New Composition Gif's
I just found this series of .Gif's somewhere on the interwebs. These are simple tricks and tips even you iPhone photographers can use to make your photos stand out!
Check out all of the images HERE
Remember, all rules are made to be broken, but think of this as a set of guidelines to follow.
West Coast visit
Our trip to the West Coast, Hoover Dam, Vegas, LA, all in two days.
Last weekend Meredith and I flew out to the west coast for a gallery exhibition I was featured in. Before we get started with the adventure I would like to thank Liesl Bradner and the Veterans home of California for including me in a fantastic show.
Our trip started with meeting my father, a Vegas inhabitant, at the airport and a drive up into the hills of Nevada to do some touristy stuff. Once in a lifetime you have to check out the Hoover Dam along with some other tourist locations. With only two days to do it all, we had no time to waste! Now when I say hills, I mean we passed ram crossing signs.
First we got the view from the Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge. From there you can take in the full scale of it all. After the bridge we grabbed some gatorade to combat the dryness of the desert and walked across the dam.
After the Dam, we toward Vegas, drove through the famous strip which by the way, is FILLED with poke-stops. So if you are an avid Pokemon Go player, make sure to have plenty of battery. We drove around Vegas taking everything in, and as the sun set we went up to the top of the Stratosphere. There are 3 rides you can go one at the top, but next time I am in Vegas I think I might take the fourth option which is being strapped to a cord and jumping off the stratosphere. After that we went down into the city and walked up and down Fremont St. If you want the full Vegas experience, or to just see some weird crap, head down that way. The street is lined with a giant LED screen which offers light shows while people zip line down the runway above your head which makes for a very cool sensation, I could only imagine how it must look after a few drinks.
The next morning we woke up early and drove to LA. That is a 4 hour drive but it is worth it to take in the views. The first stretch is desert, you pass the Joshua Tree park and a couple of Solar farms but the mountains are what make it all worth it. Somewhere between Bat Country and Vegas you can try some Alien Jerky, which you will see billboards leading you to it. There is also a Giant Thermometer which will remind you how hot it really is. As you get closer to the coast you have to drive through a large mountain pass which is the best part of the whole trip. The ground becomes a little more green up until you hit the ground which is scorched by the previous years wild fires. But then on one hill side, a red line of fire retarder separates the green from the black. After the mountains, traffic begins to pick up more and more as you enter the city.
So we arrived at the Veterans Home of California which was worth all the lobbying to create because it looks like a great addition to the VA campus. Inside the lobby large black and white gallery wrap prints showcase some of Phil Sterns work which he dedicated to his home before he died in 2014. One of my favorites was a small German Shepherd Puppy from WWII which was surrounded by a small piece of barbed wire with a sign which said "Prisoner of War." It was exciting to see the other veteran's artwork including Ken Hackman's Atomic Bomb photos and Nick Ut's Napalm Girl which both hung right down the hall from my own work.
When we left the gallery we decided to do some more touristy stuff at the Santa Monica Pier. I spotted a Camera Obscura building and was so excited until I found out it had closed 30 minutes before we arrived.
After Santa Monica, we drove up to Hollywood, found some street parking and walked by Man's Chinese Theatre to see all of the handprints and stars along the street. Some of my favorite were Humphrey Bogart and Quentin Tarantino. We also saw the Hollywood Sign from pretty much every vantage point around LA. Next time we visit we will probably do the more artsy tourist things such as the Getty Museum and the little Italian Vila who our friend Lou recommended.
At the end of the two day visit we were exhausted from having packed so much into so little time, but it was well worth the trip!
Adventure is out there!
A summary of our adventure through the Adirondacks in August 2016.
Hello all, First I would like to introduce the newest member to our team: Scout! She is an Australian Cattle dog mix with what we believe to be some lab/hound dog. She is as curious as Harper Lee's Jean Louise Finch herself.
from left to right, Zoey and Scout. (Potato Quality stolen from instagram)
Our adventure began on Monday, we met an old roommate of Mere's down in Ithica, NY where we spent half a day hiking along one of the areas many Gorges. It was a four mile hike and along the way we were able to return a lost dog named Harley to his owner. He had slipped his collar and was wandering around the trails all day. He seemed to really like Zoey, although she was not impressed with his advances. He seemed to avoid the people on the trail but my best guess is he saw people with other dogs and stuck by us while I contacted the park office to get in contact with his owner.
After the hike, the four of us (2 humans and 2 puppies) said goodbye to Kellie and drove up to the Adirondacks, just south of Old Forge NY. While spending an early morning coffee walk in the Old Forge village center we met a Photographer who owned a small fine art gallery with a giant red chair out in front. Naturally I went in to check out his work. Turns out the owner was a man who spends his mornings hiking through the forests hunting for first light photos each day. With a long rough beard and a friendly smile. He gave me some insight into a couple of great spots. You can check out his work on his facebook page. Kurt had some fantastic shots throughout the Adirondacks and told me how to get to a few of the locations.
One of those spots was Rondaxe tower trail, a 1.7 mile hike which starts off pretty steep with tree roots giving your feet grip up the rock face. The puppies took it in stride and I was panting more than they were at the top, admittedly I am no longer in marathon shape. At the top we were treated to a great open view of the surrounding lakes and although it was pretty rainy weather that day, the view was worth the climb.
