Unique Photography for Unique People
January 20th, 2010 | Chicago, Illinois, Nikon D3X |
The Olde Organ, Guessing Game, and my Secret Music List

My Music Playlist – What are some of your favorites?

As I travel around the world, I’ve picked up an amazing collection of unique music. It’s not for everyone, but if you like eclectic stuff that gets you in a right-brain mode, I think it’s great.

This first list I am releasing is my “World Lounge Mix” – I made an iTunes iMix of it and added the mix to Trey’s Music List!

Coming soon are some of my favorite songs from other categories, like Ambient New Age, Spanish Guitar, World Music, and more.

What are some of your favorite songs? Share them with me – I’d like to know!

Daily photo – The Olde Organ

Okay, if you were in one of my workshops, you are not allowed to guess, because you heard the unexpected answer.

But, of the rest of you, who can guess where this photo of this ornate organ was taken?  Those in my workshop know because I worked on it during the festivities.  It’s so funny whenever I zoom into 100% and people ooh and ahh at the details.  It’s funny because I do the same thing!  I know a lot of people say that 24 megapixel is overkill, but… well… it’s just cool.

I plan for the future when many people have 70 inch wall displays at 10,000 pixels across.  I want to make sure my images are ready for them!

The Olde Organ

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January 19th, 2010 | Florida, Nikon D3X, Orlando, Travel |
The Portofino Bay

Lengthy HDR Workshop Review

First, I should make it clear that I don’t have any more plans to do more workshops. I know there is a lot of demand all over the world — and these two previous ones have been ultra-successful. I may end up doing a few exclusive workshops in select cities around the world, but nothing is currently planned. I get approached all the time for this and that – and I’m looking at everything… but nothing is decided yet.

For sure, you should get ready for the HDR DVD to come out. It’s being worked on currently. It will be ready when it’s ready, but you can sign up there to be sure you find out first.

As for the Florida weekend workshop, Terry Reinert wrote a lengthy review on his blog. He was a nice guy, and I enjoyed meeting him. After the workshop, RC Concepcion asked Terry and Vanelli (his site) to take me out to shoot the sunset. Well, it was probably a top 10 sunset. It was one of those perfect sunsets where the sun was twice as wide as the skyscrapers in downtown Tampa. Even better, it was a perfect half-circle on top of a cloud.

The only bad thing is that we were in a car the entire time. I’m not sure what the heck happened, but I am sure what the heck didn’t happen. I had a chance to get the greatest photo of Tampa ever made, but I was stuck in a car. I have not yet ruled out conspiracy.

After that, Vanelli, Terry, and I ended up at Tampa University. Or maybe it’s the University of Tampa. We moved around there and they used a few of the new tricks from the workshop. I got some great shots that I haven’t had time to process yet… But I was happy to hang out with those two guys. RC tends to be a good filter on these sorts of matters!

Daily Photo – The Portofino Bay

Today, I drove to Orlando and decided to put myself in charge of a sunset shot. Of course, since those two jokers where many area codes away, it worked out well.

We stayed here at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando. This place is gorgeous. I never know how I feel about these “recreations” of other real-world places. The REAL Portofino is very pretty and unique, of course, but this recreation is also really nice. I mean, it’s actually pretty here, even though it is just a facsimile. It’s not the same as being in Italy, of course. But, it’s better than being at a Walmart in Ft. Lauderdale, you know? Okay, it’s a WHOLE lot better. There are six Italian restaurants, a pretty boat that takes you back and forth to Universal Studios and Adventure Island, and a very nice staff that is helpful and attentive.

The Portofino Bay

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January 18th, 2010 | Iceland, Reykjavik, Travel |
Zen Peaceful Iceland at Dusk

Blog now on Amazon Kindle!

Do you have a Kindle? Now the blog can be wirelessly delivered to you, fresh daily, and right as rain. Get the Kindle Version Here. Enjoy! And thanks, I appreciate your support!

We’ve had this available for a bit, and I have been testing it and all systems are go!

