Stuck In Customs

Midnight in Venice

Thu, 26 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

Daily Photo – Midnight in Venice

Here’s one of my favorite photos just outside my hotel in Venice. I stayed here for about three weeks, so it was quite a long time to be returning to the same place every night. After about two weeks, I finally memorized most of the streets and would no longer get lost. This was the view that awaited me every night upon my return home… I took this one with the Hasselblad.

Midnight in Venice

Photo Information

Date Taken2016-02-10 23:04:13
CameraH5D
Camera MakeHasselblad
Exposure Time32
Aperture4
ISO400
Focal Length28.0 mm
Flash
Exposure ProgramManual
Exposure Bias

Heading out for a Snorkel Near the James Bond Island

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

Cool Lightform Projector

Check out this really cool tech from Lightform!

Daily Photo – Heading out for a Snorkel Near the James Bond Island

When I was staying at the Ritz-Carlton at Phulay Bay, one day we jumped into a boat and headed over to the archipelago in search of that cool island from one of the early James Bond movies. It turns out there are lots of islands that have that same look with the undercut limestone. The snorkeling is great around here and the water is always perfectly clear. Sometimes, however, when you get out into the ocean, you can see a big floating pile of trash, and that is really kind of depressing…

Heading out for a Snorkel Near the James Bond Island

Photo Information

Date Taken2015-12-29 04:16:04
CameraH5D
Camera MakeHasselblad
Exposure Time1/400
Aperture4.8
ISO100
Focal Length35.0 mm
Flash
Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
Exposure Bias

Lonely Clouds and Trees at the Hills

Tue, 24 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

Daily Photo – Lonely Clouds and Trees at the Hills

I think maybe photographers have a particularly fun life because perhaps we notice things more than other people. I mean, I see non-photographers notice interesting things too, but I am usually thinking, “Yeah, I saw that ages ago.” Haha… not in a dismissive way, but I think once you start taking photos you just notice a little bit more of everything.

Lonely Clouds and Trees at the Hills

Photo Information

Date Taken2019-01-03 20:01:46
CameraILCE-7RM3
Camera MakeSony
Exposure Time1/30
Aperture16
ISO100
Focal Length24.0 mm
FlashOff, Did not fire
Exposure ProgramManual
Exposure Bias

Beautiful Braided Rivers from the Glaciers

Mon, 23 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

Machine Elf 39 – The Hive 4K

As soon as I moved to New Zealand, I got about 250,000 bees. I’ve always wanted to be a beekeeper, so I thought it was a great opportunity to give back to the planet a little bit. It’d be kinda awesome if everyone did that, eh? We have a little farm with that’s about 10 acres big and it’s had all sorts of ups and downs. We’ve had sheep born and die (even buried one but not deep enough so its legs sticking out of the ground…) We’ve had chickens that have been killed by dogs and birds of prey… but the only thing that keeps on going without fail is the beehives. It’s not that I’m a great beekeeper; I’m actually terrible! But I’m learning all the time.

The reason that I got into bees is because I’ve always been fascinated by superorganisms. I first got interested in ants then got into bees. From the early days of the internet, I kind of got the idea that humans were going to someday form a superorganism and we would use the internet the same way ants use scent trails or bees perform the waggle dance. I’ve learned so much from my bees about nature and the fundamental inter-workings of the world… I’ve also learned that I’m a pretty crappy beekeeper and I still have a lot to learn!

Daily Photo – Beautiful Braided Rivers from the Glaciers

Here’s the Dart River that flows down from the Southern Alps then fills up Lake Wakatipu. I took this from a helicopter with Choppy and Over the Top while we were on the way to one of our first glacier landings. You can get a quadcopter up over this as well, but you can’t get nearly this high to get this perspective… to me, the more braided rivers, the better!

Beautiful Braided Rivers from the Glaciers

Photo Information

Date Taken2020-03-04 16:25:47
CameraILCE-7RM3
Camera MakeSony
Exposure Time1/1600
Aperture4
ISO80
Focal Length24.0 mm
FlashOff, Did not fire
Exposure ProgramManual
Exposure Bias

The Bridge to St. Paul’s Cathedral

Sun, 22 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

Passport Sunday Editing Party!

Another Sunday, so time for another section of the blog to unlock for Passport Members. If you’re not a member yet, then, why not? Now you get access to over 200 videos plus a ton of other goodies!

The Bridge to St. Paul’s Cathedral – Making Of

Here’s a fun quick video that shows a few unexpected editing choices for this photo!

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Daily Photo – The Bridge to St. Paul’s Cathedral

If you ever go to London to take photos, I recommend setting aside a few hours at night to cross back and forth across the Thames on every bridge you can find. They all have cool perspectives, and this one on the way to St. Pauls is one of the most contemporary ones…

The Bridge to St. Paul’s Cathedral

Photo Information

Date Taken2015-02-16 04:48:57
CameraILCE-7R
Camera MakeSony
Exposure Time2.5
Aperture4
ISO200
Focal Length35.0 mm
FlashOff, Did not fire
Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
Exposure Bias

Snow Day

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

Daily Photo – Snow Day

Here’s a photo I got early one morning up at the Remarkables Snowfield. I forgot the exact reason I went up here, but I got on a snowmobile and rode up to the very top for photos. It was freezing cold, naturally, but it was pretty cool to get up there before it officially opened to get some clean photos. I’m actually so lame that I haven’t snowboarded in about five years! Although, on this day, I wish I had brought my board!

Snow Day

Photo Information

Date Taken2016-06-14 05:58:46
CameraILCE-7RM2
Camera MakeSony
Exposure Time1/320
Aperture8
ISO100
Focal Length24.0 mm
FlashOff, Did not fire
Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
Exposure Bias

Derek Sivers in a Field

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

Daily Photo – Derek Sivers in a Field

When Derek came down to visit, we spent a lot of time rolling around in grass of various heights. On this particular day, we decided to find some grass that was just a little higher than Derek when he was supine. It was the horses over there that gave us this ingenious idea.

Derek Sivers in a Field

Photo Information

Date Taken2017-03-21 04:48:35
CameraX1D-50c
Camera MakeHasselblad
Exposure Time1/2000
Aperture3.5
ISO100
Focal Length30.0 mm
FlashNo Flash
Exposure ProgramManual
Exposure Bias

Mitre Peak in Evening Light

Wed, 18 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

Daily Photo – Mitre Peak in Evening Light

Choppy made a stop at the airport in Milford Sound to re-fuel the helicopter so we could keep the flight going longer. It was a super-long day of flying with nearly five hours in the air. I’m not sure how much fuel a helicopter can hold, but we were flying pretty hard so probably about three hours worth… By hard flying, we actually had two helicopters up as we were flying from location to location.

Mitre Peak in Evening Light

Photo Information

Date Taken2020-03-06 00:42:57
CameraILCE-7RM3
Camera MakeSony
Exposure Time1/3200
Aperture4.5
ISO160
Focal Length42.0 mm
FlashOff, Did not fire
Exposure ProgramManual
Exposure Bias

Approaching Lake Erskine

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

Daily Photo – Approaching Lake Erskine

How epic is the color of that lake? We approached it with Choppy during our tour of the Southern Alps south of Queenstown. She said we could even go there and stay overnight one evening. We haven’t quite done it yet… it’s supposed to be really cold, but I think it would be another epic overnight with Choppy!

Approaching Lake Erskine

Photo Information

Date Taken2020-03-05 15:55:20
CameraILCE-7RM3
Camera MakeSony
Exposure Time1/1250
Aperture4
ISO160
Focal Length24.0 mm
FlashOff, Did not fire
Exposure ProgramManual
Exposure Bias

Another Amazing Queenstown Reflection

Mon, 16 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

Daily Photo – Another Amazing Queenstown Reflection

The chance to get a still lake are almost impossible… well, maybe once a month. So whenever this happens, I’m sure to head out to make as much hay as possible while the sun is shining. I prefer an “imperfect” reflection like this one where you can see some ripples and stuff in the water. If it’s too perfect, then people will probably think it’s photoshopped. I’ve even been known to throw a rock or something into the water ahead of time just to help with the imperfection!

Another Amazing Queenstown Reflection

Photo Information

Date Taken2017-03-28 19:55:09
CameraPixel
Camera MakeGoogle
Exposure Time1/60
Aperture2
ISO504
Focal Length4.7 mm
FlashAuto, Did not fire
Exposure ProgramProgram AE
Exposure Bias

Passport Hong Kong Party

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

If you’re a Passport Member then you’ll know today is Sunday and it’s time for a new video! We have about 200 in here now and you can see all kinds of goodies in there. Enjoy!

A Tight Shot of Hong Kong

Let’s give this shot some HDR love…

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Daily Photo – Hong Kong from Mod-Building Level

More and more, I like to take photos of cities where you can’t quite tell exactly which city it is. If you’re a Passport Member, then you’ll get to unlock the making-of where you can see how I processed cropped it using Aurora HDR. Enjoy!

Hong Kong from Mod-Building Level

Photo Information

Date Taken2015-02-05 21:42:43
CameraILCE-7R
Camera MakeSony
Exposure Time0.8
Aperture6.3
ISO250
Focal Length16.0 mm
FlashOff, Did not fire
Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
Exposure Bias

Machine Elf 41 – Inside the Coronavirus Molecule

Sat, 14 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

This is gonna sound crazy, but right as Covid-19 was kicking into full gear (thanks to that scoundrel, Randy Marsh), I had a super intense vision in a dreamstate while at a meditation retreat called Aro-Ha here in New Zealand. Ever since I had the poison of the Sonoran Desert Toad in the form of 5MEO-DMT, I’ve been having more and more natural psychedelic experiences while meditating + astral projections + all kinds of wild stuff. Each one is worth its own story… But, as for this one, I had my eyes closed and there was a wrap-around movie screen in front of me where I saw the coronavirus at the molecular level. And I could zoom in and out… I could see two, then more and more. Then I zoomed way out and saw evergreen trees with little particles flowing between them… then zoomed back in and saw the virus spreading and multiplying (I know this sounds crazy btw, but it’s totally true) – then I had this really cool understanding that the virus is just doing what it does with no malicious intent. Its only purpose is to multiply. In that, it’s not good or evil, as it’s just doing what it’s doing like a heart beats or a tree grows. It’s just a natural expression of nature (even if maybe it was created by humans) – and everything is exactly the way it’s supposed to be. This is a continual message I get from DMT, meditation, and other psychedelic spiritual experiences. And all this energy flows from one state to another as described in all sorts of texts like the Bhagavad Gita. Anyway, this is why I chose one of my favorite “Indian” flavored songs to show this natural energy flow from one state to another.

The music for this one is from Midival Punditz.

We’ve put a few of our fully customized Machine Elf creations in 360 for a cool VR app called TRIPP. If you have an Oculus Quest, Go or Rift, you can download TRIPP which features guiding experiences to make you happier, calmer, and more focused. Grab that here: https://the-machine-elf.com/TRIPP

The Last Landing

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

New Podcast: Brave New Mind

Check out this new podcast from here in New Zealand!

Daily Photo – The Last Landing

Yesterday’s photo shows where we landed the first time up in the Southern Alps, and today’s photo shows our final landing on the west coast. I was with my friend Ben and his family… they were loving the trip for sure. I got this photo of Ben as he was walking along the beach… it was a windy and wild day and the waves were super intense. In fact, when we got back in the helicopter, a huge wave came and washed up under the chopper!

The Last Landing

Photo Information

Date Taken2020-06-05 18:39:02
CameraILCE-7RM3
Camera MakeSony
Exposure Time1/6400
Aperture4
ISO125
Focal Length105.0 mm
FlashOff, Did not fire
Exposure ProgramManual
Exposure Bias

Mountaintop Landing

Thu, 12 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

Daily Photo – Mountaintop Landing

We had an epic day flying around with Choppy from Over The Top Helicopters here in Queenstown. We probably made about five landings and this was one of the first. It’s so crazy to land up here after a fresh snow and be the only humans within a 5 mountain radius! Walking on this clean pure snow is always a treat too.

Mountaintop Landing

Photo Information

Date Taken2020-06-05 17:41:51
CameraILCE-7RM3
Camera MakeSony
Exposure Time1/4000
Aperture4
ISO125
Focal Length24.0 mm
FlashOff, Did not fire
Exposure ProgramManual
Exposure Bias

Photos in the White Sands

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

The Girls over the Hill

In today’s photo, I realized those two heads sticking out are the same heads that are on the girls in this photo below. I mean, I guess I realized that at the time, but now I just put it together again!

Daily Photo – Photos in the White Sands

We made a detour on the road trip across the USA to take photos at sunset here at White Sands National Park. That’s my friend Jonatas there carrying a tripod while we had an amazing time. We had already been to Burning Man a few times, so it was nice to experience a whole new kind of desert with him!

Photos in the White Sands

Photo Information

Date Taken2015-08-19 21:14:19
CameraILCE-7RM2
Camera MakeSony
Exposure Time1/1250
Aperture4.5
ISO200
Focal Length53.0 mm
FlashOff, Did not fire
Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
Exposure Bias-0.7

All the Snow Has Left Queenstown for the Season

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

Daily Photo – All the Snow Has Left Queenstown for the Season

Well, it’s summertime here now. I think. Or maybe late Spring. Either way, there’s hardly any snow left on the mountains except way up on the top of some of the highest ones. I do like how there are such strong seasons here… it makes for new types of photos every three months!

All the Snow Has Left Queenstown for the Season

Photo Information

Date Taken2016-10-12 11:22:31
CameraILCE-7RM2
Camera MakeSony
Exposure Time1/8000
Aperture5.6
ISO800
Focal Length70.0 mm
FlashOff, Did not fire
Exposure ProgramManual
Exposure Bias-0.7

Drill into the Map Data in Japan

Mon, 09 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

Amazing 2198 Drones Flight

This one recently broke the world record!

Daily Photo – Drill into the Map Data in Japan

Here’s kind of a cool trick! If you click on this photo, you’ll get all the interesting info including a satellite photo of where it was taken from. This is a super cool feature of the DJI drones in that it records the GPS data of every photo. After you get over to Smugmug, click the three lines on the left and it will open up all the EXIF including a cool map down at the bottom.

Drill into the Map Data in Japan

Photo Information

Date Taken2019-01-26 19:39:54
CameraFC2204
Camera MakeDJI
Exposure Time1/1250
Aperture3.8
ISO100
Focal Length8.6 mm
FlashNo Flash
Exposure ProgramProgram AE
Exposure Bias+0.3

Flying Home from Antarctica

Sun, 08 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

Antarctica How-to Today for Passport Members!

If you are part of my family of Passport Members then I have a fresh one for you this Sunday from Antarctica! Every Sunday, I release something new, and it’s been a while since I processed a new photo from Antarctica, so here ya go! Passport members of course get to see how I edited the photo

Antarctica Boarding

I hope you enjoy the creation of this process and some of the last-minute decisions I made!

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Daily Photo – Flying Home from Antarctica

Here’s one of the last photos I took before leaving Antarctica. You can tell what countries people are from because they all wear different uniforms. The Kiwis are the ones in the orange coats and the Americans are in the red ones. There were also a few people from the Korean and Italian bases too… The Italians had, by far, the coolest uniforms… they all looked like they raced for Ferrari!

Flying Home from Antarctica

Photo Information

Date Taken2015-01-21 07:49:53
CameraILCE-7M2
Camera MakeSony
Exposure Time1/250
Aperture9
ISO50
Focal Length16.0 mm
FlashOff, Did not fire
Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
Exposure Bias

Crepuscular Light

Sat, 07 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

Daily Photo – Crepuscular Light

I often go into nerd mode when I’m hanging out with people who don’t know a lot (or care a lot) about the names of different sorts of light. These are the sorts of things that photographers know, I suppose. Anyway, this is called “crepuscular” light, and when I point this out to people, they are either interested because it’s a cool word, or they really really don’t care and tell me to stop being such a geek.

Crepuscular Light

Photo Information

Date Taken2017-01-13 06:56:35
CameraILCE-7RM2
Camera MakeSony
Exposure Time1/250
Aperture7.1
ISO100
Focal Length184.0 mm
FlashOff, Did not fire
Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
Exposure Bias+1.3

Over the Haast Pass

Fri, 06 Nov 2020 13:01:00 GMT

Daily Photo – Over the Haast Pass

This is one of the most underrated parts of New Zealand along the west coast of the South Island. Almost nobody uses this route because it’s the least efficient way to get between cities… but, for photographers, the least efficient route may be the most efficient route for taking more photos!

Over the Haast Pass

Photo Information

Date Taken2019-05-08 11:54:42
CameraILCE-7RM3
Camera MakeSony
Exposure Time1/200
Aperture6.3
ISO250
Focal Length72.0 mm
FlashOff, Did not fire
Exposure ProgramManual
Exposure Bias