mirrorportal in Wanaka

Lonely Trails

You know one of the strangest things about these hiking trails in this area of the South Island of New Zealand? They are almost entirely empty. Sometimes on hikes you go hours or all day without ever seeing another human. And they are all wonderfully maintained too… there are little bridges here and there, nicely graded paths, etc etc — they put a lot of care and work into them for something that is so rarely used… but that’s okay with me of course — I like the solitude!

Daily Photo – Across the Mirrorportal in Wanaka

While filming the new HDR Tutorial (be sure to subscribe to the newsletter to the right to find out the scoop on that!), we hiked to the top of this trail to get this unique view. It was a moody and wet day, and everything had a very otherworldly feel about it. This shot was actually fairly difficult because I couldn’t get everything in one shot. So it required some difficult vertical panorama stitching in the final result. It’s never an easy combo with HDR! Anyway, all of that is seen in the new video HDR Tutorial I mentioned up there! 🙂

Across the Mirrorportal in Wanaka

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2013-11-07 06:07:03
  • CameraNEX-7
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/15
  • Aperture7.1
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length10.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
7
Mar 2014 : Friday
filed under  Christchurch, Lake Tekapo, Lindis Pass, New Zealand, Sony A7R, Travel

Central Otago from the Air

Paragliding versus Gliders

Currently, I think I prefer paragliding to gliders. Both are awesome, of course, but I kind of like the slower speed and the openness of a paraglider. I know that people that prefer gliders like them for the opposite reason — the speed! I’ve also heard a lot of paragliders get into gliders later in their life after their knees are shot from landings! So far my knees are good… so far so good

Daily Photo – Central Otago

What a view from the glider! I have never taken photos from a glider before, so I was very happy to see they all turned out so nice. They were all taken with the Sony A7r and the 10-18mm NEX Lens.

It’s hard to believe that the landscape below just goes on and on and on for hours and hours and hours. New Zealand looks so small on the map, but when you are here, it’s like a Tardis-country!

Central Otago

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-01-04 17:23:26
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/125
  • Aperture9
  • ISO50
  • Focal Length11.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-0.3

Comments
6
Mar 2014 : Thursday
filed under  Glenorchy, New Zealand, Sony NEX-7

Through the Forest Path

Light Trough Trees

I take a lot of photos in forests and along paths, but they don’t always turn out well. In fact, I would say that shooting in a forest is one of the hardest shooting situations ever! Everything gets really muddled up if you don’t watch out. So, to get this photo below, believe me, I had to take over 100 different ones that just came out, well, kind of “blah”!

Daily Photo – Through the Forest Path

Yesterday I showed a shot from a hike, and here is yet another one! This one is along the Greenstone river further south towards Glenorchy. It’s a great walk, but you have to drive a long way before you can start it. However, even better, you can take a boat over to the start of the trail. That will save you many hours of driving time and bumpy roads. I suppose it’s a bit strange to arrive at a hiking trail by boat, but it’s worth it because you’re so tired after this little 16km jaunt!

Through the Forest Path

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-01-15 11:14:19
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/60
  • Aperture8
  • ISO500
  • Focal Length18.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
5
Mar 2014 : Wednesday
filed under  New Zealand, Queenstown, Sony A7R

The Hike past Bob’s Cove

Great Walks of New Zealand

I believe there are 9 “Great Walks” here in New Zealand. These are all multi-day walks that go through some of the most epic places around here. I haven’t done any of them yet, and I was trying to decide on the first one. I hear that some of them are “old” style in that they are quite closed in and you don’t get many views. I’ve heard that others are more “modern” and allow a lot more wide-open vista views. I’ll have to do a bunch to figure out which one I like!

Daily Photo – The Hike past Bob’s Cove

There’s an amazing photo-stop on the way to Glenorchy called Bob’s Cove. You can see it down there on the left. Believe it or not, the same water is over on the right! I’m kind of up high on a peninsula shooting back towards Queenstown. This spot is pretty easy to get to… if you just keep following the path on around, you end up in good shape for this shot! I was pretty dang wide at 13mm to get everything in.

The Hike past Bob’s Cove

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-01-14 09:19:07
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/750
  • Aperture4
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length13.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
4
Mar 2014 : Tuesday
filed under  New Zealand, Queenstown, Sony A7R, Travel

Running through the Macetown Ruins

Going barefoot more

I’ve never been one of those tough guys that walks barefoot everywhere. But, maybe I’m becoming more of one. There are all these little rocks around my studio, and I walk back and forth many times a day over to the main house. This is toughing up my situation… I’m starting to feel a bit more manly about this sort of thing now…

Daily Photo – Running through the Macetown Ruins

There are my two little girls peeking out the door while one of their friends runs full speed out of the old miner’s hut. It’s never easy to get kids to pose for anything, so you just kinda gotta go for it and see what happens. I have no idea how child photographers get kids to do anything — it seems to crazy to me! Anyway, you may remember another photo from our recent trip to Macetown… there are lots of these little ruins around that are kind of neat to explore, I suppose.

Running through the Macetown Ruins

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-01-26 13:12:19
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/3000
  • Aperture
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
3
Mar 2014 : Monday
filed under  France, Paris

Cute Cat in Paris Market

80 Days – 8,000 Photos

Today’s photo you may recognize from this video sequence below! 🙂

Daily Photo – Cute Cat in Paris Market

Whenever I walk around cities, I carry two different cameras. One has a lens for landsapes and wide-angle stuff. That one is usually also on a tripod. For the second one, I carry a different lens for portraits, street photography, or “found things” photography. Like this! I walked into a little market by a subway entrance and it was full of hundreds of tiny little things here and there…

Cute Cat in Paris Market

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2010-09-17 00:00:00
  • CameraNIKON D3S
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time1/500
  • Aperture1.4
  • ISO2500
  • Focal Length50.0 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
2
Mar 2014 : Sunday
filed under  France, Paris, Travel

Paris after the storm

Post-Storm Shooting

I’ve ended up getting some of my best photos if I just ride out a storm and wait for sunset. Of course, you never know when a storm will end, but I’m trying not to give up lately. I mean, rather, sometimes when it is raining hard around 4 or 5 PM, sometimes my instinct is just to give up the sunset, but every now and then, things really work out well. So I have to keep reminding myself of this!

Daily Photo – Paris after the storm

What a crazy night in Paris this was! It was raining all day and totally depressing. Then, magically, at the end of the day, the skies opened up and went silent while every type of cloud and light started to recede. Some very low clouds were drifting by the Eiffel Tower while the lights of the city shone up through them. It was all so overwhelming — I was having so much fun while taking this photo!

Paris after the storm

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2012-11-09 20:38:16
  • CameraNIKON D800
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time2
  • Aperture4.2
  • ISO200
  • Focal Length48.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
1
Mar 2014 : Saturday
filed under  Caribbean, Virgin Gorda

Amateras in Virgin Gorda

Going to Virgin Gorda?

A great house to rent is at Amateras! My whole family stayed there for over week, and it was absolutely unbelievable. You can see today’s Daily Photo is from there! 🙂 In fact, if you go to that website, I think they put a few of my photos up somewhere in the rotation.

Daily Photo – Amateras in Virgin Gorda

This is one of the outside seating areas. I sat out here every evening and read while drinking tea. I finished an amazing book out here called “The End of Time” by Julian Barbour. It was kind of a mind-bending physics book… If you’re into reading about this sort of thing, I certainly recommend it! 🙂

Amateras in Virgin Gorda

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2012-05-01 19:20:32
  • CameraNIKON D800
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time1/30
  • Aperture8
  • ISO50
  • Focal Length15.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments