Ferns #4, Hawaii
Since my last update I have continued to travel and make images. While I don't want these updates to become a travelogue as such, I admit to being privileged to be able to travel frequently and to visit some very exciting places. Apart from my annual trip to Cabo san Lucas, Mexico, I also visited Hawaii and Maui in April in the company of my wife and friends and had a wonderful time touring those islands and trying to capture the essence of the place. Above you will see just one of the many images I have from this trip. It is available as a mounted 10x10 inch archival K3 inkjet print for just $100 plus shipping as my Special Print Offer and also as a 20x20 inch print for a limited time for just $200 plus shipping. It is a very 'gauzy', soft image with a tropical feel and is perfect for bringing a touch of the exotic into your home.
While on my travels I fall into the comfort zone of being able to add to my several ongoing projects. While in Hawaii for example I recorded the interior of the Painted Church (St Bartholomew's) for my 'Places of Worship' portfolio, several ocean inspired views for my 'Seascapes' portfolio, a number of lava flows for my 'Rockscapes' portfolio, images from airplanes for my 'Airplane Views' portfolio and assorted other images that can be placed into a series of image categories I work with. Having something like that to focus on stimulates me to keep my eyes open for scenes that I may otherwise pass over. I also look for scenes that can be shot as diptychs, triptychs or wider still for my growing collection of colorized or natural color panoramas from around the world.
St. Bartholomew Church (The Painted Church), Hawaii
When I return from my trips it takes me a couple of months of work to select and finalize the images I have taken. The act of editing those images is an ongoing process that commences at the taking stage and continues through the RAW file selection stage and on through the retouching process. Finally there is the 'sit back, wait and reassess' phase that allows the images to sink in to my psyche. Most often, a bunch more images will be excluded from my portfolios after that process is complete.
In September I will be chomping at the bit to start a journey from Italy to Turkey, through the Adriatic and Aegean Seas. This will be my first return to those areas since the mid 1970's and I suspect I will take a lot of shots. I should expect to be enslaved to my computer for several months after my return. It is an added pleasure to be able to travel with a lightweight yet professional camera. My new Panasonic GF2 with a couple of lenses covers just about any eventuality especially when toted on a good solid tripod and with a remote release for added stability. The latter two items are essential for HDR work (my 'Places of Worship' portfolio) and for long exposure low light photography such as the example below from the Hawaii trip.
Night Time, Wailea, Maui
A few months ago I completed a new self-published book through Blurb. The book, titled "Iceland 2010 – the Western Fjords" is a collection of color, black and white and colorized panoramas from my trip to Iceland last September. The book can be purchased through me for $92.95 plus shipping using Paypal.
On the website the 'England' portfolio has now been put up. I am still scanning old negatives so have not yet finalized the 'Scotland' portfolio but it will be up as soon as time allows.
As always, have fun with your photography and thanks for reading this.
