Here is another thing I found on Abduzeedo that I just HAVE to show you. It’s so awesome. I could watch this thing again and again – in fact, I have! You can go see it on Vimeo at The Third and the Seventh. Can you believe the whole thing is computer generated? I can’t get over it… I think you’ll see why I like it so much!
Daily Photo – A Scene from the Super Volcano
These charred dead trees jutting out of the strange deposits at Mammoth is quite a place. I’m sure that maybe you’ve also heard that Yellowstone is just a simmering super volcano, waiting to erupt at any moment. This always makes me a tiny-bit edgy as I move around the environs. But, I figure, that if I am in any of those states around there while the volcano exploded, I’d probably be dead anyway — so why not be right in the center of the sucker where it is the prettiest? This is not the best logic I have ever used, but it is a subtle use of it, I suppose.
Hey, for all those not in New York, can I pick you up anything? Just dump your whole Christmas list in the comments! hehe…
I’ll be speaking today at B&H Photo in their Event Space. It starts at 12 noon sharp, and I’ll be talking about HDR as well as giving a short tutorial… If you have your own book or want a new one signed, I’m happy to do that too!
The Yellowstone How-To Video on Grand-Prismatic
Here is another free video for you all. This one is a bit different than the others, and I go into more details of everything that went into the shot of the Grand Prismatic Spring, which you can see below. Enjoy. And let me know if you want to see more videos like this in the future!
Daily Photo – The Grand Prismatic
This place is awesome and huge. Want to know how huge? Look at those people standing there on the boardwalk towards the top. Amazing, eh?
Getting this shot (and all my others!) was no cake walk! But I am happy with the way it turned out. One thing you don’t see in the video is how dirty I got on the way down the mountain when I decided to take a “short cut”. It was a bad idea for both me and my jeans.
We are changing the way we handle prints here. In the past, we have done what everyone else does, which is dump a ton of prints into an online printing service. I’m not convinced that’s the best way thing for our customers. We are going to do something different and bold, and we are launching in a few days. I think it will be much more meaningful for fans, collectors, and everyone in between.
For now, we are taking all printing options offline. Stay tuned for Friday for the big announcement!
Photoblog Awards – Come Vote
Thanks for all the votes already! There are just a few days left, so now is the perfect time to vote. If you do enjoy the images here and think the world should know, then I would certainly appreciate it!
Daily Photo – Entering The Forest Alone
It’s not often I use a zoom lens to do landscape photography (this is 125mm), since the conditions have to be just right (at least, for me). You do get this strange thing called “compression”, which will be a new concept for people that come here not familiar with photography techniques. Maybe you have seen this in horror movies… You know, someone gets some shocking news, and then the camera does this strange thing where it pulls out and the background flexes while the actor remains still. Well, compression is kind like that, but not really. But it can bring things in the far distance “forward” to appear bigger than they really are, as is the case with the distant blue forest in this shot from Yellowstone.
Believe it or not, I was so exhausted after I took this shot, I pulled over and slept for two hours in the backseat. There is nothing worse than waking up, groggy in the backseat of a strange car, and a tripod jamming you in the small of the back.
I’m coming to Manhattan very soon! Rick Sammon gave me his ultimate secret spot for shooting some HDR, so I’m excited about that. I’m also going to be making another Stuck in Motion style video while there, so I’m looking forward to that. Keep an eye out for me if your in those parts! I’ll be the one with the camera.
Previous Videos
I’ve been adding a lot of videos in the last 6 months eh? There is a new one below, and I’ll be adding more soon with the upcoming book. It makes reference to a few unreleased videos here on the site, so I’ll be sure to get them up soon. If you want to see previous one, just see the “Videos” section there on the right!
Daily Photo (and bonus video!): The Shapes in the Shire
This is another shot from Yellowstone accompanied by a little video I shot with my Flip video camera. It’s not a high quality camera, and it’s awfully shaky. Sorry for that. But, I hope the content is good for you. I know people always like to know how many exposures I’m taking… this and that… so I’ve got all that info in there.
I felt lucky to have a wild sunset in Yellowstone! I’ve probably been to Yellowstone 5 or 6 times, and you never know what you’ll get! This night was perfect… I had woken up early, so I was tired by mid-afternoon.. I took a catnap in my car and woke up to see the sun was going down in less than an hour! So, I looked at my map and figured out some good spots to go. While walking down this little dirt road, I thought the sky was too perfect to ignore, so I set up for a quick shot!
