Trey’s Variety Hour #76: The Business of Photography and a Chance to Win Google Glass

Thomas Hawk, Brian Matiash, Nicole S. Young, Frederick Van Johnson, Mike Wiacek, Sara Byrne, and Dylan Howell join me to discuss marketing and the business of photography. We talk about the huge photowalk coming up before Google I/O, have a good round table about the topic before moving on to showing some of our recent work and then finally onto our G+ Discoveries.

Photowalk and Google Glass Giveaway details here: http://goo.gl/Zarq3

G+ Discoveries:
Jim Denham, Natalia Stone, Matt Glastonbury, Brian Bach Sørensen, Cole Roberts, and Danielle Tunstall.

Thanks to Dave Veffer for helping out with the whole production!

The show airs each Monday at 7 PM PT / 10 PM ET. (Check your local time)

You can subscribe for free to my YouTube channel at:

http://www.youtube.com/stuckincustoms

Watch previous episodes on YouTube here

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Thank you for watching!

Thank you for watching the show, I hope you enjoyed it! While you’re here be sure to have a look around!

• Get Awesome Stuff – Pop over to our online store to see a great collection of photography gear, tutorials, tools and eBooks.
• Watch Tutorials – We have some excellent photography tutorials for any skill level! The always FREE HDR Tutorial, the best selling HDR Video Tutorial and our newest tutorial on Landscape & Travel Photography shot in New Zealand.
• Read Reviews – Read detailed camera reviews, photo software reviews plus what’s in my camera bag!
• Download eBooks – Flatbooks.com has many topics include photography techniques, photo composition, photo editing, HDR photography and lifestyle.
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Filed under the categories: Podcast

The Giant PhotoWalk Event

This will be an amazing PhotoWalk event in San Francisco soon! It’s officially sanctioned by Google and everything, and yes, I’ll be giving away Glass to one lucky person! It all takes place on May 14 in San Francisco. Sign up here on the the Official Google+ Event Page!

Just announced on the Live Show!

Join me and Thomas Hawk on the 14th. We talk more about it here when we first announced it…

Filed under the categories: California, San Francisco, Travel

It’s here!

We already had a super-closed beta a few days ago. All systems go. More systems coming online with each build!

You can get this closed beta for free in the Stuck In Customs Store (free download). When it actually launches, we will of course have it in the Google Play store. I’m targeting a day or two before Google I/O next week! If you have any bugs or suggestions, please email us at support@stuckincustoms.com !

We recently passed One Million updates on the iPad-only version! Amazing! If you don’t already have that one, you can jump over to the StuckOnEarthApp.com website to get the iTunes store link!

What makes Stuck On Earth so much better than Google Maps with photos? FOUR things. At least!

I built this thing for ME because I could not find a tool that helps me find the best locations quickly to take photos and save them offline for photo adventures. Here is why it is better:

1) Pin Clustering! Google Maps Photos does equal weighting to all locations. When you look at Stuck On Earth, like in the photo below of Death Valley, it clusters the pins to show you the best places to go take photos. So, without even clicking the thumbnail, you know where to go!

2) Pulling from _millions_ of geo-located photos on Flickr that are algorithmically sorted by awesomeness. It ensures (well, mostly, kinda) that most of the photos that get served up to you are primo locations chosen by photographers that know that area well.

3) A very important “human” element that is missing from Google Maps. Are you pinching and zooming near San Francisco? Then you may see Thomas Hawk’s Secret Spots in San Francisco. We have human editors around the world submitting their top 50 spots in their cities. Even better, you can submit YOUR OWN top 50 list from within the app itself by making a trip! Then you don’t just have to depend on the algorithm – *you can depend on local photographers you know and trust!*

4) Offline trip saving! I know that in the middle of a good photo-outing, sometimes internet is the last thing you have! So, whenever you create a trip, it is available for you offline. We save the photos for you, the maps, the descriptions, everything!

Above, no matter the zoom level, like this spot in Death Valley, the app will algorithmically cluster pins around the most interesting spots!

Not sure what Stuck On Earth is?

Watch this video below!

Filed under the categories: Travel

Fully re-vamped HDR Tutorial!

I removed and rebuilt the HDR Tutorial from the ground up! Now it is tighter, more focused, and has all my latest techniques. Those of you that purchased the latest HDR and Post-Processing Tutorial on Video from New Zealand will see a consistency between the online free version and the paid version. They got out of sync there because my technique evolves pretty fast!

Some B-roll from the video below

I’m sure many of you have seen this video below already — but you might notice during the video that you can see some of the scenes that brought today’s photo to life!

Daily Photo – The Ghostly Spirits in Milford Sound

We had a lucky morning in Milford Sound! In retrospect, it was really dumb to bring so many people to Milford when the weather could have been horrible! But man, we really lucked out! I would say there is good weather there (shootable weather) only 50% of the time.

