I’m really excited to be the featured photographer in this month’s Travel Longer magazine. I had a great time talking with Billy Taylor about some of my recent travels to Jordan and Iceland and you can both watch the video interview and read it in the current issue of this exciting new iPad publication.

I truly enjoyed seeing last month’s issue that featured the awesome work of long time National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry and was really happy to be asked to have my work featured in the following issue.

Traditional magazines are taking a hit from online publications and things like iPad magazines are an evolutionary step to a future that will be even more web based for newspapers and magazines.

I think that photographers should be especially excited about new magazines like Travel Longer since the way they showcase images is awesome to say the least. The photographs are so crisp and vivid and when seeing them on a Retina screen iPad… Wow!

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”

~ Henry Miller

Hard to believe that it’s been almost a year since I was last in Iceland and I can’t wait to be back. I’ll be there both in June and in September to co-lead a couple of photography workshop/tours with my buddy Colby Brown. Looking back at the initial trip to Iceland last May during the interview was a nice reminder of what an amazingly beautiful place Iceland is. This time I’ll have the privilege to see the amazement on people’s faces as they witness Iceland’s natural beauty for the first time. The whole country is a photographer’s paradise and one of those places that makes me smile just by thinking about it. I’ve got another big grin on my face right now as well  as I write this while sitting in another photographer’s paradise… Tuscany!

After one quick night in Rome, I’m in the beautiful Tuscan countryside scouting locations for future workshops I’ll be co-hosting with my friend and fellow Italy lover Elia Locardi. While Iceland has the raw natural beauty that is unrivalled by any place on earth, Italy has the historic sites, the manicured landscapes, the art, culture, and food. Certainly two of my favourite places on earth.

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls.”

~ Anaïs Nin

On this trip I’ll be visiting and photographing Rome, Venice, Cinque Terre, and Tuscany while using some new gear from my friends at Induro tripods, Zeiss Lenses, Fujifilm, and Formatt-Hitech. I’ve done a major upgrade this year in terms of replacing old gear with some new cameras, lenses, and accessories. There is always some new photo equipment on the market to test and try and I can’t think of a better place to do so that here in Italy.

While all I can do for now is share a few iPhone photos from Italy, it should give you an idea of what’s in store for future blog posts and for you if you decide to join Elia and myself in Italy on our upcoming workshop & tour.

Ciao!

Get a free trial subscription to Travel Longer!

For my readers Travel Longer (published exclusively for iPad on the Apple Newsstand) is offering a 3 month trial subscription for free. Here’s how to get it on your iPad:

To get the three months for free, use the code:  kaminesky (all lower case, no spaces) then…

Head to http://travellonger.com/code  to read how to use the code or just download the app from the Apple App Store: http://bit.ly/Tlapp

Hope you enjoy the magazine!

Enjoy more travel photos and stories:

Beautiful Budapest and the Hungarian State Opera House

Incredible Photo Editing Software Deals

Art on the Road: Chicago

Italy, Iceland, Sweden… Living the Life!

In Savannah, Timing is Everything!

The post Travel Longer… With me! appeared first on Ken Kaminesky Travel Photography Blog.

The Florence Cathedral at Sunset

In the last few years I’ve had the privilege of working with some very good people at several companies that I really believe in. Life as a professional photographer sure has changed in the last decade. There have been several drastic upheavals in the world of photography in these ten years, especially when the whole digital age came about and replaced film and film cameras.

Another major change for me has been the whole social media revolution. In my previous life as a stock photographer, it wasn’t remotely necessary for me to be well-known or popular. So long as I was doing my job well for the agencies that I worked with and produce the quality of images that they were seeking, everything was okay. Oh how times have changed.

“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.”

~Lao Tzu

Change can be good. Change can be bad. It’s pretty much what you make it, right?

There’s no point dwelling on the changes that have been negative. I’d much rather concentrate on the good changes that have happened, and that are happening right now.

Fujifilm Cameras and Lenses

Part of those good changes are the affiliations, sponsorships, and partnerships that I have developed with several companies over the last few years. I’d like to think that they see these relationships with me equally as positive. There’s something to be said about mutually beneficial partnerships where we all have common goals and share a passion for photography and travel.

Lucky for me that I am in photography; an industry so well suited to celebrating travel, culture, nature, architecture, and so many of the things that are dear to my heart. It’s a great profession to be in but I couldn’t do it without help and support. That’s where my sponsors and partners come into play.

I am heading off to Italy in under two weeks to work on several projects for companies like Induro Tripods, Fujifilm, Format – Hitech, Zeiss, and a smaller company known as Ken Kaminesky photography.

Induro Tripods

I’ll also be scouting locations for an upcoming series of workshops I’ll be leading along with my good friend and awesome photographer Elia Locardi. We will be using the Fuji X-E1 mirrorless cameras along with the whole series of Fuji lenses to help us scout and document the regions of Tuscany, Liguria, and Veneto. To make things even better we will have our kits of Formatt – Hitech filters to help us get long exposure images and I can’t wait to see the results. The icing on the cake for me is the series of Zeiss lenses for my Canon system that I’ll be bringing along to help me photograph the locations in the photographer’s paradise known as Italy.

