MDSimages » Réflexions aléatoires

Too proud for words – Watching the evolution of the artist

admin — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 04:28:03 +0000

”Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got.” – Steven Pressfield

Wow, I just realized that I have posted over a thousand times on this blog! Sure I have been a little vacant around here lately, but still. I can be found a little bit more frequently on Instagram and Facebook lately posting images captured and processed right on the phone. Its still art. Its all art! In fact, its amazing how creative we all are when we give ourselves the creative freedom to just play!

It’s an amazing journey when you let your passion steer the rudder of your soul!

When I first started this blog and my deep dive into the art of HDR processing, it was at a pretty crucial time in my life. I had just moved out of what used to be my home, I was trying to figure out how in the world I was going to be able to navigate my sanity through a difficult, emotional, and expensive divorce, and I was looking for a place to sink my heart and creative soul all while attempting to block out the madness that was all around me. In addition to juggling that, my lighting business was kind of peaking….along with the economy, I was getting a little burnt out, and a few difficult decisions had to be made. I’m sure you can read between the lines a bit here and there in some of my earlier posts. There was always that safe place for me to turn to though, and that was my blog.

Of course, I am well aware of the fact that most successful blogs out there are offering specific niche knowledge to a target market. I guess that could be determined by what your definition of “successful” is though. For me, if I have helped even but one person out there along my way here, in any aspect of their life, then it has been a total success so far

I decided to take the above image a little deeper into my process. The sky was a little drab that evening when I was exploring the banks of Lake Tahoe. Haven only given myself a day or two around the “Burning Man” trip, I had to make the best of it. Inspired by daughters own creation you will see below, I decided to see what kind of “painting” I could do myself. Sure, its not a real painting, but the process of blending textures into an image is can feel like it. Maybe I should try taking oil to canvas someday though. Hmmm, so many ways to create….so little time!

When asked to find a few images that she could choose from to paint for a project at her school, I suggested she look at a few of mine to see if she liked any of them. She chose the one above.

And what she created is below!

I can’t even describe the feeling I had when she sent me the picture. Such an amazing feeling that this girl, who not just a few years ago, was that little girl that used to lay on the floor and color with her dad. Now she is creating incredible art all by herself….creating, sharing, and beautifully expressing her gifts with the world.

Shortly after I had received the text of her image, I created this little picframe of my photo and her painting as a comparison to share on Instagram. So cool how you can share your art with the world these days!

About those early times though, just like every moment of every day…those times fly by my friend, too fast I tell ya. Every minute spent away from the desk and with them are precious investments in your life….and of course theirs! Something I need to constantly remind myself too.

I chat a little bit more about it here on the audio cast below. As you can see, the experiment continues. The audio is getting MUCH better as you will see. And as always, see the show notes and links below for more.

Thats all for now and thanks for stopping by!

BTW, I have been doing a little VLOG experiment again this month and the link to that is below as well.

C YA!

Show Notes

The Zoom H4N Digital recorder

Cliff Baise

Drew Canole from FitLife.tv

Pocketcast app

The Podcast Answerman

MindMiester

VEDA / A video every day in April

Somewhere in Santa Barbara – Layers of grunge along the coast

admin — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 05:55:32 +0000

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

On this particular trip, I found myself just as interested in exploring the local landscape as I was in gathering all the details for a project I was working on. Funny how the two areas of creative focus tie together though actually. As the lighting designer entrusted to illuminate a 3 day destination meeting for a national beauty brand, my task on this site survey (those trips are always the funnest!) was to figure out the best way to “paint the event with light” to ensure the cohesive blend branding and message would be seen and felt by the attendees.

Here is a quick link to a couple posts from the final events by the way.

DAY ONE DAY TWO DAY THREE

After those details were hammered out, it was of course time to wander about the area to see how I could “capture the light!”

Like I said, painting with light on an event or painting with light in the digital darkroom….very similar, and two of my favorite playgrounds to play in

So…just a few quickies about the blog here.

I’ve been trying to wrap my brain around a few things as of lately. One of which is why have slacked up a bit around here and let my original plan of posting an image a day fall behind and I think I have figured it out. Not exactly a brilliant revelation, but I think its the immense amount of platforms and spaces that I continue to explore and post to in this new world of online sharing. Facebook, google plus, twitter, instagram, it can all get a little maddening……not to mention the fact that you can create in camera HDR images with the old iPhone. Creating these on the computer with an array of programs and plugging as you might know, was one of the original reasons I decided to start this blog as a place to share “The Art” as well as a place to explore a bit with my creative (or lack there of) writing skills.

