Nikon D3X – Stuck in Customs
21
Mar 2019 : Thursday
filed under  Camera Gear, Iceland, Nikon D3X, Travel

Driving Across Iceland

Netflix Show Recommendation

Okay, this is a really dumb but funny show. For whatever reason, I find it hilarious at times. It’s called “Toast of London.” I even had this crazy dream where I met this guy and we got to be best friends. Even better, he was exactly the same way in real life.

Daily Photo – Driving Across Iceland

Here’s a photo from one of my many road trips across Iceland. I’ve been thinking about going back here for another solo road trip during the summers there when it never gets dark. It’s hard to explain how different it is at the latitude of 66 degrees. I thought New Zealand would be similar, but we’re only at 45 degrees. The summers here keep the sunlight all the way past 10 PM, but there are still many hours of darkness until the morning. I find it hard to force myself to be awake for 4 hours in total darkness to wait for the sunrise, but it’s a lot easier in Iceland where there is no wait at all!

Driving Across Iceland

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2010-06-13 02:12:51
  • CameraNIKON D3X
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time0.5
  • Aperture8
  • ISO200
  • Focal Length34.0 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
1
Mar 2019 : Friday
filed under  Camera Gear, France, Nikon D3X, Paris, Travel

A Classic Street Scene in Paris

Midnight in Paris

I just rewatched this movie on the plane for the fifth time and it still holds up. It’s easily in my top 3 Woody Allen movies and if you haven’t seen it, get it way up there on your list. Plus, I found the whole thing to be super funny… my favorite character is definitely Hemingway.

Daily Photo – A Classic Street Scene in Paris

In that same romantic sense, I like to roam the streets of Paris at night in search of scenes like this. They are all over the place, but it’s best to find the narrow streets like here in Montmartre. I wait around for nice color combinations in the background and with the characters walking around.

A Classic Street Scene in Paris

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2011-07-20 15:00:22
  • CameraNIKON D3X
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time1/30
  • Aperture2.8
  • ISO400
  • Focal Length23.0 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
26
Feb 2019 : Tuesday
filed under  Camera Gear, Florida, Nikon D3X, Travel, United States of America

Pre-Launch Countdown

Personal Trainer

I recently got a personal trainer at Industrial Fitness and it’s been great! I never thought I would enjoy having one so much… His name is Gary and he’s a badass. Anyway, I’ve always been very disciplined and never thought I needed outside moderation, but I was wrong. Not only does he push me farther, but I like that it’s one hour a day where I don’t have to make decisions. When you run your own business, you spend all day making decisions, and it can get a little tiring, honestly… even more tiring than a good workout!

Daily Photo – Pre-Launch Countdown

I was lucky enough to be part of a special group for some of the final launches of the space shuttle to get up-close access. I was able to spend a few hours here. Very nearby, I planted a camera to automatically take photos at launch. It was one of my greatest ideas that ended with a total mess, like many of my greatest ideas. For one, the camera flooded. For two, nothing was in focus. For three, all I saw was a bright orange flash before most of the camera melted. But, other than that, it was a smashing success.

Pre-Launch Countdown

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2011-05-15 11:03:57
  • CameraNIKON D3X
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time1/500
  • Aperture6.7
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length145.0 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
24
Feb 2019 : Sunday
filed under  Camera Gear, Iceland, Nikon D3X, Passport, Travel

Chopping the Top off Iceland

Today’s Fancy Passport Sunday Tip..

…is all about the new Luminar Libraries. You’ll see me poke around and get a little bit lost as I work on three different portraits using the new Festival Presets. But it all turns out good in the end! Remember, you can unlock over 100 videos if you’re a Passport Member!

Three Portraits and Playing with Festival Presets

Here are three different portrait shots. Each one is unique, and I gave each one a slightly different treatment. You’ll also hear about the importance of always trying new tools to keep your mind fresh!

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Daily Photo – Chopping the Top off Iceland

Today’s photo is a good example of taking a single photo and slicing and dicing it different ways. This was originally (and, I suppose, still is) a vertical photo that followed the river further down off the screen. It was a fine photo in itself, but so is the top 40%, I decided. Sure, it’s not full frame and it’s lower resolution, but who cares? Often times, if you get a good photo, don’t be afraid to slice and dice it different ways!

Chopping the Top off Iceland

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2010-06-13 01:37:56
  • CameraNIKON D3X
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time1/10
  • Aperture8
  • ISO200
  • Focal Length28.0 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
22
Feb 2019 : Friday
filed under  Camera Gear, France, Nikon D3X, Paris, Travel

Another Angle on the Museum

The Parisian Museum of Evolution

Today, I thought I’d show you the same place from two different perspectives. This is one of the works from our Fine Art Series 1 that has been sold out (thanks awesome collectors – glad you are happy!).

Where Jules Verne Would Perform Experiments On Animal Kind

Daily Photo – Another Angle on the Museum

I just can’t get enough of this museum! I took hundreds and hundreds of photos in here. Choosing the best was a labor of love. I must admit that I like the one above much better, but it is still interesting to get a slightly different perspective on the same place.