I’m feeling like a kid on the night before his birthday with all this new gear to play with. See what I mean about good change?

I really am in good company.

Zeiss Lenses

What a great time to be a photographer! There is so much awesome gear, software, and accessories available right now to help us all take wonderful images. I love it!

If you want to see what kind of photo equipment, computer gear, and software I’m using these days to help me capture the photos I share here on my blog, take a look at the cool new gear page I added to the blog. I’ll be continuously tweaking it to reflect the stuff I use and like. If something is listed on those pages, I use it or have used it in the past and liked it.

Incredible Photo Editing Software Deals

Going the extra mile

My Marketing Adventure part 5: Developing My Brand Strategy

Torre Telefonica designed by Santiago Calatrava, Barcelona, Spain

An Afternoon at the Regal Hotel Imperial in Vienna

The post I’m in good company appeared first on Ken Kaminesky Travel Photography Blog.

After an awesome year of travel to some incredible places, I’m home for a while and able to catch up on things like writing this year end review looking back at my year in photos.  In the last few months it has been extremely challenging to maintain the blog and update it as much as I would have liked to and I’m looking for ways to make sure that I can post on a more regular basis in 2013.

2012 was a special year full of interesting adventures with a host of wonderful people. All that was missing was a soundtrack to accompany the roller coaster ups and downs. Thankfully, the good times far outweighed the bad and the proof is in the photos!

“Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music.“

~Ronald Reagan

The Orvieto Cathedral in Umbria

Umbria

While the travel began in January of 2012 when I went to St. Louis to visit the good folks at f-stop, the year in photos really began in April when I went to the Travel Bloggers Unite conference in Umbria to give a talk and lead a photowalk in Perugia. These conferences are a perfect blend of networking, learning, and fun. I got a chance to meet so many nice people and also catch up with friends that I had met at previous TBU conferences.

Umbria is a delight for all the senses and if you are planning a visit to Italy, I’d suggest that you add some of the beautiful towns of Umbria to your itinerary. Umbria has wonderful wine, delicious food, friendly people, and did I mention the wine? I was fortunate to be able to visit Todi, Orvieto, Narni, Perugia, Spoleto, and Asisi. That’s quite the itinerary for just a few short days and not ideal for being able to do a lot of photography but I did love this stunning part of Italy and would be thrilled to return one day to spend some serious time exploring Umbria and all the amazing photographic treasures that are just waiting to be discovered.

Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence at Sunset

Firenze

After a sleep deprived time in Umbria I was thrilled to be heading back to the art capital of the world… Florence!

The first time I went to Florence it was around Christmas and was cold, snowing, and rather quiet since I was travelling alone during a low tourist season. This time? Nothing of the sort. It was quite crazy busy with zillions of tourists from the four corners of the planet, the weather was much nicer, and I was able to hang out with some wonderful friends. After a rather hilarious train ride from Umbria to Florence that I shared with several of the bloggers from the TBU conference who were on their way to Bologna, I met up with my incredibly talented blog designer Nikola Lazarevic who is the editor of Web Expedition 18 for the first time. It amazes me how we can now meet and work with people for years in an online environment and never meet them face to face. Nikola is based in Serbia and I’m in Montreal. Even ten years ago it would have been nearly impossible to collaborate on a project like we did. Email, Skype, and other means of online communication have revolutionized how most of us work today.

I was with Nikola when I took this shot of Florence bathed in the warm glow of a Tuscan sunset. I had been hoping for good weather on this day so that I could get this shot and we lucked out. This is one of my favourite shots of the year. This is one of the best views I have ever seen and looking back at this image reminds me of how cool it was to be able to share the moment with such a good friend. Thanks Nikola!

As one friend left, another shows up! Fellow Montrealer and blogger extraordinaire Jodi Ettenberg and I joined forces to eat and drink our way through this wonderful city and she even made sure that I had a nice birthday surprise of Tiramisu and Prosecco while we were on a heavenly food and wine tour. What a wonderful memory with one of my favourite people who I don’t get to see nearly enough.

The cherry on top of the trip to Florence was yet more meeting up with my friends Dave and Deb who are inspirational to me in so many ways. These are people who have biked from Egypt to South Africa, driven from England to Mongolia, swam in the icy waters of Antarctica, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next. Last but not least was lunch and the best coffee I have ever had with local friends Erica and Michela. I rarely take the time to hang out with friends like I did in Florence, so it was a wonderful treat to be able to do so with so many exceptional people.

“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.”

~John Lennon

Grundarfjordur Waterfalls and Kirkjufell Mountain in Iceland

Iceland

Iceland has been on my travel wish list for quite some time now.  I had heard amazing things about the natural beauty and pristine quality to the whole island but nothing could have prepared me for one of the best trips I have ever had in my life. I teamed up with two of the best photographers I could have hoped to share this exceptional experience with and along with them went on to experience what just may be the most naturally spectacular and diverse landscape on the planet. When Colby Brown, Patrick Di Fruscia, and I arrived in Iceland it was wet, windy, and cold. Pretty much what you’d expect from a country named Iceland but the climate just like the landscape could change quickly and drastically.

