Two Medicine Lake in Glacier National Park isn’t the most traveled to location, but it is one of the most beautiful. The serene nature of the lake is fleeting as many kayakers and small boat operators like to enjoy it. I caught this photo just before a boat disrupted the stillness of the water. I was idealistically hoping that this moment would last forever, but change in nature and by man is constant.
Sinopah Mountain Reflected in Two Medicine Lake at Sunset
The answer…
Submit a DVD full of your photos to the Library of Congress through the U.S. Postal Service.
Today I received a letter from the United States Copyright Office that a relatively recent copyright filing could not be processed because the U.S. Postal Service irradiated my U.S. Priority Mail envelope containing a letter and DVD to the point of oblivion.
I understand the need be security conscious after the 2001 Anthrax scare, but to irradiate mail to the point that a CD or DVD will not work!? That’s a first I’ve heard of that happening. I’ve mailed dozens of CD’s and DVD’s full of photographs in past Copyright filings with the Library of Congress since 2001, but this is the first time I’ve had a submission experience problems because of being irradiated by the USPS. Something just seems off with this. See my souvenir letter below.
Perhaps this is part of the campaign to get people to use the online submission process versus mailing in paper based filings. Apparently the increase in fees wasn’t enough of a deterrent.
I’m really trying not to bring politics into this, but didn’t the accused Anthrax suspect die in August of 2008? Is it really necessary to keep this going to the point that the government can’t do business? Does this mean that President Obama isn’t a Netflix subscriber?
On a serious note in case something unexpected were to happen I do burn duplicate copies of my Copyright submissions. Resubmitting the damaged DVD won’t be a problem because of this practice. I just never expected I’d have to resubmit a DVD because of being irradiated to death. What happened to the good old days when packages just vanished and resurfaced 40 years later?
Glacier National Park never ceases to amaze even the most seasoned landscape photographers. The light show put on my Mother Nature on this particular morning was nothing short of breathtaking. The beauty of the rugged landscape here is so immense I felt compelled to take a series of panoramic photos. This particular panoramic was made from (3) three Canon 1Ds Mark III photos using a 24mm TS lens. While taking this photo I thought for sure that the fog was burning off, but it was actually reforming. This scene eventually was obscured by fog with in minutes.
Swiftcurrent Lake Panoramic, Glacier National Park
Adobe Lightroom has been a critically important application to my photographic workflow, but from early on watermarking functionality has been limited. The standard copyright text line provided by Adobe Lightroom is enough, but lacks the ability to be customized giving photographers using it some level of individuality. As noted in my earlier blog articles on watermarking watermarks are not only functional to avert image theft, but a key component of branding.
Enter LR2/Mogrify, a Lightrooom plug-in created by Timothy Armes, that adeptly fills the void. Mogrify provides functionality to apply borders, text and graphical watermarks. Mogrify also harnesses the power of Lightroom to batch process photographs. The combination of these functions makes for an incredibly valuable photographic solution.
Since the end of 2008 I have been a diehard LR2/Mogrify user. The cost for Mogrify is what you are willing to pay. It is donation based and receiving the activation key opens up all functionality with in the plug-in (otherwise you’re limited to watermarking 10 images per export).
How I Use Mogrify
Once I finalize my highest rated images per photoshoot (post-process, add metadata, etc.) I select one or all and right click to Export my photos for web display. In Lightroom I use the Mogrify plugin to Read more…
As a photographer I always strive to capture the beauty of a scene I’m photographing and often it is more than possible to do so. Still Photography by its nature is revealing, yet also not so revealing. Still Photography by definition has its limits displaying a split second of time or a short duration of time if using a slow shutter speed. Freezing time has its merits lettings others see something they’ve missed and/or wish to remember. Here in San Francisco, California the weather is both fleeting and unpredictable. Having the perfect weather conditions, lighting and ability to be in the right place at the right time all are dependencies when capturing fog rolling through the Golden Gate Bridge. But is this as good as it gets?
Foggy San Francisco & Golden Gate Bridge Sunrise
When looking at this photo are you missing anything? I can assure you you’re missing out on the adrenaline rush I got running to get in place to take this photo, but as a viewer sight is only part of the experience. Our other senses provide so much more and its for this reason you always hear photographers repeat over and over “enjoying the experience behind the camera is as important as getting your photo”. Smell, Taste and Touch have yet to be addressed in the world of photography and for most subjects that’s just fine! Audio on the other hand can really enhance the viewing experience of a photograph or series of photographs. Adding motion into the mix and you add yet another dimension that transports viewers to what you’re capturing. Is it all too much? For some purists it will likely be argued “yes”, but as time goes on we may find Still Photography relies less and less on being “still” let alone silent.
