Temple of Heaven Tile Details

Posted on February 26th, 2015 by

Construction Materials

The Temple of Heaven is a massive site…one that can easily take a day of your time. It is also one of the preordained visits you have to make on your first visit to Beijing (though I have yet to visit The Great Wall…sacrilege, I know). Personally I enjoyed the Forbidden City more, but the Temple of Heaven honestly is like no historic site I have ever visited before. Today’s photo is one of the small exquisite details. I have so many more to share…

Temple of Heaven Tile Details
Temple of Heaven Tile Details

Photo Technical Info

Red Taxi in Hong Kong

Posted on February 23rd, 2015 by

Wanted Photos

If you take photos (and I hope you do), do you go places wanting specific photos? I do! I have been after a photo like this of one of the red taxi’s in Hong Kong ever since I first visited. This was taken on my most recent and forth trip to HK. I was only passing through and I didn’t expect to get much of anything useful, but I had a few hours in the morning before my flight back to The States. I walked down to the Avenue of Stars and milled around, feeling completely uninspired when it hit me I could try for a taxi shot! This is actually the combination and manipulation of a few photos, but it ended up being one of my favorite photos in recent memory…I hope you enjoy it!

Red Taxi in Hong Kong
Red Taxi in Hong Kong

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Supertrees and The Marina Bay Sands in Singapore

Posted on February 19th, 2015 by

Supertrees are Back!

I am not sure I will get enough of the Supertrees. From early in my travels, my friend David said…I want to see an HDR picture of the SUPERTREES! It took over two years to make it to Singapore. I ended up loving the country! There seems to be a LOT happening there!

Marina Bay Sands

The hotel looks like a giant cruise ship was delicately placed on top of three skyscrapers. I really wanted to get to the upper decks of the hotel. I understand there is an amazing cheese and chocolate buffet that happens nightly…I am not sure how I kept myself away honestly!

Supertrees and The Marina Bay Sands in Singapore
Supertrees and The Marina Bay Sands in Singapore

Photo Technical Info

Buddha Tooth Relic Shrine

Posted on February 16th, 2015 by

Feeling

If you haven’t noticed I tend to visit quite a number of churches, temples and shrines on my travels. I love seeing how other cultures look at religion; how they react to their faith. I have a personal soft spot for Buddhism, for no particular reason, it just speaks to me in a different way than western religions. Something seems to draw me to the East, but alas my patience is poor which is no excuse. Today’s photo is where I entered the shrine. What I found inside was interesting and not unlike other Buddhist shrines. Except upstairs.

The Reliquary Room

On the upper floor of the shrine (you would miss the elevator if you weren’t looking) is a reliquary made of gold purported to contain a fragment of one of the Buddha’s canine teeth. It was rescued from his funeral pyre. I don’t know it the is true, but there is an eternal quality that surrounds the space. I sat for a long time and listened to the monk’s chants of blessings. People knelt, he blessed them. I didn’t ask for a blessing; I know not why. I pondered the place for a very long time sitting silently on a meditation cushion in full lotus. Perhaps if you are ever in the area … stop by, I would love to talk to someone else about their experience.

Buddha Tooth Relic Shrine
Buddha Tooth Relic Shrine

Photo Technical Info

The Supreme Court of the United States of America

Posted on February 12th, 2015 by

Getting Run Off

I had just been run off from using my tripod at the US Capitol (I still took an good photo of the Back of the Capitol). I wandered around to the front of the US Capitol and crossed the street to The Supreme Court of the United States of America! There is a sidewalk out front and I know my rights! The guard seemed mostly uninterested, he even came over to chat a bit, but left me alone since my tripod was firmly on a public sidewalk! I was upset at the construction, but then I realized I have a unique slice in time that perhaps no one else had. I like that thought!

The Supreme Court of the United States of America
The Supreme Court of the United States of America

Photo Technical Info

  • Aperture: ƒ/8
  • Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
  • Taken: 28 May, 2012
  • Focal length: 26mm
  • ISO: 100
  • Location: 38° 53.4358′ 0″ N 77° 0.352′ 0″ W
  • Shutter speed: 1/250s
  • Title: The Supreme Court of the United States of America

Supertree Sky Walk

Posted on February 9th, 2015 by

Supertrees!

Since I started traveling I have wanted to visit the Supertrees in Singapore. Last month I too the very long journey to see them. The area is part of the Garden by the Bay, a park that melds into the overall Marina Bay area. The entire area is a architectural biological and technological wonderland! The Supertrees are solar powered, but that only scratches the surface of this amazing place.