What we were about to witness over the next two weeks is impossible to describe. Neither words or images can do the place justice but I tried my best and I’ll have a whole lot more to share in the weeks and months ahead. For now, let these few images be a small preview of the incredible beauty that is around every corner in this magical country.

Jokulsarlon glacial beach in Iceland

“Be stupefied by how glorious, miraculous, breathtaking, wonderful, awesome, spectacular and amazing each day is.”

~ H. Lyons

I could not have asked for better travel companions than Patrick and Colby. I can’t remember laughing so hard or so much in quite some time but enough about Colby’s cooking. This trip taught me that I really don’t want to travel alone as much any more. The experience of witnessing such mind-blowing vistas without anyone to share it with would have been a pale shadow of the wondrous adventure that this trip was with good friends around to share the experience with.

My hat is off to both of these talented, kind hearted, and hilarious guys. I truly hope that we get a chance to do something similar again very soon. Cheers boys.

Self portrait wearing my now (in)famous yellow Arc’teryx jacket at Hvitsegur in Iceland

In the next few weeks I’ll be announcing a tandem photo workshop in Iceland that I’ll be hosting with Colby Brown, it will be taking place in June of 2013 . Look for an update regarding the upcoming Iceland workshop on my blog or  my Facebook, Twitter, or Google + pages. We’ll be taking participants to some of the most awe-inspiring places you can imagine. Get ready for the trip of a lifetime!

Thomas Edison’s last words were “It’s very beautiful over there.” I’m guessing that he was talking about Iceland.

Sergel’s Torg in Stockholm

 Stockholm

No rest for me! It was home for a couple of days and I was off and flying again, this time to Sweden. I was in Stockholm to do a shoot for Quark Expeditions. I love this company and the fun people that work there. They put together some of the coolest adventure expeditions for travellers in the world and when I say cool, I really should say cold! Imagine taking a nuclear powered icebreaker to the North Pole and then going hot air ballooning there. Yeah, they’ve done that. Wanna retrace Shackleton’s voyage to Antarctica without getting marooned on a frigid deserted island, you got it, Quark can do that and get you in front of more penguins than you can shake a stick at.

While the work I was doing for them was behind the scenes stuff, it did give me the opportunity to go to Scandinavia for the first time and yes… The women are all tall, blonde, and beautiful. It really is quite horrible I tell you.

I was on my way back to my room at the Scandic Grand Central hotel when a light drizzle began to fall just as I arrived at Sergel’s Torg (Square). One of the interesting things that happens when using my Canon 17mm tilt/shift lens in the rain is that the bulbous piece of glass that protrudes from the front of the lens gets water droplets on it and creates the beautiful flare that you see in the sky around the bright street lights. It makes for some fun night-time bokeh effects as you see in this photo.

With only a few days of free time in Stockholm, I didn’t get nearly enough time to explore and hope that I am able to return to this part of the world. Norway and Sweden have such interesting and unique landscapes and architecture, perfect for a photographic expedition.

The White House in Washington DC

Washington DC

I was home in Canada for July which is a great time to be in Montreal. Unfortunately most of that time was spent at my computer working on projects and editing images. It wasn’t long though before I was back on the road and this time for a big project I was doing for SpringHill Suites from Marriott. My Art on the Road tour began in August during a crazy heat wave that hit the east coast of the USA. Washington DC was brutally hot and humid but I’ll take that over the crazy snow that we just got hit with here in Montreal.

Like most people, I can’t stand politicians but I sure do love DC for all the cool places to photograph, especially around the National Mall. As I approached the White House to attempt this shot I was sure that I would be stopped by security or police. In my typical Nostradamus like fashion my prediction came true but it took longer than I expected before they asked me to stop shooting with the tripod. I had snuck in between several other people who were also trying to get a shot of this killer pink sunset and folded my trusty tripod legs so that they barely protruded. I was in full stealth mode baby and no one could stop me now… Muahahaha!

It wasn’t an easy task getting this shot. As I braced the camera and positioned the lens through the bars of the gate one pesky young lad decided that this was the opportune time to shake the fence vigorously every few seconds and my long exposures were around 15 seconds long. I did manage to get one series of shots done with no camera shake just before I was asked to stop shooting. Mission accomplished!

“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.”

~ Groucho Marx

Ray and Maria Stata Center in Cambridge

Boston

The Art on the Road tour would take up most of my travel for the rest of the year and the next stop was Boston. While I loved visiting Beantown for the first time it proved to be a challenging place in several ways. I’ll talk about this at some point in the future but for today I’d rather concentrate on accentuating the positives. Three of those positives in Boston were friends and fellow travel bloggers Randy, Beth, and Kate who I had a wonderful dinner with at a very eclectic restaurant. It’s always such a treat to spend time with fellow travellers and I was lucky to find these three at home in Boston while I was in town.

