Stuck In Customs

Hey everyone! The crew over at HDR Max has decided on winners for their photography contest. The winner receives a brand new 15″ MacBook Pro! 2nd and 3rd place get full copies of the software.

• 1st place – Justin Kern – Hall of the Mountain King
• 2nd place – Tamara Bauer – Life Is All About Choices
• 3rd place – John McCormack – Three Brothers

I was not the judge, but I know it was a hard choice because I did get to see all the finalists. Really amazing work out there! You can see the three photos on here on my site with the original post or at the HDR Max site.  The contest is over, but you can still get a free trial.  If you decide to order, use the HDR Max coupon code “Stuckincustoms” to get $20 off.

Also, if Justin, Tamara, and John contact me, I want to make sure it’s okay if I post their pics here on StuckInCustoms.com – thanks!

And to celebrate, I have chosen for today’s photo a fun shot of Isabella chasing a baby goat out near Horseshoe Bay, Texas.

Here is a wonderful place to be as the sun is setting in China… It was a perfect and cool night. Just me, my camera, and some nice music… I also posted a few other shots from Hong Kong. One is from the opposite vantage point, looking back towards The Peak, on which I was standing for the first one.

Also, today I am going to be interviewed on a radio show called “World of Perspective” that you can tune into on the intertubes. You can find it here below…or listen to it after it runs and pretend that it’s live. I can’t promise I’ll be as entertaining as Carrot Top on acid, but maybe a level right below that… but please come in with low expectations! 🙂

Outside of Rudyard, Montana, I found this old grain silo that was still standing tall against the elements. There was a newer silo just down the tracks, but I thought this one had a bit more personality. The newer one was kind of predictable and boring, so where’s the fun in that? I walked around it a few times and looked at the clouds until I feel like I found a pretty good vantage for capturing the silo in its element.

I know people always harp on how campy Vegas is, but I think it’s all totally cool. All the textures, the interior design, the layers of vision — they all add up to some very interesting optics. I assume that most people that walk around these places don’t notice all the incredible design, but I know you guys do… just like me. I had unexpected free time one night, so I went out to occupy myself with a bit of exploration. I was staying at THE Hotel and walked next door to the Luxor. Upon entering the complex from the bottom, I was greeted with this view of the inside of the pyramid.

My shoes have never been the same since I started tromping through this muck. That part didn’t bother me so much, but I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to make a hasty escape if something started running after me. I didn’t see anything that would start a chase… there was a herd of about 14 elk about 300 meters away. I had never seen them stampede randomly in the direction of a photographer, so I felt kinda good about that. Remember, all of these were just half-fleeting thoughts that were only half-baked… I was mostly just peacefully staring at the sunset and listening to my iPod alone in the wilderness.

I can’t believe it was closed and I couldn’t go inside.  Look at all the little interesting things in there to explore.  I rattled on the transparent glass and some gal I didn’t know shooed me away.  I’ll go back there one day and I’m sure it will open on up…   I mean come on…it’s me!

I got in pretty late that night… It was bitter cold outside, but I decided to head out for a few. I haven’t yet found a good hand-in-glove solution that both keeps them warm and allows me to meddle with all the little dials on my beauty; if she only had a warm hand I could hold between takes, now that would be sweet.

In other news, one week from now, I am going to be on a radio show that you all can listen in to, should you be bored. It will also be recorded, so you can really listen to it any time. I’ll put a little listen-here-widget on my blog next Sunday morning, but here is a link beforehand if you get the jitters.  Here is the little description Elizabeth (the host) has up on her website:

The world is awash in electromagnetic, sound, and vibrational waves.  We swim through them all fairly effortlessly, experiencing life and creating memories. If life is nothing but an adventure to collect interesting memories, how do we come to best understand the way in which humans experience the world at large? How can thinking about memory, science, and art help enhance our experience with all the little things we take for granted?

And in other unrelated news, there is a new thing called Flickr Hive Mind… it is a slightly different way to view Flickr photos. Here it is, displaying a selection of my top 100 (or so, I guess!) photos.