Newsletter Announcement

Did you get the new Newsletter last night? It is related to this photo of Paris below!

1000 Free HD Wallpapers

I filled up one of the albums over on Google+, so I decided it would be a good place to send people to get whatever wallpapers they desire! Go here to see more!

Daily Photo – Time Lasts Forever in Paris

Oh Paris! Le sigh…

These were not the ideal shooting conditions, as idyllic as the scene might appear. This is all handheld, btw, no tripod, and here’s the rest of the sad tripod story.

To get to this spot, you have to walk to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. My first few times there, I did not even know you could get to the top! I felt quite dumb when I found out you can walk up about 20,000 stairs to get here.

Once I got up there, I staked out a position with my tripod, and then Frenchy McFrenchface came over and told me I could not use my tripod. I explained that I was an arteeeest, and surely he would in the 19th century no one asked the impressionists to put their easels away. This was a losing argument, although I still think it’s a pretty good one. It will work one day, and I won’t give up this line of persuasion.

So that security guard shut me down, but I felt like there was still an opening. So I asked my friends Matt Knisely and Curtis Simmons to watch my stuff while I went for Persuasion Level 2. He was standing in a little glass wind-proof cage (which I wish I had later when I took this shot!). I motioned for him to open up so he could be subjected to Level 2. I didn’t have my tablet, so I pulled out my phone and started going through my photos. I think this helped to show him I took all of this terribly seriously. Eventually, I talked him into it! He said, sure, no problem, as long as I collapsed the tripod between shots. I was so excited!

I started taking photos, and then 10 minutes later, another security guard came over and told me no. I motioned over at the glass box and said, “But that other Frenchy McFrenchface already told me it was okay!”

The new security guard looked over at the box, then looked back at me and said, “Oh, but you see sir, that guard is now off duty.”

This guy was all business. I could see there was no way to overpower his mind with art and mojo, so I just had to go handheld for the rest of the night. By the time this scene appeared, there was a fierce and very cold wind… the kind of wind that needs hands-in-pockets-between-brackets.

I took 5 exposures from -2 to +2, but the +2 was too blurry, so I just processed the four shots from -2 to +1.

Filed under the categories: France, Nikon D800, Paris, Travel

Officially Released, The Light Camera Mark I

More info at TheLightCameraApp.com — or a Direct iTunes link. in limited supply of 50,000!

Quickly, all you need to know is that the “cool” thing about this camera is that it has all real-time Live filters and effects, in addition to real-time edge detection and live sharpening. You can also use your fingers to adjust the intensity of the effect, move around lens flares, etc etc… it’s cool!

Tell All: (what’s really goin on here???)

Why did you do a Limited Edition App? Are you Crazy?!?

Why would anyone want to limit the upside? We didn’t do this with our other camera app, and it had over 1 million downloads… so, yes, I know it is a little crazy! And, I don’t know if anyone has ever done a limited-edition app, but here is my thinking, in case you were curious. I mean, I might as well be totally transparent about my motivations and desires and stuff, right?

So, I think this real-time edge-detection and sharpening feature is really cool. There are so many apps out there, and I wanted this one to be different and special. I love filters, and the idea of Live Filters is really cool… you know when you put on someone else’s funky sunglasses and everything looks kinda crazy-cool? That’s what this is like, but with more intense effects.

Anyway, I wanted people to actually try it and get excited about it. There are currently two pretty good working theories about marketing and stuff online… and if you want more info on this, read some of the books of Guy Kawasaki , Kevin Kelly, Gary Vaynerchuk or many other people out there!

Long-Tail – This is the idea that something might be niche and low price, but it continues to make money for years and years and years. This is what we did with our other apps… it’s neverending as long as you have a quality product.

Rarity – People do want what is rare. In many ways, this is the opposite of the “inifinte” supply of the Long-Tail above. If people can have something that others cannot, they just want it! It’s just the way humans are hardwired, as irrational as it may be. So, the idea that you can have an app that your friends don’t is, well, just kinda cool!

Combo-Theory – so, with this, I thought it would be fun to experiment and combine the two above into my Combo-Theory. _I think we can do something that has a Long Tail AND is Rare_. We’ll have The Light Camera: Mark I here until it sells out. At that point, we’ll look at the good/bad of the camera… what people liked and what people hated (we will of course fix bugs in free updates!)… and then we will improve upon everything for The Light Camera: Mark II, which will also be in limited quantities… then the Mark III, etc etc. We will continue this until we run out of ideas (hard to imagine) or if people get really tired of camera apps (also hard to imagine)! Anyway, this is the idea we are going for here.

