CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-06-10 20:48:09 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

The 95th Livermore Rodeo
I was fortunate enough to shoot from the sidelines (aka, the dirt) thanks to my friend +Jason Laurea. I shot with a 600 mm and was able to capture a lot of tight, intimate moments between the cowboys and the moo-moos. Here's one of those tight shots, (no cropping needed) from the team roping event.

 #LivermoreRodeo #Rodeo #Cowboy

2013-06-04 06:12:24 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

It's fun to go back to the neighborhood you grew up in as a child (okay, it may not be fun for all of us). Charity spent many years running around barefoot in San Bruno. The house she grew up in is behind her, to the right. She remembers this street was her whole world back in the day, and now it all seems so, small. It's amazing how growing up and exploring can make your little corner of the world feel so small. Some people never get to leave the city or small town they were born in, so I feel very blessed to have parents that brought me out of the "hood" to see what the rest of the country had to offer. But, I must admit, living in California is pretty nice. 

2013-06-01 05:34:57 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

This was shot about a year ago out at Isla Mujeres, just off the coast of Cancun. I left my $600 tripod out there on the back of the golf cart we rented the previous day. Knowing the chances of it being recovered were pretty slim, I said a quick prayer and headed out to see if I could retrieve my baby. I figured the worst that could happen... already happened, so why not head back out to the island and see if I could at least walk around and get my "Jay Maisel" on for a morning. I arrived at the rental spot and asked the lady, who didn't speak much english, if she had seen a tripod. She said she was going to get her brother, out back. So I waited for him to return, and sure enough, he came around the corner with my carbon fiber first born. I was ecstatic!  I gave him all the cash I had in my pocket, about $50 US dollars, and headed on my way to find some breakfast. I was so happy I thoughtI&#... more »

2013-05-29 20:45:48 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

The New amyheiden.com!

Today, is an exciting day for me because I finally launched my new site - http://www.amyheiden.com 

I've spent hundreds of hours selecting images, many of which are previously unpublished, compiling history, writing descriptions and integrating a 'purchase' option for prints via +SmugMug. It has been an incredibly time consuming process, but I'm thrilled it's finished. 

Take a look around and enjoy!

(About this image: North Ward, South Carolina Lunatic Asylum)

2013-05-27 18:28:47 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Livermore Rodeo is just around the corner. Have you ever been to a rodeo? +Jason Laurea and I have shot at the rodeo for the last few years. What do you say JTeezza, should we make it three straight? 

2013-05-24 05:45:31 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Cancun, Mexico. What do I miss about Mexico the most? Walking outside at any time of night, only to feel the warm humid air on my skin. We spent a lot of time laying out at the beach at night. No sun. No people. Just the sound of the ocean, and the warm mist from the sea.
#cancun   #beach   #clouds  

2013-05-23 17:55:22 (8 comments, 3 reshares, 6 +1s)

So here's a little look back at one year ago today. Do you remember? Were you there? It was the Google+ Photographers Conference in San Francisco. I knew I had to go to this "once in a lifetime" event when it was announced right here in the bay. Unfortunately I've heard, from several "off the record" talks I've had with people familiar with the matter, this will never happen again. At least, not Google and Kelby together. I did have a great time, though. This was the second day of the conference and I met so many new photographer buddies during the conference. Hey, any reason to hang out in S.F. and shoot photos is a good one, so hopefully Google will do something like this again in the future, huh +Brian Matiash ?? :)

#oneyearagotoday #GplusPC #sanfrancisco

2013-05-20 19:07:19 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

Sunset from the Livermore hills, just behind Wente Winery. 

#sunset  

2013-05-20 05:19:25 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Took Eden and the family to Dim Sum this morning and dressed her up in this little Asian outfit I bought her in China Town last year during the G+ Conference photo walk. She is 1/8 Chinese, by the way :)

2013-05-18 20:28:22 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Just me and the boy today. Momma is out-and-about with Eden, so of course I took some time to snap some shots of Malachi. I got about 10 shots before he quit cooperating, luckily, I got one good one. 

