The Stuck In Customs Newsletter #12 just flew out the door with more information on these two events. I’m only going to do two workshops in 2010, and these will be great weekend events. Each of them will be small and intimate, just like the one in Austin so there is plenty of one-on-one time.

Daily Photo – The Peaceful Ryokan Baths of Hakone

Whilst on my last trip to Japan, I did feel like a samurai photographer, traveling the countryside hard by day, and sleeping in ryokan by night.

A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn, and they feature everything one might expect from the visions that are coming in and out of your head.  There is a tatami floor, with a mat or futon upon it.  The rooms are separated by classical sliding doors of rice paper.  There are also communal or private hot baths for relaxation.  In the one below, I had a private bath that overlooked the countryside near Hakone.  This room also came with a traditional Japanese dinner served by women in full and traditional Japanese outfits.

After dinner, and by the time I got myself out of that tub, I think I was more physically drained than I had ever been in my life… it was just wonderful… and I look forward to more ryokans on this next trip!

We are putting the finishing touches on the next free Newsletter. Be sure to subscribe to get something free and pretty for your inbox… It’s my goal to make it the prettiest thing in your email each month! It’s really been growing a lot lately, thanks to you guys and gals forwarding it to family and friends. Thank you for that!

Daily Photo – The Overgrown Crypt

Here is another shot from La Recoleta cemetery in Argentina. Every crypt seemed to have its own story… I wish I could have heard the tales of each one. But, on the plus side, I did have my over-active imagination to fill in the blanks.

All of my shots from La Recoleta (click on the “Buenos Aires” tag here in the post to see the others) were handheld because my tripod was lost with the rest of my luggage. Usually, I never check my tripod for just that very reason! I just don’t really trust those people… And I’ve never had a problem bringing it on the plane except for one time when a busy-body security lady told me it was 1-inch too long. 1 inch!

I was awarded one of the 25 winners without even knowing I was nominated. Cool! Really, it’s thanks to all of you… All I do is try my best to put up an interesting photo every day and share a little bit about the circumstances and the process. I’m glad it resonates!

Be sure to check that list – you are bound to discover a few other people in the Texas landscape that you may find interesting…

The Bridge – Edited with Topaz Adjust 4

I used Topaz Adjust 4 (try it on the Topaz Website) to help add a nice touch to the bridge photo today.  Have you guys noticed much difference between it and the previous Topaz Adjust 3?  I notice the UI is better, and a few other things, but no other big bullet points I can think of.  Adjust 3 was already good enough!  It has caused a few graphics problems for me from time to time, like it doesn’t quite complete processing the image.  Has anyone else noticed that?

Daily Photo – The Tolkienesque Bridge

I normally don’t put two photos from the same city (or even country!) back-to-back in consecutive days, but I decided to award Queenstown this honor. It is very high on my list of cities to move to! I just need to check on a few things like broadband availability and a good spot to plop the family down, and I’ll be in business!

This is from the main park in Queenstown. It was as quaint as could be. The evening light made everything a little bit extra-colorful, and some clever little hobbit-engineer, found it fitting to put this nice little stone bridge across the pond. It is all quite nice, no?

I was thinking about planning a mega SXSW photowalk in Austin, but I have decided not to. They take a lot of work to plan out and execute on… I’m afraid I just don’t have the time to make it happen!

I know many of you are coming to Austin for SXSW – maybe I will see you around the streets!

Daily Photo – Mountainstorm

I took an evening drive to Glenorchy, which is about 50 km outside of Queenstown. It’s one of the windiest drives in the world, especially in the middle of a violent storm! The rain stopped for a short time while I went on a short hike to capture the mountains across the lake.

The wind was so intense. After setting up the tripod and setting up the interval timer, I had to shield the whole thing with my body, by leaning into the wind on the more threatening side of the camera. As I was doing this, I was wondering if anyone would really want to be my assistant. it’s not nearly as glamorous as you might think!

During my talk in New Zealand, I was asked about noise reduction, which is always a problem!  I mentioned that I think most of the main noise reduction software packages are somewhat interchangable in terms of effectiveness.  It comes down, really, to whatever User Interface you think is easiest and most intuitive.  For me, it is Noiseware.  If you want more information and a quick sample, see my Noiseware Review.

