Part 3 of the Analysis

Here’s the last and final part of the analysis being delivered today on Passport Sunday to all you Passport Members. I had never taken the time to do a fully immersive comparison of different ways to use Aurora with JPGs vs. RAWs.

Part 3 of the analysis

Here is a link to Part 1 and Part 2 for you. In this final one, you get to see the final analysis and make up your mind for yourself! 🙂 Enjoy! 🙂

Exclusive content for Passport members

Unlock Now

Daily Photo – The Lonely Road in Montana

I took this one when I was out on a dinosaur dig with Jack Horner. One day we jumped on some quad bikes and just kind of rode off into the wild. I had my son Ethan on mine, and it was his first time. His mind was totally blown away! We took a break to jump off and take a photo just at the perfect time.

The Lonely Road in Montana

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2008-08-11 02:43:03
• CameraNIKON D2Xs
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/45
• Aperture8
• ISO100
• Focal Length18.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Part 2 for Passport Members

Hey if you’re an awesome Passport Member then today you get to see part 2 of the analysis comparing RAWs to JPGs when it comes to using various combinations in Aurora. Enjoy! You’ll also get to see how I edited today’s photo!

Part 2 of the Analysis Series!

You can see Part 1 here. In today’s, we get a little deeper and work on a new photo from Montana. Not only will you learn a thing or two, but you’ll also get to see a rather beautiful photo get created!

Exclusive content for Passport members

Unlock Now

Daily Photo – Glacial Lake in Montana

I was happy to be sitting on a few photos from Montana that I had yet to edit. Pulling a few different brackets from this magical place seemed like the perfect way to experiment with the different settings I alluded to above.

Glacial Lake in Montana

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2008-08-09 07:30:28
• CameraNIKON D2Xs
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time0.4
• Aperture11
• ISO100
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Trey’s 360 Podcast – Fossil Hunting with Dr. Jack Horner in Yellowstone

You’ll probably want to check out the video version of this one but I’ll include the audio option as well. 🙂

Join Dr. Jack Horner (part of the inspiration for Sam Neill’s character in Jurassic Park) and I on a short exploration of Slough Creek where he explains the makeup of the landscape while we hunt for some fossils.

Daily Photo – Morning in Angkor Wat

I made it out to this amazing temple three mornings in a row to take photos. Each one was more beautiful than the last. One of my favorite bits was there were a bunch of young Cambodian boys running all over the place offering to bring me coffee. They have this coffee there that they mix with evaporated milk to make it extra creamy.

Morning in Angkor Wat

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2007-06-02 22:43:40
• CameraNIKON D2Xs
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/160
• Aperture5.6
• ISO100
• Focal Length20.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Passport Sunday 360 Video

When I was in Canada a few weeks ago, I took time to make a 360 video for you awesome Passport Sunday members. It was a beautiful spot up there to capture the city from above. In an upcoming video next Sunday, you get to see me process it!

Montreal in 360

Remember you can grab the video any time you want and look around…

Exclusive content for Passport members

Unlock Now

Daily Photo – Montreal from Above

What a great city! It was my first time to Montreal and I’ve always heard such wonderful things about it! My very first international trip was to France with my dad, and that made my sort of a francophile for life. I was surprised at how deeply ingrained the French culture is here in Montreal. I thought it would just be a “light dusting” of French, but I think I heard more French than English!

Montreal from Above

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2019-07-26 18:53:32
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time0.5
• Aperture4.5
• ISO320
• Focal Length52.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Practicing Calligraphy

I decided to record a video of me practicing Chinese calligraphy in reverse. I’m finally getting a LITTLE bit better! (Open the link to see the full-size video.)

Calligraphy level 1 trillion from Damnthatsinteresting

Daily Photo – Angkor Wat in the Morning

I used a new technique to process this old photo. I took it about ten years ago at Angkor Wat, and it was a very steamy morning. My lens was fogged up for about half an hour as I waited for it to reach temperature equilibrium. Anyway, a lot of my photos came out a bit foggy/blurry. So now that Lightroom has the Dehaze feature, I ran that on all the photos before importing into Aurora HDR 2019… that made all the difference in the world for a clean photo!

Angkor Wat in the Morning

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2007-06-02 22:43:40
• CameraNIKON D2Xs
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/160
• Aperture5.6
• ISO100
• Focal Length20.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Another Passport Day!

Remember if you have our fun new offering, you’ll get all kinds of goodies. Today is one of those days where you get the bonus screencast where I edit this photo.

