Topaz Adjust 4 is Fun!
A few weeks ago I mentioned that Topaz Adjust 4 is now out, and I'm having a lot of fun with it! I took a while today on Twitter to answer questions about HDR and the book. One gentleman asked me about what settings I like the most in Topaz Adjust. I answered with "Photo Pop", "Dramatic", and "Portrait Drama". All of those are quite nice... and great starting points for further adjustments.
Below is a shot of the cool new interface. You can get a demo from the Topaz website.
Daily Photo - The Homestead
I took my campervan from 90 KPH to 0 as soon as I saw this place on the side of the road! This caused some mild excitement with my two kids that were nestled in their clubhouse above my driver's seat. This was a move they came to expect over the coming days.
It seemed just like the kind of place that I needed to shoot. The old house was abandoned and falling apart. So, of course, after I took shots of the outside, I ventured inside to really have a look. I got a ton of photos, and here is the first.
from Trey Ratcliff at www.stuckincustoms.com
Tags: travel travelblog world photography hdr high dynamic range imaging color outdoor shack house homestead sky blue clouds hills dilapidated ramshackle abandoned road trip rundown run down february 2010 topaz adjust 4 filter processing battered crumbling damaged ruins rural modern neglected decrepit old stuck customs stuckincustoms.com trey ratcliff treyratcliff blog nikon d3x south western pacific new zealand
Stopping in Petaluma to see the TWIT Cottage
I spent the night up in Napa where I was visiting my mom and grandmother. Since I was coming back to the Palo Alto area, I drove through Petaluma. While there, I stopped by the TWIT cottage to meet with Dane. Whilst there, Leo happened to be taping a show, so I ducked in a for a few moments to see everything in person.
So, what is cool about this? Well, for one thing, I've always like Leo and the scene he's throwin' down. Did you know he also sees out of just one eye? The one-eyed guys have to stick together.
Also, he runs a huge media empire out of this little cottage in Petaluma! It's really an impressive feat. He has several shows on his network that I think are interesting. You can either get the podcast on iTunes or watch live at live.twit.tv/. I recommend TWIT (This Week in Technology). There is another good show called "Macbreak Weekly" which is very good...
I thought about setting up for a major hardcore HDR in his studio, but I didn't want to impose... It was my first time in there (previous appearances on TWIP - This Week in Photography) were all remote via Skype, so I got a kick out of seeing the operation in person!
Extra Books at the Stanford Event?
I'm all out of copies of A World in HDR! We totally sold out at the Google speech, which was way more popular than I anticipated... Also, some of you may remember that Amazon sold out in several countries, so it can be a little tough to get copies... they don't exactly grow on trees! But, Amazon, Borders, B&H, and all the others replenish their supplies all the time.
If you already have a book, I am more than happy to sign it for you... it would be my pleasure!
The Lonely Barn
Note that this is not the aforementioned TWIT Cottage.
Along the road from Napa to Petaluma, there are countless photo ops. I stopped here and there on the side of the road to jump out and take some shots. This one I took with my 85mm prime lens - I will soon add it to the Nikon 85mm Review page along with the other sample photos.
It was a foggy and overcast morning, so I had to look for other sorts of subject in the landscape that were interesting... which is pretty easy to do here in the wine country!
Tags: petaluma stuckincustoms trey ratcliff stuck customs blog photography hdr high dynamic range digital imaging travelblog Nikon d3x color leo laporte napa foggy overcast wine country fog landscape barn February 2010 field growth wooden gray grey travel world united states usa west coast pacific California Sonoma péta lúuma driftwood gray green foliage
Taking photos near ground-water can be very interesting. And hard! Getting near that puddle is tough because you have to splay out the tripod. Even worse, you gotta kneel down in the muck (since puddles usually involve nearby muck). But, these are all relatively high-grade problems, all in all ...
The rest of this entry can be read here at stuckincustoms.com.
This place was another one of those New Zealand fence-hoppers.
I'm never 100% sure that jumping over fences is a great move. But if the place looks abandoned, I just go for it. I don't mean any harm.... I'm just going to take photos. So far, this has never caused me an issue (except for when I forget to check to see if the fence is electrified).
I don't do a lot of these urbex shots, but I certainly do enjoy them. Did you know there are several forums out there that have listings of abandoned buildings around the world?
Read the rest here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Tags: stuck customs stuckincustoms stuckincustoms.com travel blog travelblog photography photoblog photographyblog hdr high dynamic range imaging digital processing software tutorial hdrtutorial trey ratcliff treyratcliff southwest pacific new Zealand newzealand Aotearoa abandoned urban exploration exploration decrepit left deserted forsaken neglected dilapidated ruins broken bathtub collapsed wood house farmhouse peeling wallpaper glass February 2010 Nikon d3x
Now this is a proper Texas ghost town!
It was always one of those things that fascinated me as a child. Pretty much anything with the name "ghost" in it was cool back then, including my "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. I remember there was one called "Deadwood" or something like that, which always had a creepy ghost town feel to it.
Anyway, this is a strange abandoned town outside of Brenham, Texas (Home of Blue Bell Ice Cream!). And no, 17 Bodies were not found here... just being a bit dramatic. Or maybe there WERE 17 bodies here but the authorities are just covering it up. It's all true. I heard Alex Jones say it.
Last, I have updated my Nikon 14-24 Review and my Nikon 24-70 Review with new photos and the like. I know that only about half of our audience is photographers, but some people are looking to get into it more seriously, so maybe those will be helpful to you!
from the blog at www.stuckincustoms.com
Tags: texas Portfolio death d3x Brenham barn night reflection dead SIC Wallpaper Collector shack color rain poverty haunted ghost flood storm paint abandoned south ice cream porch twon village cowboy puddle yard bench pastel creepy still quiet Intense reflections sky trees Photographer StuckInCustoms Pro Nikon Photography Trey Ratcliff Amazing Lovely Emotions Beautiful Stunning Shot Shoot Capture Image Picture Edge Angle Composition Processing Treatment Fun Framing Unique Background resolution Artist Art Modern Bright Vibrant Fear Horror Dramatic Drama top100 travel north