I have some more screenshots I’ll be adding soon so you can see more samples of what it can do…

Previous Photo of the Tango

I posted this one about a year ago, and this is further evidence of how I slooooowly edit my photos from a trip… I still have heaps from Argentina! Anyway, I thought you might like to see this one, since I am posting another one of the same subject matter below.

Daily Photo – The Tango in Buenos Aires

Did you know that now that I am hosting my images at SmugMug that it is even easier to get the “data” about how I took the shot?

If you zoom in and click on it to get to the gallery video, on the mouseover, you will see “Photo Info” with a little blue “i”.  Clicking on that will give you the ISO, shutter speed, aperture, and all that sort of thing.  You’ll be in good shape!  Some people want me to put all that info into every blog post, but it just takes too long I am afraid… but it is all there and easy to grab if you are interested.

After I shot the high-altitude picture from the top of this tango show in Buenos Aires, I went down by the stage to get a closeup of some of the action.

Everyone loves the tango, don’t they?

Little did I know that one of my newsletter subscribers is also an HDR enthusiast and one of the guys at HobbitonTours.com! How cool! He sent me a nice note before I came, offering to take my family and I on a private tour of the Shire. Anyway, I wanted to make sure to link back to his website, even though he did not ask me for any favors. Also, I should tell you that Ian Brodie made the official guidebook for the Lord of the Rings tour around New Zealand, and it shows where every scene was filmed… kind of a fun way to do a travel guide!

One of the coolest things about this is that the set is currently being rebuilt for the two-part move of The Hobbit! The landscaping crew is already there, moving around trees, shrubs, and they even have the stakes in the ground to rebuild the Green Dragon. I understand that tours of the Hobbiton Movie Set will still go on, even while they are getting ready to film The Hobbit.

Much of the original set has been destroyed from rain and storms and general wear-and-tear, but you can still see where many of the main Shire shots were taken. If you are a fan of Hobbits, then you simply have to go!

New Video Soon

I took a behind-the-scenes video while here about the setup and execution of this shot. My internet connectivity here has been sketchy, and I have not had time to edit/upload the video… but stay tuned!

Daily Photo – Bilbo’s Hobbit Hole and the Party Tree in the Shire

I showed my 8-year-old son all the Lord of the Rings movies prior to our trip to NZ. He then re-watched the first one three times on the car trip… so he was just as excited as I when we arrived.

You might remember Bilbo Baggins’ hobbit hole and all the scenes with Frodo and Gandalf inside. That is it right there, on the right hand side at the top. The huge tree on the left is the “party tree”, which was the centerpiece for the big party for Bilbo’s birthday. It was the one of the main reasons that Peter Jackson chose this remote farm outside of Matamata on the North Island.

The photo below was made using Topaz Detail. I get the question a lot what is better – Topaz Detail or Topaz Adjust? It’s a good question. I’m honestly not sure I have an answer. I use both a lot – they are similar, but different enough to stay two different products.

If you want to investigate more, I have a Topaz Adjust Review and a Topaz Detail Review here on the site.

Daily Photo – Japanese Badass Schoolgirl in Harajuku

Harajuku is one of the most interesting areas of Tokyo! It’s filled with some of the most interesting-looking people you’ll ever see. They get dressed up in all kinds of get-ups and parade through the streets (which also means they don’t mind being in a photograph). The stores in the area cater to everything from goth to glam-rock to 100 other variations that I can’t even describe.

I spied this one below, gliding through the streets and zoomed in for a quick one.

I very much enjoyed the photowalk and talk yesterday. Everyone was genuinely nice and engaged. I got a bunch of good questions. People in NZ were even nicer than I expected! I look forward to seeing the Flickr group for the event…and perusing people’s shots! Feel free to post it below!

Daily Photo – The Flying Buttress

I mentioned during the photowalk tonight this effect of the wide-angle lens. Whenever you aim it above the horizon, everything leans in a bit. Now, I occasionally get negative comments that think that this “leaning” looks bad, unprofessional, and unrealistic. I have to disagree! It doesn’t bother me a bit. My eye adjusts, and, well, I think it just looks cool.

The church below is from Dresden, Germany.  I am 98% sure of this… I don’t know why I am having trouble remembering…  I think I am getting old.  I did have to wake up at 5 AM to go to the bathroom last night… a bad sign.