Another one of the highlights of the Boston stop was a quiet night shoot in Cambridge and seeing another architectural masterpiece designed by Frank Gehry. I was able to see several of his incredible designs this year in places like Seattle, Los Angeles, and just outside of Boston on the grounds of MIT.

Experience Music Project in Seattle designed by Frank Gehry

 Seattle

Another first for me was beautiful Seattle and once again I had just a couple of days to try and photograph as much as possible during the brief time I was there. I got a chance to see how glass blowing is done and see one of the best collections of glass art in the world from world renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly. The weather was perfect and there was such a nice vibe in this pearl of a city. Like so many places that I visit, I wish that I had more time to to spend exploring what treasures I can discover. At this point in my 2012 travels I knew that I wanted to travel in a different way next year. It feels like I’m missing out on so much when the visits are so brief and I obviously can’t get a true sense of a place in 48 hours.

Mural in Chelsea as seen from NYC’s High Line

New York City

“The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and beauty in the world.”

~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

That is one hell of a quote by Fitzgerald and far be it for me to try and follow that statement with something nearly as eloquent. NYC was the next stop on my Art on the Road tour and it was sweet to be back in one of my favourite places on the planet. If I could live in any city in the world, New York City would be my choice (can Paris be choice 1a?). Art, architecture, food, photo opportunities, business, culture, shopping, music, and the list goes on.

It saddens me a great deal to think how the greater New York City metropolitan area was ravaged during the recent hurricane but in typical New York fashion the people rolled up their sleeves and got to work immediately on working as a community to help everyone get back on their feet again. Way to go New Yorkers!

The above shot is one of my better memories of 2012. I took a few days off after my work was done to spend some time with friends in Manhattan. It was perfect timing for me to be in New York as my awesome friend Gaby from Mexico had just moved there to get her Masters degree from Columbia. I had always wanted to take a walk on the High Line yet never had, so this was the perfect opportunity to catch up with a good friend and do something new at the same time. When I saw this stunning mural by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra my heart skipped a beat. I knew this would make for a killer shot and as usual, I was right.

Tower Bridge in London

London Calling!

I was really looking forward to visiting London in September as this would be my first visit to the UK. I had heard such positive things about the English capital that I figured it would be a place I’d truly enjoy. I figured wrong.

The weather was cold, rainy, and dreary but that’s to be expected in London so that wasn’t it. Maybe I was tired, perhaps it was a lack of support from the tourism board who seemed uninterested in helping me showcase their city, perhaps the city was just not as pretty as so many of the other European cities I’ve visited. It could be the fact that I was almost robbed when some scumbag tried to steal my iPhone as he rode by on his bike, or it could be the high cost of everything in the city. I went there with the best intentions and high hopes of liking London but the truth is that I found it quite disappointing for a whole lot of reasons.

Of course there were some good things too. The apartment I rented through Wimdu was perfectly situated and very cozy. Even when the hot water stopped working on a week-end, the issue was addressed immediately and fixed within a few hours. You can’t ask for better service than that.

I also had the pleasure of meeting up with Greg Brand of Travizeo to do a video interview with him which you can see below. It was a pleasure talking with Greg and I love what he did with the interview edit.

I’d like to give London a second chance at some point but I’m in no hurry to get back.

“London calling, yeah, I was there, too

An’ you know what they said? Well, some of it was true!”

~ Mick Jones/Joe Strummer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QgJ0lEvxu8

Cloud Gate at Millennium Park in Chicago

Chicago

After the letdown of London, I was hoping for a better experience on my next stop in Chicago and my high hopes were met with a great time. I was able to hang out with Darris Lee Harris who was the featured artist for this stop of the Art on the Road tour. Darris is an architectural photographer in a city that is blessed with some of the best architecture in North America. I was fun seeing the city through his eyes and getting the chance to wander the streets of downtown Chicago, camera in hand, from before sunrise to well after dark was a real treat for me.

I could spend a lot of time in Chicago as the photographic opportunities are unlimited, the food is great, and I found the people to be extremely polite and nice. Once again two days was not nearly enough time and I’m itching to go back. Out of the ten American cities that I was to visit on the tour, Chicago would end up being the place that I enjoyed photographing the most. I can’t say that I had a favourite city overall since each one had it’s own charm and all of the artists I met were all wonderful to work with but there was something special about Chicago.

The Denver Art Museum

Denver

I really didn’t get much of a chance to explore Denver in the couple of days that I was there. It was rainy, snowy, cold, and as bleak as Mike Sowden‘s outlook on life.

Highlights: Lunch with my buddy Colby and spending the day with artist Sue Bell at her toasty gallery and having a great chat about life, the universe, and everything.

Lowlights: Dealing with three stupefyingly drunk air force soldiers who I thought were either going to accost me, throw up on me, or pass out in front of me, none of which actually happened. Pity, that would have made for a far more interesting blurb about Denver. Then there was the incident on the airplane that I’m saving for a future blog post. Which airline you ask? I won’t say anything other than the fact that the staff is short sighted, wrongs were not righted, and I was far from delighted.

