CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-06-15 22:13:36 (12 comments, 2 reshares, 13 +1s)

The New Mac Pro, 5 Reasons why Apple has not abandoned the pros.

I've been reading a lot of mac pro hate this last week since Apple announced the new one. Being a professional editor that lives behind a mac pro I decided to do a quick write up explaining why this is the most pro Mac to date. 

http://alikgriffin.com/blog/jun/15/new-mac-pro-why-apple-has-not-abandon-pro-market

2013-06-15 06:41:00 (9 comments, 6 reshares, 109 +1s)

Los Angeles Skyline
Los Angeles has it's reputation and most people kind of hate this city. But I kind of like it. I remember being a kid and coming up here for baseball games. There was so much smog and graffiti and earthquakes.

But did you know? Los Angeles has the lowest Crime Rate of any city with a population over 2 million? And just 20 years ago there were reported 1,092 murder in Los Angeles but in 2012 only 298. Crime is falling in this town at an extraordinary rate. Good job Police, or Mayer, or whoever is responsible for that. You can't give the police enough credit for what they do in this town. It must be nerve wracking. 

Anyway, here's today's HDR photo. It's kind of an extreme HDR since it's 5 shots, 2 stops apart. 

My Blog.
http://alikgriffin.com/blog/jun/14/los-angeles-skyline

2013-06-12 06:38:38 (8 comments, 8 reshares, 103 +1s)

Now that's what you call an 'Epic' sunset.
One of those rare nights in Los Angeles.

I have a story about this shot, 
Just happen to be on a roof top shooting some insert shots for a shoot with the RED Epic. Epic. . .  sunset. . . Because Epic is the name of the camera. :) Anyway, I Showed up on set this morning at 8am for a this awesome shoot. Only because my edit bay is being painted back at the office because we just moved into the DGA building. And I'm salary so it's cheaper to have me on set than a regular DIT (Digital Imaging Tech or 'Nerd in the tent') which costs around $500 a day plus overtime. And who better to DIT a shoot than the editor that will likely be editing it. Even though I have no experience with the Alexa and Epic. :) But I have shot a Feature on the Red One and a bit on the Scarlet and have edited quite a few things shot on theA... more »

2013-06-10 08:55:00 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Lightroom 5 Available Now!

Pretty cool update for Lightroom. Definitely one you don't want to skip.

I posted features I'm excited about on my blog. I would be buying it right now but I'm too tired. :) 

http://alikgriffin.com/blog/jun/10/lightroom-5-now-available

2013-06-09 20:00:54 (31 comments, 23 reshares, 312 +1s)

Streets of Shanghai
It was pouring rain the night I was in Shanghai. Sometimes it really pays off to have weather sealed gear. One of the buttons on my camera did quit working though. The little joystick on the back of the 5dmkii started only wanting to go left. It was fine the next morning. 

Weird Google+ lifted the Gamma on this photo a little. Gross. Shame on you google+ for altering my photo. You can see the original at my blog. 
http://alikgriffin.com/blog/jun/09/streets-shanghai

2013-06-09 02:57:36 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Canon announces new EF-M Ultrawide Lens
This is pretty cool for this little camera. It could make a great little HDR photography landscape camera now. I personally might wait for the next gen before getting something like this though. And that Sony Nex-7n is just around the corner as well. 

I think the biggest problem with this camera is you have to buy all new EF-M lenses. But if you're going to go out and buy all new lenses why not go with the Nex-7 which is a much more mature camera with a broader selection of lenses?

What I really want is this camera with the Magic Lantern Firmware. That could be a lot of fun if it works without problems. 

http://alikgriffin.com/blog/jun/08/canon-announces-new-ef-m-ultrawide-lens

2013-06-08 04:54:07 (21 comments, 15 reshares, 135 +1s)

Batu Bolong Sunset
I've been posting a lot of my photos from Bali these last few days and here is another one. This is Batu Bolong which is right near Tanah Lot. 

I just love going through my photos from Bali Indonesia. I still have them all on my laptop's internal harddrive even though it's been 7 months. :) 

http://alikgriffin.com

2013-06-08 01:06:48 (0 comments, 5 reshares, 16 +1s)

Game of Thrones - Ultimate Birthday Rap Battle
lol. I just had to share this. :) Enjoy

2013-06-07 18:04:07 (4 comments, 5 reshares, 22 +1s)

The world was remade in their image! Watch the Wolfenstein E3 trailer

This is our latest from http://g-net.tv 
Now for some time off. :)

2013-06-07 05:49:32 (8 comments, 5 reshares, 78 +1s)

Sunset at Tanah Lot
Those that saw my photo from yesterday. This is the view behind Tanah Lot while looking out into the ocean as the sun began to set. 
We were eating dinner at the restaurant while I took this photo. Pretty cool view hu?

http://alikgriffin.com/blog/jun/06/sunset-tanah-lot

2013-06-06 04:13:09 (50 comments, 27 reshares, 201 +1s)

Tanah Lot - The Sea Temple

Tanah Lot is one of the Seven Sea Temples located around Balinese coast and is a very popular tourist spot. 

Here's a fun fact. In 1980 Japan donated approximately $180 million to repair the temple's rock face and other significant locations around Bali. 1/3 of this temple is actually made up of artificial rock.

http://alikgriffin.com/blog/jun/05/tanah-lot-sea-temple

2013-06-02 23:51:28 (14 comments, 19 reshares, 100 +1s)

Fiery Goju-no-to Pagoda of Japan
This is one of the amazing five-story Pagodas located in Miyajima Japan. It overlooking the famous Itsukushima Shrine.

http://alikgriffin.com/blog/jun/02/firey-goju-no-pagoda-japan

2013-05-31 04:34:58 (11 comments, 3 reshares, 54 +1s)

Hanuman - The Mighty Warrior Monkey
This is another shot from the Kecak Dance of Bali Indonesia. Arted up with textures and Photoshop. I thought these characters from the dance would make some cool prints so I've been working on a series of them. This one is my favorite so far.

Thanks for liking and sharing!

http://alikgriffin.com/blog/may/30/hanuman-mighty-warrior-monkey

2013-05-28 09:02:07 (7 comments, 8 reshares, 72 +1s)

Birds of Paradise
I went to a walk down to 711 today and brought my 5Dmkii with my 40mm pancake lens. Saw these on the way back. They are actually everywhere around my neighborhood.  I even have some about 10 feet from my front door. But I took this photo to review the HDR capabilities of my newly installed Magic Lantern Custom Firmware. aka Hack.  I wanted to go down to the veterans cemetery with it being memorial day and all and the sunset was nice. But found out you have to have permission first to shoot photos there. 

With this firmware I'm able to expand my HDR photography all in camera. I shot this as a 5 shot sequence at 2EV intervals. So you could say it's kind of an extreme HDR photo. The 5 shots at 2EV is probably overkill but it still turned out great. Especially for ISO 640 and handheld. With this I can do up to 9 shots at up to 5EV increments. 
Check... more »

2013-05-27 22:34:28 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 14 +1s)

Amazing and great features to the Magic Lantern Firmware  you don't see people talking about.
And they really benefit us Canon photographers!

http://alikgriffin.com/blog/may/27/amazing-improvements-magic-lanterns-firmware-people-arent-talking-about

2013-05-27 02:08:04 (17 comments, 44 reshares, 247 +1s)

Manai Falls in the Takachiho Gorge - Japan
This was taken while inside a small row boat going through the Takachiho Gorge in Southern Japan. It's a pretty cool spot where the walls are lined with Basalt Columns.

http://alikgriffin.com

2013-05-25 06:48:07 (11 comments, 2 reshares, 55 +1s)

The Evil King Ravana 
This is from the Kecak Dance in Bali Indonesia. It's the first of a series I'm working on from when I was last in Bali. And for my friends from Indonesia, you'll have to help me out if I get the names wrong. :)

The prints should all come out with a similar feel to this one. It's sort of photographic texture art. I'll try to post more and finish them up in the next few weeks and hopefully I'll have a tutorial soon with this technique. Just need to get a new harddrive in my PC, mine is dead and I only have screen cap software on my PC. If you know of a good one on Mac let me know. I was using Camtasia.