Our SmugMug Portfolio contest has a winner! Congratulations to Hunter Luisi!

He has won the fabulous prizes of:

• An Ultimate Version of the Stuck In Customs Textures Tutorial
• and… tuition payment for the new workshop: Vacation with Vanelli!

Daily Photo: Another Chihuly Masterpiece

Isn’t there some point when you can just stop saying “masterpiece”? I mean, isn’t everything he does considered a masterpiece? It’s like there should be a whole new elite lexicon – special words for descriptions, all of which mean “masterpiece” or better.

This gem is at his new gallery in Las Vegas. You just have to go see that place. The people inside were very nice and let me take my time to set up and properly get the light as it truly was. I’m not sure they could figure out what the heck I was doing with my camera and the process! But that’s okay. We kept up good conversation while I was going through my motions… and most of our conversation centered around how much we admire Dale!

]]> http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2010/03/04/another-chihuly-masterpiece/feed/ 11 http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2010/03/04/another-chihuly-masterpiece/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stuckincustoms/EmRA/~3/QjDHLXFYvXg/ http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2010/03/03/the-remarkable-mood/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:36:25 +0000 Stuck In Customs http://www.stuckincustoms.com/?p=5545 New Video – What’s in Trey’s Camera Bag?

I put this video on a special Camera Bag page here on the site — and included the link in the recent newsletter that went out a few days ago. It has a few comments on there with model numbers and the like, if you are interested!

Cali Lewis and John P met me for lunch one day in Texas, and John had his handy-dandy video camera. I was just about to leave for a long photo-adventure, and we decided to use the opportunity to document what is in my bag. I know many people are interested in this, so here we go!

Cali can be seen on Calilewis.me and is the host of Geekbrief.TV. You can find John P at OneMansBlog.com. Thanks again – and I hope you guys enjoy seeing what is on the inside.

I mention some Photography Gadgets there in the video — and if you want more information on any of the things inside, see my “Reviews” area of the website.

Daily Photo – The Remarkable Mood

Oh wow do I love New Zealand!  Every city I have been to is remarkable in its own way, and I was particularly struck by the environs around Queenstown. It’s just an amazing place. I’ve been completely swamped with photo activities, but I stayed up till 4 AM in my “HomeCar” (as my daughter calls it) to process this photo. It’s all a perfectly magical place, as you can plainly see here. This was the beginning of a three-hour sunset drive that went around this same lake… every stop was more moody than the next.

That mountain range? It’s called “The Remarkables”. What a cool name.

I know a lot of y’all post links to your own work, your websites, articles of note, and the like.  I encourage it!  Don’t be shy about doing that.  Watch out — however if you put more than 3 links into a comment – the filter will think that it is spam and it will get held up for moderation.

New Newsletter went out!

If you are on the free newsletter list,  you recently received it!  You can sign up now on the Newsletter page, and you’ll be good-to-go!  There is some fun stuff in this latest edition!

Daily Photo – A Parting Shot of the Temple

Sometimes while on a little afternoon / evening / night photo adventure, I literally run out of energy at the end.  This is bad news!  I put so much effort into running around, getting all the shots, carrying around all my equipment, fully concentrating, and the like…  at the end, it’s all I can do to get back to home base.  However, this night, as I was leaving this beautiful complex of temples in Kyoto, I stopped to take one look behind me.

I had first passed this place in the afternoon when there was no rain.  During my shoot, rain fell and changed everything.  Of course, the lights were totally different, so I just had to muster up a little more energy for a final shot.  For these sorts, I usually put my tripod on its lowest-leg setting and fire away for maximum reflectivity.

Topaz Adjust 4 is out today on the Topaz Website. You may have already seen my Topaz Adjust Review in the recent past, and you’ll be happy to know the new one is a free upgrade if you have the previous one! I got a sneak peak at the new one, and I posted an image below from the slick new interface. If you haven’t already got it, then I recommend it totally. I use it quite a bit to sharpen things up and give images some pop.

Screenie from the new Topaz Adjust 4 – Nice looking interface, eh?

Daily Photo – The Icy Cave at the Franz Josef Glacier

I’ve had an amazing time so far in New Zealand. I’m here for about a month with my family. On a recent evening, my 8-year-old son and I went on a decent hike to the base of the Franz Josef Glacier on towards the west coast of the southern island. Once we got close to it, we could see the icy blue cave where a glacial-white river emerged. Awesome! My son looked at me and said, “Wow. I feel like we just discovered Atlantis!”

In truth, we stayed way too late. This was a good 1.5 km from the car, and it was pretty dark. By the time we got back, it was totally dark except for the moonlight that helped guide us home. I had a flashlight hanging off my camera “just in case”, but, as case would have it, the flashlight fell off into the glacial river!

I have a new Newsletter coming out any time now. Be sure to sign up. It’s free and pretty, and it will make your inbox much prettier. The newsletter growth has been amazing, and it’s thanks to you guys. You have been forwarding along like crazy and these long email chains bring even more subscribers!

In the last newsletter, I asked if anyone in my network knew Hans Zimmer, and a few days later, I was able to shoot in his studio! Well, this is a rare thing that I ask YOU for help… most of the time, I give out a bunch of information and pretty pictures to make your week go easier…

Daily Photo – Shopping in Tokyo at Night

My first night in Tokyo, I was so revved up that I went out to do a lot of night shooting! The streets were wet, and that is perfect for colorful cities at night. I found this unique gem not far from Rappongi.

The only bad thing is the occasional drizzle. I love my 14-24 lens — but it seems to get wet so easily with that gnarly bulbous lens. I just wipe it down with my shirt…. that doesn’t seem like the best thing to do, but it works well enough!

]]> http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2010/02/28/shopping-in-tokyo-at-night/feed/ 11 http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2010/02/28/shopping-in-tokyo-at-night/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stuckincustoms/EmRA/~3/vAghDUdIxuQ/ http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2010/02/27/the-river-through-petaluma/#comments Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:01:22 +0000 Stuck In Customs http://www.stuckincustoms.com/?p=5509 Looking for good Podcasts?

If you are like me, you don’t have a lot of spare time in the week, so you try to hyper-compress and optimize your media consumption. To that end, I now listen to a few podcasts on a regular basis.  You can subscribe to them all via iTunes for free, or go right to the webpages below.  I have many that I sample from time to time, but the following are some great “regulars”.

• This Week in Technology – A great combination of tech news and analysis.  Always fun and interesting.
• This Week in Photography – with host Frederick Van – he’s often joined by very knowledgeable people like Alex Lindsey, Ron Brinkmann, Joseph Linaschke, Steve Simon, and more!
• Macbreak Weekly – I do love my Mac – and this is a great podcast that is all-things Mac.

Leo in the TWIT Cottage

When I was there, I grabbed a quick photo that I put in this previous post about visiting Petaluma.

Daily Photo – The River Through Petaluma

A few days after the talk at Google (I think the Authors@Google *LINK to video are adding subtitles now, for those of you that have trouble hearing), I went up to Napa to visit my mom and my grandmother. Besides getting a bunch of homemade fudge (which I brought to the Stanford photowalk), I also stopped on the way back south in Petaluma at Leo Laporte’s “cottage”.

I’ve always been a big fan of Leo’s!  Beside just seeing out of one eye (a strange bond I feel with him), I’ve really gotten a kick out of the way he approaches and discusses technology.  In fact, I listen to his podcasts so much that my wife often says, “If I have to hear that Leo ONE MORE TIME, before jamming the radio to get off AUX to FM.”

Leo was in the middle of a podcast when I walked in to watch his operation in person.  We didn’t really get a chance to talk, but he was gracious and said hello quickly while in the middle of the broadcast.  I think he’s very clever with his media powerhouse there.  I was fascinated seeing the operation — everything from the logistics to the electronics – smart.

His whole team was out in the front part of the college, and, while there, I also met Dr. Kiki (Dr. Kirsten Sanford is probably what it says on her degree).  She was as nice as I expected as well – her show is called “Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour” — another nice podcast for your lineup!

After leaving, I stopped in downtown Petaluma to grab some lunch and some internet.  Whilst there, I went over one of the bridges to grab this shot.  I don’t know if the water is always this brown and muddy, but it certainly was this day!

I’m glad you guys are having fun on the Charity page here on the site. We’ve already done more than $3,000 for Kiva, and that is great! I’m still enjoying my own personal experience on there… seeing emails come in from time to time talking about repayment of the loans… How has your experience been so far?