2013-05-17 07:46:02 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

Eden throwing rocks in Lake Del Valle. She was trying her best to throw herself in too. I caught her on her tippy-toes for a split second as the rock splashed in the lake. 

2013-05-16 07:11:11 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

Hello G+. I think it's a great day to resurrect my social life here on G+ with all the new additions/features announced at Google I/O today. So let me jump right in...

Here's two of the three reasons I haven't been around here as much as I used to, Eden and +Charity Jemison. I put them, and my son, first on the priority list every day. When people say they [kids] grow up fast, they aren't joking. Eden is already 2 1/2 years old and my son Malachi is approaching 4 months. I feels like we just brought him home last week.

So in this absence I've been shooting just as much as I did before Eden and Malachi came into my life, I just haven't been sharing any of the photos...What's the point of that? (insert "Ain't nobody got time for that" quote here) One thing I miss about taking time to post a picture everyday is the accountability. Even if it is... more »

2013-03-26 18:22:05 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

Malachi at 7 weeks. My son is growing so fast, seems like he was just born yesterday, now look at him. 

2013-03-25 22:11:33 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +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 »

2013-03-04 22:54:15 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 9 +1s)

Eden in the Orchard
I headed east yesterday to find some flowering almond trees to shoot in. We got out of the house later than I had planned, but I still was able to shoot for 20 minutes before the sun went down. This is my favorite shot of my daughter Eden hanging out in the orchard with her Easter bunny. 

Geek details: Fired a speedlite through an umbrella, camera left, ETTL +1 and a slow shutter speed to help light the orchard. 
#potd #orchard #spring #flowers

2013-02-27 20:03:38 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 8 +1s)

Inspiring video on the best reasons to learn how to code

2013-02-27 00:36:56 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Malachi at Three Weeks
Well that went by fast. The days seem to blend together when you're not on a regular sleeping schedule. 

2012-12-14 05:54:53 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Looking for a performance boost? Update to the latest version of Lightroom 4 to benefit from numerous bug fixes: http://adobe.ly/T6gkv8. We've also released tips for improving performance in Lightroom 4: http://adobe.ly/128pfQQ. #Lightroom #Lr4

Photo: Benjamin Warde

2012-12-05 18:27:34 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

ANNOUNCEMENT!

Please check out this brand new website and brand that I've been building alongside the people at +Wacom Americas as well as +Colby Brown and +Lucas J. Gilman!

Insane Inspiration and Creativity...

Introducing... INSIVITY!

http://Insivity.com/ 

2012-12-03 07:07:36 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

I went out shooting today after the torrential rain we've had over the last few days passed to the east. Got up to the top of the hill just in time to take about a dozen shots before the sun dipped below the hills. Then, it got cold, quick. So we went and had some sushi ;)

Model: Eden
Photo assistant: Momma

2012-11-30 18:06:57 (8 comments, 1 reshares, 10 +1s)

Hey look! A photo I took at the National Ignition Facility was published in the National Geographic, coughonlinecough. Pretty cool. 

Here's that same photo in my photo album: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/110745311686653416378/albums/5728425824456379137/5766997283848642402

2013-03-07 01:46:33 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Thank you +Instagram for a web interface! 
View mine here: http://instagram.com/studiodee

Do you have an Instagram account? Leave me a comment below to your profile so I can follow more inspiring photographers. 

2012-09-28 16:55:12 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

The Magdeburg Water Bridge : 918 m long, 34 m wide and 4.25 m

At first glance, the Water Bridge in Magdeburg, Germany, seems nothing special; just another canal bridge. But look again and it’s a water bridge across water, forming a water intersection that is the biggest water crossing in Europe! 