Great workshop weekend! Here is Silver Efex Pro

We had a great one – thanks everyone for coming! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I got a real kick out of seeing people’s results from the night before. People went home and tried all of this stuff for real and got some stunning results. On Twitter, check the the has #HDRWorkshop for a few samples. Thanks again for all the enthusiasm when you come to the classes – that is really nice of y’all.

Towards the end of the workshop yesterday, I showed off Silver Efex Pro. I like how this turned out! You can see more in my Nik Review here on the site! Below is one of the shots that I whipped up towards the end of the workshop to show off how cool (literally) Silver Efex Pro is!

Daily Photo – Zen Peaceful Iceland at Dusk

The soft magnetic blue of dusk lasts a good hour or more in Iceland. It’s a nice time to relax into your right brain, move around freely, and take photos until you collapse in exhaustion.

In Reykjavik, there is a lake that freezes solid, or, at least, it appeared to be solid, every winter. I started walking slowly across really give it a test. Why not? During my scoot-fest, I found this wonderful little bridge.

I’m thinking of going to Iceland this year for the summer solstice (that day when it is 24 hours of sunlight)… sounds awesome! I can’t imagine a 5 hour sunset followed IMMEDIATELY by a 5 hour sunrise!!

Zen Peaceful Iceland at Dusk

Comments appear to be broken on this one post – strange! As always, you can click through to the Flickr comments if you want to say something – I read them all :)

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January 17th, 2010 | Disney World, Florida, Nikon D3X, Travel |
Another Magical Disney Fireworks Show

New Print on Sale

Every week a new print comes available in Limited Edition Numbered series. This week it is “The Fallout Bunker”, the unique and wonderful airport architecture in Thailand. This is the sort of print may not work so well in a traditional home (like my others), but for the right environment, it will be a real stunner.

Stuck in Customs in Space

Daily Photo – Another Magical Disney Fireworks Show

Disney has a very cool “Pirates and Princess” party where they really take their fireworks to the extreme. I worked hard to find a nice reflective surface, even though I had to elbow a few little princesses to get this spot. They started to complain, and I just said, “Stop being such a princess!”

Now, if I can only convince the Powers That Be at Disney to fire off these fireworks at dusk – now THAT is a photo. The thing is… everyone shoots off their fireworks in pitch black, well, because everyone ELSE does. However, I can make a strong case that fireworks look better when there is a bit of ambient light in the air. The fireworks are still bright and beautiful — they do not have to be against a pure black backdrop to “pop”.

Another Magical Disney Fireworks Show

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January 16th, 2010 | New York, New York City, Nikon D3X, Travel |
Grand Central Station and a Workshop Weekend with Scott Bourne

For Artists and Photographers that want to follow another path

I am going to mention this tomorrow during the workshop with Scott Bourne, but I get inspiration and ideas from a great variety of sources outside of photography. Unfortunately, I find that photographers stay in the bubble too much and keep reading the same sort of thing. I put together “Trey’s Book List” here on the site for you. It’s filled with all types of subject matter from genetics to physics. For example, if I ever run into a fellow artist that also has a passion for Richard Feynman, we always become fast friends!

Another Nice Testimonial for HDR Spotting

I am glad some more people are getting into the private beta of HDRspotting.com – as always, the goal of the site is to showcase interesting HDRs from all over the world to drive more traffic and attention to YOUR website. It’s built on top of something we call an “Attention Generation Engine”. As we tweak all this out and iterate, we hope to open it up to more and more people!

There are invite codes out there – just ask around on Twitter or look in the HDR groups in Flickr or FB — NOTE – I do not give them out – so sorry I can’t help you (by design!).

Here is a nice testimonial from Gaensler (see his latest amazing shot on Flickr)

Since uploading my images on HDR Spotting the attention I get on my work increases tremendous! This encourages me to upload one image every single day, which is a great challenge due to the matter of only sending my best images. So HDR Spotting is pushing me further in my work and the comments I get from the community refuels my creativity!

Daily Photo – Grand Central Station

When I was in NYC a few weeks ago for the book party, I took some time one rainy evening to invade Grand Central Station without a tripod pass. I did not even know I could get such a thing easily, because the process for picking one up requires looking in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard’. (tip of the hat to the great Douglas Adams).

But even with my illegal tripod in hand, and in cool and casual defiance of the three-legged police, I strode around Grand Central Station taking photos with reckless aplomb. I really wanted to get on a train and go somewhere! But, I didn’t… I just walked out the exit and right into another amazing photographic situation!

The Grand Central Station

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January 15th, 2010 | Indonesia, Jogjakarta, Travel |
Templestorm, and the Stunning Results from the HDR Workshop!

The Amazing HDR Workshop Results!

Trey Ratcliff HDR Workshop Group Photo

I told the HDR Workshop class last weekend, very sincerely, that I was quite impressed with their progress. It’s my first workshop, and I love teaching people, but I did not expect them to make so much progress so quickly. Mind you, we already had a few people that were already quite good, but even they picked up a bunch of new stuff. Without further ado, here is a random selection of some of the resulting shots from their newfound skills!

(and yes, we are making an HDR DVD of the workshop for those that could not attend the event!)

Also, a very special thanks to John P from One Man’s Blog (and especially Cali Lewis for the introduction!), Scott Kublin from ScottyCentral, and Alex Suarez, one of the aliens from Galaxy Quest.

Thanks Frederick Van for the Interview!

Hey that was a great interview! Hehe…  I just listened to it and forgot about all the HDR Controversy we addressed therein!  You can listen to it also from Frederick Van’s blog.  Thanks again for all the kind tweets and emails about the interview.  Even though I went out on a limb in many areas, I think they struck a chord… thanks again y’all.  And when I say “Internet” – I mean YOU! :)

Daily Photo – Templestorm

It’s hard to keep up with my students!  I feel they are catching up and surpassing me!  I won’t have it!  Hehe…  no no… my theory is that HDR will begin to splinter into a million different shards.  I can’t wait to see where each of them take the artform.

This is just outside of JogJakarta, Indonesia at an ancient temple called Prambanan.  It was the kind of place that has been sitting there waiting for me to bring my story-telling-machine there.  You have seen a few of my other shots of this place perhaps, just after the storm hit.  As I was leaving, I looked back over my shoulder to see this.  I sometimes forget as I walk away from things to turn around and look back, and I can see things I don’t expect.

Templestorm, and Stunning Results from the HDR Workshop

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January 14th, 2010 | Hakone, Japan, Nikon D3X, Travel |
Lonely Boats Near Hakone

This Week in Photography Interview

It’s finally here!  The nice team from This Week in Photography has put up my interview – TWIP Episode Jan 13, 2010 (you can also get it on iTunes).  I hope you enjoy it.  We talk about everything from Creative Commons to Wide Blogs to HDR Photography to Mentally Unstable People Who Dislike HDR.

Amazing Review over at Abduzeedo

Giselle over at Abduzeedo wrote a fantastic review of “A World in HDR” and I am glad she enjoyed it so much!  Head on over there for a looksee.  Also, visit the top level of their blog because they always have great design inspiration.

Daily Photo – Lonely Boats Near Hakone

There is a spiritual and peaceful place on the edge of Japan.  I had to get off the bullet train and make a series of extremely confusing train changes to get to this place, but it was worth it.

The nice thing about photography is there is no such thing as bad weather.  Every scene has its mood, and whatever the scene is, that is the mood.  You learn to roll with the situation, and whatever is happening can be beautiful if you look at it for what it is.  It was a foggy and wet afternoon, so I walked peacefully up and down the shoreline for interesting things here and there…

Lonely Boats in Hakone

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January 13th, 2010 | France, Paris, Travel |
La Cremaillere

Renting a D3S from BorrowLenses

I have a Nikon D3S Review coming soon, but, in the meantime, I am renting the lens from Borrowlenses.com while waiting to buy one! I’m going to use it as a second camera to my D3X, since it is often a good idea to have a second camera around. I haven’t written the full review yet, but I started it a bit, so you can see why I made this decision.

The team from Borrowlenses told me they have a short promotion going on — 10% off rental with the code 2010. It’s like Netflix for camera stuff! I have a review up on the Lens Rental page here.

