End of the day from the Society of the Four Arts - West Palm Beach

End of the day from the Society of the Four Arts - West Palm Beach, originally uploaded by Photomike07 / MDSimages.com.

Having a music and arts festival called Sunfest happening just steps from my door this weekend, I feel like a few more posts of my beautiful city might be a nice way to finish out the week. Although I shot the base images for this one a few months ago, they waited o so patiently on the hard drive for their moment to be played with. As I processed this one tonight, I tried a few techniques. I first blended 2 differently exposed HDR tonemapped images. I then brushed in a little bit of an effect from a Nik filter I like called glamour glow. And finally, a bit of Topaz simplify was mixed in here and there for a more painterly look. Hope ya like :)

Time for Sunfest!

Time for Sunfest!, originally uploaded by Photomike07 / MDSimages.com.

My love of music has previously had me running off to places like Roskilde, Montreux, Copenhagen, and Rotterdam. Just so happens, this week... music, art, food, and people come together for a pretty cool festival in my town called Sunfest. I must admit, its kinda cool to be living about 2 blocks from the gate! My earliest memories of this festival were of my own rock band playing at one of the stages. In retrospect, we were kind of a mess....but we had good intentions and ALOT of energy. Although this event has kind of evolved from a jazz and blues festival to more of a free for all collection of musical styles, its still a great place to chill. In fact, what am I doing here.....time to wander over there!

Unwinding

Unwinding, originally uploaded by Photomike07 / MDSimages.com.

Whilst searching for an image for the daily upload, I have to admit its quite difficult to conjure up anything of value to ramble on about as the hotel TV off in the background blasts off a seriously hilarious rerun of the "Office".

The Moment? - winding down and making the attack plan for tomorrow

The Plan? - a site survey up here in Amelia Island for an up and coming event here in a couple of weeks

The update? - a million things to get together for this event and one right after it

The concern? - the million things I have to get together

The short term wish? - to get up in the AM and catch a nice sunrise with my camera and eyes

The question marks? - not sure.....what's with those Mike!?


cheers :)

An evening in Montmarte, Paris

An evening in Montmarte, Paris, originally uploaded by Photomike07 / MDSimages.com.

There are many places that just seem to have that "I'm in the center of it all" feeling. You know, like you are at the point in which all around seem to gravitate to. This is one of those places. Montmarte' in Paris. This place has long been the hangout of artists and musicians, and although it can feel a bit touristy at times, its still a great place to explore.

And, for the musical journey.......

At the dock

At the dock, originally uploaded by Photomike07 / MDSimages.com.

I took the foundational image for this piece while on a site survey for an up and coming destination wedding we will be lighting towards the end of May. These remote location events are quite the challenge as you cant just pop on over to the shop for a missing adapter. More on this as the event unfolds.....

From the Patio at the Oasis in Austin

From the Patio at the Oasis in Austin, originally uploaded by Photomike07 / MDSimages.com.

Wow, could it actually be? It seems like I have been blogging for over 2 years now. Yes, over 2 years of random thoughts and verbal diarrhea. What on earth have I rambled on about for the better part of 25 months!

I must say though, my usual blog time (between 11PM and 2AM) has yet to find me in the sharpest of cerebral moments. A million times a day, I find myself saying to myself "oh, thats a brilliant perspective...I should blog about that". These moments of course seem to get flushed out of the mind a couple of hours before I find myself in from of the keyboard attempting to recall a morsel of anything entertaining......and well, this is what ya get. LOL....just me, and rambling on about nothing.......

The image? Taken and processed during a workshop in Texas with the one and only...Trey Ratcliff from Stuck in Customs. I loved those cool shadows raking themselves across the deck...very cool :) .... ya like?

Hope you all are enjoying this wonderful weekend!

And of course, the video link below has not an ounce of reason to be here....other than this band rocks. If there is one performer I could see touring with, Jamie Cullum would have to be up in the top 5 for sure. This clip was from the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam. Three days of some of the worlds best music. Enjoy!

End of the day in the Cote' D'Azur

End of the day in the Cote' D'Azur, originally uploaded by Photomike07 / MDSimages.com.

I absolutely love train travel! For me, some of the best tracks around are the ones that trace the coast of the Mediterranean. Here in the South of France or specifically....the Cote D'Azure, there are endless little pockets of goodness to explore about. Yummy! Pick a train, pick a random stop, and go!

And on a totally unrelated note....I got chickens...lotsa chickens! I paid a little surprise visit to one of my newly acquired rental properties today and took a peak around back at one of the units and .... well...there was this cage, with what appeared to be about 5 or 6 chickens. Actually, looked like mix of roosters and hens, very strange non the less.

So, now that were rambling here a bit, here's something even more unrelated.....

Just a quick clip of a pretty cool "fire effect" we created for an event this evening. Worked out pretty cool actually. As always, my rock star crew helped make it all possible.. Thanks everyone!

Now, what to do about those chickens........hmmmm......

(more on all this later.....)

Village hopping around the lake - Lake Como

Village hopping around the lake - Lake Como, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover” – Mark Twain

Warm thoughts of Italy - Lake Como

Warm thoughts of Italy - Lake Como, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

"A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." - Lao Tzu

In my typical haphazard way of bumbling about Europe, its actually a miracle that I eventually made it to my destination here on the lake. One wrong train and bamb, your 5 hours off track. Well, like I have said before, its all about the journey.......so that of course, I embraced it :)

In an effort to cut back on my usual HDR style posts, I decided to present a few tamer shots. Its a nice change actually. Hope you enjoy!

Afternoon color around the lake - Lake Como

Afternoon color around the lake - Lake Como, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

Bella Bella.....

You know, its kinda funny. Hearing the reports of stranded travelers in Europe over the past couple of days from the Icelandic volcano eruption actually seems kinda nice. I guess its all perspective. About this time of year, when the season starts to tank a bit and head fast into the dog days of summer, I can think of nothing better to do than get lost in the European rail system. Grab a plate, throw on a little bit of Norwegian Fiords, Greek Islands, Summer music festivals, Spanish beaches, Swiss Alps, Italian Lakes, and French Villages and you have yourself quite a meal!

What would you do if you could just pick up and go? I love quizzing people sometimes. Its great to see someone's reaction when I ask them "if money were no object and you could wake up tomorrow with not a responsibility in the world, what would you do with your life?" That seems too stump a lot of people. Not sure why. For me, I am sure there would be ALOT more travel.......yes, bumbling thru Europe sounds like a great idea!

Look for more images from around the Lake soon :)