CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-06-13 18:16:16 (14 comments, 0 reshares, 72 +1s)

Vincent's new 5D mk 3!

We punked +Vincent Mo by replacing his mk3 with a better Holga and a few heavy magnets!

2013-06-13 04:01:50 (16 comments, 8 reshares, 84 +1s)

Really good timing, Google Now... just as I'm buckling in.

2013-06-10 22:38:14 (14 comments, 1 reshares, 76 +1s)

Mocha

For some reason, my latte art comes out a lot more lush and big when I pour it into chocolate. Maybe I should make all of my coffee with chocolate... :)

2013-05-22 17:11:18 (7 comments, 2 reshares, 41 +1s)

Lessons from Cuba: Episode 2
Going beyond eye candy

In Cuba, +David Hobby taught us the concept of “eye candy”. Many of the photos that we post (me included) are designed to grab people’s attention long enough to +1 or leave a comment. You can stay longer and bask in the glory of their beauty, but there’s nothing new to discover after the first glance. You get the photo right away. Nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you just want to look at something pretty!

Sometimes though, you want to go a little deeper. I’m trying to find more photos that go beyond eye candy - the ones that draw you in and make you ask questions or find connections that you didn’t notice on first glance. In short, the ones that tell a story. This type of photo might not grab your eye as strongly at first glance but will reveal its reward after you’ve lingered a bit longer.

Thisphoto was from... more »

2013-05-20 17:39:30 (16 comments, 6 reshares, 34 +1s)

6 Things to Love About The New Google+ Photos

There are a lot of features to discover in the new Google+!  Here are some of my favorite updates to Photos you might not have found yet.

1. Highlights view. The new photos landing page is called Highlights and it's your photo timeline -- showing you not only your best photos, but the best photos your friends have shared with you.

2. Trash view. Now when you delete photos, they go to the trash for 60 days. When you visit your trash, you can choose to restore photos (for those "oops" moments) or delete them permanently.

3. Photos search. When you do a search from the photos page, we'll search all your uploaded photos. It's pretty smart too -- we've brought all the awesomeness of Google search to your photo collection.

4. New organize mode. We have... more »

2013-05-16 02:14:35 (1 comments, 8 reshares, 65 +1s)

This is our CEO

"[Larry Page] just talked about how he wishes Google could change the world, and oozed enough sincerity that we couldn't help but believe him, and in turn, in Google."

"It's a magnetic way to think about the world. Page talked about his decision to disclose his vocal cords condition yesterday, and how a lot of people might not have because they were worried about their insurance—and that's dumb. 'We should change the rules around insurance,' he said, almost impossibly matter-of-factly, as if that's how the world works. 'The whole point of insurance is to insure people.' It was heartfelt enough that you believed he meant it, and he's Larry Page, so you had to stop and wonder, What if he's right, and then, What if he can do it?"

Nice article by +Kyle Wagner!more »

2013-05-15 19:58:21 (14 comments, 21 reshares, 87 +1s)

+Josh Haftel severely enjoying his food

It's so much fun to upload a bunch of photos and have an animated gif appear in your account. Auto Awesome will be rolling out to your account today!

+Vic Gundotra used this one in his Google I/O presentation today. :)

#googleplusupdate   #googleplusphotos   #AutoAwesome  

2013-05-15 17:32:54 (23 comments, 6 reshares, 29 +1s)

+Vic Gundotra is presenting at Google I/O about Google+ right now! Watch out for the section about Photos... it's going to be good ;)

https://developers.google.com/events/io/

2013-05-11 21:12:51 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 46 +1s)

Then this is what +Vincent Mo looks like after 5 minutes of coding.

2013-05-11 21:12:37 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 33 +1s)

This is +Vincent Mo, one of the Google+ Photos engineering wizards.  Vincent comes to work on Saturdays.  Vincent wears a suit to work on saturdays.  Thats just the way Vincent rolls.

2013-05-22 14:32:24 (9 comments, 3 reshares, 71 +1s)

Lessons from Cuba: Episode 1
Think in layers

One thing I learned from +David Hobby in Cuba was to think in layers. I find it pretty natural to compose objects to the top/bottom/left/right of each other, but I often forget about front vs back. Don't forget about the 3rd dimension!

Maybe I'm just a n00b, but this was quite profound for me. :) I found this multi-layered composition the next day. I like how you can follow the people's gaze and ping-pong from one person to the next even though they're each on a different plane.