So much for SSD drives being more reliable. 

http://alikgriffin.com/blog/may/24/evil-king-ravana-bali-kecak-dance

2013-05-22 06:41:34 (15 comments, 7 reshares, 96 +1s)

Mesquite Dunes of Death Valley
These Dunes are in Death Valley California just off the road. I actually had a lot of fun walking around here and taking photos. Except it's kind of exhausting since you're walking in soft sand that's always sliding out from beneath your feet. So fun though. Hopefully I can go back in this next year at some point. 

http://alikgriffin.com/blog/may/21/rolling-mesquite-dunes-death-valley

2013-05-21 07:23:51 (21 comments, 24 reshares, 227 +1s)

Yutoku Inari Shrine - Japan
This is the Entrance to the Yutoku Inari Shrine in Southern Japan. It's also the first photo I ever processed using textures, which I've been doing a lot more of lately.

I miss Japan. Need to go back soon!  Not being a billionaire sucks sometimes.

http://alikgriffin.com

2013-05-21 01:14:04 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)

Are there any plans to build something like Google+Blog for Drupal? I see all the wordpress bloggers on google+ using this now an it looks pretty awesome. It imports your comments from google+.
I tried the current G+ comments module on drupal but it simply doesn't cut it. 

Check it out: https://plus.google.com/u/0/103697821787469756035/posts/SSsdBaMZfYn

2013-05-20 23:11:20 (7 comments, 2 reshares, 17 +1s)

Holy Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Batman! +Thomas Hawk How did you get google Chat on your blog? Is this a new feature?

2013-05-18 22:29:10 (9 comments, 3 reshares, 57 +1s)

Rainy Day at the Kintai-Kyo Bridge - Japan
This was one of those photos where the location was cool, time of year was cool, but the weather sucked. It was raining and grey. I messed around with this photo here and there for the last few months never able to find a look I liked. I finally decided to use couple textures on it to give it a unique and artsy feel.
http://alikgriffin.com/blog/may/18/rainy-day-kintai-kyo-bridge

2013-05-15 23:32:10 (24 comments, 1 reshares, 42 +1s)

WTF just happend to Google+?

2013-05-15 05:44:02 (8 comments, 7 reshares, 72 +1s)

The Mighty Sequoias of The Mariposa Grove
The Mariposa Grove is part of Yosemite National Park. About a 30 minute drive from the valley.

The base photo of this is an HDR that I decided to texture up a bit. I used a single texture that I layered a few times with various opacities and blending modes. Overlay was the primary blending mode set to 100% then I added a duplicate of the texture at 24% Hard Light and another at 11% Darken Color.
I did  

I did a few other cool tricks as well like sharpening with the High Pass filter. I added some color into the shadows by using 'apply image' to a layer mask then added that to a solid color that I set to soft light. It creates a nice color effect on only the shadows or highlights, depending on how you're inverted. Then I added a layer of neutral grey and set it to soft light, with another apply image to affect onlyth... more »

2013-05-14 21:44:54 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

Canon 5Dmkiii was hacked to record continuous raw video - What are your thoughts?

I'd love to get a discussion going on this on G+ since everyone on here is pretty smart with this kind of stuff.

To me this seems really cool but at the same time, impractical for your average consumer. Would you use the 5Dmkiii to shoot raw or would you rather shoot with the default H264 or even the 10bit HDMI out? After all, final output on almost all the videos we make is for online or DVD, which is usually some form of an overly compressed 8bit AVC MPEG4. 

