Apps or Websites for the Aurora Australis?

What are your favorite apps for real-time or predictive data about the Aurora? I’d like to know more about when to go shoot these things. Right now, I just kind of wait for Eden Brackstone to send me an email, but this seams kind of random!

Daily Photo – Reds Forever

This will sound weird… but wouldn’t it be strange if sunsets were green and blue instead of orange and red? I guess that is why I like the Aurora so much, because the colors are so crazy.

I shot this in Iceland one morning around four AM on the way to the northwest fjordlands.

Reds Forever

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2010-06-12 00:00:00
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/45
• Aperture8
• ISO200
• Focal Length28.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-2

SXSW Photowalk Winners

Congratulations to all of the winners from the SXSW Photowalk, and thanks to the sponsors below for providing the prizes!

Anthony Quintano won a Genie Syrp. (There’s a coupon code at that link too if you want to pick one up!)

Jesus Manuel Mena Garza won an FStop Loka Bag.

Michael Connell won a Really Right Stuff BH-40 LR Mid-sized ballhead.

Russell Pankratz and Matthew Southard each won a Padded Cordura Pouch from Really Right Stuff.

Jim Jochetz, Paul Johnston, and Alfredo Mora each won a XUME Adapter

And congratulations to those that received a $100 Gift Certificates from Adorama!
Richard Ramos
Andrea Bolognini
Cathy Malloy
Aniv Das
Kalyana Kavuri

Daily Photo – Driving High Along the Fjords

The roads in Iceland normally follow the bottom part of the valley. Here, in this particular area, the road was about halfway up one of the mountains, which gave me a bit of a downward perspective. Every few miles there is an interesting, old, weather-beaten barn like this one to set the scene. It may not even be so old, and maybe the weather there is so rough that it makes things look old before their time.

Driving High Along the Fjords

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2011-06-18 23:02:05
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/8
• Aperture6.7
• ISO100
• Focal Length72.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Another reason New Zealand is awesome

My 11-year-old son just got back from a 3-day school camping trip. No waivers, no permission slips, no way for the parents to contact the campsite, no cell phones, no nothing… Just hiked 5 hours off into the wild to camp. Here’s what he did:

– Archery
– Shot guns
– Bungee
– River rafting
– Cooking
– Rope Course Survival (crossing rivers while hanging off ropes)

Anyway, New Zealand is very outdoorsy… and everyone does not seem to be suing everybody for every little thing… no one talks about lawyers and nonsense — it’s so wonderful… Every Thursday, Ethan takes his snowboard to school… anything goes around here… a very active, social, and outdoor-related community!

Daily Photo – The Polar Extremes

I’ve never been all the way to the North Pole or South Pole. I am curious, but I don’t think I’m into the extreme cold. Also, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of good photo ops for all the trouble you have to go through. So, anyway, this is about the closest I have gotten, up at the northernmost tip of the Northwest Fjordland of Iceland. I know you can get even further, but not without a series of boats or flights…

This photo was taken about 4 AM during the summer solstice.

The Polar Extremes

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2011-06-18 00:45:00
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time0.5
• Aperture5.6
• ISO50
• Focal Length90.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1

Ice Hotel

I’m very interested in visiting an Ice Hotel some day. I know there is one in Sweden, but I think others have started popping up in other places too, yes?

Daily Photo – The Melt

The point where ice turns into river is tough to find. Sometimes it requires a lot of hiking, and sometimes you never find it. But when you do find that rip between worlds, you feel the full weight of the discovery.

I’m usually a bit afraid to get to close or stand on the ice. It’s generally not a good idea, and I have enough bad ideas without needed to add more to the repertoire! 🙂

The Melt

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2011-06-20 22:27:51
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time0.5
• Aperture22
• ISO100
• Focal Length24.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Parallel Universes

Is anyone else into the idea of parallel universes? I’m just sort of taking an informal poll…

Daily Photo – Ridge without Time

This is an unusual photo, isn’t it?