#StrobistCuba2013  

2013-05-02 23:19:09 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 9 +1s)

2013-05-02 19:10:10 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 29 +1s)

Welcome to the new Google+ Photos page!

The photo community here on Google+ keeps inspiring us every day. Your passion for sharing beautiful photography drives us to keep thinking of new ways to make your images shine. This doesn’t just mean building new features you can use to share and discuss those important photos in your life -- we also want to help this vibrant community of Google+ photographers grow. 

So, say hello to the new Google+ Photos page! Here’s what you can expect:

You’ll get inspired. We’ll share beautiful and thought-provoking photographs, and shine a spotlight on the photographers who created them. 

You’ll meet great new people. Through Google+ Photographer Spotlights, the Google+ Photos Chat Series, and good-natured conversations within the community, you’ll be able to connect with people around the world wholove photos a... more »

2013-05-02 00:19:34 (13 comments, 0 reshares, 32 +1s)

+Shane Remington, do you remember making this comment a loooong time ago? This was soon after we launched Google+, and I don't even remember the post that this came from. Well, I printed it out and it's been on my monitor ever since. I've changed desks 4 times since then!

2013-05-09 05:30:40 (12 comments, 2 reshares, 55 +1s)

Feisty latte

I make latte art most days at work and sometimes at home. I've never made one quite like this, though. I messed up half way down the stem, so it looks like it has its hand on its hip.

If you browse through the album, you'll see the development of my latte art over several years. There are a lot of sea monsters in there, as well as some (literal) bananas and Lucky Charms. There was a phase where I kept accidentally making mushroom clouds, as if there was a little atomic bomb going off in my coffee. There's also a pear, courtesy of +Dave Cohen. :)

Try opening the photo in the lightbox and clicking "View all".

#latteart  

2013-04-24 18:16:25 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 17 +1s)

Often times, traveling to far-and-away places brings along a certain level of anxiety and unease. Maybe it is the language barrier or the tendency to shy away from unfamiliar situations. These things are all part of the adventure that is Travel Photography! In this episode, our panel of photographers will share their experiences while traveling around the world and share tips on how you can help yourself get those beautiful images while abroad.

This week's panel includes:
+Brian Matiash - Host & Google+ Photos Community Manager
+Elia Locardi - Accomplished travel photographer
+Vincent Mo - Google+ Photos Engineer & photographer
+Dave Cohen - Google+ Photos Engineer & photographer

For those who can't make the live event - We've Got You Covered!
This episode will be recorded and made available to watch on-demand after itscon... more »

2013-04-23 19:13:39 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 53 +1s)

Cuban Pedicab Driver

One of the cheapest and most comfortable ways to get around in Havana is by pedicab. If you have a big enough group with multiple pedicabs, they might even race each other. :)

This pedicab driver was taking a break from the rain.

Taken during +David Hobby's Cuba trip. #StrobistCuba2013    

2013-04-19 16:56:16 (7 comments, 4 reshares, 75 +1s)

Cuba with the Grand Master Strobist

Everyone expects an old car photo from Cuba, so here it is. :)

All across Havana, you can see people fixing up old cars and motorcycles. In the US, we start thinking about getting a new car after 5 years. These guys have kept their cars going for over 60 years!

We take pride in our American ingenuity, but it takes a different kind of ingenuity - Cuban ingenuity - to take care of what you've got and make it keep working for you well past its normal life span.

Thanks +David Hobby for taking us to Cuba with you!

#StrobistCuba2013  

2013-04-18 08:50:29 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 44 +1s)

Just reentered the US after an awesome trip to Cuba with +David Hobby and friends! More posts to come, but first a long awaited reunion with my wife. :)

Here's a photo sphere of the Cathedral Plaza in Havana where we spent our last evening.

Click on it to see it in spherical Street View style!

2013-04-10 03:31:23 (19 comments, 0 reshares, 78 +1s)

Cuba-bound

Heading to Cuba for a People to People Cultural Exchange with +David Hobby!

2013-04-08 22:52:54 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 76 +1s)

... and all I got was this photo

This is the photo that caused me to be soaked while taking this photo: http://goo.gl/gqTmF and it's also the reason that this was the last photo my NEX-7 took before the viewfinder broke: http://goo.gl/6J4Uo :)

While I was climbing down from this rock, a wave submerged me and my camera equipment up to my chest. Fun times! :)

This was taken during +Barry Blanchard's Santa Cruz photowalk a couple weeks ago.