The Minnesota State Capitol Building

Minneapolis/St Paul

The weather went back to being normal for autumn once I reached Minnesota. I had been to Minneapolis once before but it was one of those hotel, event, and back to the hotel trips that doesn’t allow you to see any of the city. While this time the trip was also for a short duration, I did take a few extra days to meet up with William Clark, an old college buddy of mine who is a fashion photographer in Minneapolis. This was the first time that I had the chance to meet his children and see a bit more of the city. I also took the time to give a talk to William’s photography class at the The College of Visual Arts. It sure was nice to catch up with an old friend and talk shop over a few meals and drinks. I love it when it fells like no time has passed when you see friends that you’ve lost touch with for years. It’s the true sign of friendship. Thanks Bill!

The Rokoko art gallery in Las Cruces

Las Cruces

I went to Las Cruces.

Santa Monica Beach lifeguard station

Los Angeles

It had been far too long since I had been to LA and I was happy to see that Los Angeles was on the list of ten cities I’d be visiting for Art on the Road. Back in the day when I was working with Corbis and Jupiter Images I had the chance to visit the city of angels more often and I always enjoyed my time there. Many of the people that I worked with in those days have remained as friends and I was so happy to be able to catch up with several of them.

After my commitments for the tour were done I managed to meet up with my former editor from Corbis and his family. Markus now works with his wife Texas as fitness instructors/nutritionists at their company the Fitness Underground . It was wonderful to see my friend Ellen and her husband Simon. Ellen was the director of several of the JI brands that I used to shoot for and now runs Neat Productions. I had the chance to meet fellow traveller and photographer/blogger Jen Pollack Bianco for one of the best meals I’ve had all year at a restaurant called Tasting Kitchen. Go eat there, trust me. Another first time meeting was with Twitter friend Irene who runs Chix Creative, a branding, marketing, and design company.

It was good timing for me to be in Los Angeles since my good friend and talented photographer Dean Bradshaw had just moved to Venice Beach and I was able to go out shooting with him one night in Santa Monica where I was able to capture the above image. The best part of travelling is getting a chance to meet new people and the opportunity to catch up with old friends. Being able to spend some quality time with new and old friends… this made LA one of my favourite stops of the year.

“Time doesn’t take away from friendship, nor does separation.”

~ Tennessee Williams

At the Treasury – Petra by Night

Jordan

Jordan is one of those places that will always have a place in my heart. I loved my first visit and my second trip there would prove to be an awesome experience with a truly wonderful group of people. This was to be the first photography workshop that I would host and I was thrilled to be partnering with my friend Colby Brown and his organization The Giving Lens to bring a group of 12 people to Jordan for this workshop in support of a great cause.

I had no idea if I would enjoy doing this kind of work and I loved the whole experience. I’m so proud of the whole group who from day one got along like old friends. Our guide Mohammad Alawimer was not just great at his job but a true goodwill ambassador for his beautiful country. Special thanks got to Michael Bonocore who played a huge support role on the workshop  in many ways and did a great job with all the fun behind the scenes images that I’ll be sharing here soon. Thanks for everything Mike. Everything except the worst Jerry Seinfeld impression in history. For the love of all things pure and sacred, I’m begging you to never do it again!

My workshop group in Jordan – Photo ©Michael Bonocore

I got sick at the end of the workshop with a brutal chest cold/infection and while that was not a great way to end my trip I had the good fortune of being a guest at the Four Seasons Hotel in Amman for a few days and was treated like royalty. I love the Four Seasons and not just because it’s a luxurious place to stay but because they really know how to make guests feel welcome and special. Without their warm hospitality I would not have recuperated in time for my next trip, I’m extremely grateful. Thank you to Sara and the whole staff for going the extra mile at every turn, it’s the people that work at the Four Seasons that make it such a special place. If you’re heading to Amman, do yourself a favour and book a room at the Four Seasons… Trust me, you’ll be smiling for weeks afterward.

Special thanks go out to Reine and Khaled and the whole team at the Jordan Tourism Board, Nayef Hmeidi Al-Fayez the Jordanian minister of tourism and antiquities, and to Colby a very special thank you for teaming up with me and helping make this workshop such a great success. Looking forward to working on another philanthropic workshop in Jordan again very soon!

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”

~ Winston S. Churchill

The Beacon Hotel in South Beach

Miami

As the Bard said: All’s well that ends well. The trip to Miami would be the last one of the year for me and I couldn’t have chosen a better place to end my travel year. For a short time back in the 1990s I lived in South Beach so this trip was much like a homecoming for me. After so many years away from this place I was curious to see how much had changed. Some of the more run down areas of South Beach were now polished and looking good but there was still a bit of the gritty side of Miami Beach that could still be found. I’m glad to see that some of the places remained as I remember them but some had long gone and were replaced with shiny newly renovated stores, hotels, and residential buildings.