The world’s largest water bridge, with a span of 106 m between its pillars, opened in October 2003, on the back of five years of construction, 24,000 tons of steel, and 68,000 m³ of reinforced concrete. Regaining the construction cost of €500 million probably won’t take long as the bridge shortens travel times for ships considerably and eases traffic on other routes. 

Before the opening of the water bridge, ships moving between the Midland Canal and the Elbe-Havel Canal had to make a 12-km detour through the Rothensee lock, along the River Elbe and back up Niegripp lock.Now the br... more »

2012-09-20 17:29:18 (5 comments, 3 reshares, 5 +1s)

For all you 80s babies. 

2012-09-02 04:39:02 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Come Meetup With Us At Photoshop World
It's on now!! As we are getting ready to kick off the #Photoshop   World  conference we are wanting to get some relaxing time and meet all of you in Vegas!!.  Every year, we have a Tweetup where we get a couple of hundred people come to hang out.  This is a social event thats for EVERYONE and its free.. so we thought "Hey! Lets call it the Meetup!!"  so long as it doesnt turn into The Hangover. :)

So, come meet with us! Its at the EyeCandy bar in the middle of the Mandalay Bay casino from 9:00 pm to 11pm(ish) Tuesday, September 4.  You figure, it's indoors, so its cool.  We can have some drinks.. and just get all excited for the festivities.  Come join us!! #PSW2012  

2012-08-12 23:26:52 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Hello Brachiosaurus
Chicago —O'Hare International

2012-08-11 22:48:57 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Eden Ariani Jemison
My baby girl is 22 months today. 

2012-08-06 04:36:00 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Tonight starting at 11pm ET/8pm PT, join us for live NASA TV coverage of the landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars. 

Watch at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

The #MSL  Mars Science Laboratory is the most ambitious, complex mission in the history of robotic space exploration. On August 5/6, 2012, the mission will set down a large, mobile laboratory - the dune buggy-sized Curiosity rover - using a new form of precision landing technology that makes many of Mars' most intriguing regions viable destinations for the first time.

Learn more about the mission at http://www.nasa.gov/mars 

2012-07-21 05:39:55 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Eden, Coco Frio, Cancun.
Eden loved Cancun. The sand... not so much. She didn't like the feeling of sand on her feet. She would sit down and pick every last grain off her feet and cry if we tried to put her in it again. Oh well. Maybe when she gets older. Now, the coco, she loved. 

#fixthedamnblackbarsalready   #Cancun   #vacation   #daddysmodel  

2012-07-20 00:35:58 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

Alternate version from inside the National Ignition Facility

I thought I'd share an alternate shot from the TIME story I re-shared earlier. I always include a person in these, otherwise surreal, photos of the National Ignition Facility. This is also a toned down version, not so dramatic, relative to the previous image. See that here if you missed it earlier: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/110745311686653416378/albums/5728425824456379137/5766997283848642402

#NIF   #fusion   #energy  

2012-07-19 21:46:26 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

Another historic event just transpired in the world of science: a record-shattering laser beam that, in a single shot fired on July 5, 2012, generated more power than the United States does at any single instant.

2012-07-18 02:02:20 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

China Town Photo Walk
I was able to drop in on a hangout today with +RC Concepcion. I shared a handful of photos from the photo walk he led during the #GPlusPC  event. RC hadn't seen some of them so I collected a few of my favorites into this album. 

*Side note 
I probably have posted a handful of these previously, but can't figure out how to move or copy them to a new album while keeping the comments alive. I thought this was possible in Picasa, but +Google+ moved that from the black bar, and I'm not sure if the functionality is in Google+. Anyone know how to do this? 

#photowalk   #sf   #sanfrancisco  

2012-07-10 05:33:41 (1 comments, 3 reshares, 5 +1s)

Photographers, make sure you get out from behind the camera
Just a quick reminder. To all my photographer friends, make sure you hand your camera to a loved one every once and a while. This image was taken last weekend by my wife, Charity. My daughter Eden, and I were enjoying some ice cream at the Alameda County Fair. I want to make sure Eden can look back at the thousands of images I've taken and occasionally see some of the great moments we shared. So make sure you hand your camera (in Professional mode, of course) to a loved one to capture these moments with your loved ones. 

