CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-18 01:41:01 (9 comments, 1 reshares, 25 +1s)

If you're online and looking for something different and interesting- I'm going to be part of a live Youtube...show. I'm not sure what else to call it. I'm one guest of five, including a comedian, musician, blogger, crafty person and something else. It should be very interesting. 
Starting at 7pm PT, go to this link:
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheBillster2/live

2013-05-16 22:37:27 (277 comments, 225 reshares, 1619 +1s)

Big pano from Friday night's visit to Lost Lake. 
It was a magical hour of clear skies and no wind. 

2013-05-13 16:29:15 (34 comments, 20 reshares, 220 +1s)

Damnit. It never fails. EVERY time I wonder "should I go out to shoot stars" and I do go- I end up not regretting it. This should be good news- I know. But, it's difficult some days to get the gumption or inspiration to go out and shoot. Part of me just wants to get a good night's sleep and enjoy a normal weekend; but the other part knows there's a chance of the clouds opening up and stars coming out- so, I should go. 
So, I went. And I'm glad I did. It was beautiful. Mt Hood, reflected in Lost Lake. Stars and Milky Way shrouding the entire scene. Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful. 

Alright folks, Happy Monday. 

2013-05-03 17:01:12 (22 comments, 16 reshares, 136 +1s)

Beautiful overlook above Bishop, CA. Anyone been up here? It was a little white knuckle crawling up the steep dirt road in the dark! This is from my +Land Rover USA trip a couple months back. 
One thing I love to do is get out of town and find a spot away from the lights to look up at the stars. It was cool being up here for a couple hours looking down on the small car lights moving around. I get a real peace in these places. 

Anyone notice photo comments are being streamed through the Gmail interface? Wow! I LOVE this feature. +Google+ Photos  comments are so much easier to reply and interact with. Good job to the team coming up with these innovations and work throughs. 

Alright- happy friday everyone! 

2013-05-02 17:02:37 (5 comments, 5 reshares, 47 +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 16:41:55 (20 comments, 10 reshares, 111 +1s)

Alright G+, you get first eyes on this crazy piece! I've got one more to process.
The lines in the sky and on the truck are star trails passing in the sky and reflecting off the Land Rover :-) A little different take on the normal star trail style. 

2013-05-01 17:24:17 (35 comments, 27 reshares, 217 +1s)

I LOVE this house. It's like an old friend when I get the opportunity to visit at night. 
Summer is coming, friends! Milky Way is rising in the sky, nights are getting warmer- who's going out shooting stars this summer??

2013-05-10 08:17:49 (18 comments, 21 reshares, 159 +1s)

I was mesmerized by this road going warp drive up into snow-capped mountains. But, let me tell you- it's eery setting up a camera in the middle of the road in the dark.. 

2013-04-15 15:51:02 (16 comments, 5 reshares, 98 +1s)

This is one of the more challenging images to shoot on the road trip photo shoot with the LR4 Rover. I didn't sleep much, since I was focusing on night photography, but the few hours I did get- I passed out in the back of the rig. I was amazed at how visible the outdoors are through all the windows, moon roofs and sun roof.  So, around 4am one night, before passing out, I did my best to catch the view of the stars while looking up. Laying in the back is incredibly comfortable!  

2013-04-12 16:42:28 (12 comments, 1 reshares, 48 +1s)

Whoa! I got featured on Weather.com today! 
http://www.weather.com/sports-rec/weather-ventures/breathtaking-stars-light-up-sky-20130411

2013-04-09 23:14:29 (14 comments, 11 reshares, 123 +1s)

Land Rover is starting to share the images from my road trip with the LR4, so I'm going to be posting them as they come out. I had such a blast on this trip/job. Rover was fantastic in giving me creative freedom to do my thing which inspired me to be all the more creative. This is one of my favorites from the night shots. laughing I didn't get much sleep between shooting day/night and driving between locations. It was an awesome runout :-)  

I highly encourage you to click on it and see it in the dark view. Cheers and clear skies. http://www.landrover.com/us/en/lr/lr4/