In all the time I was living in Miami I never took the opportunity  to visit Key West and I made a point of doing just that on this trip. In hindsight it seems rather foolish to drive seven hours in order to spend two hours visiting a place. Then again a lot of things I have done seem rather foolish in hindsight… Including not going to Key West so many years ago.

I’m a beach lover at heart and one huge goal for me in life is to own a small beach house, get a dog, name it Shark and take it for long walks on the beach. But seriously, Miami Beach will always have a special place in my heart and it was good to be back if only for a few days. Walking around and seeing all the beautiful Art Deco buildings, eating Cuban food, and getting sand beneath my bare feet all brought back wonderful memories of what now seems to be a lifetime ago. I’m glad that I could end my travel for 2012 in such a special place for me and kinda wondering why the heck I ever left.

What’s next?

“Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.”

~ Niels Bohr

While I could use a break, I need to continue planning my 2013 travels. I have some interesting things in the works for the new year and over the next few months I’ll have some exciting new places to visit. My schedule was tight in 2012 and this year I’m looking for ways to be able to spend more time in one place. Being on the road  and constantly moving from place to place is exhausting. This is not the way I want to travel and I’m glad to have figured that out. Knowing what you don’t want to do gets you closer to the goal of doing what you actually want to do.  There is a whole lot of the world that I have yet to discover for myself and I’m hoping to be in several new and inspiring places in 2013.

I’ve been meaning to get to Thailand and I will this year. I’ll be back in Iceland in the summer and New York City and Toronto are sure bets as well. High on my wish list are Burma, Antarctica, Dubai and Bora Bora but that’s just a small sampling of where I want to go. For now, I’ll be at home doing a lot of writing and developing some projects that will get me closer to my goal of taking over the world, one photo at a time.

Something tells me that 2013 is gonna be BIG and it starts in less than 24 hours! I had better get started.

Happy New Year everyone!

Wishing you good health, happiness, and peace. May 2013 be a year to remember for all the right reasons.

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For more fun photography and stories from the road, check out these previous posts:

15 Photos — 15 Fantastic Places | One Year Blog Anniversary!

2011 – My Year in Photos

And the Heavens opened up upon Paris that day

ImageRights – Protecting Photographer Copyright

Italy, Iceland, Sweden… Living the Life!

The post 2012: My Year in Photos appeared first on Ken Kaminesky Travel Photography Blog.

Home of Michelangelo and so many of the world’s best artists of all time; Florence, Italy could be called the art capital of the world.

Still waiting for my dinner invitation from you know who

Washington DC on my last visit was just a wee bit cooler

 

One Year of iPhoneography and Instagram

My Photography Workshop in Jordan!

2011 – My Year in Photos

Capture the Colour

Umbria is spectacular!

The post Art on the Road: 10 Cities, 10 Discoveries appeared first on Ken Kaminesky Travel Photography Blog.

Over the last year I have had a ton of fun with what I now say is my favourite camera; my iPhone.

Creek Ranch in Florida

Now I’m not saying that it’s better than my professional gear, but it is more fun for me for a few reasons. For one, I feel no pressure when taking a photo on the iPhone, it’a all just for kicks and I don’t take it all that seriously. This fun and light sense of freedom I have when using the iPhone makes me relax and just go with the flow. You can never have too much fun, right?

Dome of the Karlskirche (St. Charles’s Church), Vienna, Austria

Another reason why I love using it is to share with friends and social media followers where I am, what I’m seeing, and what they can look forward to in terms of the “real’ photos that I’m working on. Instagram is a big reason that sharing iPhoneography photos is so easy and now thanks to Statigram, you can follow any Instagram user you want and see their whole library of images. Let’s take me for example, shall we?

Delicious porchetta on the wine and food tour from Walks of Italy in Florence

You can now follow my Instagram adventures by clicking on the Instagram button on the sidebar of my blog.

Most of the photos I take on the iPhone take less than five minutes to create. If they took any longer than that it would be a bit of a waste of time so I try to keep it to a five minute maximum.

My lovely and very pregnant friend Melanie in her 8th month

Now you don’t need to use an iPhone to do great mobile phone photography as my friend Kirsten Alana shows in her recent blog post. What you do need is a creative vision, some cool apps and the willingness to take some time to learn how to use them. Android users are now also getting more choices in terms of apps and so no matter what platform you use now, you have some very creative tools at your disposal.

Flag throwing ceremony at the TBU conference in Assisi

Like Kirsten, I don’t use the filters in Instagram but I do love it as a social media network for mobile photographers. What I hate — absolutely HATE — about Instagram is that they allow people to upload images shot with DSLRs that they worked on in Photoshop on a computer. There should be another app for those people in my opinion, or just stick to Flickr or some other service.

Popocatepetl volcano in Mexico from wayyyyyy above

Kenk514 is my handle for Instagram if you’d like to follow me there. iPhoneography and Instagram… they go hand in hand.

What are some of my favourite photography apps for my iPhone?

Waterfalls near Kirkjufell mountain at Grundarfjorour in iceland

My top 5 iPhone photo apps

Camera+

This has been my go-to app for most of the year and the “clarity” effect alone makes this app worth getting.

My little buddy Monster

Snapseed

Maybe the best overall app out there from the people at Nik Software who make absolutely awesome plugins for Photoshop. These guys and gals know their stuff when it comes to digital post production for both professional and mobile photography.

My friend Gaby took me to see Cirque du Soleil on my birthday!

Pro HDR

As an avid use of the HDR technique I thought I’d stay away from this in my mobile photography. I was wrong! This is a great app and gets a thumbs up from me.

Stunning sunset in Florence

AutoStitch

Thanks to my buddy Patrick DiFruscia using this app in Iceland on our recent trip, I ditched all my other stitching software. For seamless panorama images that you stitch together, this app has become my favourite.

Gullfoss waterfalls in Iceland

FatBooth/AgingBooth

Now you have to have a sense of humour about yourself to be able to love this app. I LOVE it! The app allows you to instantly transform head-shots of you and your friends into not so flattering examples of what you’d look like with some serious extra pounds and a few decades of extra living. I’ll let you guess which photo is before and which is after

Time to cut down on my pie intake!

Love – Hate

I can’t stand it when the developers of an app make certain features available as upgrades and charge for all these new features. While I don’t mind a free version and a paid version of the same app, I find it utterly annoying to buy an app and then have to keep paying for more and more features. The Smug Mug and Hipstamatic apps are the worst ones I have found yet in terms of asking users to keep paying more and more. Make it good and I’ll buy it… ONCE! More that that and you’re just a pain and I’ll delete the app and never buy another one from that developer.

iLove this thing!

On a parting note I have to mention my all time favourite photo accessory for my iPhone. The iPro Lens system from Schneider Optics. I had this baby with me on my recent trips to Italy, Sweden, and Iceland and I used it all the time. The wide angle lens was my absolute favourite. I did not have the telephoto lens, just the wide angle and the fish-eye. The lenses are built solidly and take crisp images, which is what I would expect given the price tags on these items. You really do get what you pay for and if you are even somewhat serious about taking photos with your iPhone, then the cost really is nothing compared to buying a point and shoot camera. Schneider has been making quality lenses for pro cameras for decades and their expertise shows in the iPro Lens system. It is well thought out and easy to use. I would even go so far as to say that it is perfect companion to your iPhone and along with a few great apps will make you absolutely love taking photos on your iPhone. Look for a full review of this system from me in the next few months.

Hope you enjoyed this looks back at my first year of of iPhoneography and Instagram. I’ll have a lot more to share with you soon as I’m working on a big project that includes iPhoneography which I’ll be announcing in the next week or so.

For more fun photography and stories from the road, check out these previous posts:

iPhoneography and Instagram

Austria, Hungary and Germany… WOW, what a trip!

Inspired by Iceland | A photographic journey into beauty

15 Photos — 15 Fantastic Places | One Year Blog Anniversary!

Umbria on my mind

The post One Year of iPhoneography and Instagram appeared first on Ken Kaminesky Travel Photography Blog.

It’s like a cross between a “good tired” and burnout. I know what you’re thinking. Stop your whining, so many people would LOVE to have your life! After all, I just came back from three quite amazing places. Italy, Iceland, and Sweden and that’s like a vacation, right?

Sigh…

Skeppsholmen Bridge and Chapman hostel ship

I get emails, comments on my blog, tweets, and Facebook messages all the time from people that I don’t know, telling me that they wish they could be me because I’m “Living the life!”. Granted, the places I get to visit are quite amazing, but jet setting and living like a king while on the road isn’t what my life is all about — just ask another travel photographer or travel writer/blogger. Another one I get a lot is: “You’re so lucky!” Trust me, luck has nothing to do with photography or the travel I do.

Working hard or hardly working?

Travel is hard work. When on the road I tend to work at least 14 hours or more a day, eat poorly, sleep little, get sick, and come home wanting to do it all over again.

Why? Am I a masochist? Nope, not at all. In fact, that is the fun part of my job. Not the getting sick part, but the being in awesome places and taking photos, yet it is exhausting. The hard part — or rather the part that is far less appealing to me is coming home jet lagged and having a mountain of paperwork, emails, phone calls, image editing, writing, and other things to do. It gets to the point where I get rather overwhelmed and unsure what to do first.

This work, the mundane everyday sitting at my desk till my back is killing me work — that is what most of my days are like. In the end I think it’s worth it, mostly because I have a passion for both the photography and travel. Trust me though, my job looks a lot more exciting than it actually is. I take photos maybe 5% of the time that I devote to work, the rest is far less fun. I’m not bitching about my life, after all I choose to do this. I’m just trying to convey that the perception of what I do is often nowhere close to what the reality is. Your life is probably pretty good too, different than what people imagine it to be, but good even if the grass seems greener on my side of the fence at times.

I often hear from people who tell me that they wish that they could do what I do. My answer to you is.. Do it. If you want to do something, follow the advice from the running shoe folks and Just Do It.