We headed back to the cabin for some pizza, rest, and relaxation - oh, and s'mores of course. The next morning we decided to go kayaking along the lake. We quickly found out that Scout was not a fan of the Kayak. She jumped out into the lake so after pulling her back aboard we brought her to shore so she could guard the cabin. Zoey on the other hand was very calm out on the water, at least until she saw a buoy. Her bark echoed back off the tree line and made her think it was another dog!
The last night we spent up there I walked out until there were no lights around. I found a swamp area with a windblown pine tree as my subject, but boy did it get dark quick! I could barely see my own two feet. The next three photos were all shot at ISO 1600, F2.8 with a 30" shutter. They were taken within 20 minutes of each other, just so you can see the change in light.
While taking the last shot, something big splashed in the water next to me. I had a sudden realization that I was anything but alone in the dark. It was a bit scary, but more calming than anything, to be out there in the wilderness with nothing but the stars and the sounds of forest.
You can check out the rest of the photos from the trip below! Thank you all for reading and subscribing!
See what it is like to hike Everest!
This memorial day weekend, you can hike everest from your computer screen.
Four Sherpas climbed Mt. Everest with 360 - cameras rigged to their packs. So now even the lethargic can experience the wonders from the comfort of their own computer screens! Strap in and experience it for yourself! Click through the interactive Tour linked below and feel like you accomplished something this weekend! This was done as part of #project 360 which is sponsored by Mammut. The project pairs experienced climbers with 360 camera rigs consisting of Go Pro's and has them climb some of the most iconic peaks and trails.
It is also important to note that this specific expedition was accomplished just over a year after a devastating earthquake struck Nepal causing over 8,000 deaths and 21,000 injuries. In response, Marines were sent to Nepal for humanitarian relief. Six of these Marines died when their Helicopter went down in the Mountains. Two of these Marines were Combat Camera Marines which makes them a part of my own family. Cpl. Sara Medina was a very close friend of mine and a hell of a Marine. I am very proud to have been her NCO in Quantico, but even prouder to have known her at all. They're crew, along with a couple Nepalese soldiers were saving lives and they gave their own to do just that.
My take a way from all this is that human beings, even after getting knocked down a couple pegs will always get back up, an try to be more ambitious. We have accomplished amazing things because of our instinct to go further and we will continue to do so. People are awesome and just remember you too can quench that thirst for something more if you just get off the couch. And remember that this weekend is memorial day. This is a time to remember those who we have lost, who died so that the rest of us can learn, prosper, and be more amazing than we were before.
http://project360.mammut.ch/#route/mount-everest/south-route/5/map
Here is what $11,000 looks like.
Want to see what goes into a $11,000 Canon telephoto zoom lens? This image shows what the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS looks like when you disassemble it into its individual components and arrange those parts out neatly.
Found this on PetaPixel, a very cool video breakdown of a Canon lens.
RIT Students Slideshow "A Visual Year"
Awesome slideshow put together by 7 RIT students of their photographs in 2015.
Very cool slide show of photos from students everything was shot in 2015. Check it out!
See the original PetaPixel post here.
Every photo you see above was shot last year, and compiled by 7 senior photo editing students.
Collection of inspiring landscape photographs
Collection of beautiful landscape photographs.
So I was lurking on one of my favorite funny image sites when I came across a collection of wallpaper size photographs that were all landscape photos. Some of these are heavily edited but they all look really beautiful. I have no way of knowing who made each photo so if you know the photographer send me a link or name and I will credit them. Otherwise, be inspired by these really awesome shots!
Turning one Portrait into two.
Had a fun time shooting some portraits to break the ice with some of my models for an assignment. All in all a sucessful shoot and a great time.
So a couple weeks ago I was in contact with the college's wrestling coach about a photo project I am working on. The project called for one photo of some wrestlers on the mat. After the coach sent out an email to all of the wrestlers on the team I only got two replies.
So it came down to earlier today, after class I spent about 20 minutes running around the building searching for the open matts. I finally found it hidden down a random set of stairs in the back of the building. I walked in to find 6 or so guys all staring out of the corner of their eyes and pretending not to be interested. A couple made a joke quietly to the guy next to them as I set the lights up.
They started to gather just as I was finished turning everything on and I grabbed one of the guys (not one of my volunteer models) and put them under the light.
"I need to test the lights, I am going to make you look bad ass as hell" I told him, loud enough so the others could here. I snapped a quick photo
The second I showed this guy the photo his reaction was enough to have em all lining up. Before I knew it I turned one portrait shoot into a set of group photos.
I had them all lined up and gave them a hard time for not emailing me back when the offer was first presented. So within 3 minutes I was able to add a bunch of portraits to the shot list.
After I got the glamour shots out of their system, they all left and me and my two models had the room to ourselves. This allowed me to get them to give me some real looking emotion (I got them to scream at the top of their lungs repeatedly for the shot.) It was a very successful shoot so when we were done, I took a couple simple portraits that they could go home with.
Moral of the story here is the photographer can control the atmosphere of the room as easy as they can control the lights in the room. It just takes confidence when walking into the lions den, or in this case, a room full of college wrestlers.