2012-07-06 04:34:02 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

*Re-editing* 
As if I don't have enough photos to process, I took the time to re-edit this today. Someone hit me up on Flickr asking if I'd be interested in selling it for the cover of the local Yellow Pages. So, I though if I was going to put it in the running, I might as well freshen it up a little. I mean, it's almost four years old, and to think, I'm still shooting with the same Canon 40D. too. 

Here's the original edit back in 2008
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dee-n-chee/3250624877/

#redo   #Bankhead   #HDR   #Sunset  

2012-07-03 04:46:38 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 10 +1s)

Being Brave
So about a month ago I'm in Subway, grabbing a quick breakfast sandwich, and I see the promo posters for Pixar's new film, Brave. I saw Merida, the main character, and instantly thought of a summer intern of ours that has been helping us out for a few summers now. I thought it would be cool to see how Jillian, our summer intern, would look posed as Merida on her very own poster. Jillian had no problem stepping in front of the camera in between shoots I had going on that day. I printed out a couple of the movie posters so I could pose Jillian properly and then found a broom in the janitors closet for Jillian to hold in place as a bow. Long story short, here is Jillian, as Merida. 

#Brave   #Merida   #composite  

2012-07-02 08:30:54 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Great read on how Art Streiber photographed 116 of Hollywood's stars on one stage. 

2012-06-29 07:00:54 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

Exploring My Surroundings
This is an abandoned house less than a 1/4 mile from where I work. I drive by it every day and have wanted to go shoot it for a while. +Jason Laurea also had this spot on his list of places to shoot. So, when we hooked up earlier this week for some evening shooting, and he suggested it, it was a go. 

There were many creepy things on the property, but this treadmill took the cake. I shot it through the window and hit the inside of the room with a few CTO flashes during a long exposure. 

2012-06-19 06:41:58 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Bay Bridge Light Show
A week before the Bay Bridge's big brother—the Golden Gate—celebrated it's 75th, I was out with a few folks from the +Google+ Photographer's Conference shooting the Bay Bridge. We noticed some light to the south of the bridge that made for some pretty amazing shots. I didn't put two-and-two together until a week later when I saw that same light filling the sky during the Golden Gate Bridge firework show. We had witnessed the practice show a week in advance. I wouldn't had known about either if it wasn't for people I met during the conference. Thanks fellas! 

CC: +Matt Hernandez +Jaime Nolan +David Mullin +Darren Yamashita +David Yee 

#GPlusPC   #BayBridge   #SanFrancisco   #potd  

2012-06-18 06:49:09 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Happy Father's Day
This is my baby girl, Eden, playing with mommy in Cancun. They had just got their hair braided and we stopped for some pizza. Eden was playing peek-a-boo with momma and this expression of happiness was one of my favorite shots of her from our vacation. 

Happy Fathers Day to all you amazing dads out there. Hope you had a relaxing day, now back to work.

#potd   #babymodel

2012-06-12 19:06:10 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Flyin' Horses at the Livermore Rodeo

Such a small percentage of shots I took Sunday had the bronco or bull in the air. Out of those select few, even less showed the cowboy's face. I thought this one had the cowboy in pretty good form, and the bronco is off the ground. One of the few keepers from the day. Post processed to dim the busy background and pull out detail in the rider and bronc. 

#livermorerodeo   #rodeo  

2012-06-12 05:38:15 (10 comments, 1 reshares, 10 +1s)

Red Solo Cup

This is the Rodeo clown at the Livermore Rodeo last weekend. Working on a technique to separate the bull riders from their background... This is a test. Testing, testing. One, two, three. 

#LivermoreRodeo   #potd   #redsolocup  

2012-06-10 18:02:14 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 18 +1s)

Talking to Strangers

While in Mexico, I wanted to capture as many sunrises and sunsets as possible. I didn't do too well on the sunrises, but did happen to catch a few beautiful sunsets. While exploring across the street from our resort, I found this pier that led out to the lagoon. I was taking the obvious, leading lines, photo when this couple passed me by and sat down at the end of the dock.They actually went to the far right of my frame and sat behind some rafts. As I waited for the sun to reappear from the clouds, I thought, those two love birds would really complete this picture. So I strolled down the dock and introduced myself and asked if they would help me out. Of course I told them they would get an awesome photo for their time. They were flattered and asked where I wanted them to sit. I posed them in the center of my composition and asked them to hold one another and had... more »

2012-06-10 05:49:07 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Lazy Photographer
Hey, what can I say. Sometimes I'm as lazy as can be, especially on vacation. So this was shot from my beach chair in Cancun. I didn't even get up... just said to myself, "Hey, thats a cool shot," grabbed the camera and snapped a few frames. Then, went back to drinking my pina colada. 

#cancun   #vacation   #sotd  

2012-06-05 20:14:08 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Up and coming model Damien Jemison! It was a pleasure photographing you even though you were not the paid model....that could be your side job! ;)

2012-05-31 06:32:09 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Free Fortune
+RC Concepcion sharing good fortune as he explains how much his daughter LOVES fortune cookies. Check out RC's shot of the inside of the Fortune Cookie Factory right here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/101396087935203987162/posts/iLFAY18ecpB

2012-05-29 23:15:06 (11 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Cross
This shot came together nicely, it just took a little patience. First thing that caught my eye walking down the street was the cross atop the building. I shot it through the many cables and wires above head, then I noticed the Transamerica Pyramid in the background. I moved closer to the corner to get the cross and pyramid adjacent to one another. I snapped a few more frames. Did a quick chimp at the back of the camera and thought it was okay, but lacked foreground interest. Then, the fellow in the blue jacket stepped into the scene, MONEY!! All it needed was a fitting title to bring it all together.

#chinatown #GplusPC #SanFrancisco

2012-05-29 07:26:09 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

School is out in China Town
One of my favorites from the China Town Photo Walk during the +Google+ Photographer's Conference last week.

2012-05-28 07:49:37 (8 comments, 6 reshares, 25 +1s)

The Golden Gate Bridge Celebrates 75 Years

I went out to shoot the fireworks on the Golden Gate Bridge last night. I was shooting from the East Bay, somewhere along Grizzly Peak Blvd. I didn't quite get to the vantage point I was expecting to, the two lane roads were packed with cars and I took what I could get. This particular shot is during the grand finale, you can see Alcatraz in the foreground. It was quite a show.

#ggb75 #goldengatebridge #75thanniversary #sanfrancisco #fireworks

2012-05-26 23:06:28 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

+Google+ Photographer's Conference Photo Walk—China Town with +RC Concepcion

I'm starting from the beginning... Here are the folks that kicked off their #GplusPC in China Town with RC.

Please feel free to tag yourself or people you met.

2012-05-26 00:38:43 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 3 +1s)

#duhtips — Because we all have those DUH, moments

Here's something I just now figured out in Lightroom 4 (and probably works in previous versions, too). It's useful for those of you out there who use a +Wacom Americas tablet.

For me, it's hard to grab and move the tiny sliders in Lightroom while using the pen. So, I usually go for the mouse to click and type in values as needed. Or, you can click in the first value field and press the up and down arrows to increment the value then move up and down the list with a tab or shift+tab. That's what I had been doing.

The #duhtip is, you don't even have to click in the field for this to work. Simply hovering over a value with the cursor is all you need to do, it will turn light grey like you can see in the exposure field below, and then you just tap the up or down arrows on your keyboard to increasea... more »