March 1 – First Photo From New Zealand

This is my goal! Be ready for that day… I’m not totally sure I can make it happen… but this is my goal!

Daily Photo – The Gentle Bridge

If I could only clone myself, just for dusk! After that, all the clones could die off, like in The Prestige. They could die off in a less-violent way, however…

Usually, when I scout a location (let’s say case the joint), I wind up finding a number of spots to take pictures at dusk. Then, that high-pressure 10 minute-period hits and I run around trying to squeeze them all in… and it’s never easy with five exposures each!

This little bridge is at Horseshoe Bay in Texas. Everyone likes bridges, eh? Like cute kittens and Yourube videos when dads get hurt in the crotch, they are universal favorites.

About halfway through my HDR talk at Google (Youtube link), I asked this to the crowd there. I figured they would know! I was thinking about all that a bit recently while working on this photo for the day….

Don’t forget to come discover new artists!

We started this Smugmug Portfolio Contest just recently. Be sure to come over and see some of the new entrants… some beautiful work out there!

Daily Photo – The Tunnel to the Singularity

While getting lost on purpose in the streets of Tokyo, I decided to head up into one of the buildings to wander about. It led to one hallway, which led to another, another, and then to this amazing place. I’m not sure I could ever find it again, so I was sure to take way a photo as a keepsake. Sometimes special things like that happen, and I am sure to appreciate it at the time. One part of me thinks, “Oh, no worries, you’ll be back here again some day.” The other half worries, “Okay, maybe not, you better fully appreciate it!” And I did!

I knew a Type A personality would come along and create a Flickr Group for the Auckland Photowalk. Thanks for that – there is the link for everyone else that has yet to discover it. I am so lame and slow – it takes me a long time to process photos, but I will ! Thanks again everyone for the walk, the talk, and the pizza! I’d also like to thank Vivian Ho and Virginia Mui for helping me out with the whole event!

Christchurch Event Soon!

On the heels of the north island, the photowalk is moving to the south island and Christchurch on March 4. This talk will be a high-class event, complete with Wine and Cheese… but of course!

Daily Photo – The Giants in the Muir Woods

When I was in California recently, I left Leo Laporte’s cottage to take some photos of the Muir Woods. If you have never been here, it’s a must!

Did you know this is where they filmed that speeder scene from Return of the Jedi? Very cool. I did not see any Ewoks in the forest, nor did they try to trip me by making me roll my robo-angle on strategically-placed logs. Those Ewoks… so small, crafty, and flammable.

Did you know they are already getting geared up to make The Hobbit?  And it will be a two-movie event?  Cool!

It turns out that Ian Brodie, who is a fan of the site and a big HDR enthusiast, works there on the Hobbiton Tours and offered to give my family and me a private tour of everything!  It was really cool to walk around the Shire and see all the various bits and pieces from the movies.  They are starting to move stuff around and get ready to shoot the next Hobbit movie there sometime in the near future.

I took a lot of photos and even made a little video of how I took one of the shots.  After I get back and get everything edited, I’ll get it uploaded so you can check my settings and all that good stuff!

New Print Avail – The Red and White Lighthouse

This new lighthouse print is a perfect little place was spotted in Iceland.  The skies are have such a nice tone there, and they are even better with the high icy clouds.  It’s such a treat to shoot there and to find wonderful things like this lighthouse that complement it so well.

Daily Photo – The Hellenistic Ruins

For our weekly photo mystery, which is, mysteriously, neither weekly or all that mysterious, is up again!  Who can tell me where these strange ruins are from?  Or, maybe, at least, some creative guesses?

In case you missed this article a few months back, I did a post on Black and White HDR Photography over at Photofocus. It’s a long-form article with a bunch more information, in case you are interested in this sort of thing!

Daily Photo – Fog in the Fishing Village

You all know that I hate waking up early in the morning. This is very true. A lot of my somewhat older friends say that as you get older, waking up early comes naturally. I look forward to this day. For now, it’s all hard work… but I know that is when the light is interesting and the weather patterns can be unexpected.

This is very early morning with a dense fog over this little harbor. I loved the details on these bits, so I did my best to capture them in the morning wetness. In the distance, you can see the anchored boats. This is also from the little bay of Portofino — the same location as the photo I posted a few days ago.