It’s that time of the year again for my annual Holiday Promotion
I’m offering 35% off of my markup on all and any of my photography on my site
The discount code to use at checkout is
BCTBXB
and will be good on any order up to December 19th, 2015 at which time the code expires.
It can be used as many times as you would like up the expiration date.
You can visit either of my website URL’s listed below to purchase any of my photography.
One of my favorite photographers has teamed up with Macphun to produce a brand new photo editor Aurora HDR Pro and from the preview videos it looks like the software to have to help you create some great photography.
I”ve got my pre-order in, but I thought I would post so the rest of you could get in on deal now as it will expire soon as the software will be released on the Nov 19th and will be at regular pricing at that time.
I plan on writing my review of the software after I get it downloaded and installed. So look for that later on this month.
But for now…..
Click on the image below and be sent to the stuckincustoms store so you can get your copy today. If you want to learn more about the application, still click the image below and on the store page, click the learn more link at the bottom of each listing.
Just wanted to say thank you to the buyer from Hearst, ON – Canada who purchased a Greeting Card version of my 1955 Ford T-bird Logo Picture.
The greeting cards are 5″ x 7″ in size and are produced on digital offset printers using 110 lb. paper stock. Each card is coated with a UV protectant on the outside surface which produces a semi-gloss finish. The inside of each card has a matte white finish and can be customized with a text message up to 500 characters in length. My name and the name of the image is printed on the back of each card along with the Fine Art America logo. Cards can be ordered in a horizontal or vertical configuration. Cards can be ordered with a white background or black background. All greeting cards ship within one business day of the order date! Each card comes with a white envelope for mailing and gift giving.
Just found out today that I got published again in the Johns Hopkins Federal Credit Union 2016 Calendar.
This year I have the honor of having not one but two of my pictures featured in the 2016 Calendar, one of which made the cover.
The cover photo of the 2016 JHFCU Calendar is a cropped version of one of my Baltimore Inner Harbor Panoramas. Here is the cover of the 2016 Calendar showing my photo
The other is one of my photos that I took during the Sailabration event in Baltimore and is of one of the reenactments at Fort McHenry. It is the photo used for the month of September and shown below.
As always I’m humbled to have my images selected.
At first I didn’t even notice that I made the front cover as I just assumed my images would be on one of the interior pages. I did see the photo, but didn’t look at the caption right away and thought, looks like one of my photos but I didn’t send one in this format so it could not have been mine. I had sent the Panorama version in for possible use on their website, but I have no problem with the crop they choose as it looks great. Pays to pay attention to the details and read the caption. Anyway, very happy I’m on the cover as well.
This past weekend I went on my first photowalk(s) ever and had a blast.
I’ve always heard about photowalks and seen many scheduled via www.meetup.com, but never got around to actually going to one. But this past weekend, one of my favorite photographers (Trey Ratcliff) came to 2 cities near me, so I said to myself, you have always wanted to meet him and now is your chance. So no more excuses, it was time to go on a photowalk. And it was Free. Can’t bet that. (note: some of the other photowalks I’ve seen on MeetUp charge a fee to attended)
Let me tell you, it was an amazing experience. No only did I finally go to Philadelphia for the first time, but got to meet a great bunch of photographers in all skill levels, all of whom were very willing to talk about what they know with you. Got to learn a little along the way as Trey would make stops along the walk and discuss why he choose to stop to take a picture along with tips on taking a picture of the subject and general photo tips and tricks.
The first walk of the weekend was in Philadelphia. A city I’ve driven through and around, but never actually been to. Since I’ve never been I decided the photowalk was a good excuse to go.
After my three and a half hour drive to Philly, I arrived a bit before the pre-party so decided to visit the Liberty Bell. I’d say it was kinda cool seeing it for the first time. Located at the end of the visitors center in which you get to read and see all the history associated with it.