My Music Playlist

The other night while I was editing photos in front of the class for “bonus time”, I turned on some of my music that I have collected from around the world. People always ask me for that playlist! Well, I have a lot… I think I am going to put them together here soon so you can see too. I’ll get that up and going within the next few days!

Daily Post – La Cremaillere

Ahh, the streets of France. If I could stroll them every night and find a new place to eat, I think I would be forever happy.

Anyone want to go with me? Looks like there are a bunch of seats there. We can just hang out and talk and munch on all kinds of things. But, I warn you, I simply can’t travel with picky eaters. I need adventurous eaters that aren’t easily scared of the unfamiliar. Not that anything in France is too strange… compared my Asian dalliances with live goldfish, durian, fried insects, live octopi, and live flounder. Okay, maybe I don’t need you to be as extreme as me, but I get drained when people around me only want burgers. Maybe this is just me!

La Cremaillere

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January 12th, 2010 | Akureyri, Iceland, Nikon D3X, Travel |
Entering the Fjord

Upcoming Speaking Engagements

I just finished a fun one on Sunday night for the Austin Photography Group. It was a very enthusiastic crowd and I was happy to meet many of them and talk about HDR Photography. Here are some other upcoming ones.

  • Google – In early February, I was invited to come out to the Google HQ to give a talk for their Authors@Google program. I do not think that it is open to the public, but it will be recorded to be put online to be shared with everyone. I’ll let you know when it comes available!
  • Ignite Austin – Jan 13 – I believe this event is totally sold out, but you may still be able to get in… or show up and fight your way in!
  • Art Institute of Austin – Jan 14 – This sounds like a great group of people, and we’ll be able to get a bit more in depth into the artistic side of things.  Or, at least that is my hope!  I look forward to meeting you all! :)

Daily Photo – Entering the Fjord

Sometimes I get annoyed when I make a wrong turn, but not this time!  I was trying to find a remote place in the far northern part of Iceland, and I ended up going the wrong way.  Before I knew it, I was several miles deep into this fjord, but I could not bring myself to turn around.  It was too interesting and pretty!

The next day, I ended up finding the right way to go, but with white-out snow conditions, the road was sketchy.  VERY sketchy.  It was one of those situations where I was just inching along, scared witless, and giant trucks would occasionally blow by me at 60 km/h!  I was thinking… Jeez, these Icelanders are crazy!

Entering the Fjord

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January 11th, 2010 | Japan, Nikon D3X, Tokyo, Travel |
Tokyo Way

A Fun Game for you to Try

I’ve been playing this casual game for the past few weeks and having a good time! It is called “The Adventures of Mary Ann: Lucky Pirates“.

Actually, my wife really enjoys it too. Maybe it’s kind of a girl’s game. But, I’m man enough to say I like it too! It’s a casual game in the style of “Bejeweled’, but only sorta. There is some fun strategy to it (like Puzzle Quest), and the graphics, sound, and presentation are super-impressive. I’m working on a little “Games” list like my “Books” list, and this will be one of the ones on there!

Thanks again to all the HDR Workshop participants

I think you all will be QUITE impressed at some of the images that came out of the HDR workshop. They all did incredible work and I truly am proud of them all. I’m still putting together a list of many of them, and I will link in the next few days. Besides all the art going on, it was also great to get to know all the participants. Thanks again y’all – I had a very good time and I hope you did too!

Late on Saturday night, the whole crew came back to the Driskill with me to watch me edit photos just like in my nightly routine. It was kind of strange having an audience there to share the experience with! But I quite enjoyed talking to them, answering questions, and thinking out loud, instead if in my head! The photo below is one we processed together.

Daily Photo – Tokyo Way

The architecture in Tokyo is beautiful and made for photography! My friend Alfie took me all over this building, and, since he is a photographer too, didn’t mind that I stopped every few feet to take another shot! It’s nice when you don’t have to feel bad about taking way too many photos!

