Handcock Gorge

Over the past few years I have used a couple of printing labs in Adelaide and Sydney to print my panoramic images and although I was reluctant at using Created For Life in Erina, I thought I would give them a try on the advice from Rod Thomas as he has been using them for quite a few years now.

So about a months ago I put in an order to have a shot from Karijini  printed to 75in, and from the time I put in the order till I received the framed print was no more than a 3 week turn around. And I live in Katherine so it’s a bit of a trip to get the print here in that sort of time. It now stands very proud in my lounge as a feature wall as it is a 2200mm print. And on Sunday I received an order and that night I put in the print files through the FTP service that is available on their website, which is very easy to use.And 5 days later I have the print here at home. Now it’s that sort of speed and service that you just cant beat from a lab and it’s why I have no hesitation in recommending them.

It’s not only the speed of the printing, the quality of prints in the way they are wrapped and you open the package to find not one dust mark, a scratch or any oil marks anywhere. It’s also that kind of quality that I am looking for as well, and at CFL they give that no question at all..

So if you are considering changing labs or just looking for a print lab, then give Glen or Josh a call and the will be only to happy to help you with your needs no matter how big or small.

http://www.createdforlife.com/

Rumors are ablaze today about the cover up of the child molestation conviction of R & B singer Pleasure P, birth name Marcus Cooper, and the public cover up of the facts of the case by the record label that holds a five album contract with the group, and currently solo act Pleasure P.

The serious allegations are that he  acted like a child molester acts with at least two children, a boy aged 3 and a girl aged 4.

The buzz about Pleasure P’s inappropriate behavior have been around for several years, but they heated up in early 2007 ,right around the time that Pleasure P was asked to leave his group Pretty Ricky.

Apparently,Pleasure P was caught molesting his 3-year-old nephew and niece because they showed signs of penetration in their genitals and private areas,when he was 16.

He served like 8 months, rehab and community service by time the trial came up. Marcus accepted a plea with the State of Florida and Joseph Smith who is the care giver of the niece and nephew which Marcus “Pleasure P” Cooper molested. These are not the only papers filed against him. These are the first of 3. As part of the plea agreement Marcus plead guilty and paid an “undisclosed amount” to remain free and have the records “sealed” and on the family level for them to remain quiet and not to speak publicly about it…

I recommend that you read the full article about this from the source,Necole  Bitchie.com, and support her site…

http://necolebitchie.com/2009/12/03/a-break-down-of-the-pleasure-p-child-molestation-drama-documents

This is ugly, because she has uncovered evidence of a cover-up by the record label, in their actions to suppress this information from getting out to the public.

I for one applaud Necole and all the other bloggers that have shined a bright light on this child molester…thank you all.

We all have witness the tragic child rapes and murders by convicted child molesters that were set free, only to prowl our neighborhoods, only to molest and victimize more of our children.

Child molestation is not something that one can be rehabilitated from, and I feel that any person over the age of 8, that is caught molesting another child, should be separated from society permanently.

A report surfaced this week in a Southern California city, San Diego, that claims that …70 percent of registered sex offenders in San Diego County are living within 2,000 feet of a school or park!

That is in direct violation Jessica’s Law, which states that sex offenders “shall not reside within 2,000 feet of any public or private school or park… ” Read the full story herehttp://www.10news.com/news/21714695/detail.html

Law enforcement knew about this problem,but, just like the record company that owns Pretty Rickey and Pleasure P, they opted to suppress the information from the public. The label did it because this group had a hit record, and they were making a substantial amount of money from them,which is more important to these executives than the safety of our children.

The city of San Diego…well,I don’t know why they wouldn’t follow the law, but I bet it has to do with the lack of financial resources to track the vast amount of child molesters in that city, because the city is financially unstable.They are laying off the police dogs, and cutting back on policing, while the crime rate is steeply increasing, and the child molesters are running rampant.

I say do not support this record label,and delete Pretty Ricky tunes, at least the ones this pervert is on, from your Ipod,..and most of all, make sure you let this record company know how mad you are at them promoting a child molester, and paying to hide that information from the public, and their fans.

As for San Diego is concerned…watch your minor children like a hawk, because the child molesters sure are, and the laws we have tho protect them, are not being followed.

Write your city council member!!!

You can also follow this story here…http://www.mediatakeout.com/2009/37300-explosive_rb_singer_pleasure_p_from_the_group_pretty_ricky_star_gets_caught_up_in_child_molestation_charges_details_court_docs_and_a_quote_from_his_former_bandmates.html

Kuala Rompin Fishing Village.

One for Christian Fletcher …

Setting out while still dark, Luke and myself arranged to meet up with Leon out the back of the Bates Motel, Well not the real Bates Motel, it sure had that feeling. First we had to get Luke out of his dreamlike state on his I’m sure was super comfee floor bed LOL … We headed off into the dark down hwy 395 on our way to Silver Lake coffee shots in hand and wearing as much warm gear as I had. Being a West Australian cold is like your alien long lost cousin, you don’t mind them showing up, but would rather they did not stay long …

We arrived at Silver Lake before dawn and proceeded to head in 3 different directions. While we did not get the clouds at sunrise as we had hoped the lake itself is quite pretty and we shot as much as we could before vacationers showed up and really took the nice foreground interest as themselves …

After shooting the lake Luke and I headed to the other side of the lake where we saw a little more color. Trekked around the marshes full of cottonwoods and aspens before heading down to the road to a spot we had seen the day earlier in passing.

Arriving at the spot we again headed in 2 different directions and proceeded to shoot the area for a good 45 mins before heading to our local breakfast spot up the road for one of those toasted egg and salad croissants …

Heres an image taken of the creek area on the way back for breakfast. These areas are like a dime a dozen you just have to stop by the road, hike into the tree line and then follow the creek/stream either left of right … A couple of weeks later all these trees would of been in full bloom … Shame I could not be in 8 places at once …

Mono Lake is situated within the Bodie Hills, on the eastern side of the Sierra Mountains.  I really enjoyed shooting this area. It has a lot to offer and I would loved to have spent more time here. This image was shot just before proceeding to the shoreline of the lake and shooting the Tufas (calcium carbonate limestone towers). 

Click on the picture for a larger view…

Here is #18 at Harbour Town Golf links…only this is my first attempt at Panoramic HDR photography.  It’s not easy, and it takes forever to process, but when you see the results like this it’s totally worth it. 

I woke up at 6 am every morning and drove over to the course to see if I could get any “Office Wall” worthy shots.  I got Panoramics from #8, 13, 14, 16, 17, and 18.  I’ll be posting those soon.  Luckilly, I did not have to deal with Mosquitos on this attempt…last May they ate me alive, not so this time around.  The only wildlife I encountered was a black lab that was out with his owner chasing around a tennis ball.  He was very photographer friendly….he didn’t try to bite, eat or jump on me…..which is more than I can say for my own dog.  Hope you enjoy the shot. 

If you’re looking for last minute Christmas gifts, my prints look great on office walls, the walls of your home and any other wall that has nothing on it.  I’m affordable and I’d jump on my bandwagon soon…b/c when I become regarded as highly as Peter Lik, I’ll be charging people through the nose.  Until then, I’m the best thing going.   I promise my mother did not type that last bit.

You can always reach me at KenBlochPhotography@Gmail.com for prints or rates.  BTW, I’m cheap.

A study trip to Bangkok covered by Siti Norhayu.

