Li River – Stuck in Customs
27
Sep 2019 : Friday
filed under  Camera Gear, China, Guilin, Li River, Lijiang, Photo Software, Sony A7R, Textures, Travel

Textures of the Li River

Textures Tutorial

Today’s photo uses one of my favorite techniques! Make sure you pick up my Textures Tutorial in the store. It comes with a ton of textures that you will love too!

Daily Photo – Textures of the Li River

Finally, something not from the USA! I’ve been sharing a ton of photos from my USA tour recently… mostly because I’ve been away from home in NZ for three months and don’t have access to my mother lode of photos! I edited this photo for a few hours on the plane. I love using textures… I hope you try out the tutorial above and enjoy it too!

Textures of the Li River

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-04 00:19:05
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/100
  • Aperture5.6
  • ISO500
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
8
Feb 2016 : Monday
filed under  China, Li River

Bad Ass Bird Guy from China

Custom Screensaver

I’ve ended up with a lot of really cool aerial footage from around the world… I was thinking of making a screensaver that randomly shows different scenes. Maybe I should do it? I dunno… have a lot of projects in the works but that one sounds particularly fun!

Daily Photo – Bad Ass Bird Guy from China

This guy was so cool. That bird was like is familiar… they go out fishing all the time, so I guess they get to know a lot about one another. And that bird can clearly see that his fisherman human is a total bad ass. If I was that fisherman, I could not even manage to stand up on that bamboo raft… probably I’d be falling in backwards while the bird was pecking my eyes out.

Bad Ass Bird Guy from China

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-03 23:36:58
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/1500
  • Aperture
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
6
Feb 2016 : Saturday
filed under  China, Li River

Exploring the Karst Rock Formations in China

Lightroom Slowness

Has anyone else noticed that Lightroom gets REALLY slow sometimes? It’s driving me nuts lately… sometimes it’s quick. Other times, I click on a preset and it takes like 10 seconds. I can’t figure it out! I have a fast computer and stuff… Oh Adobe!

Daily Photo – Exploring the Karst Rock Formations in China

I spent a lot more time on boats this time around in China. Isn’t the water a strange color? It’s sort of an oily, thick green, isn’t it? I don’t think it was really dirty with human waste or anything… just a massive amount of silt and organic runoff from this area in the Li Valley. It was sort of a hypnotic because these long thin boats would make these long horizontal wave patterns through this strange viscous fluid… I watched the waves for like 5 minutes in a row like I was stoned or something!

Exploring the Karst Rock Formations in China

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-04 13:42:54
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/320
  • Aperture4
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length49.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
2
Sep 2015 : Wednesday
filed under  China, Li River, Photo Software, Sony A7R, Travel

Hello Farmer Friend!

Speaking of Burning Man

This is where I first came up with the idea of crazy presets… It’s because I walked around the first Burning Man with these orange goggles that made everything look like this. I then set out to see if I could re-create the effect in Lightroom… and from that point, I was hook

Daily Photo – Hello Farmer Friend!

Here’s a very out-of-the-way place on a little river that feeds into the Li River. We walked along it for a while, and even boated along it. It was really awesome to see this guy crossing over the river with his animal on this old bridge… well it could be new! I don’t know… things like this in China could be very old or very new and just quickly-run-down.

Hello Farmer Friend!

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-03 14:11:53
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/400
  • Aperture4
  • ISO320
  • Focal Length63.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
8
Dec 2014 : Monday
filed under  China, Li River, Photography Tips, Yangshuo

Little Streets in by the Li River in China

Street Shooting Tip

It’s very hard to shoot on the street when things are moving at f/1.4 if you are doing manual focus. So, one thing I try to do is stay up at f/2 or f/2.8 because you have a bit more margin for error on the focus. But, if you are a fixed distance away from your subject (like when I was following the gentleman below), you can go ahead and open it up as high as it wide as it will go and take your time. Not all street photography has to be rushed.

Daily Photo – Little Streets in by the Li River in China

I was mostly down in this area to try to find good vantage points on the river. But when you go along the river, you pass through tiny town after tiny town. I was on foot most of the time, so I would just try to feel my way from one side of the town over to the other side. I felt like a rat going through a maze trying to find some cheese! Anyway, while getting all turned around and going through the tiny streets, I got behind this old-timer here… I set my focus manually and just walked behind him at f/1.4.

Little Streets in by the Li River in China

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-03 13:18:17
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/1500
  • Aperture
  • ISO500
  • Focal Length
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramShutter speed priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
13
Nov 2014 : Thursday
filed under  China, Guilin, Li River, Travel

Breakfast on a Beautiful River

Most unique breakfast

Where’s the place you’ve had the most unique breakfast? I think this little place before must be in my top 3!

Daily Photo – Breakfast on a Beautiful River

See these amazing boats down there? Tom and I came across this place totally by accident. We were quite confused.

It was a cool morning and not too humid for this part of Guilin, China, which is normally quite miserable. Tom and I walked down here and it was totally empty except for a few wild dogs. After a few moments, a nice Chinese lady came out (her nationality should go without saying) and asked us if we wanted something to eat. That’s when it dawned on us these were eatin’ boats! So she went in and made us a MASSIVE omelet and then set it up in the middle of the table. We were with our guides Mia and Andy, and the four of us sat around the table to eat while we were calmly poled down the river. Awesome! What a find!

