Passport Sunday! A new Video from Tokyo

If you’re a Passport Member then you get to see today’s awesome video that our team made in Tokyo. I think it’s probably the most high-quality video we’ver ever made! You’ll see me shooting in all sorts of conditions and get a good idea of what goes on during four days of shooting in crazy Tokyo!

Chill out Deep Trance Meditation Music

My friend Cliff Baise turned me onto some great brain-wave music to listen to while working or editing photos. He listens to it while he paints. Here is a link to one of the tracks.

A Special Video from Tokyo for you!

Now, this is a bit more than a “Sneak Peek”!!! This represents one of about 30 videos I am sitting on, unreleased. As you can tell from the quality level of this video and the time it took to create, these are rather expensive. So we’re busy trying to wrap up sponsors so that we can release them all to the world. In the meantime, since you are a Secret Passport Member and get to see things before the huddled masses, I am happy to share it with you now!

You’ll see me in various parts of Tokyo doing all sorts of things… mostly photography related!

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Daily Photo – Korean Mom’s Day Out!

Now, I’m not 100% sure these are Koreans, but I’m 99% sure. It obviously doesn’t really matter, but I have seen many of these groups of traveling ladies from Korea that have their own photographer follow them around. This is on a little island near Krabi, Thailand. It was really fun to watch them. The photographer was really animated and putting them into all kinds of positions. The ladies were having the time of their lives.

Korean Mom’s Day Out!

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-06-29 16:35:47
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/1600
• Aperture10
• ISO200
• Focal Length25.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Passport Sunday!

I’m starting a new thing where I guarantee a new entry every Sunday for Passport Members. I figure Sunday is just about the laziest day of the week for most people, so it’s a good day for learning. Make a point to grab your morning coffee (feel free to put some whisky in it), and then sit down to enjoy the weekly video release! Today is one from Antarctica. To get you in the mood, here is my Antarctica Album!

Today’s video release is the 7th video I’ve released from the month I spent in Antarctica. It’s all about exploring another hut, technology, taking photos, and time capsules!

Antarctica: Hut & Cold

I was lucky enough to visit all the huts in Antarctica where explorers from a century ago used to live. It’s really unbelievable they were able to survive. Even more amazing is that all of these huts had a very tiny little dark room for editing photos. I can imagine that the photographer on the trip was probably one of the most popular dudes because there must have been some excitement about the photo creation process. I know how long it takes to manually develop film, so I bet by the time he was finished with the photo there was quite a little celebration. Remember, they didn’t have Netflix (at least, I think).

On the tech side, I also talk a little bit about what happens with long exposures with noise reduction turned on.

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Daily Photo – Seals for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner (and Seal Snacks)

I took photos in all the huts (as you can see in the album link above) to try to capture not just the details, but the mood. This particular one was so desolate and cold that many members of the expedition chose to stay on the boat, where I can’t imagine it was a lot warmer. But, I guess it was fun to come over here and have a seal sandwich or a seal smoothie.

Seals for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner (and Seal Snacks)

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2015-01-19 19:54:25
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time10
• Aperture8
• ISO100
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

New today for Passport Members!

If you are one of our awesome Passport Members then today you get to see a 360 Video tour of my updated studio with seasonal art! It’s also the first 360 video I made since upgrading the firmware on this cool Insta360 camera. Before, it was honestly pretty bouncy, but now I find it to be quite smooth!

We’re on a good pace to put up 60 new pieces of content per year for Passport Members, so at least once a week, I’ll be bringing you something fresh and new!

Stabilizing My Studio

It’s a new season around here, and time for another art hanging at my studio! I’ve been making one of these every three months or so to celebrate the turning of the season and a new set of art to hang! You’ll see it’s a bit snowy outside as I make my way over the studio… oh, and notice how mega-smooth the upgraded firmware is on this Insta360 camera!

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Daily Photo – High over Shanghai

I was really excited to return to Shanghai with all my new photo skills! I’m not saying I have all the skills in the world or anything, but I certainly have a lot more than my first trip there almost ten years ago. I look back on those older photos and I don’t even like them that much. Since I was here for a solid week or so, I decided to shoot my heart out and see what I could achieve. This spot was one of my favorites because it made for a perfect vantage point in Pudong. This is shot from the rooftop bar at the Ritz-Carlton there. We actually took over the whole venue one day for one of my art talks about the 80 Stays tour. On that particular day, it was quite cloudy, but our first night here made for the perfect view!

High over Shanghai

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-06-18 23:32:42
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/4
• Aperture4
• ISO400
• Focal Length28.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

This Week on Passport

Today’s how-to video for Passport Members is a bit longer than usual. I usually try to keep them under 5 minutes, but this one clocks in at over 15 minutes to edit a single photo. You’ll see everything from alpha to omega. I do a lot of detailed work on this one… probably a bit overkill, but I hope you enjoy!

Some favorite Burning Man Photos

Speaking of Burning Man, I thought I’d add a few from my //Burning Man Portfolio// over on SmugMug!

Here’s how I edited a photo of the Black Rock Lighthouse. You’ll see me begin with Aurora HDR to make adjustments then end up in Photoshop to align and create some margins for artistic purposes. You’ll also see a lot of content-aware + clone-stamp action to clean up some of the mess!

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New, Stabilized 360 video!

We recently upgraded the firmware on the Insta360 camera so it is more stabilized. This is the first test of it today for Passport Members! I take you on a tour of my studio and the new art that I have just hung. I swap out the art every three months for each season. I’m a little behind now… as you’ll be seeing the “red” theme for Autumn. I gotta get ready for Winter colors now… as you’ll see the snow outside of the studio too!

Enjoy today’s newly stabilized video of my art hangings in the studio. I’ll stop briefly and tell little stories about each photo. Note that these photos aren’t for sale… just small informal prints to brighten up the mood of the studio.