There are many favorite little things about this photo. One of them is that little greenish island out into the bay… that has a good feeling to it, I think.

Filed under the categories: Milford Sound, New Zealand, Nikon D800, Travel

Queenstown Speaking Engagement with NZIPP

Join me in Queenstown on the 8th of May! All are welcome!

This will be a fun event! Thanks to the NZIPP for setting it all up. There is limited space, so please contact photography@emilyadamson.com to hold a spot for you. Here is more info below:

Beautiful hidden gem in Big Sur

I bet most people drive by this place at 60 MPH and never notice – but they should! I ended up staying here a few nights recently while I was taking photos all around the area. It’s a perfect homebase for all the hotspots in the area. Plus, the rooms are really nice, comfy, and swanky… I took a bunch of other photos I’ll share soon, but you can also see some good ones at their website. One of the photos is below: the Forest View cabin.

Daily Photo – The Cabin in the Forest at the Glen Oaks Big Sur

These trees are huge! I’ve visited these huge redwoods along the coast of California many times, and I don’t think I could ever get used to how gigantic they really are. It’s almost like an alien planet!

The cabin there is one of the many varied rooms at the Glen Oaks. They are all different, but each one is nicely appointed. I’m recommending this place to my friends who are looking for awesome lodgings in the Big Sur area!

Filed under the categories: Big Sur, California, Travel

New Video – Behind the Scenes in Japan

Here’s one I just edited together from my trip last week! It shows what happened while I was taking a few different photos around Mount Fuji. The video has a bunch of different tips and tricks, shows how I set up my camera, how I change lenses, how I struggle with putting on the lens hood, and lots of other goodies. Enjoy!

Daily Photo – Approaching Mount Fuji from the Old Village

What a perfect place this is!

I’ve been to Japan many times, but I never had the chance to visit Mt. Fuji! This time, Tom and I made a point to do it, and this was one of our fist stops. You can see much more about it in the video above!

Filed under the categories: Japan, Mount Fuji, Nikon D800, Travel

Gather the kids and join me online soon!

I’ll be broadcasting live on YouTube for the Google Science Fair! You can watch online on the Event Page Here. This is a free educational event, aimed especially at kids. It’s all about science and photography.

It’s on May 7 (May 8 in some parts of the world) – check The Event Page for your local time. I’ll be joined by schoolkids from all around the world. It should be great fun!

Here is info from the event:

The Science of Photography

Digital photography offers amazing flexibility to capture and modify images. But how does the science of photography actually work? What are the basic principles of light, and how do they affect how photographers shoot? How do different cameras and lenses capture images differently? And how do software tools change the way those images are ultimately viewed?

Come to this Hangout On Air with Trey Ratcliff, the world-class photographer whose work is displayed at StuckInCustoms.com. He will be interviewed by well-known blogger, technology analyst, and amateur photographer Robert Scoble, as well as by Google Student Ambassadors. Here’s your chance to learn about the science behind those amazing images.

Tuesday, May 7, 2:00PM PT / 4:00PM CT / 5:00PM ET / 2200 GMT / 2300 CE / 900 NZDT (8 May)

Daily Photo – Close Encounters over Big Sur

I went out to take photos of the shooting stars in Big Sur last week, but I only saw a few. I took a few shots of the night skies, but I think the most interesting one was this. It reminded me of that opening scene from Close Encounters! This is what it looks like in the middle of a long exposure when a car comes up over a hill towards you…

Filed under the categories: Big Sur, California, Nikon D800, Travel

Do you know about Stocksy?

Here is our friend Kate Russell talking about Stocksy, a new stock agency that now reps a selection of my photos. You can read more about it too on Kate’s new venture “Working The Cloud”!

Daily Photo – View from the Google Offices in Downtown Tokyo

It was a great event at Google that day and night! After my tech talk, we stayed up in their skyscraper till dark, drinking and eating and taking photos. Luckily, the office windows aim in directly the right direction out of the Roppongi Towers.

The windows were all crowded with photographers, and it was a great time. Between shots, I got the chance to talk to a lot of enthusiastic Japanese photographers. I even set up a future-photo-date with the great Takahiro-san… and he would take me to one of his secret bridge locations in Tokyo! That photo will be coming up soon…

Filed under the categories: Japan, Nikon D800, Tokyo, Travel

Reminder on The Stuck in Customs Community on Google+

Last week I mentioned the Private Clubhouse that people can access when they purchase one of the tutorial products. But, also, there is a public Stuck In Customs community where you are welcome to join, share your photos, and see a bunch of other work from fellow community members! It is a fun way to get to know more people from around here!

