Ken Kaminesky Travel Photography Blog » Travel Photography from some very cool places

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Umbria on my mind

As promised, I’m writing from the road and sharing some of the amazing places that I’m visiting by showcasing photos from my iPhone. I spent the last week discovering just how incredibly beautiful Umbria is in Italy and I have a feeling that I’ll be back sometime very soon. Everywhere I looked in Umbria, I…

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I love every last one of these shots. Amazing you got them all with an iPhone! I don’t usually have conference envy, but I have to admit I was loving (and simultaneously green with envy) all the Umbria shots popping up on my Instagram feed.

ART LOVER

Amazing iphone photography. Your enticing promotional skills match your flawless execution in photography. I want to go everywhere you have gone.The tourism bureaus of every country should pay you big bucks to promote them.

Great photos! I’m leaving for Italy in a week and I’m SO excited!!!!!

Wow – so glad you started iPhoneography :-) I love the last photo – was it taken 500 years ago or what?

Beautiful images Ken. As much as I love shooting with my DSLR I’m totally in love with shooting and processing from my iPhone. You’re images are fantastic and I look forward to seeing your other images from Umbria.

I was one of the lucky bloggers who attended your lecture and photowalk during TBU, so thanks for sharing so many useful tips with us :-) I use an iPhone myself, but I never thought that photos taken with a smartphone could be so beautiful! I’m looking forward to seeing all the other images from Umbria – and from Florence of course.

Amazing photography from an amazing country, congratulations!

If you have the option to also check out Italy’s South: Puglia and Sicily are also worth a trip. I went on an extraordinary roundtrip in Puglia’s masserie just recently. The former country houses were turned into spectacular hotels!

Here’s my suggestion for a two week roundtrip:
http://travelmemo.com/europe/italy/puglia-italy-travel-itinerary-two-week-roundtrip

rafael

Very good pictures, I love this job. The photos are enhanced with photoshops?

Leonard lister

Have your app, and i must say never get bored of what i see,Feminal never seen any thing like it, thank you.

Once again your artistry has blown me away! I love every single picture here. Truly amazing and inspiring. Now I want to visit Umbria too.

Kristin, Thanks! I’m having a blast with m y iPhone and being in Umbria sure doesn’t hurt when it comes to the eye candy that is EVERYWHERE.
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Art, No truer words have ever been spoken. Attention tourism boards of the world! ;)
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Christy, You should be excited! It is awesome here.
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Marie, 498 years ago ;) I’m still tinkering with the time machine.
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Edith, That is exactly how I feel about my iPhone and DSLR.
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LT, Thank you for attending TBU and especially my lecture. Hope you had a great time!
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Walter, I’m not even close to being done with Italy! I’ll be back… oh, wait! I’m still here :)
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Rafael, the photos are all done with my iPhone and iPhone apps.
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Leonard, not sure what app you’re talking about.
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Debbie, thank you so much! Umbria awaits :)

There is no words – your pictures….nope no words! I love them and every time I come here I feel better afterwards :)

Thanks for these Ken! JUST AMAZING!!!! I love seeing the world through your eyes!

My compliments for your blog… and also for the article you wrote about our loved Umbria. We live here but sometimes we are not able to see how much beauty is in our region… Thanks a lot
Roberta Belotti

PamelaMur

Loving every single photo!! You have only gotten me even more excited about my upcoming Italy trip! Beware that I may be asking you for some tips in the upcoming weeks!! haha Keep enjoying the amazing trip!

Hi Ken,
I love the expressions you have captured in the Narni photo, even more impressive knowing the speed at which we moved through that town! It was great to meet you at TBU.
Michelle

[...] inured to Umbria’s beauty when you see it every day. And then you have gifted photographers like Ken Kaminesky , Simon Falvo, Alexandra Korey, Abigail King, Jeanette Kramer, Andy Hayes, and others descend upon [...]

Ken, I just discovered your blog via Dave&Deb. I’m sorry it took me so long to find it – your photography is impressive! I’ve travelled Italy extensively but never through Umbria. You present it so beautifully and I’ve added to my list of places to explore. So, thank you for sharing!

Hi Ken ….via Twitter ;-)

The flag throwing shot is cool. Sad I missed out on this conference!

