Winter mountains, Chugach National Forest, from Seward, Alaska.
Well I thought I would give you a break from the Hawaii photos and share something from Alaska. I captured this from my front yard yesterday afternoon looking across the bay from Seward. Recent heavy snowfall has the mountains looking (in the words of Tony the Tiger) “just great”! Well, he says something about great, you get the idea.
Jim Goldstein provided me with an advanced copy of his newly released ebook book; Photographing the 4th Dimension – Time so that I would have an opportunity to provide a review. I was more then happy to do so as I can’t remember ever seeing a photography book dedicated specifically to the concept of time.
I should start by saying I have known Jim for many years from the online photo community and telephone communications. He is an excellent photographer and writer with a real eye for color and design elements – everything I have seen him produce is top notch.
Jim is a former Alaskan who now lives in the bay area. On my trip to San Francisco a little over a year ago I finally had the pleasure of meeting Jim in person. During that visit, it was Jim who gave me my first look at an Ipad, so I guess it was fitting that the first book I read on an IPad was his!
First, I gotta say a book like this on a device such as an IPad is really cool thanks to the extra multi media elements like embedded videos and live links to websites. This makes reading a book an entirely new experience!
Now to the book. It has a wonderful design with a perfect balance of real life examples including photos, videos and charts, along with accompanying text. The book begins with a chapter on exposure which includes the best illustrations I have seen on the subject. Next is an interesting discussion on human perception. Then comes the main course with chapters on:
The best chapter for me was the one on long exposure – this one is worth the cost of the book alone. I have done very little with light painting or star trails, so to have suggested starting points for things like exposure will save a lot of time experimenting in the field. I have never done a star trail image where I stacked multiple exposures, and I know this the best way to minimize noise with today’s digital cameras. Jim doesn’t just brush over the technique, but goes into great detail with capture and post production processing even recommending helpful software programs.
For me personally, because of my personal experience the chapter on sequences was the least helpful. But, if you are just starting out doing sequences – time-lapses in particular, this chapter will have you off and running in no time and will save you a lot of wasted time spent learning the hard way!
Now the other chapter worth the price of the book alone was the one on mixing motion with still photography. The possibilities and the examples Jim provides of the use of flash strobe will keep the creative juices flowing for days.
But, what I found fascinating was the second section of the chapter covering the creation of cinemagraphs. I have seen some really cool uses of this technique and never really knew how it was done. If you don’t know what a cinemagraph is, here are a couple of Jim’s examples of cinemagraphs. If you have a slow internet connection you might need to wait a bit for the motion to kick in. The possibilities with this technique are endless!
So, all and all, I gotta say this is an excellent book covering a unique topic. The concepts are laid out in a concise, easy to follow manner with lots of examples. I definitively recommend this book, I think it could provide photographers of all ability levels with lots of creative ideas and techniques that should lead to hours of fun!
Looking towards the Na Pali Coast from Hanalei Bay, Kauai, Hawaii.
Another new photo from our recent travels to Kauai.
USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii.
I thought this was a fitting image given that today is the 70th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Even though you know what you are going to see when you visit Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S Arizona memorial, and you can prepare yourself mentally – it is still a very somber and moving experience. We don’t want to ever forget the people who have fought for and sacrificed so much for our freedom.
The Park Service recently spent $58 million dollars to reconstruct the visitor center and museum – the exhibits and videos are extremely well done and educational. Any visit to Honolulu should include Pearl Harbor.
USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Waialeale Crater, Kauai, Hawaii.
This crater portion of Mount Waialeale also know as the Wall of Tears or the Weeping Wall. This location averages 452 inches or rain per year and is considered one of the wettest places on earth! It is easy to see why there are so many waterfalls.
A one way bridge over a waterfall along the Hana Highway, Maui, Hawaii.
The road to Hana has got to be one of the more spectacular drives anywhere! It is a narrow winding road with over 600 curves (I guess someone counted) and 59 bridges of which 46 are one way. There are even some stretches of road that are so narrow they are effectively one way. And if that wasn’t interesting enough – it travels through spectacular tropical rainforest, along the rugged coast crossing over endless streams and waterfalls – the one pictured above it just one of many! There is a photo opportunity around every curve, everywhere you look!
If you are to drive this road, and you should, bring your patience. The road is the destination so enjoy it. There is a good chance it will be wet and raining. Couple that with the narrowness, locals in a hurry and tourist who aren’t and you have a dangerous combination. In fact the morning we drove the Hana Hwy. we came across two head on accidents – and we were there during a slow time of year early in the morning. But, it definitely is worth it! And, you can continue on around the island past Hana, and except for a rough 10 mile stretch, the remaining road as you circle the Southern part of the island is some of the nicest on Maui, so the return drive is much faster and easier then having to return on the Hana Highway.
If you are thinking of driving the road, I have two strong recommendations that I though I would share.
First, I would stay at least one night in Hana. This gives you time to explore the Seven Sacred Pools and other attractions in the area, and breaks up what otherwise would be one really long day of driving.
Second, I would make sure I had a guide book, preferably Maui Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook
The Maui Revealed folks also sell one of the best smart phone apps around – perfect compliment to the book.
As we drove the Hana Highway, we found that the same people kept stopping at the same odd places we were – it became very apparent who had that book and who didn’t. I even asked people, and sure enough, the had Maui Revealed.
The headlight used by Janine to explore a mud cave in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California is just one of many gift suggestions.
Last year I did a post on Christmas gift suggestions for the photographer. I thought about writing a new one for this year, but realized I would be recommending the same items and that is would be easier to just link and remind everyone of last years blog post.
Well, there is one change I would make to last years recommendation and that is for my Anza-Borrego photo workshop which is no longer an option as it sold out some time ago. But, I do have a little bit of room in one of my two Alaska bear photo tours – now that would be the ultimate Christmas gift!
This photo of an old barn in front of the Grand Teton Range in Grand Teton Natonal Park is among our better selling prints. I think we have sold a half dozen or so this year alone.
Although we sell a lot of prints year around – over the next month the number of orders we receive increases dramatically. In the past we have always offered free shipping during the upcoming month – I don’t know how much of a difference the free shipping offer really makes, but I don’t want to find out!
So, over the next month up until December 16th, any order over $50 will receive free priority mail shipping from our home office here in Alaska. International orders won’t be free, but shipping will be discounted by an equal amount. Don’t worry – if you placed an order this past weekend (Saturday or Sunday), we will apply the free shipping.
So go here: to check out our vast collection of photo prints:
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