Another Angle on the Museum

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2011-07-21 10:10:06
  • CameraNIKON D3X
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time2
  • Aperture4
  • ISO200
  • Focal Length20.0 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias+2

Comments
15
Feb 2019 : Friday
filed under  Camera Gear, Iceland, Nikon D3X, Travel

A Serene Moment in Iceland

A little mind-blowage for you!

Did you know our solar system doesn’t exactly act like you were taught in school? And no, this is not some flat-earth garbage…it’s actual SCIENCE. The solar system actually follows the helical model, which illustrates the mathematical fundamentals of a vortex.

Daily Photo – A Serene Moment in Iceland

Well, almost all moments are serene there, especially for me because I traveled there for four years in a row by myself. It was just me, my music, and my audiobooks, rolling around the islands to see what I could find. This was another one of those 4-hour slow-motion sunsets where I was able to drive to about 20 different locations and jump out to get a quick photo. I would have hiked, but the car is much more efficient at maximizing visual input.

A Serene Moment in Iceland

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2010-06-13 01:09:49
  • CameraNIKON D3X
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time1/4
  • Aperture8
  • ISO200
  • Focal Length62.0 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
29
Jan 2019 : Tuesday
filed under  Argentina, Camera Gear, Nikon D3X, Patagonia, Travel

A Place that Only Kind of Exists

Stand for the Pixel 3

I ended up buying the stand for the Pixel 3. It’s super-cool because you don’t have to plug in your phone to charge it. You just set it there, and it even charges through the case. I felt really dumb for the first week, because I would always take it out of the case first. But then Curtis told me to try it with the case on, and it worked perfectly…hehe.

Daily Photo – A Place that Only Kind of Exists

Here is kind of a fun idea. I have never done anything like this. I created a fake landscape! Well, kinda. I was interested in trying this new feature in Photoshop where you can do a content-aware crop. But the idea is that you crop outside of the photo, making it bigger. So, the left 60% of this photo is real, but then I dragged the crop way out to the right, and it auto-generated those other mountains. It did a pretty good job, but then I went in there and did some clean up to get rid of the obvious repeated patterns.

A Place that Only Kind of Exists

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2009-03-31 06:46:13
  • CameraNIKON D3X
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time1/15
  • Aperture22
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length14.0 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
25
Jan 2019 : Friday
filed under  Florida, Nikon D3X, Orlando, Travel, United States of America

A Quiet Night in Portofino

Fun Critique Show #4!

These are pretty fun shows, eh? Or do you hate them? It’s okay, be honest, I can take criticism really well! 🙂 Once again, we rapid-fire critique 10 different photos… this time, it’s all portraits!

Daily Photo – A Quiet Night in Portofino

I can’t tell a lie… this isn’t Portofino. It’s actually Universal Studios, so I feel a little weird about taking photos of “fake” places like this. But, as fake as it is, it’s still pretty beautiful! I don’t actually know if you can get in those boats or not. Probably not. But I’d like to see them stop me.

A Quiet Night in Portofino

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2010-01-19 07:28:06
  • CameraNIKON D3X
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time1/60
  • Aperture4
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length19.0 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias+1

Comments
20
Jan 2019 : Sunday
filed under  Camera Gear, Florida, Nikon D3X, Passport, Photography Tips, Travel, United States of America

Postplume

Rocket Man Passport Sunday!

Today, I’ll post two photos from the same shuttle launch that I recently worked on. This launch was particularly cool because of the low cloud cover. Anyway, if you’re a Passport Member, you’ll get to see both edits today!

Postplume

Editing the Rocket, man

Today, a two-for-one! You’ll get to see me edit two of these space shuttle photos. I also show a pretty cool trick to add more trees so that I can fix the horizon. Well, the horizon was not actually off, but the trees made it look like it.

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Daily Photo – Postplume

One of my favorite things about this photo is how you can see the shadow of the vertical plume as it kept going up, up, up. I tell ya, these rocket launches are really emotional and exciting. It’s a strange combination of fright and awe.

Postplume

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2011-07-08 10:30:43
  • CameraNIKON D3X
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time1/180
  • Aperture13
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length28.0 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
13
Jan 2019 : Sunday
filed under  Aurora HDR, Camera Gear, Disney World, Florida, Nikon D3X, Passport, Photo Software, Travel, United States of America

The Disney Castle

Great Documentary

Try out that Garry Shandling documentary. It’s very interesting! I always liked him… but never knew much about his story until I saw this thing… It’s called “The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling,” so check it out!

Editing the Disney Castle

Happy Sunday! Here’s a very simple and quick edit, showing how I used Aurora HDR to finish off this Disney Castle photo.

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Daily Photo – The Disney Castle

Are there any bad photos of this thing? I mean, come on. But the challenge for me is to try to find new angles and new contexts. I like this one because it’s both a little haunted-looking and I like these repeating lamps that add more depth to the shot.

The Disney Castle

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2011-07-09 21:53:15
  • CameraNIKON D3X
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time3
  • Aperture11
  • ISO200
  • Focal Length19.0 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments

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