After visiting the Liberty Bell it was time to go to the pre-party before the real walk started. Got to mingle a little with the other photo walkers along with meeting Angela B Pan for the first time, who is photographer from the Washington DC area and a Master in the Arcanum
Just as the walk was about to start, Trey got up on the roof of his tour bus to introduce himself and talk about the walk that we were about to go on.
Shortly there after we headed out on the walk and the many stops we had along the way. Here are a few of the photos I took along the walk.
Headed home after the walk and after quick two hour drive home to arrive at midnight I stayed up till 3am to process and upload my photos to enter into the online contest for Philadelphia photowalk.
After getting some sleep it was time to get going for round two in Washington DC
Just like in Philly, arrived early for the pre-party to gather with the other walkers and await Trey to introduce the walkers to the DC leg of the trip. And then head out to the various stops. Again, at each stop, Trey would describe what he was seeing, why he decided to stop there to take a picture, and then some tips and techniques for taking a better photo of the scene.
The DC walk was a bit longer than the Philadelphia walk, so I was a little exhausted by the end of it, but still had a great time.
Here are just a few of the photos I got on the DC photowalk
This was Trey on one of the stops at the reflecting pool where he described that getting down low is needed to get the reflection on the water since the water was a little choppy that day. You can sorta see the choppy water in the picture above as I didn’t get down as low as he did in his shot.
After taking this photo I realized I had lost where the group had gone to. Never did catch up to them at the last stop, but just headed to the after party. I will say if you do get detached from the group, the page for each city usually has a map or at least a path that they plan to follow. You can use this to find out where the next planned stop is and just head that way and I”m sure you will catch up with them.
At the end of the photowalk there is an after party. This is the only part of the experience on Trey’s photowalk that you pay for if you wish. If you can afford it and there is space available still, I would recommend it as you get more personal time with Trey and the other photographers from the walk including any Masters of the Arcanum from the area. You can pretty much ask Trey anything or just talk in this more casual smaller setting. I attended the after party on the Washington DC leg of the trip and was able to get my photo with two of my favorite photographers (Trey and Angela) as shown below.
It turned out being 2 very long days, a lot of walking, and staying up late to process photos for the contests, but all very well worth it.
So if Trey is coming to a city near you, I would recommend getting your self out there. You won’t be disappointed.
For information on Trey’s USA photowalks go to tour.treyratcliff.com and see if a city near you is still on his list. As of this writing he is about halfway through his USA tour. And remember, the photowalk part is Free. So no excuse not to go.
Check out his website www.stuckincustoms.com to see his amazing work and check out his tutorials and other photography information. Many of his tutorials and presets are free, but he does have more in-depth tutorials and other photography items there as well for a fee.
Also, check out a local DC photographer who I’m sure will inspire you to take better pictures of the Washington DC area, Angela B Pan at www.abpan.com
I had the pleasure of meeting both at the DC after party.
Wish to thank the buyer of my photo “Arches” in Europe. Since I see the place as APO AE I also wish to thank them for their service to our country, be they active military or a family member who stationed overseas.
Back in April I decided to take a day trip to Washington DC, only an hour or so down the road from me. It is one of those places that is awesome to go to, but since it is so close I often neglect it.
Of course it was right in the middle of the Cherry Tree festival of which I’ve meant to take pictures of forever and finally decided it was time to do it. Although it was a hot day and there were a ton of people there also admiring the trees the trip was well worth it. Worth it just to see the trees in bloom and I think I ended up with a few really good shots.
Oddly enough, one was nothing to do with the Cherry Tree festival, but the Washington Monument at Sunset. I had just taken the obligatory picture of the White House as was on my way back to the Metro stop and had to walk past the monument and the sky was just lighting up colors from the sunset so I had to stop and take a picture.
I’m finally getting around to start processing the rest of the photos that I think might be good, the White House not being one of them. 🙁 Couldn’t get across the street to take a picture through the fence as they had it closed off. Guess it was due the recent fence jumpers.
