December 6th, 2006
Thanks for all the traffic! It’s encouraging to have so many people check out the photoshop tutorial I posted yesterday. Thanks also to all the other sites that have linked the article - there’s too many to name here, but I do appreciate it. I’ll have to see about putting together more articles for you.
A few commenters here and on other sites suggested that the technique I posted had alternatives and they are right. Sometimes, it may be possible to use a small aperture and/or a neutral density filter to bring about a lengthy exposure time. The result will be that the people in your photo will be relatively invisible if they are moving - there won’t be enough hitting them in the same place at the same time for the sensor/film plane to pick up their shape.
The difficulty with this technique is that there is a high potential for streaks to appear in your images from where the people were moving. Especially if there is a group of people, you are likely to get a smear where the group moved through your image. And if anyone stops, there will probably be a blurred, ghostly figure showing up in your picture.
Another popular alternative on various sites was to physically eliminate tourists using, baseball bats, guns, or whatever weapon happened to be handy. As frustrating as it can sometime be to wait for people to leave your shot, I can’t endorse this technique. Especially considering the stories I’ve heard about some foreign prisons!
There are also the people decry the removal of tourists from photos altogether. Sure, some people want them in there, but some don’t. I wrote the tutorial for the latter. I shoot both scene with and without tourists. When I want a scene without tour groups in it, it’s nice to have this technique in my bag of tricks.
Lastly, on a non-photo note, I want to say a big thank you to my hosts, Hostrocket for successfully managing a colossal amount of traffic. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my site remained available while getting so flooded with hits.
December 5th, 2006
I have just posted a digital photography and Photoshop tutorial aimed at helping you get tourist-free postcard shots the next time you head out on vacation. It’s a handy trick that has served me well and I hope it can be helpful for you too.
I hope to write more tutorials related to photography and travel photography in particular, so please feel free to send the story to your favourite news and bookmarking sites like digg and del.icio.us. It will motivate me to do more!
October 10th, 2006
I’ve just finished adding a huge batch of photos from the Southeast Asian, island nation sensation. For anyone eager to get straight to it, I shall cut to the chase and invite you to check out my photos of Singapore.
For some of my time in Singapore, I was accompanied by some great travel companions in Jenny, Katy and Sam. Our mini-golf game on Sentosa Island stands (strangely enough) as a highlight of my stay in SIngapore. Really, what could be better than being a kid again with some fun friends while bouncing around a mini-golf course in an exotic location. Sam thought I should take up a career of photographing miniature golf courses around the world thus combining a few passions into one undoubtedly lucrative career.
As you will see from the photos, however, I did have a lot of time to wander the city on my own with cameras in hand. Singapore has fabulous locations where a shutterbug traveller can keep himself busy for hours. The colonial district is full of history. The Singapore Zoo satisfies every zoological interest. The modern skyscrapers mark the country’s economic ascendency. Populated by peoples from a diversity of backgrounds, the cultural influences blend and mix like streams flowing to form a larger river that has an identity of its own. And if you want to put away the camera, you will never find yourself wanting for someplace to shop or eat.
I could easily spend more time there and I hope someday I will. Until then, I will content myself with looking at a few images:
September 25th, 2006
With the Photokina photographic trade show happening this week in Cologne, there is sure to be a host of news about new equipment, software and technology popping up all over the place.
Major RAW processing software packages are no exception. Apple’s Apeture has been updated to version 1.5. The update will ship this week and is available free to owners of the current 1.1 version. Adobe’s Beta RAW Processor, Lightroom has been updated to version 4 on both Mac and Windows platforms and is available as a free download from Adobe. And if you can’t have enough photo processing options, Light Crafts’ Lightzone 2.0 is also available as a free download.
September 20th, 2006
I’ve just added more photos to the ever-expanding collection of Thailand images. This time, it’s Bangkok’s Golden Mount.
The brilliant chedi on top of the Golden Mount would make the trip up the 300 stairs worth it, but cool breezes and lovely views of the surrounding city provide further incentive for the climb. The artificial hill rises above all other structures in the immediate area and lets you gaze down on the orange rooftops of Wat Saket immediately below.