I started processing it, then stopped. It didn’t really require any processing… it just struck me as interesting and unusual. I can’t quite put my finger on it. I do remember being at this spot in Iceland when I took the shot, thinking it was ethereal and wonderful in a strange way.

Ridge without Time

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2011-06-21 02:59:25
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/15
• Aperture5.6
• ISO50
• Focal Length56.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1

The Histogram eBook

We have a new eBook over at Flatbooks.com about Histograms! Go grab it — it’s filled with great information and I think you’ll really enjoy it!

Favorite Fish?

While posting this photo, I was thinking of my favorite fish restaurant in the world about 20 km from this spot below.  They didn’t have my favorite kind of fish, which is black cod, but they did have a delicious selection.  What’s your favorite?

Daily Photo – Lonely River in Iceland

I wonder sometimes if I project my own emotions onto the landscape around me.  I’m really not all that dramatic, but sometimes this does seem to be the case, especially in Iceland.  Since I spend so much time there alone, I end up thinking that parts of the environs seem kind of lonely too.  And I think there is probably a lot of truth in it because I hardly ever see any other humans, so everything is very lonely!

Trey’s Hangout #33

In this episode, the subject was ‘Social Media and New Opportunities for Artists,” and we had many excellent guests. Also, if you wait until the end (bonus time!), you can see a bunch of new photos from Virgin Gorda and I talk more about the Sony NEX-7.

Photo Mystery – How much to buy the castle?

Okay, other photo mysteries I post here are too easy for you… I’ll go ahead and tell you this place is in Iceland up in the northwest fjords near Isafjordur. So, today’s mystery is: “How much does this castle cost?”

I’ll tell you ahead of time that I don’t know the answer!  But maybe an enterprising Internet-person can figure it out! 🙂

Daily Photo – Castle For Sale

This is a somewhat dilapidated castle in Iceland, and it’s for sale!  I got out to hike around it and take photos, and I noticed a FOR SALE sign in front!  I mean, obviously this falls into the category of “fixer upper” — but look at the view!  I bet you can get it for a good price too…  Let’s see who can figure it out first!

Ron Garan Nasa Space-Photography Hangout!

Ron Garan (NASA Astronaught) joins me, Gordon Laing, Jim Goldstein, Brad Goldpaint, Ben Canales, Randy Halverson and Darryl Van Gaal all hang out. We talk about all kinds of cool space stuff with Ron and his photography in space, astro-photography and time lapse photography.

Memory Edits

Do you all notice that your memory tends to edit out the boring and bad bits of trips and vacations?  I tend to only remember the best parts…  I guess some of the bad stuff is there, but I have to dig through my memories to get there.  I mean, unless it was a horrible trip that was full of traumatic episodes.  I suppose those trips are defined by their bad drama, and they would be impossible to forget.  But, they seem few and far between.

Daily Photo – Farm Between Fjords

The fjords of Northern Iceland weave in and out of the ocean, each one ending with a strong peninsula that juts out into the sea.  Just on the inland side of these wide peninsulas, there are many lakes and little farms that sit nestled between little mountains and hillocks.  They fit in so naturally that you almost don’t even notice them.  I try to take extra care to notice every one.

For this one, I got out of my car and went on a short hike over to this little stream that ran alongside the old home.

Featured on Google TV and Android Market!

Our Android App (Photo Voyages of Trey Ratcliff) is now featured — very exciting.  And, even better if you don’t want to pay, there is a Free version that with a nice collection of about 50 photos or so.   It works great on your Android and your Google TV! 🙂  And yes, it even works on the new color Kindle, once you enable it to run other apps.

Daily Photo – Home in the Hillside

Is it okay if I do two Iceland photos in a row?  I hope so, because I’m very excited about this one too.

Some of these places you can’t see from the road.  If you walk over one hill and down another, you can find these wonderful little places tucked away in hillsides.  Even though it’s all fallen apart, it’s still charming… sort of a fixer-upper!