Some photos from New york – Digital snaps

shot on D200 (10mp) vertical pics – 6 to 10 shots then stitched digitally in PS4

4 günlük bayram dinlenmesi bana çok iyi geldi. Bayramlarda genelde apar topar biryerlere gitmeyi pek sevmem. Yol ayrı, trafik ayrı, gittiğiniz yerdeki hengame apayrı. En güzeli hazır İstanbul boşalmışken tadını çıkarmak. Bu bayram da öyle oldu. Cumartesi günü keyifli bir Büyükada gezisi yaptık arkadaşlarla. Bu arada forsat bu fırsat yeni aldığım telefonun kamerasındaki panoramik fotoğraf özelliğini test etme şansı da buldum. İşte o fotoğraflar:

Faytonların park alanına gelmeden önceki büyük park. Hava sıcak olduğunda burada çimlerin üzerine yayılıp üzerinizdeki ağaçlara ve arasından sızan güneş ışınlarına bakmak büyük keyif verir. Hava soğuk olduğu için bu sefer sadece resmini çekebildim

Aya Yorgi'ye çıkarken. Hava soğuk ama yokuş çıkarken doğal olarak kanter içinde kalıyoruz. Ama birazdan içeceğimiz şarabın hayali bile güzel. Bu ara yanımızda bize orada peşimize takılan bir köpek (Köfte) eşlik ediyor...

Aya Yorgi'ye devam. Panoramik fotoğraf çekmek bahane. Maksat biraz ayaklar dinlensin Tabi manzaraya diyecek yok. Yolunuz düşersse beni hatırlarsınız.

Tepeye vardık. Güneş birazdan batacak ama beklemeyi düşünmüyoruz. Bayağı bir üşüdük zira, içtiğimiz şaraplara rağmen. Onun için karanlık çıktı bu fotoğraf. Güneşe karşı çekildiğinden yani

Taken well after sunset and overexposed for the effect Old Dunsborough Beach seemed calm and peaceful that evening …

Manual 3 image stitch …

If your not following Spool Photography on Facebook, your only getting half the updates …

Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.  Due to its sheltered position, Tauranga enjoys a warm, dry climate.

Tauranga

The Port of Tauranga is New Zealand’s largest export port, with brisk but seasonal shipping traffic. It is a regular stop for both container ships and luxury cruise liners.

The coastal suburb Papamoa and neighbouring town Mount Maunganui are some of the more affluent areas around Tauranga. The region’s beaches attract swimmers, surfers, kayakers and kitesurfers.

Tauranga has many outlying islands and reefs that make it a notable tourist destination point for traveling scuba divers and marine enthusiasts. Extensive marine life diversity is available to scuba divers all year round.

Greater Tauranga is a very popular retirement and tourism destination. It features many natural attractions and scenery. Cultural attractions include the Tauranga Art Gallery which opened in October 2007.

Monday 30th November 2009

Cold winter morning.

The last day on November. This year has gon by so fast. it has been a weirs month but will reflect later in December.

7:00am I managed to get out of bed and go for a run, it may have only been a mile and almost killed me! Then I went and did 30 lengths in the pool. Have felt so good today. I am now 90% finished Eiligh and Craigs album and I entered a couple of photography competitions and got caughtub up on emails.

So far it has been good.

Just now I am preparing food for dinner. Going to try my burgers and chips. If I don’t write tomorrow you know the burgers killed me

Working in to bar tonight which should be fun.

It has been a long night in the bar but drunken Shelly is funny.

To days photograph is a panoramic of Oldmeldrum I’m Winter. If you were to blow this photograph up large and look at the front by the large stones you see Jemma and my dog lying looking up at the sky! I love it. I have sold six of these prints and the owners don’t know

01:14am
Sleepy!

Photographed by Yamaggio 

câmera: Horizon Kompakt
filme: negativo Fuji Superia 100
lab/scan: Paparazzi (SP)

– License

The Shimokita Peninsula is the remote northeastern cape of the Japanese island of Honshū.  Shaped like an axe pointing west, the peninsula has a thin “axe handle” connecting the mountainous “axe blade” to the mainland.

Ōma

Shimokita is best known as the site of Mount Osore, the mythical Japanese location of the entrance to Hell. The lush Yagen Valley, known for its hot springs, is also located in Shimokita, as is Hotokegaura, wind-carved cliffs said to resemble Buddhas, and the village of Rokkasho, home to a range of nuclear facilities.

Ōma occupies the northwestern coastline of Shimokita Peninsula, facing the Tsugaru Strait. The town has a cold maritime climate characterized by cool short summers and long cold winters with heavy snowfall.  The area around Ōma was inhabited by the Emishi people until the historical period.