Breakfast on a Beautiful River

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-03 13:59:31
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/1000
  • Aperture
  • ISO500
  • Focal Length
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramShutter speed priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
29
Oct 2014 : Wednesday
filed under  Camera Gear, China, Guilin, Li River, Sony A7R

Sunset in Southern China

Don’t forget to Subscribe

Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel! If you do, then you get the first look as soon as I make videos “Public”!

Daily Photo – Sunset in Southern China

This was one of my favorite areas to visit in China a few months ago. And, even better, we were treated with a truly remarkable sunset. Sunsets like this don’t happen there much, so I felt very lucky to be in the right spot at the right time. It was certainly hard to get up to this position… many cuts, bruises, and lots of blood was spilled to get here. But I forgot about all that quickly enough.

Sunset in Southern China

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-06 23:44:10
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/125
  • Aperture9
  • ISO125
  • Focal Length15.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
16
Aug 2014 : Saturday
filed under  China, Guilin, Li River

Way Above Guilin

Editing videos?

I find myself editing more and more videos… what is your favorite movie editing tool and why?

Daily Photo – Way Above Guilin

Doesn’t this look like the kind of city that would be full of casinos? When I got to the top of this strange karst mountain in Guilin, China, I saw the sprawling city below and all the crazy lights and it just struck me as a gamblin’ town. But it isn’t. The only place you can gamble in China is Macau, and that is very big on my list. It also looks amazing for photos.

But, anyway, as for this place, it is one of the main hikes in China. I wasn’t totally thrilled about hiking up here because it was super hot and muggy… AND I was in a huge hurry to get up here before the sunet. I barely made it, but I was a wet, hot, soppy mess while taking this photo. It’s honestly one of my least favorite feelings… I know that makes me sound like such a primadonna, but I do have a violent hate for being hot and supa-sweaty unless I am in some kind of a “workout” mode!

Way Above Guilin

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-03 00:39:00
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time5
  • Aperture4
  • ISO160
  • Focal Length59.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
8
Aug 2014 : Friday
filed under  China, Guilin, Li River, Sony A7R

The New Arcanum Trailer and the Sun Drifts Away Into Time

The New Arcanum Trailer!

Here it is! We also just put this up on The Arcanum website. I know thousands and thousands of you have applied and are still waiting in the Neverending Orphanage of Lost and Forgotten Souls. You drift about like wayward wraiths, waiting for a Master to choose you, plucking you out of your perennial purgatory.

But we are going slow on purpose and hand-choosing Masters and training them up on the culture and the leveling system. We currently have between 20 and 30 Masters, each of which are averaging about 17 Apprentices each. We could amp it up at any time, but we’re trying to do this right. No one has ever built a system like this, so the whole team is keeping this as organic and special as possible. We’ll hit scale soon enough, so we really appreciate your patience! 🙂

Here’s one of the newest blog posts from one of our Apprentices, Tricia Booker!

Heroes of The Arcanum – Volunteers Creating a Magical Experience for You!

Check out the Heroes Of The Arcanum! I’m so happy to have these amazing people behind the scenes volunteering to make the whole Arcanum experience even more rewarding.

Thank you Tania Court, Tiff Gilleland, Tanya Wallis, Chris Thompson, and Daniel Levy so much! You’ll get to know these five better over time… Pete, Curtis, and I are very thankful for yalls, as is everyone else in The Arcanum!

Daily Photo – The Sun Drifts Away Into Time

Southern China! It’s so wild and untouched! Well that’s not totally true. It’s mostly untouched. When you do find the occasional town, they can be a bit third-worldy in terms of trash and architectural squalor. They are not terrible and dangerous, just a bit, well, rough-looking. There are quaint parts that are authentic and charming, but often times there is too much detritus strewn about to make you feel totally comfortable. At least, this is the way it is to me. But I like escaping kind of far away from those places, up into hills like this where everything is back in its natural and beautiful state.

The Sun Drifts Away Into Time

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-07 00:05:28
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/160
  • Aperture8
  • ISO125
  • Focal Length70.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-0.3

Comments
26
Jul 2014 : Saturday
filed under  China, Li River, Sony A7R, Travel, Yangshuo

A fisherman from a thousand years ago

47 Ronin

Did any of you see 47 Ronin? Some of the scenes in that movie are just unbelievable… in fact, I think that scene when they go to the slaver ships is one of the coolest backgrounds I’ve ever seen in a movie! Here’s a still from it. It didn’t turn out to be the greatest movie ever made or anything… but some of the scenes in there are really beautiful!

Daily Photo – A fisherman from a thousand years ago

There are thousands of little rivers that flow through these huge karst mountains. Fisherman have been around here forever, and I like this idea that this scene could have happened almost any time in history. There are fewer fishermen nowadays, but they can still be seen. We were with some locals that knew some of the fisherman, so we were able to go out on another boat to find them… He looked so cool from a distance as we were approaching, so I tried to grab the photo in that style.

A fisherman from a thousand years ago

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-04 00:20:17
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/15
  • Aperture5
  • ISO125
  • Focal Length63.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments