I decided to grab a shot from my Austin, Texas file after I returned home this evening. I had a nice surprise that came in a box from a friend in Austin! I do intend to post a more detailed blog about what I received from a fellow HDR artist tomorrow so check back. For now, a big thanks to Cliff for your kind gift!
And, as far as you pixel peepers out there, I kinda thought that the noise in the sky added to the stars that are there. Kinda looks a bit milky wayish?
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Late night reflections in Paris
Dance is the only art in which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made. - Ted Shawn
My little reflection this evening is about art and the need to express yourself. Too often, modern society tends to place little importance on the arts. Not always of course, but the older I get, the more I see how that basic need to express yourself tends to get put way back on the burner for pursuits of money. Art being beaten out of the student to make way for skills to earn a living. Make more money to drive the economy, to buy more stuff, to keep the cycle going. Kind of maddening at times don't ya think? Guess I'm going off on a bit of a tangent here aren't I?
I guess my point is, keep it all in check. Balance it out. You know, its funny. We all pick up the crayons and express ourselves as kids, but somehow those artistic qualities that we are ALL born with become suppressed in that mad pursuit called life. I guess its easy to see why the enrollment in the art clubs, photography workshops, and dance classes is heavily populated by the over 40 crowd. Kind of a calling to get back to something of heartfelt meaning.
After seeing the look in the eyes of my little one this evening.....expressing herself in dance in her very first show....I am reminded of something that is so important. Support the pursuit of passion, for its not all about having the eyes on the prize, its about savoring the journey.....and expressing yourself along the way.
Oh, by the way, thats exactly what drew me into the streets of Paris here from the late hours of the evening and into the wee hours of the morning. Don't be afraid to explore your art and passion along your journey!
My little reflection this evening is about art and the need to express yourself. Too often, modern society tends to place little importance on the arts. Not always of course, but the older I get, the more I see how that basic need to express yourself tends to get put way back on the burner for pursuits of money. Art being beaten out of the student to make way for skills to earn a living. Make more money to drive the economy, to buy more stuff, to keep the cycle going. Kind of maddening at times don't ya think? Guess I'm going off on a bit of a tangent here aren't I?
I guess my point is, keep it all in check. Balance it out. You know, its funny. We all pick up the crayons and express ourselves as kids, but somehow those artistic qualities that we are ALL born with become suppressed in that mad pursuit called life. I guess its easy to see why the enrollment in the art clubs, photography workshops, and dance classes is heavily populated by the over 40 crowd. Kind of a calling to get back to something of heartfelt meaning.
After seeing the look in the eyes of my little one this evening.....expressing herself in dance in her very first show....I am reminded of something that is so important. Support the pursuit of passion, for its not all about having the eyes on the prize, its about savoring the journey.....and expressing yourself along the way.
Oh, by the way, thats exactly what drew me into the streets of Paris here from the late hours of the evening and into the wee hours of the morning. Don't be afraid to explore your art and passion along your journey!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Miami - South Beach Poolside
As the sun started to set and the party started to kick in for an event I was lighting for the Food Network in South Beach, I decided to take the ole' camera and sticks and explore a bit of the area. You know, ya think your cool till ya wander around this uniquely hip area of South Florida! Dork with a camera.....here I come! LOL
Hold on
"Patience, persistance, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success." - Napoleom Hill
Just a quick little shout out to my clients from this past season for all the great events you entrusted my company and I to light for you. For any of you that have happened to pop by this lil' blog o' mine and wonder "why on earth hasn't Mike posted any images from our event yet. I am pretty sure I saw him scurrying about the space just minutes from doors. He's gotta have something worthwhile to post!"
You are indeed correct. Please hold on (get the image now.....hehehe...hehe...he....aahhh....well, anyway.....)
I made a bit of a punch list of shots to start editing over the next few weeks, so keep checking back!
Just a quick little shout out to my clients from this past season for all the great events you entrusted my company and I to light for you. For any of you that have happened to pop by this lil' blog o' mine and wonder "why on earth hasn't Mike posted any images from our event yet. I am pretty sure I saw him scurrying about the space just minutes from doors. He's gotta have something worthwhile to post!"
You are indeed correct. Please hold on (get the image now.....hehehe...hehe...he....aahhh....well, anyway.....)
I made a bit of a punch list of shots to start editing over the next few weeks, so keep checking back!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
A wet evening stroll in Buenne, France
I had a lot of strange looks as I explored the wet streets of Buenne on this particular evening. Rain, and lots of it, so of course I thought "reflections!" None the less, I still had a lot of "what in the hell is this guy doing out in the rain" looks.