This place looks amazing! I really want to visit Italy someday! And this was shot with an iPhone wow nice :)

I am so sorry you had to suffer through the wine tour in Umbria. How you could go to a conference there and force you to do that, in Italy of all places, is beyond me. Sometimes there are sacrifices that you have to make for a greater cause.

At least you got some great photos of it. After seeing how beautiful these are, you might want to give this photography thing a shot. Now I don’t think you’ll make the cover of National Geographic or anything but keeping working hard and see what happens.

:)

Assisi is an amazing place and you are a great photographer! This is a great collection of Umbria here.

Lisa, There are words for your comment: Thank you!! I feel better after those lovely comments :)
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Carlos, look for some “cool” new pics from Iceland coming up!
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Roberta, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. I loved Umbria and hope to be back soon!
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Pamela, Glad to see that you’re excited about Italy. It is a magical place. I hope that you have Umbria on the itinerary!
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Michelle, Great to meet you too :) That trip to Narni was wayyyyy too short!
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Christina, Glad that you’re reading Dave & Deb’s blog. They are my heroes and wonderful friends. Look for more Umbria photos coming soon!
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Peter, Howdy right back atcha
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Matt, Wish you could have made it too. It would have been a pleasure to meet you. Hopefully next time!
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Ben, You will not regret a trip to Italy… trust me!
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Jeremy, HA!! I do suffer so! So it’s only right that you feel my pain ;) I promise to keep working hard so that someday I can make this work out. Cheers!
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Abe, thanks for the kind words! More Umbria shots soon!

Great images Ken – Italy does have a way of tugging at your heart strings!

This is fantastic Ken! I just love your pictures more and more every time I see them…but then you must be getting bored of hearing this over and over again from all the visitors :)

[...] to spend two-plus days sharing three of the most beautiful towns in Umbria with Katie Going Global, Ken Kaminesky, Ellen in Turkey, Quiet Wanderings, Andy Hayes, The Changing Evergreen, Live Share Travel, Hipsy [...]

Great shots, i really like the colors. I’ve only been to Ravenna in Italy, but i definately want to see more of it.

If you want, you can check our travel photos from Asia

Some lovely photos. The first one reminds me of our beloved Valparaiso!

On grey, blustery days like today when it seems like nice weather will never come, I stop by here and take a look at your pictures to remind me how beautiful things will look when the sun is out again! Keep in touch…

My Marketing Adventure part 6: Taking responsibility for my success

Success takes hard work, period. One of the things I’ve learned in many years of running a small business is that there’s no guarantee of success, no matter what you do, how well you do it or how talented you think you are. I can guarantee you one thing, though: You will fail in your…

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Ken, thanks for keeping us in the loop on how your marketing is going. I’ve looked around and tried to find other photographers who’ve done similar and posted about it but havent come across any yet. Hope it works out for you, you’ve got some really great images on your website. Come back to DC soon and take some more!

Good read Ken – Definitely agree with many of your points.

The one discovery I made with Agency Access is that it prompted me to do a lot more research about who to send promos to. I found that click and open rates are much more positive with a carefully crafted approach than with an all-or-nothing approach by selecting sending to everyone on the list.

Cheers,
Ben C

Hi Ken

Like the way you’re handling your workflow professionally :)
Right now I’m in the process of setting up things like workflow and such, but I find it pretty hard to do this the right way.
(I use WordPress too, but it sometimes takes a lot of time maintaining the site) Your article shares some insights on marketing and as I’m certainly no marketeer, this helps a lot! So thank you!

Kind regards,

Edwin

Ken I love your work and have been following you for awhile. I am always impressed by your latest images and your perspective.
Thanks for blogging about Agency A and especially marketing. As a one person org I’ve often had to make choices about how to manage my days. Images usually win, marketing falls to the wayside.
I’m interested in AA but am wondering whether the expense will eat up my revenues. Thx! Terri

This is sooo great. I am devouring your series! It’s a lot to take in, but am following step by step.

Since we all run different business, I am working out a good model for my business.

thanks for breaking it down.

Ken,

Thank you for such an in depth post on the “physical” marketing steps you are taking to get assignments. You could easily sit back and wait for people to contact you based on this great WordPress site, but it just goes to show that even someone as talented as yourself still needs to “pound the pavement” to get work, it is just not handed to you daily.

Excellent perspective and a great tutorial on how to really “target” your photographic niche for offers.

Best,
Lucas

never realised how much work was needed behind the scenes of a successful photographer! I love your photos so I just thought that you would be working with the best of the best magazines..but now I can see how hard you work on getting your photos out there! All the best with your business ;)

I definitely agree with the hard work part. I am not always the best at coming up with strategies or following through on all my ideas so it will be interesting to see what comes of your efforts.

Metro, while lots of other photographers do the marketing that I do, not many have written about it in great detail. I hope that by doing so I can help other photographers with their strategies to get new clients.
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Ben, Agreed, taking the time to make the proper selections will only increase your chances of success.
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Edwin, I’m glad to hear that the articles have been helping.
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Terri, It’s a balanced approach that will win in the end. You have to invest in your business in order for it to grow. Sometimes you even have to take a loss for a while if you really want to grow. It’s not lost money, the rewards are there in the long run.
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Marina, you’re doing the right thing. Not all of what i write about here will apply to every photographer. Take what does apply to you and make it work.
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Lucas, Good things do NOT come to those who wait. Good things come to those who work their asses off and never give up! :)
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Lisa, Thanks! It’s not easy being a photographer today, most of the real work I do is looking for work.
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Jeremy, make sure that you believe in yourself and keep working harder and smarter. The key is the “smarter”.

iPhoneography and Instagram

Just moments after I published this blog post, the news broke about Facebook buying Instagram for 1 billion dollars!   I’m going mobile! Just under a year ago I purchased my first iPhone after my 6 year old mobile phone finally shed it’s mortal coil. I was hesitant to go with a smart phone at…

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I really like the spontaneity and simplicity of these pictures Ken :) Good to see all the variety!

I love simplicity. I’m not a professional photographer but at amazed what can be done with a simple point and shoot. Have to keep my carry equipment to a minimum because I have a dodgy spine. Sounds like iphoneography is for me … as soon as I get an iPhone.

Love some of the shots here – This iphoneography lark is pretty addictive eh

tristanography

Great shots. Your clearly have discovered some of the great iphoneography apps. What is your favorite?

I love that you are doing this…the iPhone if nothing else is an awesome tool for composition, plus it is most always with you. Developing that ever watching eye for a good photo is a skill every “serious” photographer needs.

Love Instagram and used to get my Nikon out when wandering around London, but its all on the iPhone now. I wander when the iPhone will take over from the pro cameras?

Crazy right, 1 billion dollars, that’s huge man. Instagram have been one of the apps that I use quite often on my iPhone too.

Siddhartha, thanks! That is the key for me about iPhoneography… The variety!
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Tracey, you’ll love the iPhone!
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Tristanography, it sure is addictive. Can’t wait for Italy and Iceland. That should be incredible for all kinds of photography.
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Paul, I use Snapseed, Camera+, Retro Camera, Picture Show, Photoforge2, PhotoStudio, Pro HDR, Tilt Shift Gen, and will be testing a ton more.
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Brian, It is good practice and keeps the eye sharp… Good point!
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CH, cant wait till everything can be done on small cameras like this.

Gaby

my favorite pic on this post: MAGIC!!!! :)

You blow me away with your photos from your camera and now this! Amazing – I love what you are able to do with your iphone and applications!

good image
I like it

I’m sure your iPhoneography will be just as great as your regular photography. It’s often not about the tools, but the inspiration, and I believe you’ve got that aplenty!

Ancient Rome in Black & White

When In Rome Rome was one of the most incredible places I have ever photographed. The history, art, architecture, food and so much more make it one of the most interesting cities in the world. In just over two weeks I’ll be back in Rome but just for a quick stop before heading on to…

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[...] Via blog.kenkaminesky.com Sharen mit:TwitterFacebookTumblrPinterestE-MailMehrLinkedInGefällt mir:Gefällt mirSei der Erste, dem dieser post gefällt. [...]

wow, these images are stunning. What a great post I find here. I really enjoy reading it and seeing such beatiful pictures. Thank you so much for the share.

art lover

Being a fan of black and white photography I had goose bumps while looking at your photos of Rome. To me balck and white photography is like reading a novel where I can use my imagination and visualize the happenings thus making it my personal journey. Your black and white artistry equals your HDR. Great work as usual.

Wow Ken all of these images are beautiful paintings of Rome, from a bygone era…

And thanks for the tips for b/w image manipulations. I might download and use this software as well…though I fear I get hooked to it as you have warned :)

Gosh the black and white photos are amazing – actually I love all of your photos.
Rome looks amazing! I like how you capture the moment in time and then you add to it so that you have a photo that takes you into the place (be it Rome or wherever!)
Cheers
Lisa

Ilaria

Hi Ken, as I told you, you MUST go to “Val d’Orcia” http://www.valdorcia.it/index.eng.php, an area near Siena. Siena itself is a nice city to photograph, but don’t stop there, go to PIENZA, MONTEPULCIANO, and don’t forget BAGNO VIGNONI and MONTICHIELLO. All these small villages are about 100k from Florence, the best way to reach them is to take the route to Siena and then south. You will pass the small Monteriggioni and STOP there. It is a wonderful middle age village, sourrounded by a wall.
Besides the cities I wrote above, the landscape is awesome: Val d’Orcia is in World Heritage List, and green hills with cypresses and small houses on the top are anywhere. It has been the set of some famous movies, such as The English Patient and the Gladiator. If you want me to explain the right places where to find the settings, I can share a map…
If you have more time, take a drive to San Galgano http://www.sangalgano.org/ENG/index.htm where there is the famous sword in the stone.
Sorry if I have been so long, but you really need to have those places photographed!!!!

Ilaria

P.S. Hi again. If you want to have a preview of what you can find in Val d’Orcia, just type “Val d’Orcia” in your browser and click on images… just wonderful landscapes… ;-) I really love that corner of Italy, and I do not live there!

Beautiful B&W HDR I agree with you on Rome, I was there a few times and I always come away saying; No matter where you look there is something to see!!!!! Check out the site above and go to the entry The Many Faces of Rome

jonb

Go to Volterra in Tuscany. It’s a charming little town on a hill. They have an ancient Etruscan stone archway and some beautiful stone steps.

Thanks so much for the link to your site. I love travel photography and am always trying to hone my own skills as well as admiring those of others.

Thanks again!

Cherie Wright

Adriana

Hey Ken! Don’t forget to go to Vertine (Chianti region). Trust me! It was love at first sight for me.

Fantastic images Ken. You continue to amaze!

To call these images lovely is a gross understatement. They are beautiful! How did you capture them with little to NO people in them!!

Splad

Really! You can fool some of the people some of the time…….. Something doesn’t sit right. I don’t think Ansel would go for it.

Awesome HDR shots! Reminds me of some video games. I really need to learn how to do this as it works so well for buildings/ruins :D

Ah, Roma! I cried my way through Roma. (In a sentimental way, not a neurotic way. :-) ) You can feel the history in every fiber of your being, and it’s completely overwhelming and awe-inspiring. Your black and white tribute is hauntingly beautiful.

For when you return to Italia . . . . First of all, take me with you. Please. Pretty please? I would MOVE to Italia. I love that country so much it hurts.

Siena is my favorite city thus far, and I’ve heard tremendous things about Pienza. You must wend your way over to the Tuscan Coast/the Tyrrhenian Sea and the charming medieval towns that kiss the coast. It will leave you breathless.

And if your Italian quest also involves the pursuit of one of The World’s Best Wines, then visit Montebelli. Ah, Montebelli! Remember how Scarlett O’Hara waxed nostalgically over Tara? That’s how I feel about Montebelli. Order the Acantos. http://www.montebelli.com/montebelli/the-grounds-montebelli-farm.htm

Ciao, bello! Can’t wait to see you capture the heart and soul of Toscano through your photos!

Amazing B&W images, Ken! Several years ago, I did a quick stomp through Rome with an instamatic. Ugh. Next time, I definitely will stay longer, take my time, and hope to bring home some pics similar to yours.