September 12th, 2006
In celebration of my return home, I have just posted some images of Calgary, my hometown. Included in these photos are updates to the following galleries: Calgary Skyline, Downtown Calgary, and the Centre Street Bridge.
In addition to the new photos posted in those galleries, I have also posted a couple of new sets of images: photos of the Calgary Tower and photos of the Board of Education Family of Man Sculpture.
September 11th, 2006
Today brings another group of photos from another Bangkok temple, Wat Benchamabophit.
Normally, an explosively bright sun would have irritated my photographic sensibilities, but this day stood as another of the rare exceptions in my month of overcast Bangkok skies. Not to mention that the temple fared quite well in the bright sun with the white marble gleaming in the light. Its best side was uniformly exposed to the afternoon sun and harsh shadows weren’t much of a problem.
The temple itself was, of course, lovely. It’s not as grand as some of the other Bangkok buildings, but it had a European influence to its architecture that made it unique. And with far fewer tourists cramming its walls, the atmosphere of the temple was much different from its larger cousins.
September 10th, 2006
Another collection of images has been posted, this time it is photos of one of the symbols of the city of Bangkok: Wat Arun also known as the temple of the Dawn.
As with most of my photos of Bangkok, I was lucky to get any clear skies at all since my time there was plagued by what seemed to be a never ending supply of overcast weather. While visiting the temple, I was fortunate to have the blue peep through the cracking clouds.
The central prang/spire is said to be approximately 82 metres high and is an impressive construction, but what may have been more interesting to my eyes was the courtyard and galleries surrounding the main ordination hall. Long rows of golden Buddha images line the shady halls and small stone Chinese figures hid in the corners ready to jump into action. I would have stayed and wandered longer in that enclosed area, but I was ushered out rather hastily by a groundskeeper who seemed to have some urgent business in there. Not sure what it could have been, but I hope it was important!
September 9th, 2006
On one of the few days during my time in Bangkok, nothing beat going to Sanam Luang, the park next to the Grand Palace to watch everyone letting their kites soar in the windy skies. Since I already discussed my day there in this post, I won’t go into too much detail here and simply invite you to check out a few photos from my time there.
September 6th, 2006
For a place I called home for a month, I don’t actually have that many photos of Khao San Road. Perhaps it was because I was so close to the spectacle of backpacker central that I neglected to take more shots. After all, how often do you take photos just around the corner from your house? Then again, how many of you have your house next to such a vibrant and bizarre area?
Of course I have a few photos to share with you from Khao San Road and I invite you to take a look. After going through my selected images, I know I should have taken more - it really was a sight to behold.
From the vendors who fed me ridiculous amounts of spring rolls, falafels and other veggie delights to the tuk-tuk drivers who were so convinced they were going to be able to persuade me into their rides to the dreadlocked hippies living out their bohemian dreams in the backpacker mecca, the whole place was teeming with characters. I watched cultural performances of Khon dancing, impromptu games of football, and even a Bollywood video shoot.
The stores and vendors will sell you just about anything you may need and plenty of things you don’t: purses made out of recycled cans, body parts that looked like they had melted when you threw it against a flat surface, radio-controlled flying saucers, and hair extensions galore.
The characters of the road were also always entertaining. As an example, there was a woman with iron lungs who, during every hour of daylight would shout a sing-song “Hello! Orange juice, ten Baht!” every time a potential customer passed. And people never stopped passing. I have no clue how her vocal chords didn’t just fly up out of her mouth. I never really talked with her, but I’m sure she, like everyone else there, had a good story to tell.
Like anywhere else in the world, you take the bad with the good. Khao San Road isn’t always smiles (yes, even in the supposed “Land of Smiles” you won’t find a grin around every corner), but I won’t dwell on the downsides of Khao San Road. Instead, I’ll savour the memory of a cold fruit shake in hand in the tropical heat while wandering up and down the road, wondering what weird sight I will see next.
And as always, a couple preview photos:
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