Behind the Scenes – Processing The Waves Crash in Iceland

Here’s the video of how I made this photo! Enjoy, and thanks again, loyal Passport holder! 🙂

Exclusive content for Passport members

Unlock Now

Daily Photo – The Waves Crash in Iceland

Seeing this and working on it puts me right back in the mood of Iceland! It’s so rugged and extreme there. It always made me feel quite small and insignificant. These black rocks were extremely sharp and dangerous. I believe this is the same location where Clint Eastwood shot a few of his war movies. I feel sorry for those actors having to climb around on this sharp black glass!

The Waves Crash in Iceland

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2007-02-12 12:42:51
• CameraNIKON D2Xs
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/30
• Aperture5.6
• ISO100
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1

New Photo Organization

I have a slightly different workflow I’ve been toying with lately. It’s particular to me, so it may not apply to you, but here it is.

I have my desktop iMac here where I do most everything when I am home. It also is where my main library is hooked into. But I also have my Macbook, and I’ve been taking a ton of photos lately with my little RX100. Check the “Camera Recommendations” up there soon, as I may make it my entry-level pick! Anyway, I’ve made a special Library on my Macbook JUST for photos from that little device. They tend to be quicker shots, street shots, family shots, and the like. It seems better than commingling them with all the other huge photos that come out of the Sony A7 system.

If you want to learn more about how I manage my giant photo library, check out my Organize Your Photos tutorial over at the s

Daily Photo – Digging up Dinosaurs with Jack Horner

This was a great trip! That’s my son there being held by Jack Horner… what a great guy! We went up to the badlands to spend a few days digging up dinosaurs with him… what an experience!

Digging up Dinosaurs with Jack Horner

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2020-02-18 06:59:32
• CameraNIKON D2Xs
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/800
• Aperture8
• ISO200
• Focal Length15.0 mm
• FlashFired, Return detected
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

This place is awesome! I love the “Blue Lagoon” area of Iceland. Before I went, I could only think of that old movie with Brooke Shields. I never saw it, but I remember being in school and some dumb kid told me it was soooo cooool because it was full of boobies. I never knew what that meant, for sure, but shades of it hung out in the back of my mind when I visited this one.

Can you imagine dipping your toes into that and getting inside for a nice warm soak? It’s wild! It’s hard to describe how wild it really is.

There is a whole complex behind there with lockers, showers, a restaurant, and this sort of thing. The design inside is all Scandinavian and modern. They have private rooms you can rent that are swim-up. I met a nice couple from Colorado and they invited me into theirs. It was filled with food and all kind of things — it reminded me of a James Bond evil lair. Next time I go, I’m gonna get one of my own! I checked on the prices, and they were relatively cheap, even back before the economy collapsed there.

Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a place like this? I like these old European streets where great restaurants line edges… Let’s all move there… we can just go out and dine on the streets every night, eat fab food, see street performers, talk about photography, geek out, etc etc. Yes that sounds quite wonderful.

As you can see, I left in the HDR ghosting. Sometimes I quite like it, especially in these scenes where there is motion and feel like that’s part of the gestalt. I think these sorts of words are okay to use, even when not standing on a German street.

I am very appreciative to all the eyes out there scouring the intertubes! I had a nice girl who gave me the heads up on someone using images without permission. Her name is Shannon, and you can see her Flickr stream here. Thanks Shannon 🙂

Just outside of Yogyakarta in Indonesia are the ruins of Prambanan. Getting to this place is a long way from home, so we tried to take advantage of everything in and around the city. Prambanan is a Hindu temple that was first built in 850 CE.  It began a painstaking reconstruction in 1918.  I can’t imagine what difficult work that must be.

Actually, it was quite nice to get out of the crowded city.  Will and I had spent a long night walking around down near the markets.  The streets were so crowded in the busy night streets that it was unbelievable.  I had always known that Indonesia had hundreds of millions of people, but when stuck in the throngs, you can really feel it.  Also, that was a disconcerting night because it was the first time I stepped over a dead body.

I have a few new reviews for you too! These were mentioned in the most recent newsletter that went out a few days ago.  Both of these are short and sweet, since they are simple but great products.   The first one is for sharing large files with others and moving files around between computers easily. It’s called DropBox and you can read a short DropBox Review here.

The second tool I’ve been using is for backing my files up onto the Internet (the cloud). This gives me peace of mind in case there is a fire and my local backups are also destroyed. Even if you don’t have a ton of photos and just want to back up your family digital photos, it’s a smart idea. And it’s super-cheap. You can read more at the Backblaze Review page.