2013-04-03 15:38:25 (8 comments, 3 reshares, 75 +1s)

I left my heart...

...shaped seaweed on the beach. Because it was just a random chunk of seaweed on the beach, which is pretty much just a piece of garbage, and why would you pick that up and take it with you? Gross.

Taken during +Barry Blanchard's Santa Cruz photowalk!

2013-04-03 10:21:36 (12 comments, 6 reshares, 50 +1s)

Upload and share full-size photos from your desktop

Back in December we launched full-size backups of your Android photos (http://goo.gl/coFZ7). Today we're making it possible upload full-size photos from your desktop -- whether you're updating your profile photo, creating a new album to share, or backing up pictures from a recent vacation.

To enable full-size desktop uploads, just visit your settings at www.google.com/settings/plus, and check "Upload my photos at full size." Afterwards, any files larger than 2048px will count towards your Google storage (up to 5GB free). Photo storage at 2048px or smaller remains free and unlimited.

p.s. With lots more full-size photos on Google+, pan and zoom is going to get a lot more fun. Check out +Dave Cohen's recent announcement for more details: http://goo.gl/cmJ7i.

#googleplusupdate... more »

2013-03-31 23:16:25 (14 comments, 6 reshares, 34 +1s)

Your photos +Emotion

Google+ Photos is all about sharing your experiences and emotions with the people you care about. We’re constantly looking for ways to help you create richer, more expressive photographs. 

Many months of research on how people communicate on the Internet have convinced us that when it comes to expressing yourself, nothing beats the richness and elegance of a few properly placed colons, parentheses, letters and hyphens.

:-)  :P :O :/

These representations of your innermost emotions are simple, and best of all, unambiguous :P 

So starting today, we will give you the option to add stylized emotions to your photos. To give it a try, simply open one of your pictures in the lightbox, and click the “Add emotion” button at the top left of the screen. 

We will plumb the emotional depths of everyone in thephoto, th... more »

2013-03-28 00:59:18 (29 comments, 0 reshares, 110 +1s)

I was soaked while taking this photo.

It wasn't this particular wave that got me, though. I had just finished taking photos up on the rocks to the left and packed up without getting wet, despite the rumors that +Barry Blanchard and others might be spreading. ;) While climbing down, I thought, "Huh, these rocks were dry when I climbed up earlier." Just then, a huge wave pummeled me, and I was totally submerged up to my chest. Luckily, the 5D2 was packed away. Sadly, the case that held my NEX-7 was partly unzipped. I poured about a cup of water out of my Lee filter case and about a centimeter of water out of the NEX-7 case.

Afterward, I took this shot. The moral of the story is that you can still take pictures when your underwear is wet and salty.

It was a great day with +Barry Blanchard, +Karen Hutton, +Lisa Donchak, +Michael Bonocore, +Cynthia Pyun,... more »

2013-05-08 07:15:58 (10 comments, 1 reshares, 62 +1s)

Wait, I don't get it.
<confused>

2013-03-26 21:33:04 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 35 +1s)

+Brian Matiash. Meet Google.

Ever since its launch, +Google+ has always been my favorite place to share imagery and to be inspired by the creativity of this community. It truly is a wondrous place for photographers to learn, grow, and network. That’s why I’m so excited to announce that I have joined the Google+ team as Community Manager for Google+ Photos. 

You see, while photography is the thread that weaves through everything I’m made up of, it is the social aspect of sharing, teaching, and inspiring that fuels everything I do. My aim is to help show the world why Google+ and its community of photographers and photography lovers are some of the best on the Internet, throughout the world.

I now have the opportunity to inspire creativity and community within this global population of talented people who are looking to share a piece of themselves... onephoto a... more »

2013-03-25 19:00:50 (10 comments, 10 reshares, 34 +1s)

Updated G+ app for Android & iPhone

In addition to the awesome deal for the Nik Collection that we launched today, we've also got some goodies for the mobile users.

The iPhone Mobile G+ app now includes a bunch of filters from Snapseed so you can spiff them up before posting them! Of course, you can still get the full fledged Snapseed app on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.niksoftware.snapseed

http://gplusproject.appspot.com/new-apps-iphone-android

#googleplusupdate  

2013-03-25 16:11:26 (9 comments, 8 reshares, 33 +1s)

The Nik Collection by Google: photography first, for professionals and more

Here on the Google+ Photos team, we're busy building tools for all kinds of photographers. Today, and for all the professionals out there, we're bundling the complete set of Nik plug-ins as the Nik Collection by Google. We're especially excited about three things:

1) It's more affordable. The entire set of plug-ins for Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture only costs $149 (versus the previous $499).

2) It's really powerful. The Nik Collection by Google gives you tools for everything from noise reduction and HDR imaging to creative effects and image sharpening (and lots more).

3) It's free to try. You can visit niksoftware.com for a 15-day free trial of the Collection.

If you've already purchased one or more Nik plug-ins in the past, then don't... more »

2013-05-08 07:08:35 (14 comments, 1 reshares, 58 +1s)

Morning Latté

Starting out with a bit of morning coffee at home before heading out to Santa Cruz for +Barry Blanchard's photowalk!

2013-03-21 22:14:59 (6 comments, 8 reshares, 38 +1s)

Filter Google+ search results to only show photo posts

You can now filter your Google+ search results to only show photo posts. Just type in what you’re looking for, and select “Photos” from the filter dropdown.

You can find any photo post that’s shared with you -- from items shared only with you, to public photos shared by some of the great photographers on Google+. Here are some searches that I enjoy:

- Long exposure: https://plus.google.com/s/long%20exposure/photos
- Steel wool: https://plus.google.com/s/steel%20wool/photos
- Cartoons: https://plus.google.com/s/cartoons/photos

We hope you enjoy using this feature. Keep the feedback coming!

#googleplusupdate   #googleplusphotos

2013-03-18 17:49:49 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 42 +1s)

St. Mary's Church

Here's another photo of the view outside my hotel window in Lübeck. You can see the snow in this one! It was enchanting to have the snow drifting into the room as I took this photo.

Try zooming in with the scroll wheel in the lightbox! You can see millions of little snowflakes over the dark buildings across the river.

2013-03-18 05:17:46 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 56 +1s)

Picture perfect

This was the view from my hotel room in Lübeck, Germany last week. That's St. Mary's Church with the twin spires. Pretty nice view to wake up to in the morning. :)

2013-05-15 12:56:39 (4 comments, 3 reshares, 48 +1s)

Venice, CA

Here's +Dave Cohen doing some long exposure photography in Venice. We got there a bit late but still managed to catch a bit of light. Did you know that Venice, CA used to have canals like Venice, Italy? I haven't seen them in person, but that's what they say. :)

2013-03-06 04:42:34 (17 comments, 1 reshares, 24 +1s)

Making it easier to geotag your photos

Today we’re excited to launch a handy new feature for geotagging your photos. From your desktop:

- Click on any of your photos to view it in the lightbox, and expand “Photo details” to see its geographic location (if any).
- Click “Add location” to tag your photo with any location in the world. If it’s already geotagged, you can edit or remove its location by clicking “Edit” or “Remove.”

As always, you control whether viewers can see the geo locations of your photo albums: just open your photos in the lightbox, and click “Show/Hide location data” in Photo details. You can also adjust your geo location preferences for new albums via settings (http://google.com/settings/plus).

We’re always working to make your Google+ photos experience better, so we hope you enjoy this new feature! (P.S.it’s rolling out graduall... more »

2013-05-11 21:47:33 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Ok so we've had better executed Red Pants Friday shoots... It was a great concept though. :)

2013-05-15 11:49:08 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 58 +1s)

Hamburg

It was overcast and gloomy the whole time I was in Hamburg, but apparently it's beautiful at night!

This was NEX-7 on a Gorillapod. :)

2013-05-15 10:57:12 (12 comments, 1 reshares, 43 +1s)

Light leaks in Venice, CA

+Dave Cohen and I went shooting around the pier in Venice, CA at sunset.

I made a dumb mistake. In a rush to catch the plane to LA, I left a critical piece of gear at home and had to hold a Lee filter in front of the lens by hand. On this photo, I accidentally held the filter too far from the lens and got these light leaks around the edges. So there you go. You can spend over $5k on a camera, lens, filters, and tripod and still get light leaks! :)

The light leaks made it one of my favorite shots of the day.

2013-05-15 10:56:33 (12 comments, 1 reshares, 50 +1s)

Look who +Dave Cohen and I ran into! +Kimberly Shoemaker! Not in Austin where we met (b/c that's where she lived), not in the Bay Area where +Dave Cohen and I live, but in Los Angeles. On a bus that we almost decided not to take, and the bus that +Kimberly Shoemaker was riding only because she had just gone the wrong way on a different bus!

