Ritz-Carlton Archives - Page 11 of 17 - Stuck in Customs
6
Dec 2016 : Tuesday
filed under  Istanbul, Ritz-Carlton, Turkey

Entering the Blue Mosque

Photo Tip: Include People!

My first instinct when taking photos of incredible places like the Blue Mosque is to try to get a “clean” shot without anyone in it. I still do that as my “main” photo, but I also try to get shots with some or even a bunch of people in it. I think we shy away from this because it feels like a shot that all the “tourists” get too, but it can still be quite interesting.

Daily Photo – Entering the Blue Mosque

After I took off my shoes and walked inside, this is what I saw. It was majestic! It’s fun to be in a place like this where you know 99% of people are seeing it for the first time too. There’s kind of this collective “awe” energy that is very fun. Everyone is in there depositing good vibes and it makes the whole spectacle more spectacular! 🙂

Entering the Blue Mosque

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-10-02 16:04:13
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1
  • Aperture8
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length12.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
30
Nov 2016 : Wednesday
filed under  Berlin, Germany, Ritz-Carlton

Fragrances in Berlin

Making a Special Drink

Here’s a live broadcast where I show more of the interior of this place and the unique way in which they make drinks.

Daily Photo – Fragrances in Berlin

If you look close, you can see a bit of ghosting from the bartender here in Fragrances (the bar inside the Ritz-Carlton in Berlin). When I was shooting, people were asking if they could get out of my way. I usually tell them no, because I like a bit of ghosting and some mystery in there. It’s also funny when I walk into a place with a tripod that they think there is something QUITE SERIOUS going on. It’s actually just the opposite… complete silliness and fun!

Fragrances in Berlin

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-09-30 23:04:54
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time2.5
  • Aperture7.1
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length12.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-0.7

Comments
26
Nov 2016 : Saturday
filed under  Istanbul, Ritz-Carlton, Sony A7R 2, Turkey

Another Country, another Portal

FB Live Goodies

Don’t forget to go to my page to see some of the behind-the-scenes Live Videos from when I was in Istanbul exploring these places.

Daily Photo – Another Country, another Portal

You might notice a repeating theme of doors and portals in my work. It’s a fun little game I play to try to do interesting things with doors and people. I stood here outside the Blue Mosque in Istanbul for about 30 minutes, capturing different natural, organic situations of humans coming and going. This is one of my favorites.

Another Country, another Portal

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-10-02 15:30:13
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/160
  • Aperture16
  • ISO200
  • Focal Length13.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-0.7

Comments
24
Nov 2016 : Thursday
filed under  Camera Gear, Fuji XPro 2, Istanbul, Ritz-Carlton, Turkey

Dinner with a View of The Maiden’s Tower

Fuji Xpro2 Review

I am just now releasing the first version of the FUJI XPro2 Review. There’s lots of sample photos – enjoy!

City Guides

It’s been on my to-do list FOREVER to put together different city guides about the best places to go take photos. I’ve not gotten around to it yet… but certainly on the list.

Daily Photo – Dinner with a View of The Maiden’s Tower

What an idyllic place to have evening drinks and relaxation! This is on the coastline on the east side of Istanbul. The vast majority of Turkey is on the Asian continent, and I wanted to be sure I visited this side even during my short stint there. What a great place and an exhilarating walk along the shore. There wasn’t a bad view to be found. I had no idea how in the heck I was gonna get back across the water. I found a car ferry and jumped aboard. It dropped me off back on the west side before finding my way back to my sanctuary of the Ritz-Carlton!

Dinner with a View of The Maiden’s Tower

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-10-04 00:11:09
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1.6
  • Aperture6.3
  • ISO400
  • Focal Length28.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-0.3

Comments
15
Nov 2016 : Tuesday
filed under  Bali, Indonesia, Ritz-Carlton

A Panorama Sunset in Bali

Speaking of New Mobile Phones

I’m pretty excited about the new phone from Google. I’ve been using the Nexus Android for years, and this looks like a perfect upgrade. I’ve also been using Google Fi, so this looks to integrate perfectly with it.

Daily Photo – A Panorama Sunset in Bali

Panoramas are so much work! I watch everyone make them on their mobile phones and get so jealous. Not only does it take a long time with my Sony to capture all the images, but the post-processing is the real time sink. Don’t get me wrong… I enjoy it and end up getting 50x the resolution, but it’s still quite a trial!

A Panorama Sunset in Bali

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2015-11-15 17:50:23
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/60
  • Aperture16
  • ISO250
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-0.3

Comments
3
Nov 2016 : Thursday
filed under  Berlin, Germany, Ritz-Carlton

Heading to the Burgermeister in Berlin

A little embedded action

Here’s a Vimeo of one of the sets at the Mayan Warrior I mentioned yesterday!

DJ Three – Mayan Warrior – Thursday Night – Burning Man – 2016 from Mayan Warrior on Vimeo.

Daily Photo – Heading to the Burgermeister in Berlin

We asked our concierge for a unique restaurant in Berlin, and they recommended we visit this burger place that used to be a public toilet under the train tracks. Sign us up! And that’s where we headed, to the famous Burgermeister. It was a TASTY Burger for sure… while waiting on said burger in said former public toilet, I went across the street to take this photo… you can see the train tracks up above to the right.

Heading to the Burgermeister in Berlin

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-09-29 01:24:40
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time2.5
  • Aperture5
  • ISO50
  • Focal Length26.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-0.7

Comments
2
Nov 2016 : Wednesday
filed under  Istanbul, Ritz-Carlton, Turkey

A Nap in the Window Sill of the Blue Mosque

The Mayan Warrior!

What am I listening to lately? I’ve been digging all the Burning Man sets from one of my favorite art cars, the Mayan Warrior. Here’s a link to their Soundcloud page!

Daily Photo – A Nap in the Window Sill of the Blue Mosque

I’ve taken a nap in a mosque once, and I must say, it’s a great place to sleep! This is obviously not me in the photo taking a nap, I should be clear. When I was walking around inside the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, I saw this guy and it reminded me of a nap I took in another one. Sometimes I’m out shooting for 12+ hours in a day… and when it gets hot and I need a break, it’s a great place to curl up and recharge. It’s always perfectly safe and no one seems to mind.

A Nap in the Window Sill of the Blue Mosque

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-10-02 15:47:41
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/13
  • Aperture4
  • ISO640
  • Focal Length15.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias+1.3

Comments
29
Oct 2016 : Saturday
filed under  Istanbul, Ritz-Carlton, Turkey

An Ancient Hamam

Try it in Istanbul

Here’s the link to the amazing Baths below. I highly recommend it!

Daily Photo – An Ancient Hamam

I’m not exactly an expert on these, but now I’ve had five or six hamams. They’re alwyas a bit different, but I always emerge like a smooth dolphin in the water. I probably lose about a pound each time from having my outer layer of skin completely removed… It’s like a forced moulting or something. But it is always a great time to be pampered like that for so long! 🙂

An Ancient Hamam

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-10-02 21:38:18
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time0.6
  • Aperture4.5
  • ISO320
  • Focal Length12.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
25
Oct 2016 : Tuesday
filed under  Istanbul, Ritz-Carlton, Turkey

Istanbul Wedding Crasher

Crossing into Asia

Here’s the first time I’m not going to recommend you watch a video. It’s maybe the most boring one I’ve ever made! But, you know, a lot of getting to-and-fro from one photography location to another can be rather banal. The most notable thing is what it was like to go from the Ritz-Carlton over on the European continent in Turkey across a cool bridge over to the Asian side with a lot of traffic. Sound exciting eh? Well, it’s not really… but here it is anyway! 🙂


Daily Photo – Istanbul Wedding Crasher

After I got over to the hilltop right before sunset, I decided the spot was actually rubbish and I had wasted my time. It’s another one of those times when locals tell you about “amazing” places to go for photos, and then you get there are realized they are not photographers at all. It’s way too far away from the city, and it’s hard to get a decent sunset shot here. I figured this out after 5 minutes, barely found a taxi, and then in Extremely Broken Turkish + Google Maps, explained that I wanted to go down to the seaside on the Asian side. I walked along the shore for about 2 km during sunset. It was great! Right when it started to get quite dark, I came across this scene… That’s the “Maiden’s Tower” on the island in the background on the left there. A beautiful spot!

Istanbul Wedding Crasher

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-10-04 00:22:35
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1.3
  • Aperture5.6
  • ISO400
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-0.3

Comments
21
Oct 2016 : Friday
filed under  Bali, Ritz-Carlton, Sony A7R 2, Travel

Bali Fun

I was thinking about hosting a photo adventure in Bali. Would anyone be into that? If so, be sure to sign up for our newsletter — and we’ll announce something if I get around to planning it!

Daily Photo – The Entry to Paradise

Here’s a side-view of the entrance to the Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Bali. The architecture here was so beautiful that there were almost no bad photos of it. I returned here again and again to take photos in different angles and different light. The weather was always perfect. It was all open air and gentle breezes would swirl about… taking photos here (and everything else!) was always calming and relaxing.

The Entry to Paradise

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2015-11-12 18:30:46
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time5
  • Aperture5.6
  • ISO160
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-0.7

Comments