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2013-05-16 20:49:53 (10 comments, 1 reshares, 40 +1s)

Shadowland

Infrared monochrome - from the Orange County Convention Center at Photoshop World 2013.

2013-05-15 22:30:49 (39 comments, 12 reshares, 95 +1s)

Our place in the Stars

I wanted to see how the new update to G+ works with a vertical image. This is from last month - from up the coast in Santa Cruz, CA at Davenport Beach. I used a tilt shift lens, a really bright flashlight, and a smaller bright flashlight to create this. Hope you enjoy it.

2013-05-13 19:05:37 (13 comments, 5 reshares, 49 +1s)

The Doorway of the Alchemist

Sometimes the light works out perfectly :)  From December in Big Sur, with +Barry Blanchard and +Karen Hutton 

2013-05-10 22:32:14 (16 comments, 1 reshares, 65 +1s)

The perfect moment is real for I have seen it with my own eyes

-self :)

2013-05-08 16:02:09 (31 comments, 3 reshares, 74 +1s)

A place in the stars

Happy Birthday +Gene Bowker :) No train in this photo, just recent work.  
#happybdaygene It has been wonderful seeing your work and posts after discovering you on G+!

I am working on a "not of this earth" series of pieces, using long exposure, light painting, and a specific LR + Photoshop post processing workflow. The goal is to show areas I love to go to in a new way.

I created this vertical panorama using my 24mm Tilt shift lens, several VERY bright flashlights with yellow and orange gels, and my Lee filter kit and Lee big stopper and Singh-Ray filters. The exposure on the sky was 35 seconds, the foreground and ocean was 22 seconds. I spent a lot of time using the flashlights over and over in many, many shots.   I processed using each file as a smart object for maximum flexibility, with luminosity masks, and masking to blendth... more »

2013-05-07 16:01:51 (25 comments, 6 reshares, 85 +1s)

Feet in sand, smile on face

A  serene moment after an amazing sunset with friends at a photowalk last Fall  - Davenport Beach, California.

2013-05-02 19:36:19 (5 comments, 1 reshares, 46 +1s)

Orlando Awaits You - Orange County Convention Center long exposure.Nearby were +Gilmar Smith and +Mark Rodriguez I am sure :) To the office!

2013-05-02 16:12:50 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +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 »

2013-05-01 15:25:17 (21 comments, 0 reshares, 62 +1s)

If a tree falls in the forest, does it only get a + 1 ? :)

A bit different than what I normally do, but this year is all about trying new things. I wanted something that could encapsulate the colour and mood of standing in sunlight in the middle of a bamboo forest, where shapes and textures  blend together.

2013-04-30 15:31:59 (20 comments, 1 reshares, 59 +1s)

Worlds End at Universal Studios, Orlando

With the ominous clouds in the background, it looked like the end of the world for a few minutes, so I thought I would make a fun photo showing life as a movie at Universal Studios City Walk in Orlando, Florida.  There was watery mist around the large rotating Universal globe - I used a long exposure to give it the appropriate look, and used a polarizer and my Lee filter kit as well.

2013-04-29 21:12:20 (17 comments, 2 reshares, 89 +1s)

Bamboo Morning

The sun burns through the morning mist in the Bamboo forest at Hakone Estate and Gardens in Saratoga, California.  I used my trusty 24-70, Lee Filter Kit, 105mm Polarizer and Singh-Ray filters on this shot. I also used Photoshop CS6 smart object layer blends with masking to process this.  Hakone is a lovely place to visit, it is the oldest Asian garden in the western hemisphere, and is modelled after a Samurai or Shogun's estate.

http://www.hakone.com/main.html

2013-04-28 05:09:30 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 21 +1s)

Yesterday, travel photographer +Trey Ratcliff came by SmugMug HQ to share amazing and inspiring stories from his life and career of spanning the globe and posting awesome photos and stories to his blog, http://www.stuckincustoms.com/

We were also lucky enough to have "Mr Americana", +Thomas Hawk join as well. Trey and Thomas sat on our couch and talked photography for over 90 minutes, while fielding questions from SmugMug employees and guests. Both sessions were filmed to share with everyone, so be on the lookout for these great videos in the coming weeks!

Check out more from +Trey Ratcliff at http://stuckincustoms.smugmug.com/

Check out more from +Thomas Hawk  at http://thomashawk.smugmug.com/

HUGE thank you to Trey, Thomas, +Karen Hutton and all of our guest! What a day! 

#Photography #SmugMug #Travel #StuckInCustoms  

2013-04-26 16:16:06 (8 comments, 4 reshares, 48 +1s)

Another April Guest Post on Photographing Water! This time +Cameron Siguenza walks us through some apt advice when it comes to shooting waterscapes. Check out his incredible shots! 


Here's a sneak peak:

"I took this waterscape photo just up the coast from Santa Cruz while waiting for a sunset that never came. The light was very bright and harsh but there were clouds passing over the sun. I waited until the sun briefly went behind the clouds to help tame the brightness in the shot. I also composed the photograph so that the brightness fell on the right side of the photo, to show contrast with the darker left side. I then used my Lee filter kit holder ....."

Read the rest of the post here:

http://www.thegivinglens.com/guest-post-cameron-siguenza/


Enjoy + Share :)

#travelphotography   #travel  #tr... more »

2013-04-25 18:45:46 (21 comments, 0 reshares, 66 +1s)

Welcome to Orange County

At Photoshop World 2013 - Orlando, Florida.

An infrared photo of the Southern Wing of the Orange County Convention Center. Hand held, manual focus using Liveview on my Infrared Canon T3i.

I must admit that I love light, patterns, shadows and the Orange County Convention had it all - I had to stand on the top floor against a railing to take this, since the sunlight and shadows were so interesting.

Anyone tired of my monochrome / B+W photos yet? :) Oh well, I am learning lots and enjoying the process too much.  I do love colour still, but haven't had a chance to shoot much colour lately.

+Mark Rodriguez and +Gilmar Smith were nearby when I took this.

2013-04-25 19:23:11 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 23 +1s)

The talented, fun and hardworking +Gilmar Smith took this cool photo of me and my big 85mm F1.2 lens (I got this lens recently) :)  This portrait was shot in Orlando, FLA while we were learning lots and having fun at Photoshop World. Thanks Gilmar!

2013-04-24 16:58:01 (15 comments, 1 reshares, 62 +1s)

Universal Studios, Florida

#archistract
#architecturalvisions

I wandered around Universal Studios' City Walk in Florida on Saturday afternoon for a few hours while waiting for +Gilmar Smith and +Brian Bonham to join for some food and drinks. I had a small shoulder bag with a few lenses, my 5DMark iii, a small Joby Gorillapod Focus tripod, and my Lee Filter kit setup.  CityWalk is a combination of theme restaurants and global brands arranged around a "river".

I noticed a passageway through some buildings, and entered into it, and then looked back and up. I decided to do a few long exposures as a kind of abstract architecture shot. The clouds were moving decently, light was good. Sitting against the wall, I set up quickly, and did a few experiments. Not too many people were walking by, and it was a nice break from blaring top 40 music and thecrow... more »

2013-04-23 22:21:04 (15 comments, 0 reshares, 37 +1s)

Photoshop World in Orlando

Portrait of +Mark Rodriguez in Infrared in the Orange County Convention Center - handheld, manually focused.  Converted to B+W using Smart objects, Camera raw and CS6.  For +PortraitTuesday - curated by +Laura Balc and +Tana Teel 

I just spent an amazing 6 days in Orlando, Florida at Photoshop World last week, returning last night, on Sunday - it was inspiring to say the least, and I have lots of ideas for photography, various creative projects, and post processing workflows. It was surreal at times seeing Jay Maisel or Joe McNally walk around, and I totally recommend the event. I hope to go in Vegas this September.

I enjoyed meeting +Scott Kelby and +Kalebra Kelby (they play in a great band together, so talented, what doesn't this amazing duo do?) - and many other people, seeing +Matt Kloskowski again and attending a few of hissessions... more »

2013-04-15 17:08:22 (21 comments, 5 reshares, 66 +1s)

Lone Tree Revisited Infrared in monochrome.

From back in January 2013, during the amazing Long Exposure weekend, out in Novato, California at Deer Island, with the dreamy team composed of +Athena Carey  +Grant Murray  +John Kosmopoulos and our wise owl guide +Nathan Wirth 

I exposed against the light hitting the dry grass in front of this lovely tree, both to keep the tree and the surrounding area as dark as possible, and to help balance the sky that was nearing sunset. 

I used Adobe Camera Raw, Photoshop CS6 and Nik Silver FX to convert the infrared raw image to this final image. My dedicated camera for infrared is a converted Canon T3i. For anyone still reading this far, if you are at Photoshop World in Orlando this week - look me up! :)

For +Monochrome Monday  #MonochromeMonday   #nikcollection

2013-04-11 17:11:19 (42 comments, 0 reshares, 88 +1s)

The eye of the Valley

One final monochrome from Yosemite - then I am going to turn my attention to colour landscapes for a while :) Next week I head to Orlando for Photoshop world and to take some photos with friends.