Also, I got a note from Patrick at onOne software. Their new Plugin Suite 5 is avail! Cool! I use their plugins a lot with my photos. Although I haven’t done a full review, I did review Genuine Fractals, which is part of their suite. I understand that the “STUCKINCUSTOMS” code will save you 20% on all their products. Whenever I have time to write the full review, I will!
The photo below was shot in the Norris Geysir Basin of Yellowstone. I put together another “Walking Around Yellowstone” video with some HDR how-to activity. I think you will like it! I go through three shots and show three finished products. This is one of them. I should release it sometime in the next week or so.
Also, I got good news on A World in HDR, the new book that’s shipping before the holidays! Our publisher, Peachpit, is going to put about 20 pages from Chapter 2 online for viewing on Friday! So, come back around 1 AM CST or so on Friday morning and I’ll put up a sneak preview! Very exciting! I know you guys and gals have really been anticipating it, so I’m happy for you to see it!
Before I get started, I finally had a chance to comment (#184!) on the “The Moments Between” post from a few days ago. I’m very happy people are actively guessing and experimenting to do the same thing! I think that’s very healthy and much better than just getting an answer (but I will give an answer in the future !! ).
It reminds me of last night. I was in San Francisco with a bunch of very nice people from Peachpit, the company that is publishing the upcoming book. After Indian food, we all went out to walk the streets of San Francisco so I could give them a few tips on HDR shooting. One of the gals, holding her D60 without a tripod, was asking me about “What happens if I set the ISO down to 100?” I said. “Hmm… I wonder what would happen… Why don’t you try?” (of course I knew the answer)… but better that she finds out herself. (she did).
This photo below is from Fire Lake. Yes, I dipped my hand in. I had to! I could not resist. It was really hot. Oh god was it hot. I had to do it twice just because I couldn’t believe how hot it was the first time.
I finished up one of the bonus videos tonight for new textures tutorial. I was very pleased with the way this one turned out, so I wanted to upload it! There is not much on this one… just a few secret effects.
This forest was all steamy and foggy in the morning. Part of the steam was caused by this little stream flowing through here. It had been a few days since I had seen my family, so I pulled out my Flip and made a little video. I went over to the steaming water and dunked my hand in there. It was pretty hot, but not burning hot. If I had more time, I probably would have crawled inside… so… I was trying to explain to my kids they should not touch steamy water at Yellowstone… but sending them mixed messages as I was dunking my own body parts in the middle of them, showing them how awesome it was!
I think we might be able to get a new video up for you tomorrow that was shot by my friend Scott in Atlanta. The newsletter is almost finished too, and it will include a special link to the longer, 45-minute uncut video. Scott was nice enough to share that one too!
I am still working on this new Stuck In Customs Textures Tutorial. This is one I edited this evening while recording the how-to video. I commented in the beginning of the video that the initial photo was good and there may not be a need to add textures! But, then you end up with something that is also good, just different. It’s like deciding which of your kids you like better! They are all different and good! (Well, most of the time).
These horses came thundering onto the scene while I was walking down the road. I got myself behind a tree so I would not get trampled like Mufasa. I was lucky that they started kicking up dust in the right position relative to the sun so that their legs cast shadows through the cloud. I can’t take credit for that one!
At one point when driving through Yellowstone a few weeks ago, I got out of the car and started walking right into the forest on the edge of the road. There was a thick fog and the morning sun was low, creating an unexpected box of light. I kept walking and walking until I found this area. It just felt right for whatever reason, so I set up to take this HDR.
In other news, I found out today the exact meeting location for our upcoming PhotoWalk at Sunset here in Austin. We will be meeting in the Victorian Room inside the Driskill Hotel on 6th street to gather before the walk. It’s nice and air-conditioned in there, so we can save all the fun summer Texas sweatbox for the walk itself! Feel free to gather there between 7 and 7:30 PM on Thursday evening, August 6th. Once we’re all gathered, I’ll set the groundrules and then we’ll be off! By the way, a few people have asked if they can bring their kids, and that should be just fine… no problemo.
Every morning in at the ranch, the horses would come running in through the pasture with a few cowboys leading the charge. I’d have to be quick to run out there with my camera and get in the right position. Luckily, since it happened each day, I had plenty of mornings to make mistakes until I finally got in the right position.
I remember reading about Degas and his horse paintings. Right at that time (early Impressionist period) is when photography really got started. No one ever really know what a horse looked like when it was running because its legs were too fast. Photography allowed Degas to be one of the first painters to get it right. You can see some of his horse paintings on this Google image search.
I got a question on Facebook about how I made this. It is an HDR, but I also used Lucis Pro. I have a Lucis Pro review here on the site if you want to find out more.
