Skywatch Friday - Kayla in Belitung

Happy Friday!!

I have been away from Skywatch Friday for a few weeks...nice to be back!!

This is my daughter, Kayla, sitting on big rocks that are all over this unique beach of
Belitung (a small island near Sumatra)...

Be sure to visit other great skies from around the world HERE...

Walking Baskets

This is one of those photos where I just couldn't decide whether to leave it in color or to convert to Black n White...which do you like better?

By the way, I use Nik's Silver Effex Pro for all my black n white conversions....that plug-in just rocks...I don't think there is anything better for making black n white photos...

Beach Bike

The ultimate beach bike...comes equipped with a mask and snorkel...

HDR Tutorial Almost Done

I have been working on putting together a video tutorial on my post-processing. It is tougher to make than I thought it would be...I have all the more respect for those that put together video tutorials...they seem so seamless (the ones I view at NAPP, for example)...I have to keep starting over because I screw up on something in Photoshop or say something wrong or sound like an idiot or a nerd...or my daughter comes in right in the middle of my recording, or the phone rings...always something...but, I am working on it, and will let you know when it is finished...

Here is an example of what I might teach in my video...how I processed this photo (below)...actually, that might be too long as I worked almost an hour on this photo, and if I try to do it again, it will most likely come out differently....arrrrgh....Scott Kelby, help me out...

Behind Bricks

I seem to remember this girl being angry with her little sister, but it would be more fun if you didn't know what she was upset about and made guesses...those eyes and expression tell some story, don't they?

Sweet Lips

The Sweet Lips might very well be my favorite fish to photograph...they just have these great expressions on their face that elude coolness...they are not in the least bothered by the presence of a huge underwater camera with two big strobes right in their face...they just keep an eye on me at all times, and stick with the group...

Prayer Monkey

I have seen many "Budda's" in my travels, but I think this is the first time I have seen a stone monkey that people pray in front of. Maybe it is a holy monkey...

Sipping Soup

The textures and colors in Hoi An are just great for photography...catching this lady sipping her soup was icing on the cake...

Just Bought Flowers

Once again, I used Nik's Silver Effex Pro to convert this photo to an old-style black n white...if you are in to black n white, I highly recommend Nik's filter...gives you tremendous flexibility in your black n whites, and also many choices for rendering the style you like...give it a try sometime...

Selling Flowers

My internet has been down since Thursday night...so, that is my excuse for not posting a new photo since Thursday....arrrrgh...one of the bad things about living in Jakarta...

I took this photo using my 70-200mm lens from across the street. She didn't know I took the photo which I like as you get the "real" look in people's faces instead of the "posed" look you get when people know you are taking a photo...

Morning Discussion

I love taking photos of people...and I can usually get away with snapping off a photo without them realizing I even took a photo...but I got caught by the guy in the middle...but at least he gave me a big smile...the other two had no idea...maybe they were too far into their thoughts to even care...

Santorini Art Store

Remember when you were a kid, and you had those books where you had to find the pair of scissors, or the little coffee mug...this photo reminds me of those kind of books...now that I look at it more, I think it would make a great puzzle...

Sure Beats Sitting In Traffic

Hey...did you know that CS5 was announced today?? I can't wait to upgrade...there are supposed to be some very cool new features including a built-in HDR program...I am anxious to give it a try...I presently use Photomatix, but I hear that the new HDR feature in Photoshop CS5 will have much less noise, and will take place in the RAW conversion instead of after RAW conversion (which is the case using Photomatix)

Anyway, lots of cool stuff coming down...Lightroom will have their new version coming out soon too...check out The Photoshop Insider for the latest in Photoshop News....I read Scott Kelby's blog daily and he always has some good stuff to share...

Now for the photo below...

This is Gili Air, which is a small island off the coast of Lombok...a GREAT place to just kick back and relax...no cars, no motorcycles, no buses...just you, the beach, and a cold beer...

Sweet Lips In Old Black n White

Was playing around with some Photoshop toys with this photo...it was a photo where my strobes did not fire leaving it pretty useless in color...so why not try in Black n White?

Looks like an antique photo...

Skywatch Friday - Pier To Nowhere

Happy Friday!!

I am in Bangkok this weekend for a softball tournament...In fact, I left a couple of days ago...

Wish my team luck!!

Have a great weekend, and see you Sunday night!!

Be sure to visit other skies from around the world HERE...

Bajai Man

I used some textures with this photo of a Bajai Driver in downtown Jakarta...

I have a link to a good tutorial by Trey Ratcliff to the right on how to use textures in your photographs...he also sells his textures which are very good...

The Komodo Dragon

This is the land where the Komodo Dragon lives...these guys are BIG, and can be very dangerous. They were just lazing around while we stood just a few feet from them staring with our cameras...I don't think they would normally attack a human being unprovoked, but they can take down and kill a large deer. It is the bacteria in their mouth that kills...they bite, and then wait for their prey to die from the nasty infection that occurs after the bite...yuck!!

Prints From Nikon D300

If you were ever wondering if the Nikon D300 has enough resolution (12mp) to print large, you can stop wondering. I just printed the photo below for a friend of mine on my EPSON 9880, at around 50 x 40 inches, and the print came out exceptional...although I am sure more detail would be present from a print made from the D3x, who wants to spend 8 thousand dollars for that camera?? I think the prints I make from my D300 are gallery quality...no complaints from me...

Colorful Singapore

Catch this place at the right time of night, you will be treated to a mecca of colors...most people probably don't even notice because I got strange looks as I was setting up my tripod to take a photo of the ceiling...people were looking at me with an expression on their face that was saying, "what the heck is that guy taking a photo of?"

I think photographers are more keenly aware of their surroundings, and are always looking around, up, and backwards to make sure they haven't missed something...at least that is the way I am when I walk around a city with my camera....drives my wife nuts...I guess she would rather walk around with some dude that just looks at the cracks in the sidewalk in front of him...instead, she gets me always looking in all directions and checking out all the different angles I can get a shot of some building or something...ya, I guess that would drive me nuts too...

Window To Paradise

HAPPY EASTER!!

Skywatch Friday - From The Top Of A Lighthouse

Happy Friday, and Happy Easter!!

I hope the Easter Bunny is good to you this year!!

This week's photo comes from on top of an old Dutch Lighthouse built in 1888 in Sumatra. It is still in operation today, and the lighthouse keeper let me climb to the top to see the view...

Have a great weekend, and be sure to check out all the other great skies from around the world
HERE...