I’m working on a new people-based photography project and decided I’d give Skylum’s Portrait Editor a try. New toys are always fun. 😀 Here’s one of the early results. Very pleased with the look given the demanding desert conditions that the tool had to deal with! More soon… and if you want to check out Aperty you can do so here.

…especially the 3 min mark in India.

Peak Design has a sweet new roller bag… watch their video. As a rather serious (and not serious!) traveler… this looks like the best roller bag eva!

Here’s the full detail.

And a little gallery…

…into something upcoming…

Long-term readers will know that my journey as a photographer has been quite varied, to say the least, and it has coincided with what I guess many people would consider the main phases of adulthood. When I started photography, Tina and I were building our life (and family) together back in Austin. As time passed and the business of photography and blogging evolved, we looked out into the world to find the best environment in which to raise the kids, ultimately settling in New Zealand in 2012. It was absolutely the right decision—this place is an amazing place to raise a family. Great schools (well, let’s be honest, they’re OK… but I’ve never been a fan of traditional schooling), incredible outdoor adventures (way better than school!), fantastic organic local food (so fresh it almost introduces itself to you before you eat it), and basically no crime down here (the kids can ride bicycles, and you can say, Come home at sunset, like in the Leave It to Beaver days). All the sorts of things many people look for in a home. I hope that, combined with all the traveling we did as a family, it has given the kids a balanced and complete outlook on the world and life. Overall, it was a joyous time.

Time moves on, though, and now Ethan is on his own adult journey, Isabella is doing her thing at university, and Scarlett is not far from completing high school and take on whatever comes next for her. Tina, of course, sadly passed away last year, which brought a whole host of changes. For me, that ultimately means I’ve made the decision to move on from New Zealand. I’ll likely keep a small place here in NZ to return to in the future, but I’m now looking for a new home in Japan. Of all the places I’ve visited across the globe in the last couple of decades, Japan is one of the few that constantly seems to pull me back. There’s a connection to the life and culture there that I feel needs further exploration.

This also means that our family home, along with the cottage I call my studio, is now on the market. It’s a lovely house, but with seven bedrooms and just Ethan and me, it mostly feels like an echo chamber where I occasionally lose my coffee mug for days at a time. And since I’m a minimalist at heart, I figure it’s time to trade it in for something a little smaller, perhaps with sliding paper doors and a tiny garden where I can contemplate life’s great mysteries—like why socks always disappear in the wash but never return.

Anyway, as for my place here in Queenstown, you can find out more over at THIS LINK. Either way, I look forward to sharing the next phase of life with you all. Here are a few images from above and around the property…

Here’s another shot from my review of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Great dynamic range on this thing!

**Just a very quick update on this one as we had a couple of people ask. I just wanted to clarify, for those who already bought, or are considering, that the files for the bundle will remain available for download for the foreseeable future, even when the bundle is removed from the store. It’s a pretty huge download for the whole pack, so no need to rush to grab them. They’re hosted at Amazon and will remain available. 🙂 **

A year or so ago I bundled all of my existing store content (presets, video tutorials, ebooks, etc) into one mega bundle for a ridiculously low price. I’ve now updated that with my new 2024 presets and for a limited time, in some crazy reverse logic sort of way, lowered the price further! So, for a short time you can get pretty much everything I’ve ever released on the store for just $24.99… and yes, it’s both new preset packs that are now included. One for Lightroom Classic and one for Luminar Neo!
You can grab it here… with the discount pre-applied! Have fun!