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Daily Photo – The Complexity of Hong Kong

How beautiful is Hong Kong? I took this from the bar atop the Ritz-Carlton there on the other side of the bay. I tried to not just get the obvious wide-angle shots, but instead to zoom in and get some interesting details here and there. Naturally, there are all sorts of different apartments for different income levels. These are some of the nicer ones over on the Hong Kong side.

The Complexity of Hong Kong

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-03-13 00:01:59
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time2.5
• Aperture4
• ISO250
• Focal Length105.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Editing Kid-Sports Photos

Today for Passport Members is something a bit different! I openly admit in the beginning of the video that it may be a bit boring to those not interested in taking photos of kid-sports! My son has been playing a lot of rugby lately, and I’ve been taking more and more photos. So you can see my workflow of my 300 (mostly awful) photos and see how I pick out the winners, along with a few tips on composition.

When I went to Ethan’s (he is 17 now) rugby game on Saturday, I took just over 300 photos. Here’s how I organized them in Lightroom then edited a few of the winners!

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Daily Photo – A Food Truck Dinner on the Lawn!

How fun is this idea? it was a looooong travel day to get here to Sanya, China (which is a small island off the coast). We woke up in Macau, then took the ferry for an hour to Hong Kong before taking a flight here to Sanya. We were pretty exhausted after we landed, but were reinvigorated as we saw them setting up this massive dinner on the lawn. There were about 15 little setups with all sorts of food and drink. They do this out on the lawn of the Ritz-Carlton right by the beach there once a week. Anyone can go, and you don’t even have to be a guest.

A Food Truck Dinner on the Lawn!

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-03-17 18:47:34
• CameraFC220
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/50
• Aperture2.2
• ISO174
• Focal Length4.7 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias-1.66

A new workflow for RAW Photos

Today’s video just for Passport Members shows a slightly improved workflow for RAW photos. I’m always tweaking my workflow this way and that, and this seems to work out pretty well!

I used to just take the RAW file and drag it into Aurora. I still sometimes do that, but I find that I like making just a few tweaks in Lightroom first. You can see how in the video below!

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Daily Photo – Exploring Gaudi’s Masterpiece

The first time I came to the Sagrada Familia here in Barcelona, I didn’t go inside. There is a ton of construction going on, and I didn’t even realize you could pay to get inside. And I would not have thought it would look so bright and colorful on the inside because the outside is very dark and gothic. It’s too bad Gaudi didn’t stay alive long enough to see it completed!

Exploring Gaudi’s Masterpiece

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-04-30 08:23:27
• CameraX1D
• Camera MakeHasselblad
• Exposure Time4
• Aperture8
• ISO100
• Focal Length30.0 mm
• Flash
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Making super-smooth and dreamy reflections

Today, for Passport Members we have a new video up that shows a technique I’ve been using for creating smooth reflections. It’s kind of a hack, honestly, but as far as hacks go, I think the final result is very beautiful!

Here is an example of the effect in the reflection of Doubtful Sound below:

In this video, you can see how I use the Oil Paint filter in the reflective part of the photo.

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All 400 of my mostly lousy photos of Doubtful Sound!

Today for Passport Members, I go through the ~400 photos I took over two days in this area. You’ll see how most of them are absolutely atrocious. I’d like to blame the bad weather on day 1, but I really only have myself to blame!

Win a free Mavic Air Drone!

Join me on Facebook Live here as I talk about editing drone videos and drone photos – also be sure to join our Drone giveaway! I’m giving away a new shiny red Mavic Air to promote my new drone tutorial you can find here!

Take a tour through my favorite photos from Doubtful Sound in today’s video. Also included on the tour, are about 395 terrible photos that sent me into a shame spiral.

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Daily Photo – A Silent Morning in Doubtful Sound

I just finished my first overnight journey with Real Journeys down in Doubtful Sound. I’ve lived here on the South Island of New Zealand for about six years, and I had always wanted to do this overnight adventure. I went down there with Curtis and Tane and we had a great time. The first part of the voyage was a bit “moody” with some crazy wind and rain, but that subsided to some beautiful calmness afterward.

One great thing about having lots of rain is that you get to see hundreds and hundreds of waterfalls. I often find it difficult to get a good photo of a waterfall, but I’ll share some attempts in upcoming posts!

A Silent Morning in Doubtful Sound

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-05-09 08:51:31
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/200
• Aperture4
• ISO250
• Focal Length30.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Today on Passport

Usually, I give photo tips, but for today’s Passport I give some travel tips. Mostly these are travel tips in Tokyo, but the idea of exploration will work almost anywhere. You’ll also see me use the Explore for Food options using Google Maps. I use that all the time now to find tasty places to eat!

Today are some travel tips from Tokyo! I take you to a few cool places around there, show you how I find good food, show you my favorite crazy store Don Quixote, and more! It’s all in 360, so feel free to spin the camera around to watch whatever you wanna watch! 🙂

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Daily Photo – The Mystery Ceiling

Here’s a little trick for taking photos of ornate ceilings like this. It’s not actually that difficult once you know the trick. The first thing is to find the very very middle of the room. If you’re a little bit off, it’s tough to fix. Then, take set up your camera for a longer exposure. If you have a mirrorless camera, you can just look up and see if the exposure looks right. If you have a DSLR, do a few handheld shots and look at the results. Sure, it will be blurry, but you’re just making sure the brightness is good. Last, turn on the timer (I do 2 seconds), set it on the ground, take the photo, then jump away so you are not in the shot!

The Mystery Ceiling

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2016-01-19 18:28:26
• CameraILCE-7RM2
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/60
• Aperture4
• ISO2000
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-0.3