Fireworks from Flagler in West Palm Beach, FL

Fireworks from Flagler in West Palm Beach, FL, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

My original plan was to head down to the waterside with an insane amount of gear, tripods, cable releases, and memory cards only to have to sit down later and sort the shots, tweak in photoshop and post the best. Well, the days plans changed and I ended up watching the fireworks kicked back with my daughter and a blanket on the lawn. Pictures? Well, just this casual one with the Iphone. And for me, this one has ALOT more meaning than what I original had in mind :) Good times.....

Happy 4th everyone!!!

Checking in at the Shangra-La

Checking in at the Shangra-La, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

My post this evening has us taking a little trip back to a place I was a few months ago in the wonderful city of Singapore. The reason I decided to grab these out of the file and throw out there to the world has a bit to do with a little lecture I went to last night. The guest speaker at the South Florida Camera Club was a well known local architectural photographer named Jerry Rabinowitz. A great photographer and entertaining speaker! His clients such as Architectural Digest, Florida Design, and Mara-Lago demand quality and realism out of his work. I often start my images out that way, yet frequently go down that road of slight surrealism in the processing. I guess that's ok though, as my client is, .... well....., me :)

Click on each of these to take it to a larger view on black! The detail is pretty amazing if I do say so myself. I remember running about this lobby like a kid with my tripod and kit. The marble, glass, light, and details were a perfect combination for my style of HDR work. As I have said before, some people love it and some absolutely HATE it. Impressionism was also heavily disliked in France in its early years. I suppose all art movements are fought with a little resistance at some level or another.

Atop of the hotel, there was a cool little patio just off of an area that was used for the VIP breakfasts. It had a very hip kinda feel to it and was a nice place to wake up to the vibrant city of Singapore at sunrise. Of course, you have to plan about 15 minutes for the fog to burn off your lenses before a shoot as it is HUMID there! I have a few more from this trip to post someday, so stay tuned :)

Waiting for the God Beams in Iceland (and getting a clearer picture of the future)

Waiting for the God Beams in Iceland (and getting a clearer picture of the future), originally uploaded by Photomike07.

Life sometimes has a way of throwing you a curveball ..... what seems like a sneaky pitch, but a pitch you have to face head on. Even after a strikeout however, the seasoned batter takes the bench in stride and reflects. What went wrong, will he get to bat again in this inning, perhaps he needs a break for a couple of innings to get his game strategy on focus, or is he perhaps missing what the game is all about? By the way, I'm not sure where all this baseball talk is coming from.....hmm, guess I just feel like rambling out a few thoughts.....

A few years ago, about 25 actually, I embarked on a career. There were, and still are, a million things I love about this career. As a special event lighting designer and business owner, I have had the good fortune of working creatively and in synergy with countless colleagues all over the country. In this crazy and sometimes round the clock environment, I realized early on that I was about to lead a very lopsided life. As my dad used to always say, work hard and play hard. I soon adapted the same philosophy. As what I did was quite seasonal, I adapted quite early on, a concept of seasonal work. From about November to April was the crazy time. Countless late nights in the warehouse, drafting table, event sight, loading dock....wherever ...thats just what it took. The balance in exchange for this chaos, was a time to recharge over the summer. Starting in the late 80's, I decided to embrace a rather unique way to recharge and refocus. Just me, a backpack, an unlimited train pass, and Europe! What started out one year as a 2 week sabbatical, quickly blossomed into a 2 month yearly journey. For me, there has never been anything quite like a long train ride thru France, or perhaps a ferry ride between Greek Islands to get your perspective back on track. New ideas, creative visions, and plans had a time and place to grow. This annual summertime escape was what got me thru the insane season. And so, the seasonal focus of my company continued for several years, and that's what worked best for me. So, what happened?

Well, for better or worse, life changes. Relationships begin, focuses change, new responsibilities come into the game, you expand your vision, you work harder and harder for what you think is your future, and in my case.....you totally forget about yourself. Yeah, you somehow put your own freakin life on the back burner! Of course, its not all bad when the relationship goes well, because somehow thats all part of the investment. But if it doesn't work out, soon after it severs, and you dig a bit deep, you can start to wonder why you compromised so much of yourself and your own personal vision for so long. Yeah, maybe a bit too deep here, not sure.

So, to put it in plain English here, the sagging economy has forced me to make a few decisions. Actually, a major one was made a couple of months ago. What used to be only a seasonal workforce with my business, eventually, as other circumstances demanded, grew into a full time staff. I never planned it that way, it just kinda happened. That seemed to go well for a few years. This recent recession, however, forced me into laying off the staff for the summer except for a couple of small projects. I use the word staff, but I use it with much hesitation. I think the proper word is Team. It was a hard call to make as every member of this "Team" has a very special life and circumstance that has now had to adjust to a new focus and future. I can't hardly thank them for all they have done for me and this company.

As I know that my little company is but only one in possibly thousands throughout this country and perhaps the world that has had to adjust, I still must think of myself. I have taken this recent down time to begin recharging and reinventing myself through a deeper investigation into self growth books and CD's. I have also been getting caught up on some reading on subjects like trend predictions, business strategies, and creative processes. I hope to incorporate some of my findings and thoughts into some future blog posts as I continue on my personal journey of discovery.

Perhaps I was on to something in my early years in business in my "European" approach to life and work. A current trend in employment strategies is that of project based or freelance agreements. The film industry is a great example of that. Another word for this is the "Business Colony." In this business model, talent such as directors, cameramen, makeup artists, etc. swarms and forms around a specific project. Once the project is complete, the workers swarm and form around anther project. Perhaps this might be the new model for me? I have a lot to consider, thats for sure. Perhaps a little peak into the past can provide a clearer vision for the future.

Reflections in the rain - Reykjavik, Iceland

Reflections in the rain - Reykjavik, Iceland, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

Rain is one of those "perspective" kinda things. Its all in the eye of the beholder. As a photographer...my mind's eye sees reflections and another layer to the dimension of the image. As a lighting director and provider of illumination for events, well, lets just say that water and electric don't play all that well together.

As I listen to the soft rain from my patio this evening, I considered heading to Cityplace with my tripod, but since they seem to like harassing the DSLR and tripod toting photogs like myself (regardless of the hundreds of dollars spent there), I think I'll just promote Iceland instead. As was the case in this scene while wandering thru Reykavik looking for reflections, I was never hastled at all. But 2 blocks from my own residence, were I contribute to the local economy on a regular basis.....a totally different story. Have fun driving around in your little golfcarts ya overzealous security jackass's!

Wow, that feels better.....

Thanks :)

Phillips Point before the start of the day - West Palm Beach (and the first post of a weekly subject - Time-Lapse Tuesday!)

I've been thinking a little bit lately about a new direction for my blog (not that it's earth shattering news or anything) but......

I need a little direction and focus. For the last year and a few months, its been random regurgitations of somewhat useless information, and although I am sure that will continue to be the driving force of this sillyness, I have decided to give it a bit of structure. So, that being said, today will be the first post of a regular installment for Tuesdays called.......ready drumroll.......Time-Lapse Tuesdays!.............(cricket, cricket, cricket...........)

I have a few more ideas as well, but lets just see how well this goes first (hehehe)

About 2 blocks from where I fall out of bed in the mornings is the seawall of West Palm Beach. There is a lot of great change happening down here. City boat docks, safe and secure waterfront paths, and a new park by the old library. This early morning walk and location seemed like the ideal place to practice my new time-lapse techniques.

So, here is the rig. A Nikon D300 with a 10mm fisheye lense set up on a Gitzo Traveler tripod with a Really Right Stuff ballhead and L bracket. I set the internal interval timer to give a 5 exposure burst every 10 seconds. I then batch processed them in Photomatix, brought them into Lightroom for noise and dust removal before creating a time-lapse in Quicktime Pro.

I think it looks a bit dark...even on my monitor, so I am sure that it might be a bit dark for a lot of you out there. Anyway, my first HDR time-lapse! Stop by next Tuesday for my weekly video!

Look up at the Minneapolis Skyline

Look up at the Minneapolis Skyline, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

I am always happy to get emails from people who happen to stumble upon my work. I love taking images....lots of images. Other than the inner passion, there is no external driving force. I have never been sent out on assignment or had any expectations placed upon me to produce a body of work (well, other than my Iceland trip I guess). I guess that's one of the reasons I still love it. There is rarely a day that goes by that I don't dream of wandering off to some far off place to bring back images of the world....."as I see it". It is that dream that continues to fuel my constant immersion into the craft and art I guess.

So, all that gibberish being said, I am always quite humbly honored when i get a complement or reply as was the case today. While working up in Minneapolis on the Republican convention, I had a few precious moments to wander the city to capture the "World as I see it". Well, today I received an email from some folks up there wanting to use some of my images from up there on their website. Like I said, that's not what drives my passion, but it sure is cool when those kind of emails come in :)

Published in Poland

Published in Poland, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

As someone who seems to spend what might be considered by some as an insane amount of time on a hobby and passion, its nice to be recognized on occasion for your art. Little did I know when I was spending a quiet evening in Sao Paulo, Brazil capturing the colors of the city from the Hyatt, that my work would not only be featured on the front page of a story on Brazil.....but I would be compensated for it. I received a copy of this the other day. The story on Brazil ran in a copy of Newsweek in Poland. Now, if I could only read Polish!

Sunset at the Jupiter Inlet

Sunset at the Jupiter Inlet, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

I had an urge to head out this evening to chase the light. I must have looked like a nut case heading out with 2 camera body's and tripods as it was pouring rain in West Palm Beach. According to the weather online, there was no rain in the area.....hmmm, go figure. Up north about 30 minutes or so, I had a feeling that the weather might break up a bit.

The Jupiter Inlet has a special place in my heart. Having spent my high school and early college years in this area, there were many memories to recall as I perched myself up on the inlet rocks to catch a view of the evening light. I set up one camera with a fisheye to capture a time-lapse of the water and fading light as I crawled around like a kid looking for just the right place to capture the mood of the evening. With a little Jami Sieber on the Ipod, the mood was perfect. Too bad that feeling had to come to a close so fast.

Its funny how people can be in the same beautiful place and mentally be in completely opposite places. As I was in my truck reviewing a few images and still listening to the cinematic music with one of the ear pieces, the other ear was picking up on some voices of a crowd of kids that seemed to be getting louder by the minute. It was when I backed out of the parking spot and glanced in my rear view mirror that my serene mood of the evening was shattered. It seems that the rowdy group had kicked it up a notch as the mob appeared to be in full rumble. Arms were flying, legs were kickin, hair was being pulled, ...... a full on chaotic confrontation ensued as the mass seemed to be beating the crap out of each other! WTF is going on! What happened to my peaceful inlet that our family used to enjoy when I was a kid? I hope its there the next time I visit :(

Here's a little clip of a time lapse that I shot whilst climbing about!

Seaside at Blowing Rocks

Seaside at Blowing Rocks, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

Its been a while since I headed out early, way way too early, to catch a nice sunrise. Just a bit up north of where I live is a place called Blowing Rocks. Along the shores of Jupiter Island, it is just about the only place along Florida's East coast that I know of that has a rocky coastline. The tricky part is the trek there however. You see, the park technically doesn't open up until well past sunrise. Not sure what that is all about. Kinda lame for the photographer for sure as the best lighting is just before during and after the sunrise. The solution? Park at a county park about a mile or 2 South and crawl up the beach in the wee hours of the hot, humid, Florida morning. But hey, who said this was easy, right?

Here are a couple from a photo shoot with a local camera club I went out with a while ago. I guess its about time to take that trek again!

A walk along Iguazu Falls - Brazil

A walk along Iguazu Falls - Brazil, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

I have always heard of this special place called "Iguazu Falls." On the border of Argentina and Brazil, this incredible force of nature has been carving is path for millions of years. This little peak into the falls is but a small piece of the labyrinth of rock and water that seems to go on for miles. While on an event in South America last year, I found the time to trek off to this magical place.

As a photographer, I was of course hoping to get the best in lighting conditions, but was presented with, well....., blah conditions at best. I still snapped several exposures....many that still have not even been processed yet, but this one seemed to stand out as a particular challenge. It seemed to have a few things going on...like composition, flow, and energy, but the lighting was awful! I eventually decided that I wanted to create a kind of painterly look to it, so I brushed in some color and texture with a plug in called Topaz, dodged and burned it a bit, and created this. The image below shows a before and after.