Friendly Faces

All the stories I recall from the news had me a bit worried about my visit to Singapore. I take a medicine that is not allowed to enter the country and generally I don’t worry about my prescriptions (my doctor gave them to me after all), but I worried in Singapore. The thing is, as has always been my experience with travel, I found something completely different than I expected. The people in Singapore and very friendly (almost too much so) and from ALL over the world. It seemed like everywhere I went I met someone from a different country. I met people from India, China, England, Vietnam, Germany, and many more places. It truly is a melting pot!

Supertree Sky Walk
Supertree Sky Walk

Photo Technical Info

Strong Lines in San Francisco

Posted on February 5th, 2015 by

Strong Lines

Today’s photo is an exploration of line. I was talking about this with a work colleague this week…sometimes things grab me and won’t let go. While I was in Singapore recently I was walking through an MRT station and I hit a hallway playing a Burburry ad. I linked it below…I hit the hall and it stopped me in my tracks. Literally. I tend to walk pretty quick for someone with really short legs and I literally just STOPPED! A lady behind me nearly ran over me and I didn’t even have the presence to apologize. I finally stepped over to the side. What got me, besides the dazzling iridescent plexiglass walls was Joss Stone. Her rendition of I Put a Spell on You with Jeff Beck grabbed me and it still hasn’t let go. I rarely buy music these days and I immediately purchased this song.

Isolating a Subject

When something grabs you it can be helpful to understand it by breaking it down and isolating the element that most strikes you. I have been doing this with the Stone/Beck song. For me, these stairs in from the of the Grand Hyatt in San Francisco are all about line. The color is nearly removed, all other distractions are removed…you are left with the line. The geometry of this common piece or art.

Strong Lines in San Francisco
Strong Lines in San Francisco

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Victoria Memorial, London, England

Posted on February 2nd, 2015 by

Sun in London!

We had a pretty lucky trip to London, England. In the midst of September, somehow we found sun! We didn’t have much in the way of the stariotypical cold, cloudy, foggy weather just a bunch wonderfully crisp fall sunny days.

Visit Early

We ended up at Buckingham Palace sometime in the early afternoon. The sun was strong and the tourists were out in full force on the plaza to gawk at the Queen’s Guard in all their sternness. I don’t like it when people mess with the guard…it’s so terribly disrespectful (plus I am pretty sure those guys can break pretty much anyone they needed to in half). I made my way to the Victoria Memorial and it was covered with tourists soaking all the strong sun. I looked up and thought what a better backlight for Victoria then the Sun itself.

Happy Ground Hog Day everyone! Let’s hope for a cloudy day in PA today!

Victoria Memorial, London, England
Victoria Memorial, London, England

Photo Technical Info

High Key Ramp

Posted on January 29th, 2015 by

White Ramp

How much of your vacations do you end up leaving to chance?

I found MACBA Museu D’Art Contemporani De Barcelona within walking distance of my hotel in Barcelona. I just wandered to it the first day I was visiting. It was there and I just went in. The space is all gleaming white, I can’t imagine a better blank canvas to display art, but what caught me was the space itself.

When you travel have a plan, but don’t be afraid to abandon it on a whim. Your plan will be there when you return back from your mystical journey in the clouds.

There is a joy in discovery. There is surprise and wonder just waiting for you out there. It’s worth leaving flexibility in your travels. Serendipity is a wonderful muse!

High Key Ramp
High Key Ramp

Photo Technical Info

Fiery Sunset on Waikiki

Posted on January 26th, 2015 by

Worth the Time

I know when I come back from trips, I have a huge number of photos and a good swath of them I label in my head as unusable for publication. Maybe you do too and I want to challenge you to think differently about those photos. Something originally grabbed your attention and caused you to snap the picture. It was worth taking and recently I have begun to believe there is value in working on these less than stellar gems. Experimenting in processing allows for a world of new results.

Today’s Photo

I was originally drawn to this fiery sunset on Waikiki, a subject I have looked at numerous times, but much differently today. I discounted this shot because there were so many people and so much clutter. Instead, I upped the contrast and rendered the bulk of the foreground in silhouette, all the while creating a surreal sunset giving everything an unworldly red/orange hue. The great thing is this was processed entirely in Lightroom 5! Try taking a fresh look at your unusable images. Focus on what drew you to take the shot in the first place, then find the photo!

Fiery Sunset on Waikiki
Fiery Sunset on Waikiki

Photo Technical Info