Here is a link to one of the Washington Monument Photos I’ve posted to my site as the feature image above doesn’t do it justice.
Washington Monument at Sunset posted on AmericanKiwiPhoto.com
Planning on another trip in August as one of my favorite photographers will be in town so if you are a fan of Trey Ratcliff check out his Photo Walk Tour page at tour.treyratcliff.com
I’m always grateful to anyone who thinks one of my photos are worth purchasing and got surprised by a sale that occurred back in April.
Why I say surprised is that I had no idea as I seem to have missed the email letting me know. Got the email today of the payment transfer and was like, what? So naturally I checked to see I sold a 10.00″ x 8.00″ print of Naval Academy Chapel side Dome to a buyer from Virginia Beach, VA.
So a very belated thank you to that buyer.
Sold one of my favorite photos of my Alma Mater, Milton Hershey School, today
Thank you to the buyer from Wake Forest, NC for your purchase.
I have several other angles of Founders Hall and during daylight hours, but I have come to like this one the best as you can see Founders Hall light up at night like this from all over Hershey.
If I remember right, you could see the top of the Dome from the student homes I use to live in while there and it is one of the buildings that has not changed since I attended school there.
First I have to say this one is a little overdue as I thought I had already posted this, but had not. So forgive the lateness.
After extensive online searching for the best price on a rental vehicle on my trip to New Zealand last May, I settled on renting from Ace Rental, Airport branch.
We booked very early in that I booked the People mover (Van for those in the US) back in Oct when our trip wasn’t until the following May and got the best rate out of all the rental agencies I could find for Auckland.
Booking online we easy and convenient. The only confusion I had been when I got the confirmation it showed as “Tourism Enterprises Ltd trading as “Ace Rental Cars””.
When we arrived in Auckland we called the Airport branch from their courtesy phone at the airport and they arrived in their shuttle van with a trailer for our luggage within 10 mins.
At the branch, the staff were friendly and got us squared away with the paperwork rather quickly. We did opt for the full insurance which I think made the paperwork go much quicker.
Now here is where I had the only problems.
After getting the paperwork done, they walked us out to check out the vehicle and walked up to a car, this was not what we had reserved as we had reserved a People mover (Van for those in the US)
I showed them my booking receipt and they apologized and we walked back in while they got the People mover ready. We went out and checked out the vehicle, put our luggage in and drove off. This vehicle had a problem right from the start in that at about 50K it had a horrible engine noise and no acceleration and then the check engine light came on. We immediately took it back and after waiting another 10-15 minutes they got us another People mover for us and we drove off into the city without issues this time.
We were very happy with this vehicle and had no issues with it while on our trip. At the time of our booking, they offered AA (AAA for those in the US) roadside assistance, if you needed it, but we did not, so I cannot speak to that. But most Auto Associations have very good service.
I would recommend getting the full insurance, as many roads outside of the city have loose stone and can easily chip the windshield, which did happened in our case. That and you do not have to deal with the large hold on you card (what they call Excess and Bond)
When we returned the People mover it only took a few minutes to check the vehicle in and the shuttle to take us to the departure terminal was already there, so we when right off to the terminal.
Despite the minor problems, I would still recommend this company due to the value for the service. The next closest competitor was at least $300 more and that was a similar service to Ace. If you went with the name brand agencies I would have spent over $1000 more.
Also, these are late-model vehicles with higher mileage than you would find at a name brand agency, but that is how they keep their costs down. Since they are late-model vehicles, the might get lower gas mileage/kilometers that a newer vehicle, but I in our case the gas consumption was about the same as a newer model and thus didn’t justify paying the higher rental fee. The vehicles all seemed well cleaned and in good shape as I checked out several of the cars while we were waiting for People mover to become ready.
I would take a copy of your rental confirmation with you and do one thing that I didn’t, call or email the branch you are renting from the day before just to confirm your reservation. This way they should have the right vehicle ready for you when you arrive.