Tokyoway

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January 10th, 2010 | California, LA, Travel |
Sunset Under the Pier

Synthetic Happiness and Photoshop

I have a strange array of answers I give when people ask me questions at book signings and stuff. I recently met a cool guy named Casey Berner, and he asked me if I ever “go back” to a photo after I am done to work on it again. I told him no, and then referred to a TED video from Dan Gilbert. Most of the time, I say this stuff and people just nod… but I don’t really know if it sinks in. But it did with Casey – in fact, he wrote a whole blog post on it and included the video I mentioned!

Coming to California

I’ll be coming out to California soon… to both LA and Northern California.  I’ll be sneaking into a few bookstores here and there to secretly sign books.  I hope things are warmer there than here!

Daily Photo – Sunset Under the Pier

We had a great time at the workshop today!  After a sunset dinner at the Oasis, we came back to the Driskill and I offered to let people watch me stay up late and process photos.  Everyone came but Cliff Baise who was probably drunk.  (Actually, during the workshop, Cliff uploaded this cool pic to Flickr).

I processed three images, and I had a bear of a time with this one from Manhattan Beach.  It was a class “HDR Problem” shot that had ghosting in the waves, a dirty gray sky, and unfortunate artifacting.  I showed everyone how to fix these problems, and I hope some of it sunk in!

Sunset Under the Pier

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January 9th, 2010 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Nikon D3X, Travel |
Getting a Bottle at the Bar

Workshop Fun!

We are just starting an amazing HDR workshop down here in Austin. It won’t be the same as being there, but a DVD will be available soon after, so be sure to sign up for the free newsletter so you can find out first!

The Austin workshop ended up being a fairly exclusive event, and we priced it at $1,000 per attendee.  I  knew it would be popular and that there was an enthusiastic group of people out there, but I did not expect the whole thing to sell out in 11 minutes (after crashing the StuckInCustoms server for 30 minutes after it became available!)!   I’m excited the date has finally arrived and I am very excited to teach people, make new friends, and do my best to take their photography to the next level.

My other workshop next weekend with Scott Bourne in Florida is also sold out!  There may be last-min cancellations, so watch for that.  That will be a fun event and I look forward to meeting a bunch more people and sharing this new sport with them.

People always ask about potentially doing other workshops. I have no immediate plans, except perhaps one in New Zealand next month.

Appearance on Sunday night at BookPeople

On Sunday evening, come to BookPeople before 7 PM to the Austin Photography Group.   Feel free to come by and hear my little talk on HDR.  I’m also happy to meet people, sign books, and this sort of thing.  Come to the presentation hall on the third floor.  See you there!

New Limited Edition Print Available

Every week, we release a new print, and this week’s is One Night in Bangkok. This was shot very soon after I arrived in Thailand. It took me forever to find a good view of the famous Wat Arun. But then, not only did I find the perfect spot, but it happened to be on the deck of a delish Italian restaurant.

One Night in Bangkok

Daily Photo – Getting a Bottle at the Bar

What a cool place! This is another one of those photos that just has amazing detail of the incredible decor. It is an underground bar in Kuala Lumpur that I could not stop taking photos inside! As you can see, there are no bad angles in a place like this, so it is very fun to compose.

I’ll have a little challenge that I will give out at the workshop where we all shoot the same subject matter to see who can get the most interesting composition. This bar is a very cool place because there are a ton of interesting compositions, but also some bad compositions. I’m not sure one can actually “teach” composition… but I suppose I can try!

Getting a Bottle at the Bar

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January 8th, 2010 | Argentina, El Chalten, Nikon D3X, Patagonia |
The Deadfall, and some recent Audio Interviews

Digital Audio Redux

Here are a few recent interview on Audio that you might have missed. Enjoy!

Book Stuff

I know there are many HDR Books out there, so we are happy to make Abduzeedo’s Great Reads for 2010!

Daily Photo – The Deadfall

The hike through this Argentinian national park was beautiful and photographically exhausting!  I usually always carry my camera right on my tripod, and then hold my tripod in my hand as I hike around.  I stop SO often to take photos; I simply cannot imagine all the trouble to re-pack my camera in my bag after every shot.  Then, I feel like, it would be too easy to come up with an excuse NOT to take the photo.