The hardest part about my wet outing in the cute little French village was how to keep the constant spray of that bulbous 14-24mm Nikon lense. Have ya seen that thing?! That things like a magnet for water!
I decided not to fight the color temperature of the city's architectural lighting as I processed this one. Like a post from a couple of days ago, I also used a bit of texture to bring about a little interest to the sky and some of the architecture. I kinda like it :)
The hardest part about my wet outing in the cute little French village was how to keep the constant spray of that bulbous 14-24mm Nikon lense. Have ya seen that thing?! That things like a magnet for water!
I decided not to fight the color temperature of the city's architectural lighting as I processed this one. Like a post from a couple of days ago, I also used a bit of texture to bring about a little interest to the sky and some of the architecture. I kinda like it :)
Monday, June 7, 2010
Infinate beach in the Bahamas
So, unlike the image I spoke of the other night in which I was able to "visualize" the final look I wanted in post as I composed and clicked the exposure, this is quite the opposite. I love creating these other worlds that up until I let myself explore a bit, they don't exist (and thank goodness I suppose LOL!)
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Night sky at Raffies in Singapore
Alrighty now...
Here's another taste from the Singaporean buffet of images I have. Ok, that sounded kinda stupid.....but I continue....
I waited a bit outside of this rather cool hotel in Singapore called Raffes, or was it Raffies, or Raffles, definitely not waffles.....Aaannnnyway...
There was a lot to explore inside and my memory card proves it. I set up this shot just outside of the front valet area and tried to blend in. Kinda hard with a Nikon D3 and a huge Gitzo tripod, but I tried.
After a bit of processing the images in Photomatix and Photoshop CS4, I had a hard time getting rid of the incredible amount of popcorn sized noise nuggets in the sky, so I tried a different approach. I decided to mess around with a few textures that I combined together until I had a color and feel that I liked. I then used a little radial blur trick I picked up from Trey Ratcliff from Stuck in Customs, used a layer mask of just the sky (remember the noisy one that I wanted to get rid of), and then painted in my own little creation. Sure its fake, but its fun....and looks kinda cool I think!
Thanks for stopping by :)
Here's another taste from the Singaporean buffet of images I have. Ok, that sounded kinda stupid.....but I continue....
I waited a bit outside of this rather cool hotel in Singapore called Raffes, or was it Raffies, or Raffles, definitely not waffles.....Aaannnnyway...
There was a lot to explore inside and my memory card proves it. I set up this shot just outside of the front valet area and tried to blend in. Kinda hard with a Nikon D3 and a huge Gitzo tripod, but I tried.
After a bit of processing the images in Photomatix and Photoshop CS4, I had a hard time getting rid of the incredible amount of popcorn sized noise nuggets in the sky, so I tried a different approach. I decided to mess around with a few textures that I combined together until I had a color and feel that I liked. I then used a little radial blur trick I picked up from Trey Ratcliff from Stuck in Customs, used a layer mask of just the sky (remember the noisy one that I wanted to get rid of), and then painted in my own little creation. Sure its fake, but its fun....and looks kinda cool I think!
Thanks for stopping by :)
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Freedom Flyer in Singapore
Well, I'll be the first one to admit that this ones a wee bit of a disaster. Having never really cleaned it up or liked what I had so far, its been staring at me as the first image in my "ready to post" folder for quite sometime now. I tend to work on these images a few at a time but usually like to release only one a day, but that pools getting a bit shallow.
The air here in South Florida has been freaking stifling and incredibly humid lately. I have made several references here on the blog to the humidity in Singapore while I was there as it might be one of the most humid places on earth. I remember taking this shot with a couple of my photo buddies late in the evening as the sweat poured over my glasses and into the viewfinder. We arrived back at the hotel a few hours later, memory cards full and drenched from head to toe!
I hope to post a few more from Singapore soon as I have received some really great comments and possible opportunities from that part of the world. As always, I sincerely appreciate the views, so I'll keep em coming :)
The air here in South Florida has been freaking stifling and incredibly humid lately. I have made several references here on the blog to the humidity in Singapore while I was there as it might be one of the most humid places on earth. I remember taking this shot with a couple of my photo buddies late in the evening as the sweat poured over my glasses and into the viewfinder. We arrived back at the hotel a few hours later, memory cards full and drenched from head to toe!
I hope to post a few more from Singapore soon as I have received some really great comments and possible opportunities from that part of the world. As always, I sincerely appreciate the views, so I'll keep em coming :)
Thursday, June 3, 2010
A final look into the harbor
During our final "goodbye lunch" from the marina side cafe called Snappas (I think that was the name actually), I found myself a bit distracted from the conversation at the table. Not that I wasn't fully engaged as we were all in various stages of brainstorming about a million things (I love that by the way), but a scene that was being created just over my shoulder had me leaping from the table mid sentence to capture the foundation of this image I had in my head. I find myself doing that alot more often now (not leaving the table mid sentence like a hound chasing a squirel mind you), but previsualizing the scene and what I intend to create with the shot later.