The economy of Ōma was traditionally heavily dependent on commercial fishing. The town was famous for its tuna sold under the “Ōma” registered trademark.  Other seafood products include sea urchin roe, konbu and squid.

A set of tree views as seen through a fisheye lens

Select here to see a set of tree views by fisheye lens

Sunset view at a stop on Illinois Interstate I/39

Select for larger view of panoramic  photo of the sunset

Chasing a San Francisco dawn shot when all the elements line up has taken many many trips back and forth to this location(s). There are so many vantage areas in this area, lining up one that you think is the best you can find is another, I am always self checking the decision. While the location is dead simple to get to, making the finer detail choice of where at the location to shoot is not. I have hiked down, up, to the left and right all cool angles, but I think this maybe my favorite little spot …

I was not leaving much to chance this time round, the evening before after I shot the night shot I hiked to a little area to confirm the morning shoot. Morning shoot confirmed, time to get a feed from the little Pizza Place in Sausalito. Pretty god Pizza, Awesome landscape image on their wall inside the restaurant .

With a 4am wake up Iphone buzzer I was out the door by 4.15am and down by the waters edge in Sausalito with my morning coffee by around 4.45am … After spending a few moments sucking in as much of Sausalito as I could I ventured off to the morning shoot.

Now on the way to the shoot you pass SO MANY more cool spots to view the city and the bridge that its real hard not to stop and starting shooting all of them one by one. But I had promised myself a image I have wanted for a LONG ASS TIME and this morning was going to be one of the last chances. So struggling past location after location I moved up to the area I need to be and started out on the hike … Not an overly long hike, but dark and spooky with the Point Bonita Lighthouse which you can not see through the fog but can hear its horn loud and clear. I had thoughts of the movie “Interview With A Vampire” where they drive across the bridge at the end of the movie I think it is, spooked the crap outta me for a moment before I came to my senses and thought, I’ll just stab the crap out of them with the tripod and then beat the living shit out of them with it … The shit that goes though my mind when given the chance in those situations …

Dawn was breaking first light was just visible and I was set up on my marker from the night before  (a small pile of fist sized rocks) Hey nothings left to chance when time is short!

Just above the fog with the lights of San Francisco stilling lighting up the bay and an orange sky, this looked like a good morning.

4 image stitch at 200mm

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dfvdvbvfgbfbdfgtnhfgh g t rt bhdrt hbr dth dtrh  h ngb tdyh d n dn dn d d ndth

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Well it felt that way as soon as I hit the ground in California. A rush to get as much done in 24 shooting days s possible. One of my main reasons for going at that time of year was the hope to capture some fall color. As the weeks leading up to leaving I was reading every blog and fall article and map I could find keeping track of the color changes where and when they where it was happening. Not that I could do much about my departure date or anything, what I was going to get was what I was going to get … Get Lemons, make lemonade as they say …

When I first arrived the color was sparse to say the least. As I was about to leave the mountains, there where pockets that where in full color. After seeing countless cottonwoods and aspens in the range of 30-60% color you ask yourself, so when will I know when I see some at their peak … WHEN YOU SEE IT YOU’LL JUST KNOW!

It is just an absolute blaze of color that is harder to capture than I had thought. Nevertheless we shoot as much as we can. I think I have quite a few images that have some if not full color, this being one little pocket off a sharp hairpin right turn off hwy 395 down a steep track that ends with a huge boulder at the end and 9 point turn to get back out in the car … Still so worth the effort …

Planning has begun for the 2010 trip

~ The 3200s!

Over the past year that I have been shooting family portraits, weddings and model shoots, Springvale has been one of the most favored locations to use as a backdrop. But it wasn’t until yesterday that when I was shooting Peter and Lisa family that we crossed to the road and took a shot under the trees here. Well my first thought was wow how nice is this in here, so today I came back and did a stitch using the 85mm lens. The file came out at just over 300mb and is pin.

I also shot this on the linhof as well, but I waited for total shade before I took those shots.