Tomorrow night we have a most excellent horse on the ranch picture that I am working on for all you animal lovers… (and ranch lovers!)

This place is called the Ice Lake. I saw it on the map and it sounded like a cool hiking destination. I didn’t expect it to be icy, so I wasn’t disappointed.

This picture reminds me of how nice it is to be a hero to someone.  It’s kind of one of those things that I’ve always wanted to be.  I’m afraid some day I will lose this “hero” status.  I don’t want to think about that right now!

I was exhausted after shooting most of the day. I drove over the the Firehole River to have a swim. There was no one else around, and I didn’t have a swimsuit, so I just went in my undies. This seemed like a great idea until my underwear ripped on a rock. This, combined with very sensitive feet that make me look crazy when walking on a rocky shore, made for quite a scene.

I’ve never been much of a swimmer. I mean, I can swim just fine and I’m as bouyant as anyone my age should be, but I don’t really like it as a form of exercise. THere is always so much that goes into the perparation bit of the exercise. Also, since I can’t liseten to my iPod while I swim, that’s kind of a deal-killer. I’ve heard they have some new water-proof MP3 players, but that just sounds like too much trouble all around.

Anyway, this was a 5-exposure HDR that went from -2 to +2. I’m convinced it’s the only way to shoot into the sun and get all the light levels of the details around the pool.

Just beyond one of the official entrances to the Taj is the interior of a huge gatehouse, that was teaming with people trying to get a closer look. I held the camera high in the air after trying to position myself as centered as possible to try to capture a sense of the huddled masses.

This shot is from the northern part of Montana, up where the fields go on forever. These nice crop rows are the ones that get caught in your eyes when you are driving by at super-sonic speeds…but you can still make out single rows like frames in an old movie.

I grabbed this shot as quickly as I could before the snow started to cover everything up too much, which can tend make for a somewhat washed-out shot. I believe this photo was at f/2.8 with the 24-70 lens. That aperture helped the most interesting tree in the foreground to stay sharp while everything else stayed foggy and snowy (which it kinda was anyway).

I was fortunate enough to take a private tour of the place thanks to the nice people at the MGM/Mirage management company, who also owns the Mandalay Bay. That allowed me to take the time I needed to set up this 5-exposure HDR shot without tourists getting in the way.

One time I did find a nurse shark in the Caribbean. It was a baby. I followed it for a while until it occurred to me that it might be swimming back to its mom. That sudden realization made me turn around pretty quick.

All of this underwater stuff reminds me of watching those Discovery channel shows about strange ocean creatures. I swear I could watch those things all day. I can’t get over how some of these things have evolved to fit their environment… just amazing. My favorite creatures are cephalopods … I never get tired of those documentaries!

When we were walking back from the shoot, it got a little chilly, so she covered up a bit. I don’t know if you’ve experienced this or not… but she’s one of those gals that always seems to be posin’. Kinda like Angelina, I suppose, where you get the sense that she is always aware of the presence of a camera. So, since I had on the 50mm 1.4, I took a few quick ones like this while walking down the trail.

I tried something a little bit different with this photo. I was holding two flashlights to help me climb the temple in the morning. I think I got there about 5:30 AM when it was still pitch black, so the flashlights helped me find the right footholds and whatnot. Anyway, this was an extremely long exposure, so I used some of that time to “paint” the inside of the bell cages with the beams of my flashlights. Each of those bell cages held a solitary outward-facing Buddha. I’m glad I was there alone, because I’m sure I looked like a loon running around shining the flashlights in patterns to illuminate the Buddhas inside.

After my third go-around, I leaned over the sea wall as they approached. After I got a few shots in, they all waved happily. There were not many white people around there, so I think I kinda stuck out, especially with the big ol’ camera.

There was a recent rain, and the Champs-Élysées was shiny and perfect in the cool dusk air. I set up and kept the f stop as high as possible so that the French passerby would fall out of the frame during the long exposure.

I took my wife and son down to the edge of the lake, and there were these giant granite blocks on the perimeter. The regular freezes and thaws around the lake created these right-angle cuts. It was nice to have them there with me… they got to hear me drone on and on about rocks and whatnot. I used to have a double-major in Geophysics and Computer Science, so I know the sorts of things about rocks that only come in handy when you have a captive audience like a family stuck on one while you are taking photos.