The Deadfall

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January 7th, 2010 | Las Vegas, Nevada, Nikon D3X, Travel |
Laser Vision in Las Vegas

Cali and Neal are doing amazing work…

If you subscribe to the free and fun-filled newsletter, you probably have heard me mention Geekbrief.TV several times and what Cali Lewis is up to over there. She uses my art in the background of her shows, and, well, I think they always look amazing. Believe it or not, I can be objective about such matters! Anyway, I was watching a recent Geekbrief.TV episode (see the hi-res too!) and I noticed that they added moving “snow” to one of my images from Whistler, up where they are preparing for the Olympics. The snow looks really great!

In other news, Jeff McCord from the Moxie Mo Show is also using my art in the backgrounds of his video podcasts as well. Fun!

GeekBrief.TV » Blog Archive » Video_ Nokia Booklet 3G Review, Tricaster TCXD300, Adesso Bluetooth Keyboard, CES Coverage

Daily Photo – Laser Vision in Las Vegas

The new Vegas City Center has opened. Isn’t “City Center” one of the most boring names ever for such an awesome place? This was surely a name that was decided upon by a committee. And, this is precisely why you never see a statue of a committee.

Thankfully, the architects that designed this 21st century piece of art where not part of the naming committee. It is clear they had leeway to design something unexpected and beautiful. Howard Roark would be proud.

Laser Vision in Las Vegas

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January 6th, 2010 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Travel |
“The World in HDR” sold out on Amazon, and The Temple Deep in the Caves

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.

 Sold Out!-3

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.

The Temple Deep in the Caves

Hindu Ascent

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January 5th, 2010 | Argentina, Nikon D3X, Patagonia, Travel |
The Glacially Still Morning Lake

Speaking at Ignite Austin

Ignite Austin is a most unlikely event – an unexpected format.  Here’s the deal.  I get 5 minutes to speak. All 16 participants go one right after the next in a rapid-fire serial pattern.  There are 20 slides that I will speak to, and each one will be up for 15 seconds before automatically flipping to the next one.  I’ve already submitted my plans, and I guess my thoughts on HDR photography looked to be interesting enough!  You can attend too – the cheap seats are only $5!  Get the tickets here.

Another Nightly Twitter Book-Question Answering Session

I decided to do something kind of different and potentially crazy – I do my best to answer ALL questions about the book on Twitter.  I sat down tonight and announced I was open for questions, and many came in both publicly and via DM.  I got them all answered!  I’m not sure I can keep this up forever, but it is very fun.  I thank you guys for getting the book, and I want to be as accessible as possible to help you with the sport of HDR!

Daily Photo – The Glacially Still Morning Lake

I woke up and my sleeping bag was covered in snow.  Brrrrr it was cold.  And I mean cold!  I had chosen to exile myself from the tent, since I pulled the short straw and had to sleep with Yuri.  He is the worst tentmate ever.  Worst.  Tentmate.  Evar.

Anyway, once I rousted myself (getting dressed IN the snow AS it is falling on you is very strange), I went on a little hike to warm up.  As I crested a hill, I found this beautiful still lake.  The wind had yet to kick up, and I could se the bright blue edge of the glacier burning through the morning fog.  I was so relaxed that I almost forgot to take the shot.  Almost.

The Glacially Still Morning Lake

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January 4th, 2010 | Japan, Kyoto, Nikon D3X, Travel |
Red Temple Under in the Moon Forest

New Weekly Print Now Available

There is a new Limited Edition Numbered Print available. As always, prices start at $99 for the smaller paper numbered print and then go up if you want a giant canvas on your wall at home. We just got done showing a bunch of these amazing canvases at the book party in Chicago – they always look so impressive in person!

The print today is a summer reflection of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming across a high-running stream. While I was shooting this, a buffalo snuck up on me from behind. Those things are so big and quiet, it is a little unnerving! There is more info about the process on the Prints page as well.

