Stuck In Customs

Sydney Morning Herald – What’s up?

Errr… Anyone heard of Creative Commons Noncommercial? Maybe someone involved with copyright there at the Sydney Morning Herald perhaps? I like how they say, “a selection of our readers’ photographs” — very sly. This both indicates that they have legions of readers and that all the photographs are from these adoring legions. I just checked my doorstep here in Queenstown, New Zealand. Nope, I don’t see the Sydney Morning Herald there.

My license, which is quite generous and clear on the site says noncommercial. Now, I know newspapers are commercial, even though they are hemorrhaging money as people flock online to get more timely news and better photos (which, apparently, they are doing too for content-mining). So, the commercial use is definitely a no-no.

But in worse form, I think it’s a bit rude not to give credit down there towards the bottom of the photo. Instead, they used that valuable space to indicate that “oh we’re just one big community with ‘our readers’ who take these pics for fun.” Oh no, I didn’t pay thousands of dollars to fly to your country and stay in a hotel and buy camera equipment so I could take photos of your duck to adorn your newspaper. /said in the voice of Tim from The Holy Grail when he said “I warned you, but did you listen to me? Oh, no, you *knew*, didn’t you? Oh, it’s just a harmless little *bunny*, isn’t it?”

(thanks for the tip off on Google+ from Daniel Shortt.)

Speaking of Copyright Infringement…

I saw a comment on Google+ from CNET reporter Lexy Savvides

Hilariously timed +Trey Ratcliff given that the SMH [Sydney Morning Herald] last week recently posted pieces on photographers having content stolen. See this article?

Looks like it was used online too, littered with revenue-generating ads…

Good person “Dawnstar Australis” sent me this tweet that it is also being used online (image):

@dawnstarau: @TreyRatcliff Incidentally here’s the digital copy of the article with your image front and centre – http://bit.ly/VVQ4po

Update…

There has since been an article on another Australian media outlet by Nic Christensen where he got in contact with the editor of the SMH.

Daily Photo – Rubber Duck by Florentijn Hofman

I think it is a wonderful surreal work of art! Then again, I’m a huge fan of David Lynch and Twin Peaks. Anything surreal in my parallel universe gets a big thumbs up…

Artist: Florentijn Hofman

Rubber Duck by Florentijn Hofman

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2013-01-08 12:21:56
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/60
• Aperture11
• ISO100
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Watch me edit this live

I decided to throw in a bonus for Day 2 of the online class that starts this weekend on the Midnight In Paris page! Each day you’ll learn a lot about photography from me and Miss Aniela. You’ll learn landscape, HDR, post-processing tricks, and even the special tricks that Miss Aniela employs with her models.

At the end of the Q&A session for day 2, I’ll be editing this photo below from beginning to end!

Daily Photo – The Colors of the Museum

Right before the in-person Midnight In Paris event, we took the class on a private photowalk to my favorite museum in the world! We ended up spending several hours here. I didn’t even get in trouble for my tripod this time!

I have soooooo many photos of this place. I’m trying to hold back and not post them all, even though I want to! 🙂 We’ll just both have to wait, I guess…

The Colors of the Museum

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2012-11-07 15:32:29
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time0.5
• Aperture5.6
• ISO800
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

FlatBooks Author Recap!

We had a fun show recently with all FlatBooks authors! We decided to make a special bundle at 50% off all their books! You can get the whole Author Bundle at https://stuckincustoms.com/AuthorBundle

Here are the people that joined me (and a the books included in the bundle!) in the video below.

• Big World Little Lens – +Justin Balog
• Diary Of A Body Painter – +Paul Roustan
• Goals – +Christa Laser
• I | We – +Karen Hutton
• Killer Tips for Getting the Most out of Your Canon Camera – +Joseph Linaschke
• Light Painted Night Photography – +Troy Paiva
• The Beauty of Ambiguity – (me!)

Daily Photo – Downtown Sydney from the Rocks

The Rocks is the oldest part of Sydney, and it’s down by the harbour. I have to make sure I get the “u” in there to appease local sensitivities. Anyway, it’s a cool area full of a lot of old-world charm. Now there are a lot of restaurants, bars, and little hotels that are sprinkled around the area.

I took this one from the top of a 3-story salsa bar. I didn’t even really go into the bar, except for the way to find the top of it! I looked quite strange walking around the salsa dancefloor to get to the other side, dancing with my tripod!

Downtown Sydney from the Rocks

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2013-01-09 17:16:09
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time2
• Aperture4
• ISO200
• Focal Length19.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1

Try out the New Store!

There’s NO risk in the store… I always give back 100% if you are not mega-mega-happy! So, it would be cool if you wanted to pop into the all new Store.StuckInCustoms.com to have a quick look around! I hope you find something you like, and I’m very interested in your experience in and around the new interface. And, since you are the first in the world to see the new store, you just may notice a few new products in there! Hmmm…. what could they be? I won’t tell, but you have to go behind the curtain to have a looksee… you will be excited! 🙂 A big thanks to the team for getting this all put together! If you have any problems, Real Human Beings are standing by to help you at [email protected]. They’ll answer any questions, big or small. Enjoy!

Daily Photo – The Horse in Paradise

Tom and I just took a drive out to Paradise, NZ (Yes, this is a real place!), just beyond Glenorchy. Along the way, we saw all kinds of amazing landscapes and dramatic animals. Here’s one of the dramatic horses, striking a pose! 🙂

I used one of my Lightroom Presets (new store link) to make this image… this one is an HDR-in-Lightroom setting called “Drama in the Center”!

