CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-06-17 20:00:22 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Is this a joke? I love the animated GIFs in the comments.

2013-06-14 17:17:33 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Hey, friends. Vote for your favorite cover for Alert Diver! The scary-looking, deep-sea fish shot was taken by my buddy, +Jason Bradley. That's the one I'm voting for. :) Need to vote from the full version of the site (non-mobile), and it literally takes a single click.

2013-06-11 16:36:58 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

My sailfish cover in Sport Fishing magazine is up for the best cover of all time (for that magazine). Public voting: one click does it! :)

2013-06-11 05:05:44 (2 comments, 3 reshares, 9 +1s)

Underwater cameraman Peter Kragh has just posted some fantastic footage (heh) of the bioluminescence from the red tide. Night dives featuring bioluminescence have been some of the most memorable; if you haven't seen it, get thee to an ocean during the next red tide. ;)

2013-06-10 22:27:21 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

I love that +Coco Rocha is writing for PC Magazine. Her latest article, "Moving Images and Images That Move Us," includes mention of +Lytro http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2420119,00.asp

2013-06-09 09:20:41 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 24 +1s)

Confirmed: you can copy the auto-awesome-generated pictures to another album. I want to upload huge albums of all of the pictures I shot in an evening and then only keep the auto-awesome pictures, since the hundreds of originals with so many duplicate compositions aren't really useful. So the plan is to upload big albums (privately), wait for auto-awesome, copy all auto-awesome pictures to a new public album, and delete the original. +Brian Matiash: Google+ feature request: shift-select for multi-select in Organize!

2013-06-07 23:27:44 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 67 +1s)

Since one of my goals has always been to inspire you to visit the places I depict, I'll conclude my posts on Hawaii Volcanoes by mentioning that if you want to see an ocean entry, it is a good time to visit. It's still going strong after six months, and pretty accessible.

Here's my guide to visiting & photographing lava in Hawaii http://bit.ly/12KOxWJ

2013-06-04 06:50:17 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Whoah. Google+ auto-enhance nukes some underwater pictures (which do not like too much additional saturation in the blue channel). I'll have to be careful when I post them.

2013-06-04 06:47:21 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 38 +1s)

I was assembling a collection of underwater images tonight and decided to see what Adobe Lightroom's 2012 processing engine would do to an old image I took at Roca Partida (Revillagigedos Islands, Mexico) back in 2006. Back then, I used Adobe Photoshop to quickly process the picture from raw to a 2000-pixel JPG image for screen viewing. Tonight, I pulled up the raw file in Adobe Lightroom, chose the 2012 processing engine, and did a few minor tweaks using the Develop module. WOW. It's like a different picture.

Have you had pictures take on new life when you've gone back and reprocessed old raw files using new image-processing software? If you haven't, it's time to get started!

2013-06-03 08:49:20 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Wetpixel's latest Full Frame features a photo essay of stunning macro images from Lembeh by Ho Wei Kwok Alvin.

2013-06-03 08:46:10 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 23 +1s)

I've been enjoying taking aerial panoramas with the quadcopter and GoPro HERO3 on a 2-axis brushless gimbal (which keeps the camera level and steady). It's a piece of cake: send the thing up, rotate it slowly while hovering, and bring it back down. :) #aerial   #quadcopter   #phantom  

2013-06-02 09:49:49 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 14 +1s)

Wonderful short about cicadas, by Samuel Orr. I just backed his Kickstarter project—have to support natural history filmmaking! Here's the Kickstarter link: http://kck.st/1abVUaq

2013-05-31 16:11:06 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 21 +1s)

Interesting--I was submitted for some kind of "best underwater photographer" award. I'm in great company over there, which is always flattering, and it looks like it is all public voting. The list is far from complete, but these sorts of things are always subjective and I perfect.

2013-05-26 06:44:42 (9 comments, 13 reshares, 71 +1s)

2013-05-26 05:06:43 (6 comments, 11 reshares, 46 +1s)

Testing a prototype of the new Rotorpixel Gimbal Hero 3. I almost lost my Phantom today, though, because I mis-calibrated the transmitter (throttle range was 0 to 1000 instead of -1000 to 1000, and it hovered with the stick all the way down). Scary! :)

2013-05-25 18:43:53 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 29 +1s)

Morgue where Typhoid Mary worked, North Brother Island.

2013-05-25 08:12:36 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 25 +1s)

Get busy sharing photos from your existing albums!

With the Memorial Day weekend upon us, I'm sure that there will be tons of photos being taken and subsequently shared here on Google+. I'm happy to let you know that you can now share photos that are directly added to your existing albums while retaining all of your +1s and comments. Just navigate to the album of your choice, click on 'Add Photos', select your photo(s), and upload away. Upon completion of the upload and any applicable face tagging, a share box will appear, allowing you to share with your circles. This functionality will be rolling out over the next several hours so if you don't see it yet, give it a bit and try again.

I want to give a special shout out to +Google+ Photos Engineer, +Andrew Lee for building out this feature for us to enjoy and for +Vincent Mo for helping me visualize myex... more »

2013-05-23 23:37:14 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 18 +1s)

Some folks here said they would be interested in more quadcopter posts, so here is one. :) I put together a little build guide for the first quad I built from scratch, which is based on the ADS 400-Q frame. Enjoy. :) #quadcopter   #aerial   #multirotor  

2013-05-21 01:38:42 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 11 +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 »

2013-05-21 00:21:30 (3 comments, 8 reshares, 39 +1s)

My what big teeth you have!

2013-05-20 05:22:20 (6 comments, 6 reshares, 53 +1s)

It's hard for me to believe that I was in the water 50% of the time only 3 years ago. Here's a picture I took of a tiger shark in the Bahamas. I used a 100mm lens, which explains the difference in perspective as compared to typical shark pictures. I love sharks at higher focal lengths; they don't have the skinny, distorted look that they have when they are shot super wide-angle.

2013-05-20 02:05:45 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 27 +1s)

Google+ is looking great, these days! Congrats, team.

2013-05-20 02:06:13 (13 comments, 12 reshares, 59 +1s)

When I posted my +Lytro / +GigaPan Systems LLC setup shots last week, Aaron Logan said it reminded him of an old Letterman thing called "Is This Anything?" I decided to step things up. Quadcopter with Lytro light field camera! Is This Anything?? heheheheh #quadcopter #aerial #lightfield

2013-05-15 21:03:13 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 29 +1s)

Thomas & Trey's SF Photowalk -- San Francisco, California

Here is the first of two group shots from +Thomas Hawk and +Trey Ratcliff's photowalk last night in San Francisco.

This was the largest photowalk I've ever been to and it was an absolute blast! If the walks keep getting bigger I'm going to have to bring a fisheye for these group shots... ;)

It was great to see everyone last night.

Let the tagging begin!

#GlassPhotoWalk

2013-05-13 18:41:00 (4 comments, 2 reshares, 13 +1s)

Beautiful underwater pictures: Ocean Views 2013 contest winners.

2013-05-13 17:33:47 (0 comments, 4 reshares, 5 +1s)

Whoah. Continuous raw video recording on Canon 5D III. Congrats, Magic Lantern team!

2013-05-02 18:59:01 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Hello, everyone. Lytro has launched its international light field photography contest. If you vote for your favorite picture(s), you have a chance to win a Lytro camera. If you have a camera and submit your favorite pictures, you may win cash. Head over and check it out: http://contest.lytro.com

2013-05-02 07:53:44 (5 comments, 3 reshares, 36 +1s)

This was taken with the Sony RX1, a full-frame, 24-megapixel compact camera with a beautiful 35mm f/2.0 Zeiss lens. This is straight from the camera with my standard Lightroom import settings (+25 Clarity, +15 Vibrance). 

Compare this to the Instagram shot I posted earlier tonight (http://instagram.com/p/Yy57w-D_VM/). 

Differences: super clean, no filter, shallower depth of field, better white balance (but perhaps, too cool), greater dynamic range (shadow detail! how novel!)… but posted hours later, once I returned home and imported pictures from the SD card. Also, no GPS nor location tag.

2013-04-15 05:53:12 (20 comments, 185 reshares, 253 +1s)

Want to learn how to control exposure (in photography), manually? Canon Canada created a great new SLR simulator for beginners.

2013-04-03 04:53:21 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 45 +1s)

Buttery RX1. Love this camera, and the company. Not bad for ISO 4000, eh? ;)

2013-03-25 16:37:52 (5 comments, 6 reshares, 19 +1s)

Timelapse video of the Northern Lights / Aurora Borealis taken during the evenings of March 18 and 19, 2013. Canon 5D Mark III and Canon 14mm f/2.8L USM II lens. Shutter speeds from 5s to 15s at ISOs between 2500 and 6400. Music courtesy mobygratis.com. Special thanks to +Mike Knott for his company, and to +Ronn Murray, +Casey Thompson and +Marketa Stanczykova Murray for their incredible, local hospitality! #aurora   #northernlights   #stars   #nightphotography   #nightscapes   #alaska   #timelapse  

2013-04-07 21:59:09 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 45 +1s)

Photographer +Ronn Murray photographs the northern lights in Fairbanks, Alaska.