Also, thank you very much to the team here at Stuck In Customs that helped out with this app – Mark Powell, Curtis Simmons, Will Kelly, Luke Lakatosh and more!

Logistically: How do you make something limited in the app store?
Okay, THIS is a problem! Hehe… for one, I don’t want to “remove” it from the app store, because then customers cannot get the free updates and bug fixes that I promised. So, instead, I just have crank up the price to something INSANE like $999 or however high it goes. I know, it’s kinda wierd… and people that arrive late will be thinking, “WTF!” And they may buy it for $999 and then write a horrible one-star review that says, “This app is NOT worth $999!” But, really, honestly, that’s okay… they can write a one star review for $999. I’m only kinda kidding… but… just thinking into the future of things that might happen.

Android Support?!?!? Let me head this one off at the pass! I already know I’ll get many questions about this. The GOOD news is that we have begun Android development of Stuck On Earth, the Free travel app ( www.stuckonearthapp.com)! But our Android team is small, and execution is the problem. Personally, I am an Android user (!!), so I am very anxious to get all these apps on the Android ASAP. Like you, I know that Android is the present and future.

Daily Photo – On Top of the Disney Fantasy

This was my first Disney cruise, so I don’t know if I was lucky with the clouds, or if they are usually full of oceanic-drama. I know some of you in the audience are big ocean-sailing-boat people, so you would know…

What you see here is one of the “Adult Only” areas of the ship. I was surprised that there were many of these areas spread around, and at least three pools just for grown-ups. It was a nice surprise!

Filed under the categories: Disney Cruise, Disney World, Florida, Travel

Review on Adorama TV

Thanks to that Instagram stumble, sales have been going crazy… we now have over 1 million downloads of 100 Cameras in 1 for iPhone and iPad (iTunes link)! Here’s a cool video from Adorama about the app.

Daily Photo – Evening on the blue Lake Tekapo

Yes, these blues are real!

I’ve gotten tens of thousands of messages from people that say that New Zealand is in their plans to visit in the near future, and when you visit this area, you’ll see how crazy the colors really are. It’s like The Sound of Music To The Next Order of Magnitude… everywhere.

I’ve been adding this location and hundreds more to the free Stuck On Earth app — it should help you easily find these places when you eventually make it here!

Filed under the categories: Lake Tekapo, New Zealand, Nikon D800, Travel

100 Cameras in 1 going crazy!

Ever since the Instagram debacle with their TOS, sales of 100 Cameras in 1 have been going crazy – I was quite surprised! We were recommended in the top Instagram alternatives from countless websites, like Gizmodo and Fast Company. Here’s what Fast Company had to say about it:

“With a very attractive interface, 100 Cameras in 1 might be a photographer’s favorite–and its quick-search array of filters (each with a nice sentence describing what it does) makes for swift photo snapping. You can even layer effects one atop each other to go totally filter crazy.”

Photomatix Sharpening

I’ve started sometimes using that Photomatix sharpening “Final Touch” at the end… i did it with this photo below, and it does quite a remarkable job!

Daily Photo – Painting the Sunset

It’s strange to have multicolored coral so close to the beach, but it gave this whole sunset and turquoise water an even more dynamic palette. I’ve been getting used to using a wide-angle lens and aiming it down at the surf. It really distorts everything, but it’s hard to see the distortion in the final shot. Also, I like the effect — it tends to make everything point a little bit towards the center.

Filed under the categories: Caribbean, Nikon D800, Travel, Virgin Gorda

Come see the new HDRSpotting 2.0!

The team has been working very hard on the amazing new release of HDRSpotting 2.0! There are so many new features! Here are a few of them:

- Immediate approval of uploaded images
- Tools used! You can list out what software tools were used in the creation
- Infinite Scroll for that “Pinterest” feel
- Customizable square thumbnail crop
- Newly Popular algorithm keeps the front page filled with some pretty and inspirational HDRs
- New black background for full-screen viewing
- Search by lens, camera, and much much more!

Video about HDRSpotting

We used the first 15 minutes of the live show yesterday to show off some of the new stuff about HDRSpotting!