Anyone else going to Photoshop World in Orlando?

2013-04-10 16:03:30 (11 comments, 1 reshares, 70 +1s)

The eye of the valley

This photo was taken in Yosemite valley back in February, when my dad was visiting. There were dramatic shadows from clouds and the sun going behind the mountain range. The waterfall in shadow reminds me of a serpent's or alligator's eye :)

I have been very busy for the last 4 months working 18 hour days between my day job and helping a friend with his software startup project. Photography was almost impossible to find time for, my family barely saw me. Was a fun but busy time, I learned new things. Now my friend is nearing the launch time of his company in a few months, so I am free to get back to reality :)

Hello reality!

2013-04-03 19:13:18 (88 comments, 14 reshares, 151 +1s)

My favorite channel, now with light painting

From a recent solo night photography outing, which I spent shivering in the chill of the night air, doing light painting / long exposures and experimenting with star photography. The night was quite clear, which helped. The fog and low clouds helped tame the light pollution of nearby towns.

2013-03-27 04:15:18 (17 comments, 0 reshares, 66 +1s)

Shadowfall - Yosemite Valley - February 2013

This photo goes out to families who have children that are suffering from illnesses and that need help of all kinds. Money for research, science, prayer, good deeds, and love - all can help.

2013-03-26 18:39:58 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 25 +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 15:33:35 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 25 +1s)

Added photos to Roaring Camp Railroad with Karen Hutton.

2013-03-22 03:57:07 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 25 +1s)

Added photos to SmugMug Cover Photo Submissions For April.

2013-03-18 18:18:48 (18 comments, 6 reshares, 99 +1s)

The Plus One Storm Approaches
 (micro Monday sized) 

Pigeon Point, California

On an unreasonably windy day heading back to Santa Cruz from Moss Beach - I noticed spectacular light rays.

I used my Joby Gorillapod focus tripod to lay down right next to the cliff edge with my camera and get out of the wind as much as possible and avoid camera shake.  I used my Singh Ray reverse grad to darken the sky a bit, and took a few shots. My family waiting for my in the vehicle somewhat impatiently :)

2013-03-18 01:43:50 (16 comments, 0 reshares, 54 +1s)

Golden hour hiking in Yosemite - vertorama edition

A 13 shot vertical panorama from last Sunday in Yosemite. I have never done a vertorama before, but plan to try this again. I used my 24mm TS-E ii lens to shift up a few clicks at a time.  The light was nice, and black and white worked well here.

Now back to work, a long but interesting night ahead of me. Spent some time gardening, adjusting drip irrigation for the summer garden, playing with my 13 month old son, and dunking a cookie in milk.

2013-03-15 16:26:42 (32 comments, 4 reshares, 82 +1s)

Over the hill, against the wind, shelter from the storm

2013-03-14 22:21:01 (20 comments, 1 reshares, 60 +1s)

A walk through the woods, infrared style

2013-03-13 14:49:59 (16 comments, 7 reshares, 88 +1s)

Yosemite, California, Sunday, March 10th - Infrared Landscape

From this Sunday, in Yosemite, in Infrared B+W.  This post is my Happy Birthday to +lane langmade and +Lynn Langmade - thank you for making G+ a more interesting, beautiful, creative and erudite place :)

#happybirthdayLaneandLynn   #happybdayLane   #happybdayLynn    

2013-03-12 15:01:26 (30 comments, 5 reshares, 87 +1s)

Footsteps from the Heavens, Pigeon Point, California

While driving my lovely but somewhat grumpy family home after a long day sightseeing in high winds last week, I saw an amazing light show near Pigeon Point lighthouse up the coast from Santa Cruz. I grabbed my ND grad setup, and 24-70 F4 lens and came up with this.

My dad who was with us, and was not grumpy at all - was taking photos with his camera and for a few minutes, the super windy day was forgotten. My family stayed in the vehicle and kept warm :)

2013-03-08 17:11:39 (22 comments, 1 reshares, 60 +1s)

*Infrared - Multnomah Falls, Oregon *

Does anyone else do any Infrared photography? I would love to check out other people's work - portraits, landscapes, or whatever :) Feel free to place a link here if you want to share your work, it would be appreciated.

Here is a full panorama of 6 RAW images combined, using Photoshop CS 6 - from my dedicated Infrared Canon T3i camera and 17-40 Canon L lens. I processed in Nik Silver FX.   