2013-03-21 11:02:10 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

+Mike Knott and I stopped In a parking lot at Farmers Loop Rd and Steese Hwy in Fairbanks, Alaska, because we were fascinated by how all oncoming lights cast an upward beam during snowfall. Being native Californians, neither of us had seen this before. Can someone explain this phenomenon to us non-snow people?

2013-03-20 20:50:42 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

The +Lytro Wallaby

I brought my Lytro to +Australia earlier this month, and one encounter I had with it was a little wallaby! This guy walked right up to us and was super cute. To see the scene re-focus, click on the image and it will change! :)

To view the awesomeness of the Lytro in-action, you can either click on the link below to go to the website, or install the Chrome plugin to view it directly in +Google+: http://nicolesy.me/lytroforgplus

#seeaustralia  

2013-03-20 20:48:52 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 35 +1s)

One of the last frames from one of the timelapse sequences I shot last night.

2013-03-20 12:59:32 (8 comments, 1 reshares, 47 +1s)

Group self photo while out shooting the aurora in Fairbanks, Alaska: Eric Cheng, Casey Thompson, Marketa Stanczykova Murray, Ronn Murray, Mike Knott. Ronn had the brilliant idea of using snow as a diffuser for my little flashlight.

2013-03-17 05:15:52 (1 comments, 17 reshares, 36 +1s)

I was going through some old footage tonight due to a request by +Alex Mustard and dug up this clip of him and Laz Ruda being buzzed by a large tiger shark. I miss sharks! It's been awhile since I've been on a proper shark dive (amazing how life changes so quickly).

2013-03-12 05:54:16 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

My #sxsw talk is tomorrow, Tue, at 12:30pm in room 18ABCD. SXSW says level is “Beginner,” so don’t be afraid. :)

2013-03-11 00:59:40 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

I’m speaking tomorrow at #sxsw #Photocamp  at 11am, 1:15, and 3:30 about @Lytro and underwater photography (but not underwater Lytro ;). Come hang out with us! http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5480265622/eorg

2013-03-10 22:57:30 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 16 +1s)

With +Peter Tsai at #lytrosxsw #sxsw

2013-03-10 16:08:51 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

It's weird that I can't be tagged as +echeng here on Google+, even thought I have that as my profile URL.

2013-03-08 07:24:07 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

Animated GIF-master +Dunken K Bliths just updated my cover photo to match the new size / aspect ratio here on Google+. If you're interested in getting an animated cover photo of your own, get in touch with Dunken!

2013-03-04 05:49:32 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Check out Alex Kirkbride's stunning portfolio of images from the USA on Wetpixel's Full Frame.

http://wetpixel.com/full_frame/alex-kirkbride-portfolio

2013-03-01 05:55:22 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 31 +1s)

+Nicole S. Young, a +Lytro camera, and a Wallaby walk into a bar...

If there is one thing that I find most charming about +Australia, it is how seemingly friendly it's indigenous animals are. This little wallaby was more than cooperative with letting is get our lenses nice and close to it.

Today is another day of exploring the beauty of Tasmania. Good times.

#SeeAustralia

2013-02-03 09:24:24 (7 comments, 8 reshares, 34 +1s)

This is an interesting one.

2013-02-01 19:41:50 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Interested in 3D imaging and light field? Wade Roush's new article talks about light field in the context the history of stereo photography.

2013-01-30 07:23:23 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 30 +1s)

A great 2.5-day trip to Death Valley in January of 2013. Timelapse shot with Canon 5D Mark III and 24-70/2.8L II and TS-E 17mm lenses. Music courtesy mobigratis.com.

2013-01-26 08:20:22 (12 comments, 2 reshares, 67 +1s)

Dan Kozyndan Kitchens at Badwater, Death Valley; at -282 feet below sea level, Badwater is the place with the lowest elevation in North America. This long channel of geometric salt crystal formations is a white scar across the center of Death Valley. The salt crystals are quite sharp, and laying down like this must be done with care!

2013-01-15 20:23:51 (14 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Hello, photographers. A friend is in a strange situation, and I wanted to see if there is any precedent he can cite to clearly settle the issue. My friend is not a professional photographer and has never sold a picture in his live. He was up on another friend's roof deck taking pictures with SLRs. In the building rules, it says that commercial photography on the roof deck will result in a charge of $500. Because they were using large cameras, the building is trying to claim that their picture-taking activities were commercial; the building is trying to get $500 from the tenant.

There is no reasonable argument that might suggest that my friend has ever made a single dollar from his photography activities. How should he handle this?

2013-01-11 22:29:46 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 37 +1s)

Aerial view of Half Dome and the Yosemite Valley