Visualization and the law of attraction....powerful stuff. I find myself kinda deep in alot of that lately. Ask and it is given ya know. There's a million ways to phrase it, but getting a clear and focused vision of where you want to steer your life, visualizing it, and acting on it. Seems simple really, but it works!
I found myself doing this exact process this evening...with my nine year old. She has had this vision of multiple income streams for a while now. An art teacher that owns a highend cupcake bakery. Very creative for a nine year old I think. So I told her about a little place that just opened up in CItyplace the other day....a highend cupcake shop! She couldn't drag me there fast enough. It was a precious site watching her walk thru and take deep mental notes. After buying a couple of the "competitions" little morsels of goodness and a couple of business cards, she couldn't wait to get home to brainstorm with me and journal all of our thoughts on design, color, business plans, ingredients....heck, she even drafted out a floor-plan of the new place. Talk about visualizing.
Not sure where I am going with this actually, just felt like a bit of a ramble here.
I guess if I had any morsel of parting wisdom, it would have to be.....don't forget to dream! Stop and give yourself those precious moments in the madness of the day to be whatever you want to be. Its free to wander in this other world and you never know where it might actually take you. And in case that finds you running a cupcake shop, I'll have a double fudge please.
And, if you ever read this my little sunshine girl....thanks for those special moments you have given me to slow down and see this wonderful world thru your little eyes. I love you :)
Visualization and the law of attraction....powerful stuff. I find myself kinda deep in alot of that lately. Ask and it is given ya know. There's a million ways to phrase it, but getting a clear and focused vision of where you want to steer your life, visualizing it, and acting on it. Seems simple really, but it works!
I found myself doing this exact process this evening...with my nine year old. She has had this vision of multiple income streams for a while now. An art teacher that owns a highend cupcake bakery. Very creative for a nine year old I think. So I told her about a little place that just opened up in CItyplace the other day....a highend cupcake shop! She couldn't drag me there fast enough. It was a precious site watching her walk thru and take deep mental notes. After buying a couple of the "competitions" little morsels of goodness and a couple of business cards, she couldn't wait to get home to brainstorm with me and journal all of our thoughts on design, color, business plans, ingredients....heck, she even drafted out a floor-plan of the new place. Talk about visualizing.
Not sure where I am going with this actually, just felt like a bit of a ramble here.
I guess if I had any morsel of parting wisdom, it would have to be.....don't forget to dream! Stop and give yourself those precious moments in the madness of the day to be whatever you want to be. Its free to wander in this other world and you never know where it might actually take you. And in case that finds you running a cupcake shop, I'll have a double fudge please.
And, if you ever read this my little sunshine girl....thanks for those special moments you have given me to slow down and see this wonderful world thru your little eyes. I love you :)
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Rich color in the Bahamas
I find myself a bit of a confused state this evening. The chosen career path I have enjoyed for the better part of the last 25 years indeed has its spikes of energy, emotion, and focus. I must admit, I have never been much of a nine to fiver.....just the sheer thought of that scares me to pieces! Instead, my schedule takes that path of chaos. I used to blame that on the business itself, but to be brutally honest, I guess I created that for myself. So after lighting an insanely successful weeklong destination wedding in the Bahamas, I am somewhat cursed with the mixed emotions that follow such a rush of focused energy and adrenaline on a project. Exhaustion, exuberance, relief, anxiety, confusion, fear, laziness, sadness, happiness, and of course an incredible feeling of accomplishment. I know, strange isn't it?
More to follow soon from the trip as it seems like a blur at this point.
One thing is crystal clear though. Take a fantastic crew, and mix it with a beautiful location, an incredible event designer, a tent company crew lead that goes the extra mile, a wonderful wedding planner, a happy client, a few golf carts, and a wickedly cool after hours party on a lit lagoon that rivaled the best clubs in Ibiza or Mykinos, and you have lived my life last week. Thanks to all who lived the moments with me!
More to come over the next few days and weeks.
More to follow soon from the trip as it seems like a blur at this point.
One thing is crystal clear though. Take a fantastic crew, and mix it with a beautiful location, an incredible event designer, a tent company crew lead that goes the extra mile, a wonderful wedding planner, a happy client, a few golf carts, and a wickedly cool after hours party on a lit lagoon that rivaled the best clubs in Ibiza or Mykinos, and you have lived my life last week. Thanks to all who lived the moments with me!
More to come over the next few days and weeks.
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