2013-02-21 19:40:24 (19 comments, 10 reshares, 32 +1s)

Chromebook Pixel

Did you notice the part about Photos? :)

http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/google-takes-on-apple-with-chromebook-pixel-touchscreen-and-all-1132867

http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/21/google-chrome-photos-gplus/

2013-05-15 10:56:17 (15 comments, 2 reshares, 67 +1s)

Hamburg

I recently visited Germany for the first time. The Hamburg train system is great! They have a cheap day pass that doesn't expire until 6am the next morning. Pretty handy if you're catching an early flight the next day. :)

2013-05-15 17:39:32 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 25 +1s)

Winter Napaland: Part 3

Napa is beautiful even in the winter. Speaking of Napa, that's a great place to spend Valentine's Day. Happy V-Day, everyone! :)

2013-01-25 22:25:43 (3 comments, 4 reshares, 21 +1s)

Explore related & popular photos in the lightbox

Viewing and sharing photos is a huge part of the Google+ experience. So today we're excited to launch a new way to find & explore even more awesome pictures.

When you reach the end of an album in the lightbox, we'll now highlight more albums by the photographer, more photos of people in the current album, as well as popular photos across Google+. The end of every album is now the beginning of another adventure!

This feature will be rolling out gradually on desktop, so if you don't see it yet, rest assured you'll see it soon. Enjoy!

#googleplusupdate   #googleplusphotos  

2013-05-15 17:37:26 (16 comments, 0 reshares, 43 +1s)

70.1 mph on skis!

Last year, I broke 60mph while skiing and thought I'd never go that fast on skis again.

This past weekend, I went over 70mph and have the GoPro footage! Well, sort of. The camera was pointed at the ground between my knees at the 70.1mph part. If you turn on the speakers, you can hear what 70mph sounds like. :)

At around 0:20 (after the camera is pointed properly), you can see what 40mph looks like.

2013-05-15 17:37:21 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

Red pants and guitar shirt!
BTW the amp goes to 11.

2013-05-15 17:15:25 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 65 +1s)

Maui Fisherman

This was at Spreckelsville in Maui. I hope he caught his dinner before those clouds started pouring rain!

Have you ordered your copy of the next +Plus One Collection yet? Be sure to make your contribution by the end of January! http://indiegogo.com/plus-one-collection-2012

Profits from this year's Plus One Collection will go to The Kilgoris Project (http://thekilgorisproject.com) to give cameras and photography training to kids in Kenya.

#PlusOneCollection2012  

2013-01-09 00:47:59 (10 comments, 2 reshares, 34 +1s)

Pan and zoom photos on the desktop

Google+ is full of amazing photos, and today we're introducing the ability to pan and zoom when viewing photos from your desktop. To give these features a try, simply open a large photo in the lightbox, then:

- use your mouse wheel to zoom in or out
- click and drag to pan right, left, up or down

Higher resolution photos will offer more to explore, so we're excited to launch pan and zoom just weeks after launching full-size backups of your Android photos (http://goo.gl/KRpjE).

Give 'em a go, and let us know your thoughts as we improve on these and other features!

#googleplusupdate   #googleplusphotos

2013-01-07 17:54:12 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 103 +1s)

Sunrise with the Golden Gate Bridge

Welcome to 2013!

This was a very early morning (for me) at Hawk Hill with +Scott Jarvie, +Aravind Krishnaswamy, and +Josh Haftel. Used a bit of +Nik Software Color Efex Pro's "Detail Extractor" at +Josh Haftel's suggestion.

2013-01-03 01:57:39 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 8 +1s)

ANNOUNCING PLUS ONE COLLECTION 2012 + Image Submission + Fundraising Campaign

Alright, let's do this thing! The publication of Plus One Collection 2012 is officially under way. Read on for details, watch the video, re-share it, and get on the train before it's too late. 

Who can contribute a photograph for the book? 

Anyone. Send us your best image you took in 2012 and it'll get published in one or in all forms - in print, in ebook, and in our online gallery. 

What's the theme?

Same as last year - your best photograph you made in the year just ended, 2012. 

How else can I help?

Re-share this post with your circles. Invite friends and family to participate. This is a photography community publication, and we want as many submissions as we can get. Everyone should hear about this.Rem... more »

2012-12-31 07:49:22 (18 comments, 0 reshares, 48 +1s)

Can you tell I make software for the web?

Several of my interests are reflected in the dock of my Mac. What's on yours? Also, based on the browser icons, you get one guess at which company I work for.... :)