(and if you zoom ahead till 52:55, you’ll get to see a surprise visit from one of my daughters…hehe

http://www.youtube.com/stuckincustoms

Daily Photo – The Secret Pond in New Zealand

This amazing little place is right by my house! It’s less than a five minute drive. I put the location in HDRSpotting above… so if you click through, you can also visit this secret spot when you come here some day!

Filed under the categories: New Zealand, Nikon D800, Queenstown, Travel

New Zealand Photographers hangout today

Today’s live show will feature some New Zealand Photographers. Tune in live at 7 PM PT/ 10 PM ET! We’ll also give some background on the softlaunch of the new HDRSpotting.com!

Daily Photo – The Secret Room, Deep in the Abbey

Once you make it all the way up to the monastery at Mont Saint Michel, you have to pay to get inside and take the self-guided tour. It’s totally worth it, and you’ll be amazed by all the various rooms that are scattered throughout the interior.

While walking around, Tom told me that there is an Assassin’s Creed level that is based on this place. I need to find that so I can run around it the way I really wanted to!

Filed under the categories: France, Mont Saint Michel, Nikon D800

Episode 1 for Free

No, not episode 1 of Star Wars. This one is better! Hehe… Anyway, here is the full episode 1, and you can pop over to the Art of Photography page if you want to see the rest!

HDR Stuff in Episode 4

The tutorial above only has a tiny amount of HDR at the end. The tool I use in there is Photomatix, just like the tool I used to make the sunset photo below.

Daily Photo – Sunset over Island

I don’t make a lot of these vertical, portrait-mode sunsets. I don’t know why! Whenever I do make one in this orientation, I’m often quite happy with it… and I say to myself, “I should do this more often!” But then I come back after a hardcore sunset session, and I realize 90% of my shots are in landscape mode.

My wife likes these orientations better too. She prefers these to be kind we hang in the house… Maybe this is just because she’s heavily into Pinterest!

Filed under the categories: Caribbean, Nikon D800, Travel, Virgin Gorda

Update on some Google+ Communities

The Google+ Communities are going very strong and sill growing! I think it has only been a week or so, and here is a little update for you.

There is one broken bit that I’m waiting to get fixed — we would like to assign MORE moderators to help out with the flow. The two things the moderators are trying to keep up with is A) False Positives Spam (the algorithm is mis-marking many photos as spam, and mods need to manually approve them) and B) SPAM removal — there are a few out-of-context posts getting through. Anyway, all of this can be alleviated with more moderators… and I simply can’t add them to the bigger groups now because when I view the “Members” list, it culls out 95% of the members so I can’t set them to be moderators.

Anyway, here is an update on a few of the communities. The big ones are big parties, and the smaller ones are more intimate… both kinds are awesome in their own way!

The Photo Community – 21,000 Members

HDR Photography – 16,000 Members

Stuck In Customs Community (us!) – 1,500 Members

New Zealand Photographers – 485 Members

New Zealand Photographers Community Hangout

Monday’s show will be all about this smallest and most intimate community here, the New Zealand Photographers. We’re getting that show set up right now for you!

Daily Photo – The Paris Underground

One evening, we were in a bit of a hurry to get to the Arc de Triomphe for some sunset photos. I still have those photos btw, sitting here unprocessed, and I’m really looking forward to it! Anyway, there were a few of us on this little subway adventure and we had to make one of those long underground connections that requires you to walk for about 5 minutes through jigsawed tunnels. This is one of those tunnels… Matt Knisely and I made everyone wait while we took photos!

Filed under the categories: France, Nikon D800, Paris, Travel

Another reason New Zealand is awesome

My 11-year-old son just got back from a 3-day school camping trip. No waivers, no permission slips, no way for the parents to contact the campsite, no cell phones, no nothing… Just hiked 5 hours off into the wild to camp. Here’s what he did:

- Archery
- Shot guns
- Bungee
- River rafting
- Cooking
- Rope Course Survival (crossing rivers while hanging off ropes)

Anyway, New Zealand is very outdoorsy… and everyone does not seem to be suing everybody for every little thing… no one talks about lawyers and nonsense — it’s so wonderful… Every Thursday, Ethan takes his snowboard to school… anything goes around here… a very active, social, and outdoor-related community!