Danielle

Art, that’s part of why I love the feel of B&W images on ancient ruins and buildings too. As Einstein said: “Imagination can take you anywhere”
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Siddhartha, give it a shot. The initial trial is free, you have nothing to lose.
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Lisa, thanks so much! Rome IS amazing :)
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Ilaria, this is great advice and tips! I really appreciate it. I hope to get the chance to use this advice now :)
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Bruce, so true… Rome never looks bad, from any angle.
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Jonb, noted and thanks!
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Cherie, my pleasure… Come again soon.
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Adriana, I’ll make a note and look it up, thanks!
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Carlos, gracias amigo :D
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Micah, it takes practice, patience, photoshop, and planning. ;)
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Splad… http://goo.gl/E6cuH
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Ashray, Thank you. The ruins really do feel ancient this way, I love it.
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Michelle, Yup… I’d move there too if i could. Likely the most beautiful country in the world. Cheers for the great tips!
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Danielew, any excuse to head back to rome is a good excuse!

Nancy

WOW!

The Ponte Sant’Angelo image is simply stunning. Superb work of the highest creativity.

Ooohhhh Rome, how much I miss thee! Your photos transported me back to my trip there last year. Man, life-long dream came true, for sure. It is even more captivating in person, although your photos did it great justice! ;) My favorite place is the Pantheon. It is absolutely breath-taking inside. And the aura is indescribable.

Awesome photos. I love the HDR effect in B+W

Nice work!

These are incredible shots!

Words cannot describe how amazing these photos are.

Are these all HDR?

Seriously spectacular photos Ken. Great work as always :D

Hi Ken, I am awestruck by your amazing imagery, can’t wait to see what you do with ‘ Bella Venezia ‘ che bella .
Regards,
Doug.

My Photography: Before and After the image editing

 What you get is not what you see (at first) Like a lot of my photographer friends with an online presence, I get a lot of emails and messages asking me about how I create my images. I can’t really say that I have one set workflow that applies to all images I work on…

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I loved this post, Ken! So interesting to see how you can take an ordinary, everyday photo and turn it into an extraordinary work of art.

Not seeing any images Ken? Could be my browser. Latest version of Chrome.

Me neither – Can’t see any of the images

Love this post, amazing transformation, just like you say, magic!

Very neat seeing the before and afters, Ken. The slider worked perfect for me. And it was very magical seeing the image slid from comparatively mundane to pure magic. Keep up the great work!

Really is like magic, seeing the slideshow and the difference between photos! Last one is my favorite, just gorgeous.

Hi Ken
beautiful work and good insight- > I am giving a lecture on this in a few days and then standing in front of better things in Bali once again. Hope to cross paths on our travels. If you want to see some of my work, please check
http://www.balifornian.com/gallery
Thank you,
Michael AKA mikaku

JACKY RITTLINGER

Honestly…your work is exceptional.
Thanks for sharing.

JR

Deborah

Thank you for sharing the before and after! It is very eye-opening and inspiring. Also, my husband and I enjoy your version of reality – truly stunning images!

Great explanation of your art and the transformations that occur.

Ilaria

So interesting! Thank you so much for sharing

Karen Johnson

Great look at the artistic process!

This is way different than my process. Usually I just search for sweet royalty free images on Flickr.
Before/after sliders FTW.

Gaby

ever since I saw the first before and after pics I fell even more in love with your work, but it doesn’t compare to this post. I love it, i love it, I love it!

Nice slider effect! Working nicely in Chrome on Linux.

OH I wondered how your photos turned out so amazing – that is incredible. Sure is a work of art. Love looking at your gorgeous photos!

Mag

I am sorry if I sound negative, but I see HDR as a way of making a rather average photos look somewhat cool. I am not sure if anyone would be interested in looking at those photos if they were not edited using HDR technique

Great work, Ken. This is some of the best stuff I’ve seen lately.

Ken! Thanks so much for the before and after photos. I already had an appreciation for your work, now I am left stunned! You have a gift: the ability to see potential AND realize the vision that you see! AWESOME! Carlos

You have fast become one of my favorite bloggers! This post though…wow. Resonates on so many levels. If anyone could get me to try HDR processing..it would be you. But honestly, Ken. You said exactly what I have felt for so long. I’m not a photojournalist. And I LOVE the editing process. You’re the best! Thanks for a great read. I’m sharing it everywhere I can!

I LOVE this post! Thanks so much for sharing the before and after photos. I love seeing the potential and the “magic” that you are able to make happen with your work! I’ve been working on getting my own photographs to that point as well. Lots to learn. Happy to share this post with others!