I could really seeing this being useful in the wold of C.G. for shooting greenscreens or various plates. Or cheap B cameras for film shoots.  But that aside, the implications of this are going to create a huge ripple that will change the whole industry and price points of various cameras.

I posted more informationab... more »

2013-05-12 19:35:50 (13 comments, 4 reshares, 46 +1s)

The Pinocchio Whale at Disneyland
So I went to Disneyland last weekend. There are so many people there it's kind of unbelievable. It's not what I remember from when I was a kid. It's also really hard to shoot photography there because you're just in one constant sea of people, like Tokyo.
I did some research to try and figure out how much this one park makes a day. A ticket costs $80 dollars and there where hundreds of thousands of people there. I found a site that was saying just this one park in Anaheim probably makes around a $1 million a day. And Disney CO makes about $5 Billion every year. That's nuts. You'd think they could lower ticket prices a littler bit. Instead of raising them every year. :)

This photo was part of a blog post from yesterday about custom camera modes. http://alikgriffin.com/blog/may/11/using-your-cameras-custom-modes. It was a... more »

2013-05-12 09:15:33 (24 comments, 12 reshares, 180 +1s)

The Great Monuments of Yosemite
This taken with my telephoto looking down Yosemite Valley. It's a pretty epic view and such an epic place.

I did a write up about using your camera custom modes c1, c2, c3 and just decided to include some sample photos. This is one of them. Taken handheld with my telephoto.
You can check that out to see how I customize my camera settings. 
http://alikgriffin.com/blog/may/11/using-your-cameras-custom-modes

2013-05-11 20:26:01 (7 comments, 3 reshares, 16 +1s)

Do you use your Camera's Custom Modes? - C1,C2,C3
Here is a brief explanation on how I use mine. 

http://alikgriffin.com/blog/may/11/using-your-cameras-custom-modes

2013-05-10 07:39:19 (15 comments, 9 reshares, 101 +1s)

The Great Yosemite Valley
This is the view of Yosemite Valley as you're entering from the upper road. It's definitely up there with one of the most amazing things I've seen.

http://alikgriffin.com/blog/may/10/great-yosemite-valley

2013-05-08 06:20:23 (17 comments, 13 reshares, 105 +1s)

Venice Beach Walk
Took this while hanging out at Marina Del Ray with my wife. We walked  from the marina down to the Venice Beach Pier which is about a mile walk. It was such a nice night. Perfect for testing out my ND500. If you're looking for a great relatively inexpensive 9 stop ND filter check out this one. The Light Craft ND500.

More photos with it on my blog.
http://alikgriffin.com/blog/may/07/venice-beach-walk

2013-05-08 08:00:26 (22 comments, 0 reshares, 15 +1s)

What does clean HDMI really mean for the 5Dmkiii?
I saw everyone blogging about this clean HDMI firmware update but nobody ever really explained its advantages. So here it is. This is why Clean HDMI is yet another game changes for that 5Dmkiii. 

2013-05-05 01:05:48 (6 comments, 6 reshares, 71 +1s)

Top of the Yutoku Inari Shrine - Japan
This place was awesome. It was a spot I visited last time I was in Southern Japan. 
It was a tricky one to process because of the dominant orange and red colors. I actually ended up processing two extreme HDR versions of this. One with too much contract and not enough vibrance, the other with a ton of saturation and not enough contrast. Then I layered them and blended them together in Photoshop with Opacity until they met somewhere in the middle. I recommend doing that when you can't quite get the look you want out of your HDRs.

For the texture I used something off DeviantART and used the blending mode 'Hard Light' with adjusted opacity until it looked good. Then set a layer mask on the texture and painted out some of the texture in the middle. So it was mostly along the edges.