2013-03-07 17:09:33 (24 comments, 8 reshares, 78 +1s)

A brief spot of sunshine dazzles at sunrise

My father is in town, and we are debating whether to go to Yosemite, Big Sur, Point Reyes, the Redwoods - but will probably do them all :) The deserts of California are also tempting us. He winters deep sea fishing down south in the Baja, before heading back up to Northern BC where he fly fishes for salmon 200+ days a year (mostly catch and release) from Spring to early Winter.

This sunrise photo in Bandon, Oregon is from early February. Using 24mm TS-E ii Tilt Shift Lens, Singh-Ray polarizer, reverse ND grad and my trusty Canon 5D Mark iii.

2013-03-06 04:00:12 (18 comments, 7 reshares, 63 +1s)

The Traveller

A lone bird travelled in the distance, along beautiful waves, and somewhere in southern Oregon I clutched my telephoto lens and took a few quick shots before heading back to my vehicle. Many miles to go that day still :)

Handheld, 70-200 is ii, 5D mark 3, and my bare feet in sand.

2013-03-04 20:41:34 (22 comments, 5 reshares, 84 +1s)

Saturday Night on Twin Peaks, San Francisco, California

 It is seemingly always windy on Twin Peaks, in San Francisco, so next time I will bring a heavier duty tripod with me. I made this panorama using my 24mm TS-E ii lens, using the shift feature with my camera in portrait mode.  

2013-03-01 01:13:05 (25 comments, 0 reshares, 58 +1s)

Some Random Tropical Paradise - Infrared B+W

Sometimes walls of restaurants are fascinating to look at, this one is from Oakland, CA.

2013-02-27 19:07:24 (21 comments, 3 reshares, 79 +1s)

In Search of the Monumental Awe - Oregon Edition B + W Infrared of Multnomah Falls, near Portland, OR. I love that bridge design so very much. For  #WaterfallWednesday (Have I finally waterfalls in my collection - thanks to Oregon) - curated by +Eric Leslie 

#Photoplusextract #photoextract
 

2013-02-26 20:53:38 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 79 +1s)

On the Beach

~ Somewhere in Southern Oregon along the 101 / #9

The light was so golden that I had to stop and take some photos as I drove home to Santa Cruz on February 8th. To my delight, two people were walking along the beach, and I waited for what felt like the perfect moment - and here it is.

Handheld with my 70-200 IS ii, Canon 5D Mark ii.

2013-02-22 17:39:00 (6 comments, 4 reshares, 33 +1s)

Surfing Moonstone Beach, Cambria, CA

I saw some beautiful light last weekend in Cambria, CA. I hand held my 70-200 IS ii, with a 1.6 Teleconverter (version 3) for this shot.  Have a good weekend all :) 

2013-02-22 05:33:19 (12 comments, 5 reshares, 98 +1s)

The Arcanists' Tower  - Sunrise in Bandon, OR - from Feb 9th, 2013

I was standing in the water, trying to catch a few minutes of good light - with +Brian Matiash, +Matt Kloskowski and +Patricia Davidson all nearby. I was on a few hours of sleep after driving 11 hours to make it to Bandon, OR by 2:30 AM. Good times :)  I can't wait to go back and spend a week in Oregon, getting better shots and exploring the coast. Taken with my 24mm TS-E ii lens and some Singh-Ray filtery goodness.

2013-02-21 19:35:33 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 17 +1s)

Added photos to Win some LOVE! Well… some SmugMug LOVE!.

2013-02-19 22:06:01 (10 comments, 1 reshares, 64 +1s)

The Sentinel and the Sea

What to do when the sun is super bright, and overpowering everything?  I used to take a break from the camera or go behind large rocks etc with a macro lens. Now I simple play along with it, and try to make something work. I also see many long exposure shots with lone figures, and wanted to make something similar, but more dynamic :)

From Saturday in Cambria, California at Moonstone Beach. No idea who the guy is, but I admired him for standing on top of a large slippery rock for a minute or so.

#seatuesday  - curated by the amazing +Julia Anna Gospodarou :) +Sea Tuesday 

2013-02-18 20:53:14 (33 comments, 2 reshares, 93 +1s)

Porteau Cove, north of Vancouver, BC

For #MinimalMonday  with +Olivier Du Tré - a long exposure during a rainy Vancouver winter "sunset" ;)

Feb 6, 2013 - from a rainy, foggy and gloriously cloudy photo adventure from Vancouver, BC to Squamish, BC with +Sinead Sam McKeown +Kate Siobhan Havercroft and +Jordan Oram - we drove through the rain, laughed, took photos, drove some more, had dinner, and then drove though more rain :) Until next time my friends!

