I almost called this On the Pad, but that didn’t ring quite right. I noticed that while I was editing this photo that I wasn’t using a tripod. I’m not sure why this is. I’m sure I had one with me, but I took it so long ago that I forgot. Maybe I raised it way over my head to minimize the fence. I mean, honestly, who knows.

On the Launch Pad

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2011-07-07 19:33:11
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/60
• Aperture5
• ISO800
• Focal Length85.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1

Ibiza has an old medieval area that is surrounded by old fortified walls. Inside, there are all sorts of restaurants and cool nooks and crannies. This is my favorite time of night to shoot, when there is a mixture of ambient and artificial light. Unfortunately, it’s also the time when I’m usually eating dinner… which means I spend over 50% of dinner away from the table and wandering about with my camera!

Finding a Restaurant in Ibiza

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2010-09-23 17:52:14
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/8
• Aperture6.7
• ISO200
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Man, I wish all airports had these super-reflective floors. Wouldn’t that be amazing? It’s not like I’m spending much time in airports any more… but maybe while no one is in them, it would be cool if all airports swapped out their floors for mirrors.

The Barcelona Airport

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2010-09-23 08:39:09
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/4
• Aperture22
• ISO200
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

When I was at Disneyland in Anaheim, I thought this would make excellent subject-matter for an HDR shot. This mix of lights and textures usually comes out pretty cool. There was a lack of symmetry in this one, so I did a bit of reflection in the top part. If you look closely, you’ll see the top half is pretty much an exact inverted copy from right to left.

Carnival Row at Disney

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2010-07-20 23:56:46
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1
• Aperture6.7
• ISO100
• Focal Length15.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

As I say in the video below, I think bullfighting is one of the more inhumane sports in the world for sure. I certainly don’t endorse it with sharing this photo… but, hey, I was there. And it was kind of a cool visual palette, so I took a photo!

After the Bullfight

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2010-09-18 17:58:04
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/6
• Aperture8
• ISO100
• Focal Length15.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

If you’re a rocket enthusiast, then the museums at NASA are a must. I’m a little bit of a rocket nerd so I found it pretty exciting. That, plus being a photo nerd, was a perfect combo. Also, you get a leeway when it comes to using extreme HDR when taking photos of all this epic hardware.

Exploring the Old Rockets at NASA

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2011-04-28 14:41:26
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/8
• Aperture6.7
• ISO100
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

I happened to be in London on a non-dreary day. With the sunset going crazy I decided that I should get out there and shoot as much as possible. I tend to go to the busier areas because there’s a lot more activity and options, as you can see in today’s photo! If you’re a passport member, then you can see a behind-the-scenes edit of the photo below!

Cycling in London

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2010-09-12 18:13:54
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/125
• Aperture4.8
• ISO400
• Focal Length19.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

There are areas of Iceland where steam is just busting out of the ground all the time. This is in an area in the south where there are lots of geothermal power plants, but they could build about 100x more. I haven’t looked into it, but I think they have more than enough power there. I did read they have so much free power from the earth that it’s actually cheaper for aluminum companies to ship their aluminum to Iceland for final processing.

Geothermal Action in Iceland

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2010-06-12 05:57:56
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/125
• Aperture9.5
• ISO160
• Focal Length70.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

I felt really lucky to be invited by NASA to the final few launches of the Space Shuttle. I ended up taking about 5,000 photos because I had no idea what the heck was going on. I had never been to the launch of a spaceship before, so there was a lot of guesswork when it came to the settings. Now that I’ve been to a few, I’m a little less slapdash when it comes to actually getting a decent shot.

Space Shuttle Launch

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2011-05-16 07:55:52
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/2000
• Aperture5.6
• ISO200
• Focal Length300.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1

It seems like it rains almost every day in London, so why not head out and take photos? This area between the mayor’s office and the Shard has some incredible lines. It’s really tough to take a bad photo around here because of the shapes and colors. I personally like it even better in the rain since the reflections add another element.

Rainy Day in Central London

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2010-09-14 16:58:35
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time0.7
• Aperture22
• ISO100
• Focal Length15.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1