The Horse in Paradise

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2013-01-17 07:48:10
• CameraNIKON D3S
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/1000
• Aperture4
• ISO320
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+1

Visiting Dunedin

When I got the shot below, I only visited Dunedin for one day and one night. It was not enough time! There were many more things I wanted to do there… and even though I am not a bird photographer, I was very interested in seeing the albatross colony – but I ran out of time! 🙁 Maybe next time I will schedule in a bit more…

Daily Photo – Tunnel Beach

This is a really beautiful and unique beach just south of Dunedin. It’s not a drive-up-and-visit-beach. It’s a drive-up-and-walk-a-long-way-then-down-a-long-tunnel-beach. Once we got down there, hardly anyone was at the beach. The views are amazing, and we even saw a few cliff divers. I think those guys are a bit crazy! 🙂

Tunnel Beach

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2013-01-05 08:15:58
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/125
• Aperture11
• ISO50
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-2

Next Disney Cruise

We liked the last one so much that we booked another cruise. This time, we are going to try the Alaska cruise, which should be pretty awesome. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the cruise, since I’m not really a cruise-kinda-guy, but the Disney ones are very nice!

Daily Photo – Full Speed Engines on the Disney Cruise

I woke up early almost every morning on the Disney Cruise to see what I could see. When you can see the horizon, it makes it pretty predictable that you’ll get a good sunrise. I did go through that painful routine of waking up early and staggering over to the window to open the curtains and look at the clouds. Whenever I saw there were just a few clouds, I’d go for it! Otherwise, if there were a ton of clouds or rain, I would just get back in bed. I swear that is one of the best feelings in the world!

Full Speed Engines on the Disney Cruise

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2012-04-06 08:20:39
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/250
• Aperture8
• ISO200
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+1

Photos in Nepal for Charity – Let’s do it!

Firstly, I will say straight away that I’m paying my own way on this Nepalese adventure with Patrick Rothfuss, and I won’t use any of the charity’s money. 100% of the money raised goes to the Heifer International!

This year, the goal is $500,000. Last year, it hit $310,000, but this year we can blast through that! Your $20 or $120 is quickly multiplied thanks to sweet sweet social media! 🙂 Donate a Flock o’ Chickens at http://goo.gl/8RXm0

Now, who is this enigmatic Patrick Rothfuss? I’ve told many of you that upon reading his book “The Name of The Wind” you automatically level up as my friend. Some of you are level 1, others are level 2. Some are even level 3. (But seriously, every week I get dozens of emails from people profusely thanking me for introducing them to that book. Rothfuss is teaching us all…)

And insofar as Rothfuss is teaching us all, he is the man behind the brilliant Worldbuilders, which is a really fun way to raise money for Heifer International. By donating, you also have the chance to win incredible prizes, especially if you are a geek. And, if you’re not a geek, I hope you have a few geeks in your life. We’re everywhere now, since, finally, geeks rule much of the world. Anyway, see all the incredible prizes and more on blog’o’Rothfuss at http://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2012/11/worldbuilders-2012/

There is a bonus charity auction as well, full of all kinds of geeky-goodness! http://tinyurl.com/aw85xbh

So, when I’m in Nepal with Patrick, we’ll be taking all kinds of photos of the families you’ve affected so you can see what your money has done. I’ll do hangouts and answer questions and take special requests! Want to see me milk a yak?

Donate: http://goo.gl/8RXm0

Going to Visit Hobbiton

I’m on my way to visit the real Hobbiton! I went there many years ago, but now it’s been upgraded — this is exciting… to see everything and visit the actual

Daily Photo – The Blue of Lake Pukaki

This is the view that you get on the way to Mt. Cook. It was my first time going there… and I was so happy to see the amazing color of the water! I don’t know if it is like this all the time, but I figure it is. I’m about to go for a second trip, so I will report back soon!

There are many places to stop along the road to get this shot. I think I could get a better one if I did a bit more hiking, but I was feeling a bit lazy this day!

The Blue of Lake Pukaki

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2012-12-05 07:32:15
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/1000
• Aperture8
• ISO200
• Focal Length85.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

How-to

I have more about the how-to of this photo in the Part 1 of the upcoming Midnight in Paris video! Both Miss Aniela and I are really looking forward to this thing!

Daily Photo – Triangle of Fauna

Sorry for the dumb name of this photo. I was feeling VERY lame when I made it up. Even here, into my third sentence, I still can’t come up with anything better. Either way, I hope you enjoy the photo!

Triangle of Fauna

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2012-11-08 18:41:01
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/125
• Aperture8
• ISO100
• Focal Length36.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

No Bathroom Selfies

I notice a growing trend online in “Bathrooom Selfies.” You can have some peace in knowing you won’t be seeing any from me in the future. But I do notice that I used the word “Selfie” in the title today. Now that I write that, it feels like the kind of word a female would use when she takes a photo of herself. There should be a male-version of this word. Until then, I guess I’ll just use it in the amorphous manner.

Daily Photo – Shadow Selfie

Out behind the chateau, there was an extremely powerful light. It kept getting in my way, so I decided just to go ahead and use it! I like shadow-photos, but they always make you look a bit bottom-heavy.

BTW, if you want to get strange colors in night photography, try setting your white-balance to “cloudy” — this will do some funky stuff to the coloring! Remember, if you shoot in RAW, you can always change the white balance later! 🙂

Shadow Selfie

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2012-11-08 21:09:26
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time8
• Aperture2.8
• ISO280
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+2