I ended up dropping the Geophysics part of the double-major after an ideological fight with a professor. That’s a longer story.

I found this beauty salon one evening when driving between Houston and Austin. It was just sitting there, all neglected…. and I felt like someone needed to pay attention to it, so I did for a short while.

Her outfit is complete, her spins are looking almost 360, and her beauty sleep is currently in full-force. The epic event is at 4 PM tomorrow. Who has recitals at 4 PM on a weekday? I don’t know. Isabella does. That’s who. I’m not allowed to take photos, so say the ballet-gestapo that run the event. Should I organize an email campaign to make an exception?!!?!? Maybe we can get a 100-200K emails sent over there in protest! hehe…

This first photo below was included in the recent Newsletter, in which I gave an advance link to the new Nikon 70-200 Review. It’s a great lens, and there are a bunch of cool pics from that camera in the review. This piano photo was taken while my 8-year-old was practicing for his recital. He got to play on his first grand piano, and it was cute because he had trouble reaching the pedals because they were so far from the bench.

The second photo below is Isabella is from a few weeks ago when we went to the Greekfest here in Austin… she had her face painted like a unicorn… it was her first face-painting ever, so of course I was there with the camera. That one was taken with the 50mm – I have more info on that one over at the Nikon 50mm Review.

I probably could have stayed here another few hours. I wanted to peek inside every crypt and root around inside for all sorts of treasure or +1 daggers. Even though my time there was too short, I still managed to grab a wild variety of shots that I am still enjoying and reviewing many weeks later. I simply can’t wait to get back to this spot some day!

There are a lot of the older generation in China that I am sure are completely amazed by what is happening of late there. I wished I could have asked her a few questions, but my Mandarin is woefully inept. My 8-year-old son is taking lessons… maybe I’ll have to take him with me next time to act as translator!

The place was totally empty. I got a little bit creeped out…and I felt like maybe I was being watched. I snapped a few quick shots and then made a hasty egress…

Also, if you are into ENTJ Firebrands, then you might enjoy the First Newsletter that just went out today! You can sign up for free on the Newsletter page… I hope you find some good stuff in there!

They cruise up and down 6th Street and close fill the streets with incredible bikes and works of art. It’s an amazing place for photography, so I was able to take a break this evening and go down and shoot for a few hours.

I remember when I was growing up that bikers where just about the scariest people on earth. But now, everyone I have met seems to be much nicer and more affable than the average joe. They love having pictures taken of their bikes and generally seem to love life. That’s cool.

I set up for this shot and then sat there for a while.  I had heard some sort of aviary commotion and hoped that creatures would come streaming out at some surprise moment.  I kept my finger over the trigger just in case, and then, like magic, they all came ripping out with quite a commotion.  After this, I packed up my tripod and decided to head towards this little temple to see what was inside.  I’ll be sure to put those up in coming weeks…

This was shot in Halle, Germany, just a short train ride from Leipzig. I love how these old churches are often lit with orange lights… I think it always makes them look nice against the blue dusky skies.

Setting up the tripod for these evening HDRs always allows you to set the ISO as low as possible, and in aperture priority mode, the shutter will stay open for a long time, letting those clouds drift by and drag light across the lens. It gives a nice feel to the shot and makes the church look even more timeless and solid.

This is the very deep-thinking Vova (I mistakenly called him Vulva) taking a photo of Irina, who is looking quite elf-like and innocent in the snow. Irina was responsible for making me borscht every single day and night of the hike. I ate more borscht than all the czars combined, although I can’t complain because a nice hot meal was always a welcome treat.

You can see Vova is using a Canon there. I didn’t hold that against him. These guys are currently on another photo expedition. I was invited, but I’m too covered up right now to join them… and it saddens me… Maybe I will have some borscht tomorrow in photographic mourning.

I also got a very nice Twitter message yesterday from a dad who was excited that his kids were getting him my Textures Tutorial for father’s day. I thought that was kind of cool and I was flattered! Of course, that means he’s going to have to use the techniques to make some memorable photos of his family… This is something that I always hear too… that I don’t take enough photos of the family, but I do I do! But I don’t think that the grandparents can ever be happy unless I have a webcam on them 24 hours a day like a non-stop grandchild Truman show.