I need a life-sized sheep that is not real

Does anyone in Queenstown know where I can get a full-sized or nearly-full-sized sheep? I need it for this Rather Strange Charity Thing I committed to with Patrick Rothfuss. Here’s a link right to the fundraising page.

Philip K. Dick Books

What’s your favorite? I’m on a new PKD kick thanks to a new friend. He is recommending book after book, and I am drinking them all in voraciously!

Daily Photo – Asian Blade Runner

Speaking of PKD, the Blade Runner city was based on Los Angeles, but I think it is probably the asian cities that are more likely to move into that future. Whenever we hit that, “Okay, this is absolutely Blade Runner” moment will be from some place like this. For example, this is Beijing. And it’s kind of a tight race between here, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and maybe a few others. Which city will be the first to escalate itself to this sci-fi ending???

Asian Blade Runner

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-05-25 09:20:48
• CameraNEX-7
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time6
• Aperture6.3
• ISO100
• Focal Length83.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Don’t forget about the freebie version of “Organize Your Photos!”

On the day we announced the new blog, we did a huge giveaway of this video series to local camera clubs! Be sure to pop over there to see all the details. It’s only valid for two more days, so check it out! 🙂

Daily Photo – The Double-inner Cloister

When touring the fortified monastery inside Mont Saint-Michel, one of the final areas after many twists and turns opens into this charming cloister. The arches and craftsmanship is remarkable and makes for at least a few hours worth of photos. It’s one of those amazing places where you just take a few steps then resign yourself to taking yet another photo!

Unfortunately, this place is not open at night, which was too bad because I was really looking forward to one of those sorts of shots. I think this place would be so moody in low light!

The Double-inner Cloister

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2012-11-13 17:38:41
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/60
• Aperture8
• ISO200
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-2

A new video!

This video was made for The Arcanum — but decided to release it to the public for fun! For those of you that have signed up and are enjoying The Arcanum (or are still on the waiting list for a Master) — thanks!

This is kind of a strange video, but it talks about how to take photos from the air in high-speed conditions. I stayed in Aperture Priority and let the camera figure out the shutter speed. This worked out great everywhere except at landing where the speed delta and shake was too intense. I was using a Sony A7r with the NEX 10-18mm lens — you can see the full Sony A7r review.

I was shooting in Autobracketing not for HDR but just for some exposure variety in the shots. I was not totally sure at the time, so I figured having some exposure coverage would be smart. In post-processing, I appreciated having three different photos to choose from.

I hope you have a great time with it! Give everyone in your camera club a high-five for me! 🙂

The ALL NEW Stuck In Customs!

Wow, well what has changed around here? So much! Here’s just five of my favorite new things!:

• Totally responsive and mobile-friendly – scales to any phone and tablets in any orientation! The menus flex and change and everything
• Randomised images on top of the homepage that auto-rotate and slide away upon scrolling
• Mouse-rollever EXIF info. Awesome! You can also share from there.
• Infinite scroll… scroll down forever and ever and ever! 🙂 You can still click on categories if you want to pop to a certain location!
• New, streamlined organization. See the menu at the top for all the goodies!

A BIG thanks to the whole team that made this happen! Let me know your thoughts — what you like or don’t like!

Daily Photo – The Clay Cliffs

If you come to the South Island of New Zealand, please don’t fly from Christchurch to Queenstown — drive!

The drive is absolutely beautiful, and along the way, this is one of the stops. The Clay Cliffs take a little bit of a drive (30 mins out of the way from Omarama), but they are really worth it. There is just a short hike to get this view, and you can even get up in there and walk around inside. It’s enchanting, and you may recognize these from a few scenes in LOTR.

When you take the little hike, you can bring a wide-angle lens and maybe something a little tighter, and you’ll be set and ready to go!

The Clay Cliffs

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2012-12-05 04:39:01
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/1000
• Aperture4
• ISO71
• Focal Length28.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Beta Testing the new site!

We are rolling out the New Version of Stuck In Customs over the next 24 hours. A full update is coming soon and I’ll go through all the changes with you! Of the HUNDREDS of new things, one of the coolest is that it is now a responsive design that should be super mobile-friendly! Anyway, more info to come when it is official (probably tomorrow).

More about Edna from The Incredibles

I bet SOME of you in the audience know who this woman is, and if you do, feel free to educate everyone else! 🙂

Daily Photo – Edna

How awesome is this woman? I saw her while in Paris.

Or did I? No, not really… but there she is, evidently, yes? And I did take the picture.

But, amazingly, this is a store window display along the streets of Paris. Now that I say that, you see it, yes? Yes. But still, pretty cool I say! 🙂

Edna

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2012-11-11 22:12:03
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/30
• Aperture5.6
• ISO100
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-3

Funny Amazon Reviewer

Okay I figured out that the Kleenex review was a fake, written by this guy who has 1,000 AMAZING reviews that are totally off the hook… haha man that guy is great. I wonder if there is a book that is a collection of these!

Daily Photo – A quick pose between servings

While in Beijing, we had this richly decorated waitress that would bring us serving after serving! It was non-stop food. She was dressed in such an ornate outfit (see those shoes?), and she was a fun subject for photos. When she was going back and forth between bringing me the food, I jumped out to take a photo. She saw me, and made a quick fun pose!