As the landscape of digital content sharing has expanded over the past couple of years, I guess I have found other places to “connect” and share my art with the world….leaving this place as a sort of sad and dying waste land of word and image. (all right, maybe thats a bit harsh)…It does however, help me think a bit about what I want it to be, and where I want to take it. With that being said, here are a few directions I see it heading:

To continue to be a place to share processed and refined HDR images, just not every day
To be a place to share a bit more about the techniques I use and how I get the looks I do
To be a place of artistic inspiration to those looking to enhance their own art
To continue to be a place to share the beauty of the world and share my travel stories
To be more open to providing the content as well as answering questions that I am asked about

So, in between posts here, feel free to follow me on any of the social media links above to keep abreast of more of the day to day shenanigans, and feel free to drop me a message or 2 about what I can do to help you as well as what kind of posts are your favorites around here. I hope to get a survey out soon, so stay tuned for that!

Till then, thanks for stopping by!

2012 a year in reflection and a vision for 2013!

admin — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 06:10:32 +0000

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” – Edith Lovejoy Pierce Alright

As always, the New Year gets brought in with a bang as we bid farewell to the old one….the one that hopefully you can look back on as but one chapter, an eventful chapter of course, in the awesome book of your life that you are creating.

For many years now (as many as I can remember), I have been spending these unique and celebratory evenings at events that I illuminate with my lighting design and production company called HyLite. It’s gotten into my blood to the point that I actually feel a little lost at the thought of NOT being on a show of sorts during the countdown……even if the ACTUAL countdown itself is boshed up. (I can’t tell you how many times that has happened by the way……I mean how hard is it really?!)

All that being said, the show I have attended for the last 3 years is one of Palm Beaches exclusive black tie events called the Coconuts Ball held at the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach. Although quite a subdued spectacle when compared to the old Young Friends of the American Red Cross parties we did there in years past (those parties were legendary!), its still a great place to be for the incredible fireworks view. Just after the 20 minute show, the party usually really kicks in as the younger jet set crowd makes its appearance at the venue. There is something quite magical when music, kinetic lighting, and a fun crowd ushers in the New Year. Its always a special night for me

This year, I snuck away from the lighting console to capture a few of the fireworks that were launched. I must say, although I have photographed fireworks many times and even did a video on how to do just that (I think it has over 4,000 views!), I still bumble thru the process. Basically, its simple. Tripod, f11, shutter of about 4 to 6 seconds, and focus close to infinity. (or something like that) I would have loved a little foreground scene to add to the picture though. As I was in my tuxedo and couldn’t wander off too far to compose a cool scene for the shoot, I had to live with the location I was able to scramble to. With a little light processing Lightroom and the use of a cool print template from Matt Kosklowski’s site at Lightroom Killer Tips, I was able to create this record of the evening’s show.

Now that I look at it, it should be easy to top it next year. I have a whole year to work it out I guess

So what started out as a New Years Day or “Hey, wasn’t that an awesome 2012…now lets kick its ass out the door as we welcome in 2013″ post has turned into a kind of a late rescue of my origional idea.

Hey Mike, where have you been by the way?!

Good question! I’ve been pretty busy, just not here

What started out as a daily place to me to hang out for a while and share an HDR creation and ramble of sorts about either it or something else has kind of tapered off. Like anything I guess, when you are learning and growing at a process or art of any kind, the passion is a little more alive. With this energy and fuel, it becomes not a burden, but an unstoppable drive to share, discuss, and give back to the universe or in this case (without sounding all new agey), my blog.

So with that understanding and awareness, as I work on the necessary rescue of this blog, I am in the process of figuring out new challenges to drive my creative and artistic side to continue to serve up new and fresh content.

As with anything I work on, not all the details are worked out, but I plan on mixing it up a bit this year, so stay tuned for more. Better yet, make sure and sign up for updates in the box at the top right side of the site. I promise not to spam ya!

2012 – My journey with the camera

For the most part around here, you either read about where I have been or where I am planning on going. My trips, even the ones for my lighting design work, usually find me packing a couple extra bags with camera bodies, lenses, adaptors, and well, generally too much stuff! I usually turn a few heads at the TSA checkpoints actually. Like I did last year, it’s nice to look back at the places that I have been fortunate enough to visit. Although I still have piles of files to process, here are a few I like that got around to working with and posting this past year.

Enjoy (but come back!)

