David duChemin On TWIP

As you may know, David had a terrible accident while in Italy teaching a workshop. In the latest episode of "This Week In Photo", he talks with TWIP host Frederick Van Johnson about the accidence and much more. It's worth a listen. You can find it here.

Joe McNally's "Faces of Ground Zero"

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For those of you living in the New York area, Joe McNally's renowned "Faces of Ground Zero, Portraits of the Heroes of September 11, 2001" will be on display at the Time Warner Building in New York City from Aug. 24 to Sept. 12. I saw the original exhibit after 911 at Grand Central Station then and plan to visit it as soon as it goes on display now. It's a must see. You can find more information here.

Into the clouds

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 In my last post I told you about the hike down the mountain in Iceland. This is where it all started. We tuned left and down we went. All 2000+ ft. (about 610 meters) No fun.

Iceland, it was wonderful

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 Iceland is absolutely a wonderful place to visit. Everywhere you look is an opportunity for a photo and I came back with plenty. I carried my tripod on every hike we took, even the one that had us climb 2000' in little more that an hour. We were with about 50 other people from this tiny fishing village at the very top of Iceland. Most of the hike was at a very steep angle, on shale. Not only that but a cloud bank moved in and we could see very little until we got to the top. I'll post a picture of that soon.
Getting down was an adventure in itself. We couldn't see more than a few feet in front of us. My wife was a little behind me, stepped on a loose rock and fell, tumbling down until a snow field stopped her. She was shaken and with some help of others we got her down. The next few hours were spent in the local hospital. Bumps, bruises and a ruptured tendon in one finger. It could have been a lot worse.

Both of the above photos were taken after mid-night. Cool.

mtc

Off to Iceland today

I've been wanting to go to Iceland for a very long time. My wife and I am leaving today. It's going to be great even though the weather report for the next 10 days doesn't look good.

Our plans are to rent a car in Reykjavik and travel the west coast and then up north. To save time, we'll fly back to Reykjavik for some site seeing there. I'll have a full report when we get back.

I'm traveling light on camera gear because we plan to do a lot of hiking even if it rains. Yes, I will carry my tripod and a rain jacket for my camera.

Check out the "HDR Cookbook"

I found this site a while back. Klaus Herrmann (alias Farbspiel) not only does beautiful work but he also shares his entire workflow. He shows before and after pix and goes into great detail as to how he got the finished picture. He has also posted some videos. Very cool stuff. You should check it out, here.

RC's new "The HDR Book"

I just finished reading "RC" Concepcion's (one of the Photoshop guys) new "The HDR Book" and I have to say it's great. The book is like holding a workshop in your hands. For the beginner, it takes you through all the steps required to produce wonderful images. For someone more experience with HDR, there are more than enough exciting tips to make your images even better.


Put it on your list to read.

Standin' on the Corner

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Whoever thought that I would be Standin' on the Corner in Winslow, Az. I must have been a site to see out there in the cold with all my camera gear. The song Take It Easy, written by Jackson Browne and Glen Frey, was made famous by the Eagles. It has put Widslow on the map. There's not much to the town other than this corner and the La Posada Hotel. The hotel , the last great railroad hotel, has been completely renovated and has a world class restaurant. We had a great time singing and clicking.

The presentation to the Sedona Camera Club went really well. I guess there were about 40 to 50 members in the room. After the presentation there was time for questions and I think some who haven't shot and processed hdr before are going to give it a try. Cool!!!

Off to Sedona, Arizona

Today we're leaving to fly to Sedona. I have been invited by my friend to give a lecture at his camera club. The subject is "An Introduction to HDR". From what he tells me, a good part of the members have never heard of hdr or think it's the work of the devil and has no place in photography. It should be interesting. Wish me luck.

John Paul Caponigro has written a wonderful article

John Paul is one of my favorite photographers and teachers. Over the years I have learned much from his wonderful style of teaching and his deep incites into the "Why" of photography. This time I think he has outdone himself with a wonderful article posted on Scott Kelby's Guest Wednesday blog post. You can find it here. His thesis is Personal Projects. It's clear message will push you into planning yours.

I have had a few ideas for personal projects that have not yet taking shape. This article will help in moving those along. I'll keep you informed as they do.