For your viewing and listening enjoyment 30 seconds of birds, wind, fog horns and ambient traffic noise heard while photographing fog rolling through the Golden Gate Bridge into the San Francisco Bay. While this looks as though its just audio put to a still image this is in fact video so watch carefully for the movement in the fog.
The advent of the app store has opened a large number of applications for niche markets and one of the most popular markets that developers have been targeting has been photography. The number of photography applications for the iPhone pales in comparison to the number of games that have been released, but what the numbers don’t reveal is the high percentage of quality apps versus junk available to photographers. Below are 11 photography related applications that I have on my iPhone and have been using even more following my upgrade to the iPhone 3G S.
The most amazing aspect of today’s transforming photography world is that it is so easy to find inspiration. The digitization of photography has placed inspiration a Google search away or even a Tweet away. While I certainly don’t have time to list a 1,000 points of inspiration I will share with you a few that I recommend checking out and I’d like to invite you to fill out the other 9,997 whether still photography, photo books, ebooks, music, video, etc. Up to the challenge? I hope so. Add your points of inspiration in the comments below.
1. Chase Jarvis CURRENT: The Consequences of Creativity For some a photo alone can be inspiration and for some a video that clubs you over the head with great ideas will do the trick. Chase wields his club with caveman like surgical precision. What the hell does that mean?! It means no matter who you are, what your photographic skill level is, or background this video is sure to get you off your butt to do something creative this weekend.
2. William Neill’s Meditation in Monochrome eBook
The digital edition of Meditation in Monochrome has stuck with me after several viewings challenging my artistic view of the world. By no means has it converted me to a B&W photographer, as color photography resonates with me far too much. What it has done with its high quality presentation, ease of access & review via PDF format and masterful photographs has challenged me to view my photographic subjects differently. It has reinforced my deep appreciation of how other nature photographers to see our world in Black & White. It also has inspired me to take a closer look at electronic publishing. William Neill’s life long efforts have been inspiring enough, but this particular project has given me a source of inspiration that is only a click away on my computer.
3. Playing with Time (via John Nack’s blog)
I’ll cheat on this counting a couple of photo/video artists under this one entry:
Andrew Curtis’s Cinco De Mayo Carnival timelapses and David Coiffier super slow motion video rugby, fire-breathing and more. For me these videos are visually engaging, they get my creative juices flowing analyzing the visual and logistical components of such a capture and change my mindset in how I evaluate photographic or video opportunities.
Now it’s your turn… add a comment and help me fill out a list of 1,000 Points of Inspiration no matter how small or large the inspiration might be.
I recently photographed my elusive “white whale” photo subject, a fog enveloped Golden Gate Bridge at sunrise. You might expect I’d be happy with capturing dozens of photos of this amazing phenomenon, but I’m eager to photograph it again to get a different take on it. I should clarify I am very satisfied with the photos captured including the one shown below, but I have an incredibly strong desire to try something new next time.
What might surprise you is that I almost missed this opportunity out of sheer laziness. I knew conditions were lining up to be good the evening before and I set my alarm for 5am… 40 minutes before sunrise. I had been working on photos until about 1am that morning and when my alarm went off I had a tough time getting my butt in gear. I got up, looked out my window and I could see a clear view above a fog layer in the valley beneath the hill I live on. What this meant is that the fog was receding and hugging the coast making the odds the bridge would be poking out of the fog a near certainty. Even still I got back in bed and after much internal debate I got myself up and out of the house. It should be noted to minimize my own internal resistance I had my gear ready to go the night before so no extra effort was needed… I just needed to get on the road.
To say I’m happy that I eventually got up is an understatement. The conditions turned out to be perfect and the rate at which the fog receded was astonishingly quick. With in a matter of 90-120 minutes the fog lowered in level from the top of the Golden Gate Bridge towers to below the bridge span. The morning air was cool, filled with the sound of birds chirping and of course foghorns. Beyond getting photographs of this phenomenon it was just fun to witness. Heck even the drive back was exciting as the fog was barely spilling over the bridge.
I would rather say: buy...