Living your passion

I often open up each post with a quote of sorts to help all you other creatives out there that might be on the same journey as me. Society, if you let it, (at least our western society) will pigeon hole you right into the “work hard – comsume – overspend – work harder” without ever stopping to think about what actually makes you tick. Over the past 4 years of my life (my reconstructed life), I have put alot of energy into not only searching for this myself, but understanding how important it is to find and feed this drive in order to truly THRIVE in life! I’ve often said, the real teacher of the future is the coach, the motivator, the parent, the one who gives permission to the student to follow their dreams. The tools and knowledge are out there to complete just about any sort of specialized training online, but the power is in igniting the spark! Guess I’m going off on a bit of a tangent here! I’ll go a little deeper in future posts about this, but for now, watch this video for a deeper dive into it….I think you might relate!

Getting out of your comfort zone

So 2012 also found me dabbling a bit in the world of video as well. (man did I just quickly change subjects of what?)

After stretching myself a bit in a 30 day video vlog challenge, I decided to wrap up the last day with a few out-takes and shenanigans (I NEVER get to use that word!) I had fun making this one

Observing the beautiful gift of life all around you

Now that we are changing subjects around here, here is one I linked to a couple times on facebook. Another “put life into persecutive” clip I think has a lot of meaning. If you’ve already seen it (it really is worth watching again), l’ll see you just below the video for another random wormhole I feel like going down…

You are what you eat

I must be honest that as of lately, this is where my energy has been focused. Without health, you essentially have nothing! I know this topic has virtually nothing at all to do with a photography and art blog but health is real wealth, and like I said, without it, what do you really have? These are both worth a quick view! My passion for this topic has actually got me thinking a bit about a totally new topic for a new blog as well as a new direction for some of my photography. As always, I’ll keep you posted.

Till then, remember, you really are what you eat!

Bucket list

I had a chance to knock check a line off of the old bucket list this past year thanks to a couple of great friends that put everything together. With any luck, 2013 will also find me out on the Playa at Burning Man capturing the unique celebration that to this day, I have had a really had time even putting into words what its all about. Enjoy this little peek into this indescribable event!

Hy-Lite and its journey

Like any business venture out there, especially one that lasts over 25 years, there are bound to be changes. Growth pains, mistakes, economic cycle rides, adjustments, and refinements. As I head into this year and future years, one thing is certain and that is my determination to play at what I do. To surround my self with creatives that look at projects that serve to excite and entertain the world while at the same time, allowing us to learn, create, and grow synergistically in a world that desires to be entertained, amazed, and gifted with color, light, and energy! (I know, I need to work on that, but you get the picture!)

Parting words from Brendon

Like I mentioned before, the real teacher of the future is the visionary, coach, and motovator. I had the honor of attending one of Brendan’s workshops a while ago, and as the New Year gets off to a great start, I figured that this would be a great share for all you planning your own journey into the next chapter of your life.

Lets make this book one that’s worth reading

Happy New Year!!!

A celebration of art on the Playa – Finding a deeper meaning at Burning Man

admin — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 05:39:42 +0000

“Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up” – Pablo Picasso

Perhaps you’ve noticed by now that I have had a hard time putting into words my recent experience. It’s but only once a year that a collective group of unique artists, wanderers, ravers, hippies, techies, lawyers, parents, attorneys, freaks, children, free spirited creatives, doctors, craftsmen, …… you name it…..a very special slice of humanity from all over the world….make the long and difficult trek into the deep desert to live in harmony as they attend Burning Man. Sixty thousand people together for a week in the harsh climate of the desert and I didn’t even see ONE altercation or act of violence. How is that even possible in todays world? In any world?

As I attempt to describe this most unique celebration of art, music, and life…I am reminded of a conversation I had with a girl that wandered into our camp that we set up (more on that in a future post). Describing Burning Man is a close second to trying to describe the concept of color to a blind man.

I’m really not sure where this is going actually (this post that is……), but here we go…..

Perhaps this might be a good time to stop and read this.

Or watch this.

Like I said, as a first time visiter to this special world and someone who quickly realized that it was not about observing, but of participating, (more on that in a future post as well) I am still at a loss as to how to completely describe this event. In a way, it definitely resonated with me as a possible micro example of how life could be, or perhaps how it used to be…..and even how I hope it WILL be. I mean you have to admit, if you stop to really think about it, just how completely off track is our modern society anyway. Perhaps its my own perception and personal view of the world around me as I look out and wonder “What the hell is everyone working so hard for?” “What is the end goal? ….To have a bunch of stuff?” “What are we doing???” “What is this seemingly senseless argument going on in the world all in the name of religion?” “Why can’t everyone just freaking get along?” “I wonder if there are any frozen waffles in the freezer?”