Hey Ken, honest and insightful, great post. Cheers Jason

Nice work. It has the potential to look very professional.

Kristin, Thanks for the kind words :) Just wanted to show how c;licking a button was not the only thing we do as photographers.
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Ana, Everyone loves magic… right?
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Mark, Cheers… Making the mundane seem interesting is all part of the job.
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Mikku, have fun in Bali!
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Jacky, thank you. Come back again soon, there’s a lot more on the way.
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Deborah, thanks. It’s fun for me to envision the final product as I’m photographing a scene. Glad you’re enjoying my reality :)
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Andrew, What’s this Flickr thing you mention?
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Gaby, Glad that you love it! I wasn’t sure this post would be well liked, but it seems to have found an audience :)
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Mag, I look at it another way. I can see the beauty in an average scene and make it look quite beautiful. HDR has nothing to do with it, many black & white images do the same thing as do most other good photos these days, considering the fact that they are all edited in some way in photoshop. Most good hdr images are actually a more accurate representation of a scene as the human eye would see it.
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Carlos! You should have a word with Mag… It’s nice to see that most people “get it”. Thanks!
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Roni, Thanks for such an enthusiastic comment! I know that your work is rich in editing and I love seeing your vision of the world… Once again, it’s a form of magic to me. Thanks for creating your own brand of magic!
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Thanks again everyone who took the time to post such nice comments. I’ll try to do more of these kinds of posts in the future :D

Ken the magician :)

These are all great Ken, I am happy to see that you talk so openly about editing the pictures and sharing them so openly…

I am all the more impressed dude!

Always great stuff Ken. I don’t think I have the patience to attempt HDR, so I’m happy believing in magic.

Hi Ken – Nice to see the transitions from ‘Before’ to ‘After’. Thanks for sharing. Great work!

Super post Ken, and what an awesome idea to share your before and after. I love how you split the images in half. I absolutely love HDR

yes. superb blog. and every photos are great combination make more attractive..

Tino

Your photography is amazing and inspiring. Thanks for sharing!!

A great post..

fantastic post….

Just found your work and just had to say I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! You have a great eye and a wonderful ability to turn what are very good photos into absolutely beautiful art! Would love to know more about which software you are using… and should you ever decide to do a webinar on your post processing, I’d love to watch the “magic” happen!

Excellent transition before and after of images.thanks..

Amazing!Thank you for sharing!

Bcn

Ken, great post for people like me who are naive to the art of photography. Very informative and looking forward to your future posts.

BMW World — The calm before the storm

Since Munich was the last stop on my central European journey last summer, I fully expected to take it easier than I did at the start of the trip. As so many of my friends know already, I am quite often wrong and this was no exception to that rule of thumb.  I began this…

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Keith Watterson

Ken – what a fantastic picture. The light in this looks like textured brushstrokes. Beautiful.

Gorgeous as always. I love the feeling of “getting away” with something, even if it is completely allowed.

Matt, I love that feeling too! :D

Fantastic colors in the door shots.
To really test your luck you should’a gone for a self portrait of you in that Isetta 300.

Geri Grad``

Stunning !! love the colors and the crisp clean lines. As usual
you mastered these shots.. thanks

Beautiful work! I love that HDR style.

OH Wow – how great was that…you take as many photos as you liked and got to explore the BMW world!! Love it :)

I once was taking photos of a candy store in Brisbane. The shop owner came out and started to wave her arms around crazily. Saying that “No Photos. NO Photos. No Photos allowed”

I was stunned, so I asked WHY?

She thought that I could easily steal her store set up and if there was security around she would have me taken out of the shopping centre! Totally weird.

I can so understand how you were waiting for them to tell you to stop!

Cheers
Lisa

as usual, loved the photos Ken. How did you captured it in such a flawless state?

Huss

Amazing work love it ;) great one

Gaby

so, where is the picture of the elevator operator?!?!?!?!

Love the shots inside! Great work!

Great stuff, Ken. Love what you do with the night shots. Do you have any books, dvds, etc. on your method?

What a great story! I am going there next month and can’t wait to see this building myself! Maybe now I’ll go late at night.