2013-03-27 01:07:08 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Hey! I'm online, live, RIGHT NOW, talking with a bunch of really good star shooters on a hangout right now. Check it out. 
https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/c0usntbq8kb8to4dqff6qqnremo

2013-03-26 22:44:47 (29 comments, 41 reshares, 233 +1s)

This evening was incredible. I was running and slipping on the ridge here trying to get in a couple shots before the approaching dawn light washed the stars out. Let me tell you- down booties don't give the best traction in icy snow! laughing 

About 15 minutes later this big Lenticular was gone. To my memory- this is the first time in the 4 yrs I've been shooting stars that I've seen a Lenticular cloud at night. What made it particularly special, is the light from Government Camp below shone directly onto it, lighting it up like the screen on a drive in movie theater. 
Light pollution is both a terrible and fascinating thing. 

Props to Hilleberg the Tentmaker for the performance of their Tarra tent. That thing is a bomb shelter. 

In about 2 hours, I'll be in a G+ Hangout with +Royce Bair , +Brad Goldpaint , +Jack Fusco , +Mike Berenson and+David ... more »

2013-03-12 16:38:16 (28 comments, 32 reshares, 205 +1s)

Here's an incredible moment from Saturday night out star shooting by Mt Hood. This is the first time I've seen a lenticular at night! 

2013-05-31 23:25:25 (501 comments, 1326 reshares, 2408 +1s)

Older pic, but evidently I originally shared it in a limited version, so "hear ye,  hear ye, thees photo is now hereby publicly posted."
2011 National Geographic Travel Photo of the Year!
A little behind the scenes if you're interested
http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/?s=ben+canales 

2012-11-06 19:32:00 (25 comments, 20 reshares, 175 +1s)

Leaves are changing, nights are getting colder and the mountains are starting to get snow. Star gazing in the winter is a daunting thing being out in the cold, but it comes with the advantages of night beginning relatively early and the cold air holds less humidity which means a clearer view of the night sky through our atmosphere. This shot was taken a few miles in on a multi-mile cross country ski backpack trip. This spot more so than anywhere else had a big opening in the forest around me and I was shocked at how bright the moon light was on the snow around me. It was beautiful :-)
The forest was silent except for the occasional muffled "fhwump" of snow clumps falling off the tree branches. I was warm, even sweaty, from skiing with my backpack- so the break of taking the picture was not cold at all. The few times I checked my map to gauge the distance to camp- the moonlight was enough to... more »

2012-08-11 00:59:23 (23 comments, 12 reshares, 146 +1s)

Starfish under the Stars!
I've been obsessing about this for a couple years now. FINALLY got it :-) 
Took this on the Washington Coast while backpacking between La Push and Hoh River. Amazing section of coastline! 

2012-08-02 15:12:33 (46 comments, 107 reshares, 329 +1s)

Time for a new image! This is a totally different look for me, but it's grabbed me deep inside since it first showed up on the back of my camera. 
It's different for me because usually I am looking for things to ADD into the frame, not shoot with an empty landscape. But, at the top of South Sister, in a snow-filled crater there was literally nothing around! So, I tried some shots out and then was amazed to discover I loved the emptiness of it. Oh, and this is ISO 8000 on the new 1Dx! 

New "style" for me, but I like it. I'm not finished processing it, but I really wanted to get a version up online for you to see.
What do you think?

Also, in case you missed it- on the same night I shot this, we did a 1Dx vs 5D3 shoot off for the best Canon star shooting camera. Sample images, notes, and winner is shown here in this blog:more »

2012-07-31 18:27:48 (14 comments, 5 reshares, 46 +1s)

Finally! Some clarity on whether the new Canon 1Dx or 5D3 is the best night DSLR camera. 
We took both (and the 5D2 and 1D4) out and worked through the ISO's to see which camera handles the High ISO's the best. 
Check it out here:
http://www.uncagethesoul.com/night-photography/best-canon-night-camera/

2012-07-23 23:16:31 (34 comments, 23 reshares, 194 +1s)

Canon 1Dx, ISO 8000!
Our weekend climb of the South Sister and testing of the new Canon 1Dx and 5D3 went incredibly well! 
I got my ass kicked, but found some beautiful new angles on Oregon's amazing Cascade mountains. 
I'll be posting head-to-head results of the 1Dx and 5D3 in the next day or two, so look for that. 
This is John up on the summit, enjoying his 10,358 ft view. 

