Last week, I was deeply involved in a project in my 'day job,' working on a presentation for a consulting client. I needed a few specific images to illustrate what I was trying to say. I checked out clip art, thought about looking on the web, and then I realized:

Dreamstime!

I logged in, did a few searches, and found a dozen terrific images. I put them all in a lightbox, then came back to them a bit later. They all still seemed appropriate, so I downloaded the most relevant. They fit into the presentation extremely well, not only jazzing it up visually, but also extending the points I was trying to make. The client was happy, I was happy, and I got to see Dreamstime from the other side of the table.

This image of mine

and a somewhat similar version have ...

Yesterday I got up at 3:30 AM and drove 30 minutes to the Metro so I could wrestle my bike onto a subway train to get down to the stadium by 6:00.

I was set to photograph a local marathon for a charity group that's near and dear to my heart. I've been involved with this group as a runner and a volunteer for over a year now, and have seen first-hand how they are making a difference in the lives of people who are fighting cancer. None of this is stock work--the photos are strictly personal (and wouldn't be suitable for stock, anyway, with logos galore and not a model release in sight!).

So, my motivation was high, and so were my spirits. I had double-checked my camera gear (and my bike!) the night before. Even so, this was a hard shoot! We started well before dawn, and so the challenge ...

Running is a huge passion for me. Last year, I was lucky enough to join a charity group that trains runners to complete endurance events while raising funds for cancer research. Thanks to my coaches, captains and team-mates, I completed the Marine Corps Marathon. I didn't set any land speed records, but I did crawl across that finish line. . .

Any tips from photographers who have photographed marathons ...

If you read this blog regularly (and really, does anyone?), you might remember my happy story about working up the nerve to ask a rock climber I encountered if he would sign a model release. We were in Joshua Tree at a beautiful time of day, just about an hour before sunset. He agreed, very willingly, and so I put the images in my submission folder.

Well, I am very happy to say that the files have been accepted. I am as pleased as ever with this guy's willingness to be a model. I think the rocks, the time of day, and his climbing technique all came together.

Here's the cautionary part of this story, though: I was so focused on getting the model release that I forgot about the many logos he was wearing! From his hat, which mentioned a ...

Usually when I blog I try to write something that will be of interest to other photographers, designers, or guests.

Today, on the other hand, I just want to share some happy news: I have made it to one of my goals, which is to upload 200 images.

This shot took a good amount of consideration: How to compose the frame to provide something of interest in each plane, how to expose the beautiful ironwood without over-exposing the mountains and sky (PhotoShop helped on that), how to balance depth of field. . . The lucky part of this time-consuming process is that I have a clear memory of that still, warm day in the desert--and having reached my milestone makes that memory even sweeter! So, thanks to all in the Dt world, from reviewers to keyworders to designers ...

What could be more natural than using a circular polarizer on a sunny day with a few clouds? What better way to bring some definition to those clouds, intensify the colors without introducing weird PhotoShop-y elements, and darken up that sky? And, if you're intending to take multiple shots to create a panorama later, wouldn't that polarizer be even more useful?

Here's what I learned when I examined those would-be panorama shots back on the big screen (as opposed to my 3 inch viewfinder): that polarizer is NOT your friend if you want to stitch shots together. Sure, the sky looks more intense, but that intensity jumps around from shot to shot, as the angle of the sun hitting the polarizer changes. Some shots will have oddly intense areas, others ...

There I was, barreling down the 99 freeway in the Central Valley of California, when I saw an incredible sight: a windmill farm in a mountain pass. Hundreds of windmills, different heights and shapes, some spinning quickly, others making lazy loops, others seemingly stuck.

Of course, my first thought was to try to capture the beauty of these machines. I pulled off at an exit, found a gas station with a little parking area, and set up my tripod. That's when I started to feel very self-conscious. In fact, I got a little paranoid: Was taking pictures of our country's energy infrastructure allowed? Was I violating some law? Did I just look silly? I was able to shake these feelings off, but they definitely colored my experience. They might have been heightened by the fact that I live ...

Sometimes it seems that a new idea sweeps across the landscape, somehow making its way into every photography magazine and website I read. Lately, I haven't been able to avoid the term HDR. From at least some of what I read, high dynamic range is going to replace megapixel count as the new holy grail.

A recent trip to Joshua Tree, California, gave me a good chance to experiment with HDR. The results? I'll stick with a good single exposure and a few adjustments, thank you very much.

Here's what I did: While in the desert, I bracketed quite a few shots, using a tripod to make it easier to align the images. Back at home, I tried PhotoShop's HDR automation, spending quite a bit of time tweaking my curves during the process. I was moderately happy with the ...

I have never seen this issue addressed on Dreamstime, so maybe I'm the only person who struggles with it, but I have had a very hard time keeping all the versions of my photos straight. I just realized that I submitted the same photo twice. Sure, I liked it, but I don't think that means I get to submit it twice!

Actually, it wasn't precisely the same photo. While in the desert, I experimented a lot with bracketing shots, especially around sunset. When I got back, I did even more experimentation dialing up and down the color intensities, working with shadows, etc., in an effort to reproduce on the screen the richness of the actual scene. I'm more or less happy with some of these results (see this photo, for which I can take no credit--I didn't arrange for those ...

Just returned from two amazing weeks in places that could not be more different from one another. The first week: as much sybaritic indulgence as one could imagine at an amazing resort in Mexico. The second week: utterly still desert in Joshua Tree, California, no company but huge boulders and tiny creatures that would reveal themselves only if I stayed absolutely still.

I didn't have much luck photographing the big-eared bunnies and fleet-footed lizards in the desert. The rocks were much more cooperative at standing still while I set up my tripod!

I didn't push myself to learn many new techniques in Mexico, but I did experiment with panoramas and high dynamic range in the desert. So far, the panoramas have been more successful ...