A New Video!

A New Photo-Video for you – All New Zealand awesomeness…

I have a Landscape Photography Tutorial based here in New Zealand available over at https://stuckincustoms.com/landscape-and-travel-photography-tutorial-new-zealand/

Animation/Slideshow – more info at https://stuckincustoms.com/links/animoto — or see my review at https://stuckincustoms.com/animoto-review/

Amaze-maze music by the New Zealand band, Arma Del Amor – see more at https://www.facebook.com/ArmaDelAmorNZ

Why Did I Move to New Zealand?

There’s a long story to it all… but I think you can see a lot of the reasons in the video below.

By the way, if you are looking to buy a house here and need a recommendation, contact me via [email protected] and the team will get you to me. I can make an excellent recommendation for you!

This video was made with Animoto!

I used a cool online thing called Animoto to make this video. I also wrote up a full Animoto Review here on the site.

You can also use the Animoto Coupon Code of “STUCKINCUSTOMS” to get 2 months free with a pro account… thanks for the team there for providing that for us!

New Video – Turning to Peace in New Zealand

It’s a hi-rez video… I recommend listening with earphones or good speakers too – enjoy 🙂

Patrick Rothfuss Blogpost

We had a fun hangout last week… here’s a blurb from Pat’s Blog about the experience, which you might enjoy.

Weekly Live Show!

Here’s a little reminder…  and info on how to get the Podcast…

• Time:  7 PM PT
• Location:  Live.TWIT.tv

Daily Photo – Sailing Away to Akaroa

Thanks again for all the recommendations!  So many of you recommended that we visit Akaroa on our visit to New Zealand, and it was a great suggestion.

You can walk along and see most of the commercial part and the harbor in less than an hour.  One end is a long dock where they launch a few ships per day.  Just as I got out to the end, this sailboat was pulling away from the dock.

This photo came from a single RAW file.  There was way too much movement to let me do a multiple exposure in this one.

Anyone play Minecraft?

Minecraft is really fun… I play with my 10-year-old son. We started a little server here at home… build on it a little while every day. It’s great fun, and I recommend it. Be sure to watch some of those intro videos on the website, otherwise you’ll never figure it out! 🙂

Daily Photo – Beautiful Akaroa

This is a great town over on the coast of New Zealand. I only spent a short time there, but I’d like to get back. I think it was one of THE most recommended places in NZ, and that’s saying a lot, because the recommendations come fast and furious there.

Recap – Twitter and Human Evolution

I thought it time to resurrect my “Twitter and Human Evolution” article for people that are new to the site in the last year or so!

I’m back at an amazing conference in Yellowstone. Actually, it’s not really a conference… it’s an eclectic gathering of a few dozen scientists, economists, artists, and all sorts of other people. It’s at a private ranch that you have to hike 11 miles to reach. Days are filled with exploration, horse-riding, fishing, photography, art, discussions, etc. Nights are filled with a fabulous dinner with servants followed by several TED-like talks in the Great Room.

Matt Ridley is here and recently gave a talk about his new book “The Rational Optimist”. I have it up on “Trey’s Book List“, in case you are interested in something entirely different to read.

New eBook on HDR Mistakes Tomorrow

I plan on releasing this within the next 24 hours, if all goes according to plan. I’ll have it up on the eBook page, so get ready… I know you’ll love it!

That little preview page there on the right is somewhat of a table of contents, I suppose! I have used one of my worst photos ever to show off many of mistakes & solutions presented in the book!

As for the eBook Giveaway Contest, the random winners are commenter #40 Nora, #61 Gordon Brown, and #407 Lauren Blackwell! Congrats!

Daily Photo – Driving to Akaroa

Akaroa is a little French town on the coast of the south island of New Zealand. While in Christchurch, this was the #1 spot people told me I had to visit! It’s not a long drive at all, and it was a great destination for sure.

Along the way, we passed these perfect little hills and water inlets. Many people told me that the middle of the summer is not really the best time for this area because the grass is not green. But that’s okay with me… I think the golden hues of the grass and the green of the trees go nicely together.

Also, I got a nice email from Robert Peper, who wanted to inform people here of a New Zealand photography newsletter. You can sign up there on the bottom of that linked page.

Ethan Gets His First Camera in New Zealand

I gave Ethan my LX-3 camera in New Zealand. Actually, he had to “unlock” it by achieving a series of quests that involved photography. He reached an appropriate level, so he got the camera. In a few more levels, he’ll get the secret epic mount.

In fact, Ethan started his own little photo blog…  I don’t know how often he will update it since he’s a busy busy 9-year-old, but he seems to enjoy it so far!

Daily Photo – The Lonely Church

There is a beautiful little French seaside town on the east coast of New Zealand called Akaroa. We spent a few days here to relax and explore. After taking a drive a bit further from the town up the coast, we found this old church on the side of the road. Of course…. it’s impossible to drive by a place like this without popping out for a photo!

After taking so many shots, I can now say that I like cloudy days more than flat blue sunny days. In fact, I’ll just pass by a lot of scenic places if the sky is a boring blue. One common problem that many people notice with HDRs is that there is a “halo” effect. This happens a lot with those blue-sky days… A great way to get around that problem is simply to wait for sunset, a cloudy day, or something where there is not a vast expanse of flat color.

If you want to find out more about the technique, check out the full HDR Tutorial.