For final color I used my Retro... more »

2013-05-01 05:10:54 (13 comments, 9 reshares, 102 +1s)

Low Tide at Miyajima Japan
This is my second time to this amazing island off the coast of Hiroshima Japan. It's like visiting a time capsule of Japanese Culture and Tradition. It's unbelievably beautiful there especially in the fall.

Update: I decided I wasn't in love with what the HDR processing did with my sky so I brought in the sky from my middle exposure and replaced it. You can see that updated post on my blog. It's a slightly better quality image. I still wish Google+ would let you replace your images. So many times I'll post a photo then leave my computer for awhile and come back realizing there is one thing I don't like in my processing. I can redo it on my blog but not here.

http://alikgriffin.com/blog/apr/30/low-tide-miyajima-japan

2013-04-28 21:37:48 (37 comments, 12 reshares, 105 +1s)

Rocky Bali Reef Break
A shot of one of the many awesome Reef Breaks of Bali Indonesia.

http://alikgriffin.com/blog/apr/28/rocky-bali-reef-break

2013-04-25 07:55:39 (18 comments, 8 reshares, 109 +1s)

Jungle Rice Fields of Bali
While visiting this awesome temple deep in the jungles of Bali, we came back out to find this beautiful sight. It seems they can grow rice just about anywhere in Bali. It's a pretty amazing place. 
http://alikgriffin.com/blog/apr/25/jungle-rice-fields-bali

2013-04-23 06:47:24 (16 comments, 10 reshares, 90 +1s)

Trail Through Mariposa Grove
On our way out of Yosemite Valley we stopped by the Mariposa Grove to see the Sequoias. It's really amazing how big these things can get.

http://alikgriffin.com/blog/apr/22/trail-through-mariposa-grove

2013-04-21 19:26:43 (11 comments, 16 reshares, 98 +1s)

Old Couple of Yosemite Valley
HDR photo of Yosemite Half Dome. There was this old couple that pulled out some lounge chairs and just sat for awhile soaking up the beauty of Yosemite Half Dome. It's refreshing seeing people stop and just enjoy the world around them. Our younger generation including myself doesn't do this anymore. We are too busy taking pictures and playing with our tablets. 

http://alikgriffin.com/blog/apr/21/old-couple-yosemite-valley

2013-04-21 04:41:23 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 77 +1s)

The Adventurer
My wife the Adventurer while we were hiking up to Vernal Falls in Yosemite. I did a bunch of color enhancements to this one. Lots of light leaks and lens flare effects. 

You can check out the before and after and another look I did at
http://alikgriffin.com/blog/apr/20/adventurer

I think I'm going to start posting a lot more of these before and afters on my blog. I like to see what people do with their raws so I'll show mine to you. It's fun. 

2013-04-19 05:40:17 (5 comments, 6 reshares, 106 +1s)

Sun Flares at Yosemite Falls
This one was a fun one to process. I've been using a lot more Photoshop lately and more gadgets like my ND 500. I really need a week off to go through the rest of these shots. :)

You can check out the before and after and workflow at: http://alikgriffin.com/blog/apr/18/sun-flares-yosemite-falls

2013-04-17 08:05:02 (23 comments, 25 reshares, 123 +1s)

Looking Up at The Yosemite Falls
I was lucky enough to get to go to Yosemite again this weekend. Last time I went was last spring when I had just started shooting photography again. This time I got a few new lenses and a whole new perspective.

And thanks to the community of great photographers here on Google+ that shares their knowledge and techniques, I've also gotten a bit better at my techniques. Thank you!

+1 and Share please :)

There will be more coming this week.
My blog: http://alikgriffin.com

2013-04-12 05:41:29 (12 comments, 9 reshares, 97 +1s)

It's my favorite and least favorite time of year - Allergy Season
This was taken from up near Pismo Beach. Everything up there is so green and in bloom this time of year it's almost like a little mini Paradise. I stayed a night at the Sycamore Hot Springs. Such a fun cool little get away spot. I recommend.

2013-04-11 01:24:03 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

►Top Photographers Circle 3.0 / A-K◄ - of ►Top Photos on Google+◄
+10000 PHOTOGRAPHERS by +Robert SKREINER
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
In this Circles are included all ►Top Photographers,
who contributed and participated in the daily photo theme:
#10000photographers since the G+Page and Group 
+10000 PHOTOGRAPHERS by +Robert SKREINER
is established, respectively all, whose photos were shared as
►TOP Photos on Google+◄ until today.
This circle is renewed and expanded regularly! Those who have once or even several times not shared this circle are not included in this circle. Who wants to be included in the next circle again, please share this circle. This is only a fair rule. Whowants to be promoted must also concede this to the others.
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░... more »

2013-04-03 22:00:56 (22 comments, 5 reshares, 90 +1s)

Praying Mantis in Japan
Found this guy while hiking through Southern Japan. We have them in SoCal but the ones in Japan have magic powers. 

2013-03-27 20:22:37 (7 comments, 6 reshares, 101 +1s)

Many Beacon of Zabriskie Point
Kind of strange name for a rock formation. But I'll go with it. 
This is a really interesting and cool place in Death Valley. So many different colors all in one location. It's really unlike anything I've ever seen.

http://alikgriffin.com
https://www.facebook.com/AlikGriffinPhotography

#landscapephotography  

2013-03-26 02:38:22 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 28 +1s)

My Photographer Friends check this out. - Google Slashes Prices on Nik Photo Editing Bundle.

I'm not affiliated with them at all, but this is something I want to share because I love Color Efex Pro so much I would marry it. Except I'm already married.

http://alikgriffin.com/blog/mar/25/google-slashes-prices-nik-photo-software

2013-03-21 07:19:50 (22 comments, 17 reshares, 180 +1s)

That's a lot of Sand
I kept one grain as a souvenir under my focus ring on my lens, so every time I focus it grinds a little bit to reminding me of this wonderful place.

2013-03-17 20:23:30 (18 comments, 13 reshares, 130 +1s)

The Golden Mudstones of Death Valley
These are the mudstones located at Zabriskie point in the Badlands of Death Valley. From here it looks like the mountains are made of sandstone but they're actually made of compressed mud. When you walk on it you can feel it give under your feet with each step. The ground feels very light and almost hollow. It's really cool.

I set up a feedburner on my blog you can follow here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/alikgriffin  There I post lots of other stuff related to photography besides just pictures.

http://alikgriffin.com
http://facebook.com/alikgriffin.com
#landscapephotography  

2013-03-16 17:07:22 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 22 +1s)

Some more DayZ action coming up. My good friend and DdayHollywood producer +Xtian Bretz started an Indogogo campaign for season two. Check it out so we can keep making these!

2013-03-15 20:58:00 (14 comments, 8 reshares, 72 +1s)

Mesquite Dunes - Death Valley
The dunes in Death Valley are really awesome. It almost looks like they are painted because of the different colors of sand that all mix together.

It took me a bit of hiking around to find some dunes that hadn't been walked on. It was surprising at just how sharp and clean the line is at the top of these peaks.

http://alikgriffin.com
http://pintrest.alikgriffin.com
#landscapephotography  

2013-03-15 03:30:47 (11 comments, 2 reshares, 74 +1s)

Yumiko Lost in the Dunes

My wife and I went to Death Valley this weekend. I never really even knew too much about it until I started researching the desert flowers that are suppose to bloom there. These dunes here are I believe the Mesquite Dunes. Where a lot of Starwars was filmed. Some with from the first one where C3P0 and R2D2 are wondering lost, and some from Return of the Jedi.

And if you're wondering about those flowers I mentioned. It's not a good year for them. At least not yet. They bloom at various elevations, this time of year the flowers at the lower elevation are blooming, There were some here and there but nothing amazing.