The Grand Tetons

Daily Photo – Red Temple in the Moon Forest

Most people don’t know this, but I wrote a novel about 15 years ago. The reason no one knows about it is because it was so awful that no one would publish it. I printed out the first few chapters of the book, sent them to countless publishers, and then received countless rejections. I should have saved of them. It was quite depressing at the time, and it only took me 14 years to get over it.

Anyway, I bring this up because part of the story was based in Kyoto, Japan, where this temple is located. I had never been there before, but this is exactly how I always pictured it: peaceful, still, natural, ancient, with the soft sounds of the woods echoing around the old wood. It’s a wonderful place. I’ve done my best to capture the feeling of the place. I only hope I’ve come close to succeeding.

Red Temple in the Moon Forest

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January 3rd, 2010 | Las Vegas, Nevada, Nikon D3X, Travel |
The Way to the Penthouse

Thanks for coming to the Chicago Party

I really enjoyed meeting you guys and gals that came.  It was a great event and I want to thank you all!  We do have a fun photowalk that we will be doing Sunday at 10 AM – meeting in the lobby of the Hotel Sax.  Anyone is welcome!

Daily Photo – The Way to the Penthouse

This incredible spot is located at the bottom of the MGM Grand in Vegas.  It’s one of those places that you will walk by after a day of visual-overload in Vegas and not even notice!  It has taken me some practice, but I try to look at each new room anew, and do my best to bring it back to you!

The Way to the Penthouse

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January 2nd, 2010 | Disney World, Florida, Orlando, Travel |
Peaceful Disney in Resplendent Color

See you in Chicago!

The Chicago Book Launch Party is tonight at the Hotel Sax. It starts at 6 PM, and I’ll be speaking around 7 PM. If you are in the area, stop by so I can shake your hand and say hello! More details on the Facebook Event Page.

Secretly Signing Books at Borders

I’m going into bookstores all over the place to secretly sign my book. I did one today off Michigan Ave in Chicago, put up a quick iphone pic on the FB Fan Page, and sent out a tweet.

It’s causing little tweet-flash-mobs and is very fun! Whenever people are browsing in the section, and then I come up and start writing in a book — they certainly do give me some strange looks! I just give them a knowing nod, and that seems to do the trick.

Daily Photo – Peaceful Disney in Resplendent Color

Dinseyworld is probably the most awesome place in the world, at least, if you are like me and haven’t yet lost your childlike fascination with the fanciful.

I like to visualize things, and I always imagine a membrane in my brain between fantasy and reality. If you have children, or hang out with them much, then you know they have a razor-thin membrane, and thoughts swim back and forth between the two sides. In one moment, they are talking about something completely impossibile and in their heads, and in the next, they are talking about something right in front of them.

As we get older, that membrane thickens and solidifies. The realm of fantasy is for children and the harshness of reality is for adults. At least, this is what society at large wants us to believe. The only time that “grown-ups” are allowed the occasional dalliance into the realm of the fantasy is once or twice a week when they go see a movie. Only in these pre-described theaters and environments are grown-ups allowed to get lost in the fanciful side of things.  (or, maybe you are more like me!)

Peaceful Disney in Resplendent Colo

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January 1st, 2010 | Travel |
Feeling on top of the world in Tokyo – And Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

I hope you all have a great one. That you SO much for all the support and happiness you brought me this last year. I sincerely appreciate it.

Let me know what else I can do in 2010 to help make it pretty and fun for you!

New Audio Interview with Rick Sammon on DPExperience

When I was in New York at B&H Photo, I sat down for an interview with Rick Sammon for his new DPExperience podcast. Give it a listen and be sure to drop Rick and Juan Pons a note there and let them know what you think

Listen to the short interview here!

Daily Photo – Feeling on top of the world in Tokyo

There are different kinds of joy a man can feel, and I think I felt all of them at the same time in this very spot.

Tokyo has an enormous tower in the middle of Roppongi that overlooks the sprawling megopolis. The architecture inside and outside is beautiful, and I did my best to pay homage to the greatness of the vision behind it. Every window is a different experience and it is the sort of place you just don’t want to go to alone.

Feeling on top of the World in Tokyo (And HAPPY NEW YEAR Flickr mates!)

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