What a great story! I am going there next month and can’t wait to see this building myself! Maybe now I’ll go late at night.
Brilliant photos as well of course!

Mansour

beautiful pictures, you can’t just look as all the pictures talks with you…

Keith, Thanks… Glad you enjoyed the photos.
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Andrew, I think you’re right. I’ll have to go back and tell them to let me do just that… Will tell them Andrew told me it would be ok, so gimmee the keys!! :p
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Lisa, I’ll never understand the no photos rule. I mean seriously, people are paranoid when it comes to cameras and I just don’t get it. We are filmed all day long in every major city on cctv cameras and no one complains. I’m just trying to make things look pretty. What’s the harm in that?
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J&T, This time one of the keys was that the place was virtually devoid of people. Made it a lot easier to take good shots.
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Gaby, use your imagination ;)
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Ted, No I don’t. I’m thinking about it though. Need to find the right publishers to work with.
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Lauri, make sure you check the opening hours. I’m not sure that they are always open that late. Have fun!
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Thanks for all the great comments everyone!

Wonderful Washington DC after dark

Capital cities like Washington DC are a total playground for photographers like me. In most cases, the buildings in a county’s capital are the most ornate, well preserved and well funded. I guess it makes sense in the way that a capital city is in some ways supposed to be representative of the entire nation….

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Great post, Ken. As a native Washingtonian, it’s a real treat to see the city through your viewfinder. The photography is, of course, exceptional and I thank you for the honorable mention.

As you know, I’m happy to give tours to anyone asking, schedule permitting, but am keeping a very light formal schedule at the Cathedral right now, at least as far as touring goes. Anyone reading this, and wishing to avail yourself of a tour with me, is best to arrange it by contacting me, as “Andy Bittner – Cathedral Docent”, on Facebook. Groups must still engage the Cathedral’s Group Visit process, but, if I know you’d like a group tour with me, I can occasionally make myself available for such occasions. As usual, I expect and will accept no monetary compensation for my efforts, but ask my visitors to assess the value of the tour received and donate that amount to the Cathedral.

Andy Bittner
Volunteer Docent
Washington National Cathedral

Murray Parker

Ken, thanks for the timely post. Since time is rapidly approaching for the Photoshop World Conference, this post has renewed my desire to take some night pictures of Washington. I was there last summer with my wife and only took pictures during the day and believe me it was very hot. Thanks again, I have enjoyed you photos on Google+ and now look forward to your blog posts.

That first shot is really stellar. Great write up, I didn’t know those museums are free. I’m planning a trip there myself sometime this spring. Maybe for cherry blossom season.

iPhone content FTW!

Wow these photos are so beautiful! I was supposed to go to Washington DC this month but have chosen for a trip to a friend in the Caribbean instead. This so keeps DC on my to-visit list :)

so lovely all lit up like that! great shots!

Nice pictures Ken. I live in the DC area (5 minutes away in VA). The nice thing about the area is theres so much you can photograph at night. Ive taken pictures of the Capitol tree back to 2004. Also have a night photo of the archives, but its with all the scaffolding in front when it was being renovated, really like that image. You’ll have to stop in again and checkout more of our sites!

Stunning images and too true text Ken! Wonderfully done!

Beautiful shots. The lighting, as you say, adds a great perspective to these well known sights.

very wonderful photos. Amzaing,Great!!

As always your shots are stunning!

Beautiful Ken! Now I want to go to DC at night!

Seduced by these D.C. night scenes.

This set is fantastic Ken! I have been meaning to get back up to DC…last time I went it was really before I always made a concerted effort to shoot.

Cynthia H

Stumbled across you on Google+. Then saw your name mentioned in another blog post that listed photographers who did a great job of incorporating their portfolio into a blog site, so I checked it out. I love your skies! I like the sky naturally anyway (watching the clouds go by, stargazing, all that stuff), but I’m really mesmerized by the sky in your photos – cloudy or clear. The skies from these photos made me think an American vampire might be lurking in the details of DC’s ornate buildings. I don’t suppose you expected your photos to spark a viewer’s imagination in that direction, but it is meant as a compliment. Thank you for sharing great art, and allowing viewers to travel vicariously through it!

wow stunning pictures

Great Photos and narratives Ken. I just loved how you captured everything here. I am so enthralled at how beautifully you looked at the minute details of everything before each capture. I am forever glued to the photos, surreal. Love it!