A quick pose between servings

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-05-27 07:56:31
• CameraNEX-5R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/125
• Aperture5
• ISO250
• Focal Length78.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Following The Arcanum on Social Media

Pete is running the big show at The Arcanum, but we wanted to make sure we point you to the social media pages for them on Google+ and on Facebook!

Daily Photo – Pete is coming back to New Zealand in Style!

We’re having good man Pete Giordano back to New Zealand for another big event! We have the workshop (only 1 of 2 this year), but Pete is going to stay a little extra. It will give us a chance to hang out, take photos, party, visit wineries, explore, and, oh yes, do some work! Actually, the whole time we are doing all this stuff, we are doing Arcanum stuff, even late into the night! Curtis and I feel lucky to have him around!! 🙂

This photo is of Pete jumping out of a helicopter that Choppy was flying! He looks so awesome I think! It also kind of looks like he’s carrying a dead body, if you look at it the right way.

Pete is coming back to New Zealand in Style!

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-11-05 06:48:38
• CameraNEX-7
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/1250
• Aperture8
• ISO200
• Focal Length18.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-0.7

Not having a commute

I really appreciate not having a commute to work (was thinking about this when processing today’s photo)! And I have YOU to thank for that. All of you who pop into the store to buy a little something… that all adds up, and I don’t take it for granted! I get to walk over to my little studio every day to try to make more pretty things and come up with artistic ideas. It’s nice not having to drive into the studio, I think! It’s also good to get a little bit out of the house… for whatever reason, you can go a little mad in there sometimes if you know what I mean! 🙂

Daily Photo – From the Old to the New

A little downtown action for you today… 🙂

From the Old to the New

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-04-12 13:34:07
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time8
• Aperture5.6
• ISO100
• Focal Length170.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+1

If I go to Beijing

I’m going to take drones. This will no doubt freak out the Chinese people. I wonder what they will think? I think we kind of take it for granted here in the Western world, but I have a feeling that they will just stare at it and wonder. Plus, these DJI Drones are super-noisy and scary-sounding. I don’t know what the Chinese government will think, either… so whenever I am approached by a policeman, I just say that I am with the Chinese government and it would best if they just left me alone. I’m not sure this is the best policy, but it has worked every time so far!

Daily Photo – Long Bridge to the Ancient Island

This was a new find in Beijing. I had never been out to this little island before — Beihai Weizhou Island. There are several long bridges that get to the island, and they are all an equally long walk. I guess that is one thing I notice about Chinese attractions — they all involve long walks! I mean, I’m not complaining… but I’m walking around these places carrying all my stuff and then the thought always strikes me, “My God! I’ve been walking forever!”

Long Bridge to the Ancient Island

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-05-27 08:44:56
• CameraNEX-7
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1.3
• Aperture6.3
• ISO100
• Focal Length80.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Why is Google+ required for The Arcanum

All applications and user accounts for www.TheArcanum.com require Google+ to be tied to the profile for a cornucopia of reasons that make everything better! We have built something totally different — a completely new and human way to learn by building on ancient Master & Apprentice traditions and combining with modern tech.

— Google+ Video Hangouts – You will be spending fun time in private Video Hangout sessions with your 19 fellow Apprentices and your Master when you have your critique sessions. Your one-on-one critique sessions, for example, are automatically saved to YouTube and available to everyone else in The Arcanum.

— Google Glass – Many Masters have Glass, and it is very easy to start live G+ Hangouts with Apprentices so that you can ask questions, live. We also are working on specialized apps inside of Glass that make communication and the AR aspect of the magical academy more fun!

— YouTube Videos – All videos in the Grand Library are stored on YouTube as Unlisted creations from the Masters. You’ll be able to view them all from inside The Arcanum, but you’ll also be able to use your own personal YouTube Playlists to keep track of your favorites and view them easily on any device at any time.

— Google+ Login/profile – Even though you will have a specialized profile within The Arcanum, it’s tied 100% to your Google+ login. We layer other things on top, such as the Leveling System for more. This is both for convenience and so that everyone else on the inside can easily link over to your public Google+ account. As we all know, Google+ is a great way to find new friends and share passions with a wider world.

If you already filled out an application right in the beginning, you can go back now and tie it into your G+ account! You can also update your application with additional info if you wish; this may help Masters learn more about you when they begin their selection process.

We’re working hard on all the tools and preparing for an internal test-run with the Masters. What you see below is the new UI that we are rolling in over the next few weeks. We’re all so excited, and I know you are too! 🙂 Thanks again for your enthusiasm — it is helping to drive us all even harder! 🙂

There is a major amount of driving you can do in Utah! I can’t believe how many miles I actually drove through that state… and there were many many many things to stop and shoot. This might have made everything feel longer. I also was happy to have nice and wide shoulders that gave me plenty of space to pull over and take photos. I always get stressed when I want to pull over to take a photo at any old time, but there is just no place safe. Ain’t nobody got time for dat!

A scene off the side of the Utah roads

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-08-18 11:47:52
• CameraNEX-6
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/250
• Aperture8
• ISO100
• Focal Length55.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias