Sculpture Thingy In Front Of Bird's Nest

Happy Halloween!!

I am off in Lombok, so made this week's posts last Friday.

I chose this photo cause it kind of has the Halloween colors in it...actually, I should have posted this photo last Friday, and put Friday's photo today...The bird's nest has all of the Halloween colors...

The Bird's Nest

It was a horrible, polluted night...but with all the lights turned on in the stadium, the haze was cut through allowing for some night photography...

A way cool building...wow, the Chinese have really stepped up their game when it comes to architecture...

I am off to Lombok for the week...a week of diving with my broken camera. I am hoping to get some shots, but I have not had time to get my camera fixed, so I might come back empty handed...we shall see...

Have a great weekend!!

Another Version of The "Egg"

Here is another shot of the same building I posted yesterday...this is from the side, and you can see the reflection much better completing the "Egg" shape...

The "Egg" in Beijing

Finally...made it to this incredible building in Beijing. The first time I went, the pollution was so bad, I could barely see the building, so ended up with some very hazy photos. The other thing that was confusing to me was the lights...they had these massive spot lights set up along the perimeter of the lake, but I never saw them turned on...I am sure the building would look even more spectacular with the lights turned on. I asked the people inside when they turned the lights on, and they said, "we turn the lights on when it gets dark"...BUT, the lights never came on...oh well...

In Hong Kong Waiting

I have been in Beijing for the past 4 days. The weather was the weirdest I have seen anywhere when it comes to pollution. When we arrived, you could barely see the ground, and aircraft would disappear seconds after take-off. It got worse later. The pollution index reached a staggering 496 at one point...as a reference, I was told that Seattle, Washington, at its worse reaches maybe 40...it was so bad, you could not see the buildings across the street. This was bad news for me in regards to photography, but I still got out to get some shots. Yesterday, early in the morning, it was the same super hazy day, but by 10:00, it suddenly cleared up...I mean REALLY cleared up....the index dropped to 8. It was like the entire city was under the screen of a huge Photoshop Photo, and some God in the sky erased all of the haze...never seen anything like it...really weird. The bad part is that we had to leave just as everything cleared up....arrrrgh....talk about frustrating...the worst 4 days in the city, and that was the time I was there...

In any case, I am sitting here in Hong Kong waiting for my flight back to Jakarta...the only photos I have with me are my recent trip to Papua...so, did a quick edit of this photo...don't know what it is with these hand gestures little kids love to do when they get their photo taken...it is like the gangs of New York has reached the minds of kids in Papua...

The Hunt

If I were a small fish, the guy on the block I would fear the most would be the Giant Trevali...those guys are always lurking about near a school of small fish, and they, with no notice, will suddenly dart into the school to grab a bite...

Have a great weekend!! I am now in Beijing, and will return late on Monday. I am hoping to get a cool HDR shot of "The Egg"...that very cool building in Beijing...

Bat Fish Under The Ledge

If you follow me on Google+, you would have seen this photo already. I processed this photo using Nik's Viveza which is really an awesome Photoshop/Lightroom plug-in. I did some color balance first, and then did the rest in Viveza...

The Pier I Walked Down Each Day

This was my view everyday walking down the pier to get on the boat...well, the sky was different every day, of course...

Yellow Tailed Fusiliers...My Favorite

It is rare that these fish swim near me to get a photo. I usually see them from a distance, and can never get a decent shot. This time, however, they swam right next to me, and I was able to get some light on them for a cool shot...

A Great Trip

A fantastic dive trip. I had some trouble with my new strobes, however, so missed a few dives dealing with the problem. On random dives, the strobes would suddenly start going off...I think the trouble is with the connection to the camera...but, I still got a few good shots from the week that I will share with you the next few days.

The highlight for the trip for me was flying. I was able to do two flights in the experimental float plane, and it was simply amazing. I will also post some photos from my flights this week or next...

Now THAT Is a BIG Hunk of Coral

Happy Friday!

I am still in Papua with just one more day of diving left...will hopefully have some nice new underwater photos to share with you when I return.

Have a great weekend, and see you on Monday!!

The Silver Turns Pink

Those fish in front look silver underwater until you put some light on them, and then they turn pink...mixed in with the Yellow Tailed Fusiliers, and they make for a nice photo...

Where The Fishes Live

It always amazes me... the number of fish out here in Papua...I was diving in the Caribbean last summer, and saw nothing compared to what I see in Papua..I guess I am spoiled for life out here in Indonesia...

Baracuda

As you know, I am in Papua now doing some great diving...for the rest of this week, I will post some of the shots I took (and just recently edited) from my last trip there. Be rest assured I am getting some new shots this week...

Sundah Kelapa

This is the old harbor at Sunda Kelapa in Northern Jakarta. I really like this place as you can just imagine the old Spice Ships from the 17th century coming into this harbor to deliver their goods to the old Dutch town of Batavia...I am sure the docks have not changed much since those days...

Headed to Raja Ampat For A Week of Diving

If you have been following this blog for some time, you know how I love Raja Ampat. This will be my seventh trip there, and I am just as excited as I was the first time I went there. I was just there back in June (where I got the shot below), and was hoping to do some flying while there, but the weather was terrible...raining and windy every day...I am hoping the weather will be much better this time around, and I will be able to fly as well as dive.

I will make some posts (now) to keep you entertained while I am away next week...

Have a great weekend!!

Steve Jobs

A very sad day with the death of Steve Jobs...here is a really nice speech that he gave at Stanford University in 2005...

Boats At The Pier

If you ever have a photo where the sky is a boring white, add a texture to the photo, and it becomes much more interesting...

Who is Watching Who?

Whenever I go out with my camera, it seems the people I take photos of are just as interested in looking at me taking their photo as I am looking at them and their surroundings. We both have a story to tell when we get home...I talk about the photos I got during the day, and this guy goes home and tells the story of the crazy "Bule" (white guy) that took his photo...

Bikes

Some fun with patterns...a few bikes lying on the ground formed a kind of nice pattern...

Jakarta Photowalk

On Sunday, the 4th Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk took place. There were four walks in Jakarta, and I signed up for the walk that was centered around the Senayan Stadium. It was challenging to find good photos in this area. There were big crowds of people and lots going on, but I found it difficult to find creative photographs. I ended the day with about 4 keepers (one below)...I guess that's not bad for a two hour walk...

The best part of the walk was meeting some new people and talking photography. I met a few Leica shooters, and hope to meet up with them again sometime in the future. There really is a great photo community here in Jakarta!!