photography – Page 3 – The Red Pen of Doom

Random Photo of the Day: A simple river valley

August 13, 2014August 3, 2021Posted in 5 Random ThursdayTagged columbia river, photography, travel, washington d.c., washington state2 Comments

Columbia River Valley. Photo by Guy Bergstrom.

There’s something special about black-and-white landscapes, and not simply because Ansel Adams turned the genre into an art form. This is a stretch of the Columbia River, which is not in Columbia at all, but in Washington state — not to be confused with Washington, D.C., with the D.C. standing for “District of Columbia.” It’s like they WANT us to be confused.

There’s a petrified forest near where I shot this, and on the other side of the river, a row of giant steel horse sculptures that you can hike up to see. Worth your time, if you’re driving on I-90 and need a break. The entire northwest corner of ‘Murica is glorious to photograph: Washington state, Alaska, Hawaii — you could spend a lifetime hauling around a Nikon of Infinite Beauty and shooting up the place. I recommend it.

Random Photo of the Day: A sunset in Germany

August 12, 2014August 3, 2021Posted in 5 Random ThursdayTagged Autobahn, citroen, Germany, photo, photography, sunset, travel4 Comments

Sunset in Germany. Photo by Guy Bergstrom.

Shot this at a wedding rehearsal dinner for a cousin, who got married in an actual castle. NOT TOO SHABBY.

Also: we drove around Germany, Belgium, Austria and such in the Citroen of Itty Bittiness, which could get up to about 160 kilometers per hour before shaking to pieces. Everyone is required to rent a car in Europe and zoom-zoom on the Autobahn, which will make you come back to ‘Murica and think that 70 miles an hour is completely nancypants.

Here’s a gratuitous shot of the Citroen, and yes, it had a red roof for some reason. Nobody knew why.

The Citroen of Itty Bittiness goes faster than you think. Photo by Guy Bergstrom.

Fireworks set to music, from a drone flying INSIDE THE FIREWORKS

July 7, 2014August 3, 2021Posted in 2 Music Video MondayTagged drones, fireworks, Music, Music video, music videos, photography1 Comment

So this Random Man on the Interwebs — and yes, that line is the modern version of, “A man walks into a bar .. ” — this Random Man, he put a high-def camera on a drone. Then he flew it above a fireworks show, took the drone inside exploding fireworks and set the video it to music.

Result? Magic.

Insanely great photos taken the most epic possible way

June 26, 2014August 3, 2021Posted in 5 Random ThursdayTagged bodysurfing, nikon of infinite beauty, painting a canvas black, photography, photos, waves4 Comments

So this man spends his time (a) shooting horrifically beautiful photos by (b) putting on shorts and (c) taking a waterproof camera into (d) giant waves on the shores of a tropical beach.

He’s making money doing it, and it all started accidentally. Check out some of the photos and how he gets them.

Epic, right? Love the shots and it’s got to be fun getting those shots. My brother-in-law, David the Fellow Swede, taught me to bodysurf on a beach in Kerala, India, which we did for days, so I know the joy of having waves tumble and smash you across the sand and rocks again and again. THERE IS STILL SAND IN MY LEFT EAR. Good times. And this guy is tackling massive waves that could do more than separate his shoulder. Hey, if it’s not dangerous, it’s not rock and roll.

I am a semi-literate photographer who’s lugged the Nikon of Infinite Beauty all over the place, and this man should inspire every photographer to think differently.

However: copying this man won’t work. The first person to paint a canvas black got semi-famous, and sure that took guts and imagination, or possibly a lot of drugs in the ’60s and overthinking the whole thing. The second and third people to paint a canvas black got ignored.

This is not a photo, I kid you not

December 5, 2013August 3, 2021Posted in 5 Random ThursdayTagged Arts, camera, Digital single-lens reflex camera, Google, Great Britain, Nikon, Nikon D3200, photography4 Comments

Listen: I know enough about photography to be dangerous. (See related posts: The Nikon D-50 of Infinite Beauty and Pieces of the World)

HOWEVER: shooting great photos with a Nikon of Infinite Beauty is insanely simple compared to what this man did with an iPad, his finger and talent on loan from the gods.

The artist is Kyle Lambert of the United Kingdom.

Beach cliff

August 23, 2013August 3, 2021Posted in 5 Random ThursdayTagged photography1 Comment

Beach on the West Coast. Photo by Guy Bergstrom.

My first photo show is on like Donkey Kong

November 3, 2011August 3, 2021Posted in 5 Random ThursdayTagged Belgium, Dubai, France, Iceland, India, Kerala, nikon of infinite beauty, Paris, photography, Stockholm, travel5 Comments

india houseboat on the canals of kerala. photo by guy bergstrom

Some of you know that I own a Nikon of Infinite Beauty, and that I’ve lugged it places.

India and Dubai, France and Belgium, Alaska and Hawaii, Sweden and Iceland — that sort of thing.

I’m having having a travel photo show — Pieces of the World: Photos on Canvas — 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18 at my favorite restaurant, Savory Faire.

Bottom line: canvas rocks. If you shoot photos, don’t print them on glossy paper and show off your pile of 4x 6 snapshots that you keep in a shoebox. No. Print your favorites on canvas. DO IT NOW. Because you could get hit by a truck tomorrow.

Sidenote: Is the title of the show just pretentious enough without being obscure and stupid? Maaaybe. Could I have gone with a photo-geek route with F-Stops in Eight Places? Sure, if I was a photo geek, but I actually hate messing with f-stops and whatnot.

Other rejected titles:

Snapshots of Where I Ate Fish Curry and Fermented Shark
Hey, These are Actually In Focus, Mr. Fancy Camera Man
I Rode on 43 Different Stupid Airplanes to See This Stuff

Some of the photos: