The intense color of Iceland

The intense color of Iceland, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

"I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within." - Lillian Smith

I frequently look to travel quotes to help express some of the deep feelings I have about this passion of mine. I've often taken the time to wonder about this. How or why I have taken such a liking to totally detaching from who I am to wander somewhat aimlessly in the world at times still eludes me.

I often play that mind game for fun. You know, the one where you wonder what you would do if you could do anything. Forget money, work, physical restraints, responsibility......freedom, total freedom. You are free to do with your life WHATEVER you want....starting tomorrow. What would you do. Really, what would you do. Who would you help, what would you create, where would you go, who would you spend time with, what would you want to see? Its fun, try it!

So, think about it.....are you on that path now? What steps are you taking to create those dreams? Are you taking the time to create those dreams? What's stopping you?

A warm and cozy overlook of the Blue Lagoon

A warm and cozy overlook of the Blue Lagoon, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

And indeed, warm and cozy it was.....inside of course! Just outside of those incredible floor to ceiling windows was another experience however for this Florida boy. After a quick change in the locker room and a pre spa shower, I was ready to brave the cold. Nothing like walking out into the frigid tundra whilst completely dripping wet to get you wondering where exactly you left your sanity! Once in the warm therapeutic mineral waters of this world class spa however, it was simply heaven!

Everest - Disney Style

Everest - Disney Style, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

Seems like every year about this time when the season starts to quiet down a bit, my mind starts to wander about......where to wander off in this wonderful world of ours! Lucky for me, just a short trek and a couple of hours up the turnpike is a pretty cool place to get away.

Those Disney Imagineers have quite the knack for detail don't they? Recreating the worlds largest mountain is certainly no easy task, especially when it houses a pretty cool roller coaster at that. Wanna take a ride? Lets go :)

Deep skys in Palm Beach

Deep skys in Palm Beach, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

Yikes! There are days that I kinda glance out the window and kinda yawn at the even tones in the flat sky, and then there are days when I do a double take, yell out "Oh shit, look at that sky!", and stumble out the door with the camera and tripod. On this particular day, it was time to race over the bridge to Palm Beach and capture what I could.

Pull up a chair and have a bowl - Shanghai surprise!

Pull up a chair and have a bowl - Shanghai surprise!, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

I gotta tell ya, I love a good bowl of soup like the next guy. And a great conversation with a complete stranger in back alley Shanghai? Count me in for sure! A stomach of steel might be needed here though, waddya think. The more I look at this, I'm not really sure where the line between food containers and vessels of mystery fluid begins and ends. Good grief!

I gotta few more from this little back alley adventure. Look for a few more to come.....oh, enjoy your meal :) .... try a little from the sawed off 55 gallon drum on the right if ya dare!

The Louvre

The Louvre, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

Ah yes....Paris, at night, with camera,........ wandering about in the city of light......nuff said really. :)

The colors of Provence

The colors of Provence, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

My post this evening was somewhat inspired by a pretty cool show that was on this evening. I don't frequently slow down enough to allow my mind to absorb the mindless chatter of TV, but when I do, there is one show I do enjoy. Anthony Bourdain and the No Reservations crew were in Provence, France this evening. Having spent a little time there this past summer, it was time to dig around in Lightroom and see what I had from there. Not exactly the flavor that the geniuses behind that show so cinematically displayed, but a few images non the less.

Enjoy :)

A pretty cool event in Miami (and more to follow soon)

A pretty cool event in Miami (and more to follow soon), originally uploaded by Photomike07.

Just a little taste of things to come. Here in South Florida, we have been hopping a bit providing lighting for some pretty cool events. Although the season isn't breaking any records, there are still a few events keeping us busy. I plan to roll out a few multi image posts of some of these events when I get a few moments to process a few from the files. Looks like that time might come as early as next week, so stay tuned! I'm actually looking forward to working on these as the details, as always with our incredible clients, have been quite stunning!

This is a sneak peak from a show we did for the Food Network in Miami Beach during the Food and Wine Show in February. Ken Ryan and company created a rather cool and ingenious custom water screen that was suspended over the pool when the guests arrived. We then rear projected a video graphics loop onto the water fall. Awesome work Kenny!

More soon....

Lobby in the Driskill-reverse and repeat

Lobby in the Driskill-reverse and repeat, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

I've been pretty luck to have gotten to stay in some pretty cool spaces over the years in my travels. Having never been to Austin (surprisingly) before, I was pretty excited to experience it. During Trey Ratcliff's....aka Stuck in Customs...aka, the grandfather and top dog of all things HDR......aka, a pretty cool cat.....(all right Mike, we got it)....

All right, what was I saying?...... oh yeah....

During a workshop in Austin in January, I got a chance to explore about the hotel I was staying at. A pretty cool place called the Driskill Hotel in downtown Austin. Definitely a place to check out when you are in Austin. I hear the Christmas tree is awesome there by the way.

Hope ya like the effect I decided to apply. I kinda like it :)

Boca Resort Lobby - wandering about in the late evening

Boca Resort Lobby - wandering about in the late evening, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

Sure I get a lot of strange looks from the late night staff, but there's nothing like wandering about a hotel like this at 2 in the morning with a monster size camera and set of sticks. After a nice long 20 hour day lighting an event, I can think of not a better way to relax and chill (other that of course, sleep!) LOL......

Anyway, enjoy :)

Kinda strange that those 2 columns are different now that I think about it. Hmmm....