Daily Photo – The Polar Extremes

I’ve never been all the way to the North Pole or South Pole. I am curious, but I don’t think I’m into the extreme cold. Also, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of good photo ops for all the trouble you have to go through. So, anyway, this is about the closest I have gotten, up at the northernmost tip of the Northwest Fjordland of Iceland. I know you can get even further, but not without a series of boats or flights…

This photo was taken about 4 AM during the summer solstice.

Filed under the categories: Iceland, Isafjordur, Travel

New eBook from Karen Hutton

You all surely know Karen by now, yes? If not, here’s a way to get to know her through her work. And yes, for those of you joining us for our New Zealand Photo Adventure, she’ll be along with us as one of the instructors – fun! Grab the new eBook here! * 104 gorgeously laid out pages, with 100 photographs and the mindflash stories that go with them. * Kick back, relax and sink into a world of stunningly beautiful photography. Think “favorite picture book”, as you curl up by a cozy fire with a steaming mug of your favorite and most delicious beverage. Aaahhh. * Experience the kind of escape normally reserved for vacation – at your fingertips in your everyday world. * Take a moment to dream – to visit other worlds than your own – and imagine what YOUR best story could be.

From Karen:

“I wanted to create a book that evoked that childlike desire to soak in pretty pictures and a good story. In this case, about 100 stories. All very short. All designed to take you on a flight of fancy. Perhaps the sole outcome will be a simple joy. A few quiet moments to enjoy breathtaking places and soulful moments. Have your thoughts provoked a bit. Or perhaps as you are having fun with photo immersion, you’ll think of your own tall tales. Stories that lead you to see the world a little differently. Notice light in a new way. Awaken desires for more color in your life, more textures, deeper experiences. Let your heart speak. Perhaps for the first time.

“I/We” is an invitation to see, to experience, to imagine, to play.
A collection of some of my favorite photos and the sometimes soulful, often silly narrative that emerged in the course of their creation. All assembled and wrapped up in a beautifully designed package for you to enjoy in whatever way you wish.

My wish is that it makes you laugh, think, relax… and dream.”

Daily Photo – Bryant Park in New York City

I stayed in a cool hotel right next to this park. I’ve forgotten the name, but I found it with Hotel Tonight, which is a really cool iPad app you should get. Even better, the app has a lot of my photography in it… so it is even further recommended!

This park is very pretty and relaxing. It’s even busy deep into the night… and, it seems perfectly safe, which is always extra-charming to those of us that are not from New York. Going to a park at night in NYC is supposed to be a very scary thing!

Filed under the categories: New York, New York City, Nikon D800, Travel

New Calendar for Charity

Are you a fan of fantasy fiction? Some amazing authors have gotten together to create this fantasy pin-up calendar for Worldbuilders, a great effort by a very inspirational author, Patrick Rothfuss.

Go buy the calendar here!

For our 2013 calendar, we’ve teamed up with some of the best authors in the fantasy genre: Peter S. Beagle, Ray Bradbury, Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, Jacqueline Carey, Neil Gaiman, Charlaine Harris, Robin Hobb, N.K. Jemisin, George R. R. Martin, Terry Pratchett, and Patrick Rothfuss.

Here’s a little screengrab from something I put on Pinterest… where I cropped the photos in that fun cropping factor. Also, I just found out that the first image there is actually a real person – Clare Grant, who I hung out with at a shuttle launch last year. I found this out when she re-pinned it to her board that included photos of her…

More Burning Man Pics

Remember, to see all the Burning Man pics published so far, click on the “Burning Man” category at the bottom of the post!

I added a few captions below each one…

Filed under the categories: Burning Man, Nevada, Travel

New Zealand Photo Adventure Sold Out!

Thanks again for all the interest in the New Zealand Photo Adventure! We will have more events in different parts of the world. If I spent 100% of the year teaching, then I’m sure that I could satisfy more people… so, my apologies. As it is, I spend about 10% of the year doing either in-person stuff or online teaching… but, anyway, I’m very excited for this event.

Daily Photo – The Walking Path in Glenorchy

This is a new walking path that has just been built through the woods and wetlands of Glonorchy. As far as I know, it is pretty rare to have wetlands so close to towering mountains, isn’t it? I suppose I always think of the wetlands in flat areas, like Louisiana and places like this.

There are a few different routes to take. Some take just an hour, and others take a few. I want to go back to this area with some more time!

Filed under the categories: Glenorchy, New Zealand, Sony NEX-7, Travel