I put together this video while in Yellowstone. As I have said before, it’s kind of shaky and lots of bits are out of focus. A whole lotta bits in fact!
If this is the kind of thing you’d like to see more of in the future, let me know.
After you follow the link above, you’ll see that it shows the conditions I was in and a bit of the approach for taking the following photo. Enjoy!
I woke up just before to put on my photo-ninja outfit to be sure to get the sunrise in Yellowstone. Once you are in the park, there’s not a lot of food or drink options, and it’s not a good idea to take a bag o’ food out into the wild. But, it was a good idea to stop at McDonalds in West Yellowstone to get a giant coffee.
The rivers in Yellowstone are fed by both rain and geothermal sources, so the water is a bit more warm than you would expect. The cool mornings, even in July, brings fresh steam off the tops. Once the sun finally comes up, it gives everything a golden hue.
I know that many of you have used my World of Textures Tutorial (thanks!) to try some different things with your photography. I still do this a lot too. Obviously, I did it here as well, and used three different textures to achieve this.
Tomorrow, stay tuned for a new video that shot while at another location in Yellowstone. I gave a sneak peak of it to people that got the Newsletter… I tried to set low expectations, and that seemed to work because people liked it! Ah well… let me try to reset low expectations… it’s not that good.
I’ve had a wonderful week here in Montana. I’ve been lucky enough to be invited to this private conference here in Yellowstone. We get together and talk about science, art, and Libertarianism… It’s a very cool and interesting collection of people!
A few nights ago, I took a dusk walk around the main cabin. The horses come graze all around the meadow in the evening… I finally convinced one of them to stand still for a bit.
I made a video! When I took this shot a few days ago in Yellowstone, I had a little video camera to record the process. It’s not the highest quality thing in the world, but at least you guys and gals will be able to see a little bit about how I took the shot in the field. I’ll probably include the video in the next newsletter, which is free and I invite you to subscribe.
This place is called the Ice Lake. I saw it on the map and it sounded like a cool hiking destination. I didn’t expect it to be icy, so I wasn’t disappointed.
I woke up just before 5 AM today so I could get out there and do some sunrise shooting. It was a great morning and I found all kinds of interesting spots. I drove by a bank of trees that had some steam from a nearby river flowing through them… and it looked so cool that I hiked around the forest to find a nice configuration of trees and steamy fog.
I was exhausted after shooting most of the day. I drove over the the Firehole River to have a swim. There was no one else around, and I didn’t have a swimsuit, so I just went in my undies. This seemed like a great idea until my underwear ripped on a rock. This, combined with very sensitive feet that make me look crazy when walking on a rocky shore, made for quite a scene.
There is a perfect stream here on the edge of Montana that backs onto a ranch where I have stayed a few times. At night, you can hear the stream rushing by while you sleep. Sometimes, in the morning, you can see a bit of steam coming off it as the air adjusts. In the middle of the day, the fish are biting and there isn’t another fisherman for miles.
It looks like it might be easy to cross, but, believe me — it isn’t. There’s a few deep pockets in there that you won’t find until you’re one step too late. I’ll never forget the time my chest waders started filling up with cold river water. Once a little bit starts, it’s a slippery slope!
I also ended up doing a bit of tubing down this river too… which I’m sure was completely confusing to the fish underneath.
Every time I go to Yellowstone, I see something different. There are hundreds of great locations, each one of which should be visited for at least an hour during three different times of the day.
This is a new area I visited on my most recent trip there. I don’t think it is always this steamy, since the air temp has to be a certain delta to the water. I don’t know why, but it’s always fun to sit there and watch the boiling water. I don’t enjoy watching boiling water in my kitchen, but the sight there is always mesmerizing.. There is also the strong smell of sulfur carried through the area. It wasn’t repulsive at all, but it did give me the just-took-off-my-helmet-on-an-away-mission feeling.
The Rockies are the source of a few rivers, and here is one of them. I can’t remember the name of it for sure (although I am sure some of my smart readers can), but I am pretty sure this is the Yellowstone (or maybe the Madison?) river, flowing westward out of the park. This part of the river is impossible to see from the road. I had to pull over and then walk over a tiny little hill/mountain to get there. I stayed at the top, listening to my ipod, waiting for the sun to set… It was all quite serene, as you can see!
These old tractors are always interesting to photograph. I don’t know why! I really have no penchant for tractors one way or another, but they have a nice feeling about them for some reason, especially with a pastoral scene in the background… like a cabin with smoke coming out of the chimney. And just in case that chimney runs out of firewood, there seems to be a bit extra right around here somewhere…. now where did I put that extra bolt of wood?