Google Maps of Porteau Cove : http://goo.gl/maps/8kdTY

2013-02-14 20:13:18 (17 comments, 4 reshares, 73 +1s)

Sunrise, Bandon, Oregon, Feb 9th, Saturday, 2013

On my way home from Vancouver, BC to Santa Cruz I stopped off in Bandon, Oregon on Saturday to meet up with +Brian Matiash and +Matt Kloskowski and +Patricia Davidson - this was my best sunrise shot from the morning in terms of colour, and the composition is just ok - the brief color pop we had for a few minutes is here at least :) I can't wait to go back and get some better shots.

Also - a travel advisory - if you arrive in  Bandon, OR, at 2:00 AM, no hotels or motels are open then, so hopefully your vehicle is comfortable for an all too brief nap. Then when you meet up with your friends at 7am you won't be too tired... I was very tired - the drive down south along the 101 was amazing, so that kept me awake for a while :)

2013-02-14 16:24:53 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 32 +1s)

Valentines Day or Just Another Day?

In our house, we don't do anything super special for Valentines day, but our daughter enjoys making little Valentine cards (she is in grade 1) and we are very supportive of any creative projects that the family can enjoy helping together with. Her card production this year was a good success. We will probably have a piece of good chocolate later.

Anyways, this photo is from our front yard, with lemons from the tree behind it. I took this last year when I had the 180mm Macro lens. Happy Valentines Day :)

2013-02-13 23:45:30 (37 comments, 2 reshares, 72 +1s)

Eagles, Salmon, Moss and Friends

This is east about 1.5 hours from Vancouver, in the mountains near Chilliwack, BC - with +Jordan Oram  and +Karin Nelson  . A nice afternoon stroll through the forest green. Afterwards we went for great sushi in her delightful small town.

2013-02-13 18:34:50 (7 comments, 2 reshares, 33 +1s)

Offramp Solitude - Infrared in dense fog near nightfall.

I haven't shared with my favorite photo theme game +Urban Snap for some time - current theme is bridges. 

This was taken at a rest area in the final minutes of daylight in Oregon 10 days ago, I walked down the river bank until I got to the offramp and bridge next to the rest area, no one was around at all. A nice moment after hours of driving on the I5 freeway :)  

#UrbanSnap  is curated by +Sam Breach and +Kristine Ward !

2013-02-12 20:13:04 (29 comments, 3 reshares, 87 +1s)

The one time I saw the sun during a week in / near Vancouver, BC

On this past Friday morning - I ventured into the mountains with +Jordan Oram  near Chilliwack, BC, just outside of Vancouver, BC - where the talented and 100% awesome +Karin Nelson roams free. We enjoyed stopping at various points and strolling in the quiet of the mossy forest. Karin tends to move quickly, as she is a decisive photographer, and I was frequently/always last to move on :) 

Anyways - it should be noted that this was the only time that week that I actually saw the sun, the rest of the time over an hour away in Vancouver - there was an endless gray and dark rainpocalypse that lasts through each winter.

The start of the salmon run was upon these parts, and the eagles were feasting.

2013-02-11 20:38:23 (72 comments, 5 reshares, 128 +1s)

Multnomah Falls - Infrared in B+W, Feb 2nd, 2013

From my 9 day road trip from Santa Cruz > Eugene > Portland > Vancouver > Squamish > Vancouver > Chilliwack > Bandon, OR > Santa Cruz. Got lots of work done in Vancouver, and took photos with friends and saw rain, sun and even snow :) Seeing eagles eat salmon was especially memorable.

My thanks to +Brian Matiash, +Nicole S. Young, their dog Kodak, +Brian Bonham , +Kelly-Shane Fuller, +Jordan Oram, +Sinead Sam McKeown, +Kate Siobhan Havercroft, +Karin Nelson, and +Patricia Davidson +Matt Kloskowski for meeting up with me for some laughs, interesting discussions, and good photography fun :)     

2013-02-05 20:00:02 (34 comments, 2 reshares, 99 +1s)

The Tractors' tale - an Infrared landscape

From somewhere in Central Oregon.

Vancouver is kind of rainy (no surprise there), food in grocery stores is expensive, restaurants are wonderful, and the traffic is relaxing compared to California :) Lots of family visiting and work at the office make for a fast moving week. Too fast actually, there are many people I would like to visit, but not much time with family I rarely get to see :)