Incredible work. Great job!

Gaby

I had been looking at your pics every Monday (or Tuesday or Wednesday to be honest… sorry) but haven’t had the chance to read anything. I am finally getting up to date and remembering why I don’t like missing any of your posts :) Gorgeous, gorgeous, and gorgeous as always

Fantastic work!!
Wonderful processing.
Congratulaitions from Chile.

chik Mya

Wonderfuuuul!!

Thank you for the outstanding photos.

What do you think about an “how I did this” page?

The first shot sucked me in to opening the full post the rest just blew my mind! the colours are amazing loved them all

Ben

Really beautiful pics. Great shots!

Ghosts of a Totalitarian Past — The Statues of Memento Park

“A specter is haunting Europe – the specter of communism.” ~Karl Marx   It was a dark and stormy… Nah, I’m not gonna go there, even if it was dark and stormy. Truth is that it was an ominous type of weather that was hovering over Budapest on the day I went to photograph the…

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We visited Budapest last fall and paid a visit to Memento Park. I was surprised by the formality of the attraction. I expected a collection of decrepit monuments that weren’t wanted, not a well-maintained exhibit with entrance fees, etc.

We were there on a bright, warm, sunny day. Everything looked too cheerful. I like the quality you’ve captured with the dark clouds making the statues look ominous.

Great pictures as ever Ken! I visited Memento Park (or Statue Park if I remember correctly) 7 years ago. It was a dull, grey winters day and my pictures didn’t come out half as well as yours did. Thanks for the showing us what the place really can look like :-)

Simply beautiful…truly.

Claudia

Although originally erected to celebrate communism and the worker, these strike me more like scarecrows of freedom. Interesting that they collected them in one place rather than just destroying them. Like you said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Great write up.

Thank you. I thought your post was lovely. What an interesting place and you captured it all so well – pictures, post and quotes.

It’s wonderful that you have visited this place and, as you have written that ‘all journeys hae secret destinations of which the traveler’ is unknown’ have been motivated to do visit other places like Auschwitchz. I have read a lot about those places and just kept them in my mind. This is a wonderful post for everyone to absolutely watch their governments and such. Thank you.

Minion

Hi Ken, thanks for posting your images of this site. They are terrific as images in their own right, but are even more emotive in the context of the writing and background accompanying them. I appreciate the scope of your work. It is inspiring.

Great stuff Ken…your quotes and images combine for a great moody post, really liked the third image of the ‘running’ statue.

Oh wow – the sky and the sculptures…and that sky…
It is obvious that these sculptures were made to inspire awe to display power. I think they are beautiful & then I read your words and I think deeper.

Life is all this – beautiful, terrifying, ambitious, painful, melancholy, understood, misunderstood….huge statues against a stormy sky.

Beautiful shots. It reminds me of the “statue cemetery” in Moscow, where many communist era statues found their way to after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Ian, While the park was not high on my list of places to see in Budapes, in hindsight I am quite glad that I went.
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Clare, I always find it cool to hear about friends who have been to the same places as i have. Especially off the beaten path type places like Memento Park. More stories to swap when i finally visit South Africa… Cheers!
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Andrew, Scarecrows of freedom… Right on!
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Anne, thank you, glad you enjoyed the post :)
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Rose-Marie, it’s a lesson we soon forget and here in the west we don’t watch out governments nearly as much as we should. Politicians get away with far too much corruption!
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Minion,I really appreciate your kind words. Thank you.
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Kate, you’re spot on with your take on life :D
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Thank you all for the great comments. It always makes me smile to see so many nice things being said and i enjoy reading all your thoughts and insights. Cheers to you all.

In 2009, my husband and I went and visited that park too. You’ve really captured the “shock and awe” that those in power imbued in those huge sculptures.

I found the House of Terror even more disturbing to visit, but like your visit to this ‘park’, I’m so glad I went.

We need to remind ourselves of all the darkness humanity is capable of, so we can be vigilant about not going down that path again.

Thanks.

HaydeR

Very nice photos and paintings fantastic like you

Your pictures are really amazing. I just can’t seem out of it!