New Version of Topaz Adjust out today!

Topaz Adjust 4 is out today on the Topaz Website. You may have already seen my Topaz Adjust Review in the recent past, and you’ll be happy to know the new one is a free upgrade if you have the previous one! I got a sneak peak at the new one, and I posted an image below from the slick new interface. If you haven’t already got it, then I recommend it totally. I use it quite a bit to sharpen things up and give images some pop.

Screenie from the new Topaz Adjust 4 – Nice looking interface, eh?

Daily Photo – The Icy Cave at the Franz Josef Glacier

I’ve had an amazing time so far in New Zealand. I’m here for about a month with my family. On a recent evening, my 8-year-old son and I went on a decent hike to the base of the Franz Josef Glacier on towards the west coast of the southern island. Once we got close to it, we could see the icy blue cave where a glacial-white river emerged. Awesome! My son looked at me and said, “Wow. I feel like we just discovered Atlantis!”

In truth, we stayed way too late. This was a good 1.5 km from the car, and it was pretty dark. By the time we got back, it was totally dark except for the moonlight that helped guide us home. I had a flashlight hanging off my camera “just in case”, but, as case would have it, the flashlight fell off into the glacial river!

Filed under the categories: Franz Josef, New Zealand, Nikon D3X, Topaz Adjust, Travel

How Long Until the Singularity?

About halfway through my HDR talk at Google (Youtube link), I asked this to the crowd there. I figured they would know! I was thinking about all that a bit recently while working on this photo for the day….

Don’t forget to come discover new artists!

We started this Smugmug Portfolio Contest just recently. Be sure to come over and see some of the new entrants… some beautiful work out there!

Daily Photo – The Tunnel to the Singularity

While getting lost on purpose in the streets of Tokyo, I decided to head up into one of the buildings to wander about. It led to one hallway, which led to another, another, and then to this amazing place. I’m not sure I could ever find it again, so I was sure to take way a photo as a keepsake. Sometimes special things like that happen, and I am sure to appreciate it at the time. One part of me thinks, “Oh, no worries, you’ll be back here again some day.” The other half worries, “Okay, maybe not, you better fully appreciate it!” And I did!

Filed under the categories: Japan, Nikon D3X, Tokyo, Topaz Adjust, Travel

Mega-Photowalk During SXSW? How about March 13

Yes, I am thinking about putting one together based on a series of very enthusiastic requests! I don’t have anything formally planned yet, but some pieces are coming together. I know we have people coming to Austin for SXSW from all over the world. If we hold it, it will be around sunset on Saturday evening, March 13 (it was March 14, but I understand now the Austin Photography Group meets that evening). So… pencil in the 13th !

We might even have a little contest of sorts… see who can get the most interesting Austin evening / SXSW / party / social / or Austin-y shot!

Daily Photo – The Beautiful Airport in Kuala Lumpur

Ahhhh… Asian airports. I really love them. They all remind me, for some reason, of these clean-white scenes from the beginning of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The architecture in these places is inspired and the textures are impeccably chosen. I literally cannot help myself from taking photos. Whenever I walk through them and I compose a scene with my eyes, I am compelled to get out my camera and tripod and shoot away.

And yes — this is a common question I get on Twitter and all over the place. I always carry my tripod on the plane. I’ve never had a problem except for one international flight, when they told me it was a few inches too long. Now, this might have been a fluke because I have a big tripod. I’m just sayin’.

Filed under the categories: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Topaz Adjust, Travel

Join the Facebook Fan Club!

We have a nice growing community over there, and I drop in on occasion to put in little bits of news that just can’t wait on the daily blog post. I do want to keep the blog a regular once-a-day event. However, sometimes there are cool things you might want to know over on the Fan Page. I also encourage discussion, finding more friends, and the like there. So, come join and have a good time!

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I had a great time in New York!

I just got back from NYC, where I went out to get ready for the book launch party. While there, I shot a secret video with Steve Simon, which may not be secret for long… stay tuned for that.

Also, I went out with Cali Lewis to shoot some HDRs in Times Square! This was a bit of an in-person version of the HDR Tutorial here on the site. Cali is the host of Geekbrief.TV – a show you should watch for sure if you like tech and spunkiness (plus, you can see she uses my photos on her backgrounds!). Anyway, after shooting some HDRs, we went and had Italian food with Cali, Neil (her hubby), and my friend June Arunga. I handed Neil my camera and he shot this pic of us together…

Daily Photo: New York is Alive and Well

It’s been a few years since I have been to New York, and Times Square is better than before! I was actually in New York on 9/11, so it’s always good to go back to the city and see everything is still awesome. Maybe next time I come, we can all do a flash mob and hit B&H Photo for a while – that would be fun!

Filed under the categories: New York, New York City, Topaz Adjust, Travel

Live Video Chat Thursday Evening in the USA

The video chat is tonight, Nov 19th! Come join us at tinychat.com/stuckincustoms. Everything begins officially at 7 PM CST (5 PM PST). I know we have people joining from ALL over the world. Sorry I don’t have local times for everyone, but I know people around here are smart enough to do the addition in their heads, I hope!

I’ll start it out with a little announcement that should be fun for everyone!

The Newsletter is Off

We sent off the free Newsletter yesterday. I notice that one of the previous newsletters was opened by over 200% of the people who were on the list! That means that most people forwarded it to at least one person. That’s great. I always try to fill it with pretty pics… so they are the kinds of things that are fun to forward to people that like pretty pictures. And who doesn’t like those? Anyway, since it’s free, I do ask that you forward it around. It brings more people to the site, we get better advertising deals, and then it’s great for everyone! Thanks!

Daily Photo – And then I hiked through the Autumn Trees to find the Glacier

I wasn’t exactly hiking in the safest spot in the world, when I stopped to take this shot. But the tripod helped! I tend to use it like a hiking stick sometimes. I was hiking through a pretty area of southern Argentina in a bitter rainstorm. You can’t see the rain here because I left the shutter open for so long, but you can see the heavy clouds, hanging just a bit over the Perito Moreno glacier.

Filed under the categories: Argentina, Nikon D3X, Patagonia, Topaz Adjust, Travel

Live Video Chat Thursday Evening in the USA

The video chat for the pre-release of the book will be up at tinychat.com/stuckincustoms. Actually, it’s up now, but I won’t be broadcasting video until the event starts at 7 PM CST on Nov 19th. Come back then and join in!

Topaz Adjust and Noiseware

It’s been a while since I mentioned these great products! I used both of them in the image below; the former was for sharpening and the latter was for noise reduction. I also used Noiseware on the Tokyo photo from yesterday. To find out more and get coupon codes, check out the Topaz Adjust Review and the Noiseware Review.

Daily Photo – Trees and an Aircraft Carrier in the Fog

The time I spent in San Diego was very moody and covered in fog. I went down to the shore one night to spy the USS Midway. The fog was pea-soup thick and it gave the environs quite the mood. I found these amazing trees nearby that seemed wonderfully illuminated against the glow from the aircraft carrier.

Filed under the categories: California, Nikon D3X, San Diego, Topaz Adjust, Travel

Every year we get thousands of bikers that descend on Austin for a few days during the big ROT Biker Rally.

They cruise up and down 6th Street and close fill the streets with incredible bikes and works of art. It’s an amazing place for photography, so I was able to take a break this evening and go down and shoot for a few hours.

I remember when I was growing up that bikers where just about the scariest people on earth. But now, everyone I have met seems to be much nicer and more affable than the average joe. They love having pictures taken of their bikes and generally seem to love life. That’s cool.

Filed under the categories: Austin, Nikon D3X, Texas, Topaz Adjust, Travel

How about this place?

This was shot at a really slick bar called Club Mix at the top of THE Hotel in Las Vegas. A lot of people ask how I end up getting shots when no one is around… Sometimes it is a camera trick, and sometimes I am lucky enough to get into places when no one is around. In this case, the people from MGM/Mirage, who own many of the most beautiful hotels-casinos in Vegas knew I was coming to Vegas and they gave me carte blanche to move around freely. I wore those poor people out because I didn’t get tired… I was like Homer in that episode where he went to hell and was forced to eat donuts nonstop. He kept saying “more” until the devil got frustrated.

Anyway, a big thanks to David and his crew there at MGM/Mirage. I have a ton more shots coming in the future… so, as with other threads, stay tuned!

Last, I have updated my “Things That I have Found That Inspire Me” page. That page may take a while to load… my apologies… but once it is done, I hope you see a few cool things as well.

Filed under the categories: Las Vegas, Nevada, Nikon D3X, Topaz Adjust, Travel

I’ve found a wonderful new piece of software!

It’s a Photoshop plugin called Topaz Adjust and I’ve written a full Topaz Adjust Review here on the site. People send me software all the time to review, but I only end up reviewing stuff that I actually use. Eric Yang, one of the gurus over at Topaz, also gave me a Topaz Adjust Coupon Code of “STUCKINCUSTOMS” for 10% off to pass along to my readers. I think you will like it as much as I do! I actually recommend the Topaz Bundle (for MAC or PC), but you can read more about why inside the review.

Below is a shot of a ’57 Chevy. I saw it when walking back to the Magnolia Hotel on Friday night after dinner in Dallas. I took a photo of this pretty car under the blue lights of the porte-cochere, went upstairs to my room, downloaded the Topaz Bundle software, made the adjustments, and had the whole thing finished in less than 30 minutes. That quick turnaround speaks to how easy the software is to use. I’ve since used it on a number of other images, including some unpublished ones that are coming soon.

Filed under the categories: Dallas, Nikon D3X, Texas, Topaz Adjust, Travel

This was shot in the lobby of The Joule Hotel in Dallas. All the architecture and decor inside is related to energy. I found it by accident while walking down the street on last night after dark with my rig. I saw some interesting lights inside, then peered closer to see a giant gearworks rotating around. I ducked inside for some shots and ended up talking to some very nice people behind the front desk. The hotel itself is filled with all sorts of art, and they gave me a nice little guide so I could work myself around and drink it all in.

There is also this awesome swimming pool ( pic from their website ) with a glass front that juts out over Main street in Dallas. It was under repair, so she said I could not photograph it…. but maybe next time!

Note this photo is not HDR. It uses some new software that I am in the process of reviewing… I hope to get it up soon!

Filed under the categories: Dallas, Nikon D3X, Texas, Topaz Adjust, Travel