Daily Photo – The Lonely Chair

This is a nice little object here, yes? I think it’s hard to find things that stand by themselves in the middle of an area that is normally cluttered.

The chair was found in one of the many decrepit and ghostly rooms inside that chateau I mentioned a few days ago. I tried to squeeze my way into every possible room, but some were too full of junk to get around. This one was well lit and ideal!

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

Did you miss the latest newsletter?

I hope not! It’s always free and we promise to never spam you! We send out one a month (or so!). Anyway, here’s a link to the April newsletter and be sure to sign up at StuckInCustoms.com/news if you have not already!

Our Austin PhotoWalk on the BBC

You’ll see a short interview with me in the middle of the first bit from the Austin Photowalk. You may see a lot of other familiar faces in here too! Thanks to LJ Rich from the BBC for putting together this piece – that was fun!

Daily Photo – Moonrise Kingdom

This is one of my favorite new pieces from this year! I just shot it a few days ago.

It was shot waaaay after the sun went down in Big Sur, California. This is a crazy waterfall that pours off onto the beach. You can’t see it from the road, and it requires a short walk. I found it thanks to Stuck On Earth, although I am sure other locals have known about this semi-secret place forever! You can go here too… it’s not terribly difficult. It’s called “McWay Falls” and it’s beautiful any time of the day.

Also, btw, I’d like to thank those of you that have been ordering more prints recently — I am honored! You can always click just below the photo to check sizes and prices to find something to fit your budget. Thanks again!

Filed under the categories: Big Sur, California, Nikon D800, Travel

Trey’s Variety Hour #75

The show airs each Monday at 7 PM PT / 10 PM ET. (Check your local time)

Trey’s Variety Hour #75: Post-Processing vs. Gear – Thomas Hawk, Karen Hutton, Red, and Gino!

In this episode I am joined by Thomas Hawk, Karen Hutton, Hong Yi (Red), and Gino Barasa. We have a great discussion about the pros and cons regarding the age old question of post-processing vs. gear and then we share some of our photos. John Pozadzides from GeekBeat.tv drops by for a quick visit as well!

G+ Discoveries:
Midori Chan, Pete Stewart, Joe Frazee, Shelly Kay, and Jingyi Tan.

Thanks to Dave Veffer for helping out with the whole production!

You can subscribe for free to my YouTube channel at:

http://www.youtube.com/stuckincustoms

Watch previous episodes on YouTube here

New Live Chat!

Log in and you’ll automatically join the #stuckincustoms channel!
Click here to go to the embedded chat.
Connect Manually with an IRC chat client:
IRC Server: irc.geekbeat.tv Join room #stuckincustoms

Thanks to our friends over at GeekBeat.tv for providing this chat room!

Subscribe to the Podcast and View Past Episodes

• Subscribe for free to My YouTube channel.

Thank you for watching!

Thank you for watching the show, I hope you enjoyed it! While you’re here be sure to have a look around!

• Get Awesome Stuff – Pop over to our online store to see a great collection of photography gear, tutorials, tools and eBooks.
• Watch Tutorials – We have some excellent photography tutorials for any skill level! The always FREE HDR Tutorial, the best selling HDR Video Tutorial and our newest tutorial on Landscape & Travel Photography shot in New Zealand.
• Read Reviews – Read detailed camera reviews, photo software reviews plus what’s in my camera bag!
• Download eBooks – Flatbooks.com has many topics include photography techniques, photo composition, photo editing, HDR photography and lifestyle.
• Applications – We have several beautiful and fun apps you might enjoy: 100 Cameras in 1, Light Camera, Photo Voyages and Stuck On Earth.
• Subscribe to the Newsletter – Subscribe to the the Stuck in Customs newsletter. It’s free and pretty and we promise not to spam you!

Filed under the categories: Podcast

Snow in HDR

This is a common question I get. Basically, I think it is a bad idea to HDR the snow and ice part. It just looks dirty. You want it looking nice and pristine, and the HDR will add a little too much texture and grit for me. This seems to happen to an alarming degree with human skin and snow (and a few other things). Anyway, using layers and masking in Photoshop is an easy way to slice-n-dice your way out of that problem!

Daily Photo – Snow over the Creek

There is a place called Pyramid Lake just past Glenorchy that is perfectly wonderful in the winter as long as you have the traction. This shot is from the end of last winter when I caught a little bit of snow. You’ll notice I don’t have a ton of snowy shots from NZ yet, but I think I’ll get a lot more this winter. I’m really looking forward to some good snowfalls, in fact! I’m sure if you’re in the northern hemisphere that you are sick of the cold and ready for the warm… but I really am looking forward to the change!

Filed under the categories: Glenorchy, New Zealand, Nikon D800, Photography Tips, Travel