(just wanted to make sure you were listening!)

Like I said, not really sure where this is going……getting way off track here!

Lets take a quick break and enjoy this cool piece that just came across my facebook stream from this years burn.

Pretty cool huh? Kinda makes me wish I took a few more images

I personally love seeing the variety of ways that our diverse group here has absorbed, captured, and are now presenting their work. Not to mention the creative collection of individuals that have expressed themselves IN these images and videos through various mediums like clothing, vehicle construction, dance, lighting design, and personal expression. It’s amazing what ends up being produced when we are truly free to create and explore ourselves without the limitations and criticism of modern society!

I harp on a little here on the blog about art. Getting back to your authentic self. Your creative self!

I was reminded of that after talking to a good friend tonight briefly on the phone. It really hurt to listen to someone I love dearly (a very creative friend I must add) as a picture of quiet desperation was vividly painted of a life that is sinking deeper and deeper into what society tells us is the way to live. The nine to five, the schedule, the stress, the race for stuff….all coupled with the sad exclusion of the creative self……

Perhaps THIS might be a good time to watch this.

Looks like a good movie no?

So where AM I going with all of this?

Not sure actually…..

As I type this and continue to link to these videos and posts, I realize that at the same plane of existence I am on…..as labels would have me named; a parent, an entrepreneur, a real estate investor, a businessman, an artist, a whatever…..I am also perhaps a hippie of sorts in disguise. Although I don’t see myself selling off my personal possessions, packing a few basic essentials into the shag carpeted VW bus (I’d actually have to find one of those first), putting on the tie dyed shirt, and heading off to Haight Ashbury, I still like to question the sanity of the world around me.

Who made all these rules? Who set up this system we are blindly following?

Sometimes it takes a trip to something like Burning Man to get me thinking a little bit deeper again. In that little world, the art of living, giving, and creating was what drove it. Not consumerism, capitalism, consumption, or greed. Seems so simple doesn’t it? (all right, now I’m REALLY sounding like a hippie).

But is this way to live life sustainable on a larger scale?

Not sure. Maybe thats what makes this gathering so special.

But what small piece of this can we all learn to embrace on our day to day life in the real world though?

If I had but a few wishes, they would be for more people to find a way to tap into your own passions, find a way to embrace their gifts, and find a way to get back to creating like they were a kids again…..shouldn’t this be what we all strive for? Wouldn’t just a little bit more of that in the world make it a better place? Sound like a fantasy? Sound a bit cheesy? (seriously, I wonder if I DO have any of those waffles)

I ask you…what world do you choose to live in? What unique gifts do you have to present to the world? And by gifts, one does not have to know how to paint, sing, or dance. We all have our own unique voice and light to share with one and other. What are your unique gifts? How can you find a way to share these? What do you want to create? What do you have to share with the world? How can you get started?

Final thoughts from an interesting 2011

admin — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 05:38:09 +0000

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” – Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Alright 2011……you’ve overstayed your welcome and its time we say goodbye. Its time to bring in a new fresh year, a year of exciting opportunities, change, and growth for all of humanity. I can feel it, can you? 2012, here we go

So although this is first and foremost, a photography blog, or HDR imaging blog, or a sort of travel photo blog, or personal dumping ground for evening rambles (what exactly is it Mike?)…..I sometimes like to get a bit off topic. Tonight might be one of those nights.

First off, thanks for stopping by! I know I have been a little bit (a little bit?) lazy in the posts lately, but such is life here in the South Florida season. As many of you might know, my time spent for most of the year revolves around illuminating special events with my company HyLite Productions. You may have seen a few posts from time to time (check out the HyLite Productions category on the side bar). After almost 4 years at this blog however, I realize that its here where I tend to escape. A place to share my art and my light, without the limitations and challenges that are always present on the event sight. Sure I promote and share our work from time to time, but for me, this blog is really more of a way for me to share how I see the world. Actually, I’m all over the map here…..updates from events, travel images, HDR photo tips, personal rants, software tips. Probably not the best practice for a blogger, but if you are still here…..I’m sure you don’t mind (do you?)

So, while we are rambling, lets get WAY off topic here…..

2012…what does it mean to you? There seems to be an amazing energy present don’t ya think?

Is this going to be the beginning of an age of enlightenment? We are about ready for a new age to be ushered in it seems.

I personally feel that great change is coming. Nutrition, education, energy, community, the economy…..opportunities a plenty for refinement, change, and growth in ALL of these areas. Lets make it happen shall we? What are you ready to change? Let’s go!