2012-07-20 00:57:59 (19 comments, 2 reshares, 37 +1s)

Yes! +Uncage the Soul Video Productions  has finally gotten our brand new Canon 1Dx, so we've got a Canon 5d3 from rental, and we're taking them out head to head to find out who's the best Landscape Astrophotographer! 
We'll also bring a 5d2 and 1D4. 
Should be really cool to see what WAS possible and what now IS possible. 
We're climbing and camping at the summit of South Sister in Oregon (elevation 10k+), weather is forecasted for clear skies, Moon is barely in the sky- so expect some epic star shooting conditions. 
Any guesses/predictions which one will win???

2012-07-18 18:11:56 (19 comments, 1 reshares, 57 +1s)

My parents came to visit Oregon- I took them to see stars and then the Aurora happened to show up! 

2012-07-06 18:00:38 (8 comments, 3 reshares, 81 +1s)

Usually I avoid shooting when the moon is bright and prominent, but I was out with friends camping- so I made the best of it. Turned out to be a sweet accent light! The moon is heading back down to that interesting 3/4 - 1/2 phase. I encourage you to get out and try some moonlit night shots. 

2012-06-29 17:45:59 (17 comments, 10 reshares, 116 +1s)

**Clouds leaving, Stars showing up!** 
Finally things are clearing up here in the Pacific Northwest. This is a shot from a spur of the moment camping trip with some friends. 

The Moon was beaming bright with about 3/5 illumination, giving a perfect "Rembrandt" light at an angle behind us. Usually I run away from bright moonlight when shooting stars, but it certainly does have it's advantages when used right. I love when the Moon cooperates ;-) 

This is a good example of when I will expose long on the stars to get more illumination in the landscape. If you check out the stars you'll see they're tracking just a little bit. But, to me, that's a point I'll concede to give more detail to view and explore in the foreground. 

This is one of my new favorite camping spots! 

2012-06-01 22:05:06 (22 comments, 6 reshares, 131 +1s)

Sleeping under the stars along the Oregon Coast last year :-) 
The camera glows red as it records a time-lapse of the Milky Way over the ocean. 

2012-04-25 17:05:43 (158 comments, 238 reshares, 402 +1s)

**Portland Timelapse**
Well, once again, I've been ridiculously obsessed with a project that's cut me off from communication, but I'm happy to say I'm done and a new Portland time-lapse video is online to enjoy from the effort!
308,872 photos shot in this project!
Check it out:
https://vimeo.com/41011190

2012-04-09 16:34:38 (16 comments, 1 reshares, 20 +1s)

Can anyone top this in their LR4 Library?
Check out "All Photographs" line item...
I think we went a bit out of control shooting for this Portland time-lapse piece...

2012-04-04 19:00:30 (14 comments, 4 reshares, 72 +1s)

**Portland in March**
Here's a quick edit on last night's wild show of weather and light.
It's a fickle balance between spectacular show and wash out here in March. But last night it tipped into spectacular show :-)
+Brian Matiash I'm watching the radar for sunset tonight- up for shooting tonight?

2012-04-03 19:25:48 (29 comments, 6 reshares, 13 +1s)

I'm getting a lot of comments about Canon's new 60DA release today. If you haven't heard- it's a 60D modified to hone in on the more obscure light wavelengths of galaxies and nebula and other sorts of starry beauty. I don't know enough about the telescope-astronomy to understand all the aspects of Hydrogen-Alpha sensitivity- but I'm going to make an ignorant and unfounded GUESS that this will not dramatically effect "Landscape Astrophotography" because we're not zooming into galactic clouds like telescope astronomers. However, I do wonder how the Milky Way cloud would look via this modified sensor.

Keep in mind, currently, a major obstacle or opportunity for shooting stars and landscapes is the camera's ISO abilities. That being said, the 60D is not a front runner of High ISO technological breakthroughs. So, that leads me to think this modification is... more »

2012-03-22 21:51:45 (6 comments, 2 reshares, 25 +1s)

**Portland Timelapse**
Super excited to let you all know some news- on April 21st, myself and John Waller are giving a *TEDx* presentation here in the city! The theme is "Uncharted Territory."
We'll be talking about all sorts of time-lapse and video goodness and unveiling a new time-lapse video focused on our rad city of Portland, OR.
Get excited with this sneak peak on the footage and coverage of the Portland Timbers season opener!
http://vimeo.com/38961384

2012-03-15 15:53:50 (11 comments, 3 reshares, 29 +1s)

WOW. Yesterday and today two of my images on +500px were chosen as "Editor's Choice" !
The quality and creativity over there is stunning, so it's a real honor.
1. http://500px.com/photo/146655?from=editors&page=4
2. http://500px.com/photo/5435900?from=editors

Editors Choice page:
http://500px.com/photos/editors

I won't say +Flickr is dead, but I will confidently say the photo party has moved over to 500px.com

2012-03-02 19:54:37 (19 comments, 10 reshares, 139 +1s)

**Blue Lagoon with galaxies overhead**
Welcome back to Turtle Island!
As they say in Fiji, "Bula :-)"
Welcome and hello to a view of the stars, Milky Way, and Magellanid Galaxy in the Southern Hemisphere.

You are looking at Turtle Island's Blue Lagoon. Come on in, the water's warm. Thunderstorms move through and recycle the day's air making everything fresh and new. As the storms passes, stars emerge through the clouds eager to shine. The warm waters of the Blue Lagoon remain still as they reflect the beauty of the night sky with envy.

In the shadowed darkness, fish noisily jump up and out of the water chasing or being chased. A warm, gentle breeze occasionally stirs up, rustling the palm leaves above and behind. In the air, the sweet smell of Hibiscus blossoms cover everything.

It's 3am, the island's few inhabitants... more »

2012-03-01 17:21:25 (20 comments, 3 reshares, 14 +1s)

**HDR is coming, not going**
I'm just going to say it now- HDR is not going away.
For those of you abhorred by it- it WILL become integrated into normal photography WITHIN the camera and be seen simply as normal photography. Not just quirky off shoots of third parties or small point and shoots- I'm talking the two big boys Canon and Nikon also.
**It's just a matter of time. **

Canon Rumors released this new rumored spec sheet for the upcoming Canon 5d Mk III, and halfway down in the list is "High Dynamic Range (HDR) Mode."
Whether it really happens now in the Canon line up with the 5d III or later in some future professional model- IMO, it's inevitable, and I'll put myself in the cross-hairs for some- it is necessary that it does happen.
http://www.canonrumors.com/2012/03/5d-mark-iii-full-spec-list/

In the... more »

2012-03-01 17:17:13 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

**Technology my kids could have**
Imagine a new photo/viewing technology where a viewing screen could track your eyes to know where on the screen you were looking.

Then, imagine an image file that contained complete focus range and exposure range.

Now imagine those two combining so that as you looked at a picture, the focus and exposure would adjust to exactly where in the image you were looking.

Apply something like that to a virtual tour in a video...

2012-02-29 19:41:39 (11 comments, 2 reshares, 18 +1s)

If you enjoyed the peaceful, serene, magical igloo shot I posted earlier this week from the ski camping trip last weekend, here's a video shot from inside that will dispel all the above feelings.
Truth is, it was a mad dancing rave party inside the igloo.
Yes, five people dancing and jumping IN an igloo.
Possibly the first ever?
http://vimeo.com/37646195

2012-02-26 00:52:24 (44 comments, 27 reshares, 212 +1s)

Here's the igloo my friends and I made last weekend out on a 3 day ski-camping trip :-) I've never made an igloo before, so it was a hell of an experience!

This one is dedicated to my new starry-night shooter hero +Ron Garan. This guy is the astronaut that's been shooting the killer time lapses from the International Space Station ( http://vimeo.com/32001208 ).

Thanks to a fantastic hangout put together by +Trey Ratcliff (check out the recorded video here: Trey's Variety Hour #24 - Space and Photography with NASA Astronaut Ron Garan and more) , I had the opportunity to video chat with Ron Garan, and a handful of some of my favorite, fellow starry-night shooters (+Randy Halverson +Brad Goldpaint +Darryl Van Gaal +Jim Goldstein +Gordon Laing ) - HUGE thank you to Trey and +Dave Veffer for organizing this and including me!

So, back to +Ron Garan . In the... more »

2012-02-21 03:00:10 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Trey Ratcliff is hanging out with 7 people right now in a live Hangout On Air!

2012-02-16 00:09:05 (12 comments, 7 reshares, 61 +1s)

While trudging through processing the 2 TB of media from Turtle Island, I came across this shot today.
It got me all psyched up to stop what I was doing and work on processing this one.
It's a frame from an HDR Timelapse.
...fingers crossed on pulling this off on processing the whole time-lapse!

2012-02-08 18:36:34 (22 comments, 20 reshares, 8 +1s)

TSA Surprise- NO Lithium batteries in checked luggage!

Heads up Photographers and HDSLR video folks- on a recent job to Fiji, my coworker and I packed our DSLR batteries in our checked luggage. When we got to the job site (a remote island) we discovered our 13 DSLR batteries had been removed from our checked Pelican cases! Job was almost torpedo'd by this, but fortunately we had one battery in each camera that we had on carry on, so we weren't completely sunk.

But, beware- the rule is you have to carry-on those batteries on flights. Evidently they are a fire hazard. Take note and skip the surprise on your next travel shoot!

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/batteries.shtm

2012-02-07 03:23:03 (22 comments, 6 reshares, 89 +1s)

I made some new friends this weekend :-)
Got to introduce +Karen Hutton to some pretty places outside of Portland, and then had the added pleasure of meeting +Brian Matiash, a relative newcomer to Portland, but already becoming a seasoned veteran to the best landscape spots in the area.

It was fun. Actually, a lot of fun.
We laughed, got soaked by waterfall spray, I WAS blown off my feet by ripping winds, and even managed to take a few pictures in the process. It's amazing the connections you can make through the online communities. We knew all three of us enjoyed photography, but, it was a nice surprise to discover we also liked each other and immediately found a relaxed comfort and shared humor as a group. That's something that doesn't happen every time :-)

I'm really excited to show Brian just how big of a Photographer's Paradise he's moved out... more »

2012-02-05 02:43:53 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Yes, we are G+ official! +Uncage the Soul Video Productions page here, give it a follow to keep up with some interesting and exciting jobs happening.

2012-02-02 18:21:13 (26 comments, 15 reshares, 74 +1s)

Romantic dinner on the dock, under the stars, moonlight and lanterns at Turtle Island, Fiji on New Years Day. Does it get better??...

(amazingly, the bright light in the left side of the sky is NOT the moon, from what I can research, I think it's Venus! )

2012-02-01 17:43:44 (40 comments, 9 reshares, 16 +1s)

Anyone know how to do "Light Painting" in a video? Not a photo- but, record the path of the light and have it stay in the video. Preferably, looking to do it in After Effects.
Like this:
Light Painting - Light Graffiti - Ford Kuga (Table)

2012-01-18 23:41:41 (27 comments, 9 reshares, 116 +1s)

Somewhere around Night 6 on Turtle Island we realized we had to setup and shoot night time lapses regardless of the weather and expect clouds to come and go.

That mindset had us shooting when this scene unfolded. A gorgeous, clear Milky Way night turned into an atmospheric showdown. Easterly winds seemingly summoned by the galactic band pushed mightily against the thundering and flashing South Pacifc storm. The battle raged back and forth with an uncertain outcome until finally the stars relented and the boiling storm overcame the night sky.

It was amazing :-)
Milky Way over Blue Lagoon, Lightning flashes over distant Fijian island, seaplane anchored- waiting out the weather, another night at Turtle Island.
http://www.turtlefiji.com/

2012-01-17 23:36:07 (14 comments, 3 reshares, 70 +1s)

Weather outright SUCKS in Portland this week. Rain, ice, slush and drab clouds over it all. I came into work with one thought in mind: MUST. SEE. SUNNY. TURTLE ISLAND. PICTURES!

At Uncage the Soul Productions, we'll be processing and compiling a new promotional video for Turtle Island over the next few months. I'll post some "visual vacations" to the island as I work through the 2 TB of media.

This was shot about 20 minutes before dinner was served. Absolutely incredible. Five star food on the beach while the sky explodes with color- and all with my toes in warm sand. Turtle Island exists in another dimension! The community dinner table is a surprising twist for a high-end, exclusive island resort. I'm not one for celebrity worship, but it's a cool fact that you may be scooting in your dinner chair next to a face that's usually on the cover of celebrity... more »

2012-02-06 16:47:55 (6 comments, 2 reshares, 45 +1s)

Here's some BTS from a morning sunrise shoot out by Fiji.
My work partner, John Waller, is running a video of the sun eventually peaking over the horizon.
The sunrise was a stunner, but we also had a moment where we realized just how ridiculous we've obsessed over "capturing" the moment to our digital media. John is recording a video and taking a picture of his camera, while I take a picture of him taking a picture of him recording a video.
....we have lost touch with reality! laughing
#outofcontrol

The amount of powerful and dynamically useful technology that exists is staggering now. Our equipment is a fraction of the amount of gear necessary in the past, and its abilities are incredibly mutil-faceted. One camera shot marketing stills, HD video, Milky Way night shots, and even multi-hour timelapses.

But, to really blow the mind, all I... more »

2012-01-09 17:01:48 (20 comments, 4 reshares, 58 +1s)

Holy cow. What a crazy start to the year.
Out of left field a job to do a promotional video for an exclusive resort island off the coast of Fiji came up just before Christmas, and bing-bang-boom, I had to cut short my trip home with family to dash back to Portland and gear up for 10 days out in Fiji!!!
Just got back with 2 TB of video, pics and timelapse and am so damn excited to start processing it all!
Sorry I couldn't update you all, but signal was scarce out there and my partner and I literally worked night and day recording as much beauty as we could manage.
We rang in New Years Eve on the beach with Fijian costumed warrior performers "storming" the beach and performing some fun song and dance. Then, after a few drinks and well wishes, we dashed to the other side of the island, setup a sweet 3 axis astro timelapse with this palm tree, whisked back to bed for an... more »

2011-12-10 16:42:26 (34 comments, 7 reshares, 98 +1s)

Chased a view of the lunar eclipse all over the Portland area, finally found a clear spot and nabbed this frame in the first ten minutes! We call it, "Double Eclipse" ;-)

I'm tired.

2011-12-08 16:49:21 (31 comments, 16 reshares, 106 +1s)

After making the motion star trails in the timelapse video, I new I really wanted to incorporate it into a still image. I like how the trails die off.
What do you think?

In case you haven't heard, "Finding Oregon" is a timelapse video showing this scene and many more across Oregon. Keep your eyes and ears open for an upcoming behind the scenes video!
In the meantime, here's the timelapse link: www.vimeo.com/32852978

Sorry about the blatant titling at the bottom of the image, but there are too many damn "screen grab" apps and blogs that post images without credit or caption, so this is a new experiment in trying to keep the caption and link with the image.

Cheers and clear skies!

2011-12-07 23:51:08 (43 comments, 12 reshares, 121 +1s)

Brrrr! It's getting cold out here in Oregon, time to break out the Winter camping gear! Here's a shot from last year's snowy adventures. This was one of the coldest nights I've been out with a camera.
If all goes according to plan, I'll have a new picture to share tomorrow. I think you're going to like it :-)
Where was the coldest night you camped out?