Is it hard? Everything is hard until you know how to do it. Even then, it ain’t always easy. Since beginning the travel photography and blogging I have worked 7 days a week, 70-80 hours a week, this is not an exaggeration. I just do it, even if sometimes it’s really bloody hard. So before you say that you want to do what I do or have my life, please understand what you are wishing for.

Ice formation at Jokulsarlon in Iceland

“Believe with all of your heart that you will do what you were made to do.”

~Orison Swett Marden

Working this hard doesn’t make me a hero and it may very well make me a bit of an idiot, but I hope not. I’d like to think that what I am doing and trying to accomplish is simple. I want to have an interesting life that allows me to see the world and create beautiful images that inspire others to travel to the destinations I photograph. Even though I place far less importance on money now than ever before, I’d like my work to be sustainable and fruitful. That part is a constant challenge and I’m constantly looking for the right people and companies to partner with. In fact, marketing and looking for work takes up a great deal more time than actual working at photography.

Two and a half years ago when I started writing the blog and began doing the travel photography, I had no idea where it would take me. I just knew that this felt like the right thing to do. Due to some life changing events I made the decision to follow my dream and become a travel photographer… And I did just that, not looking back, not even once. I was inspired to follow this path by a very special friend who passed away three years ago and have had the support of family and a few friends who believed in me. Thank you.

During the last couple of years I also made some great friendships in the travel blogging world and the world of travel photography. These people motivate and  encourage me, they are kindred spirits, and kind, generous people (except Mike Sowden, he’s a terrible man ).

A less seen perspective of the Ponte Vecchio at night

Collecting moments… Not places

I’m trying to learn how to be a better traveller all the time. How to savour the special moments while on the road and how to make those moments happen more often. I constantly strive to be a better photographer, traveller, and person in general. I often fail at all three, please don’t tell anyone. This can be our little secret.

I try now to stop and take the time once in a while to experience a place as opposed to just photographing it. I’ve missed out on a lot of potential inspiring moments during my last few years of travel. Now thanks to talking with so many other travellers with years more experience on the road than I, thanks to their insight and experience, I have learned that it is important to allow myself to experience things, talk with as many local people as possible, and just be open to letting life take the course it is supposed to take after you have done your best to get to where you are. I’m learning and evolving as an artist, traveller, business person, and human being in general. I’ve still got a lot of learning to do and who knew evolution could be so exhausting?

The last few months have been very busy with the three aforementioned trips to Italy, Iceland, and Sweden. To my disappointment during this last while, I have been quite delinquent in posting anything new to the blog. Sorry! It’s not that I haven’t wanted to write anything. The true culprit is time, or the lack thereof to be more precise. Planning the trips is just as time consuming at times as the trips themselves and I honestly don’t know when or if I’ll ever catch up with the images I have to (or rather would like to) edit and retouch.

The Ponte Vecchio, a classic view

I’m looking at a lot more travel for the second half of 2012. There are 14 destinations that are possible/probable destinations for me for the balance of the year! Not sure I can fit them all in, but I’m sure going to try.

I’ve even had to turn down several trips this year (the Galapagos, Lebanon, Australia, Greece) mostly because for some reason a lot of people at PR firms, tourism boards, and travel related companies seem to think that paid flights, accommodations, and meals is fair compensation to go work somewhere for days on end, come home and edit images, write blog posts, share info on social media, all of which promotes their destination or service. They want me to do this with no monetary remuneration and are surprised when I refuse! That mentality seriously has to change. Who works for free? Just dealing with such a ridiculous mindset is exhausting and I deal with it on a weekly basis.

Just thinking about all the upcoming travel makes my head spin. Even if it seems like I have bitten off more than I can chew, I always make it work. I don’t take breaks or days off very often, and most certainly no vacations even though people often equate any form of travel as a holiday.

I started to write this post with the intention of trying to explain that due to my crazy travel schedule and other commitments that I have not been able to write blog posts as often as I’d like the last couple of months. The post just ended up writing itself and hey, I still managed to throw in a few photos from some of those awesome places I get to visit.

“The ability to concentrate and to use your time well is everything if you want to succeed in business–or almost anywhere else for that matter.”

~Lee Iacocca

One of the things I know that I need to do is take better control of my time. While I have some aptitude in taking photos, managing my time always seems to be a challenge. I’ll just add working on my time management skills to the list of things I need to do. Yea, that should take care of the problem and I’ll never be tired again! Sigh…

Thanks to all of you who take the time to read my posts, view my photos, follow me on various forms of social media and sent me kind emails, comments, and messages. I really appreciate your support and kindness.

Now I think I’ll take a nap… Just kidding

 Other posts you may enjoy:

My Photography Workshop in Jordan!

The Love Affair with Train Travel is Over

Beautiful, Breathtaking New Zealand | Land of the Long White Cloud

The Dead Sea and the New 7 Wonders of Nature controversy

Inside the Magnificent Hungarian Parliament Building in Budapest

The post Italy, Iceland, Sweden… Living the Life! appeared first on Ken Kaminesky Travel Photography Blog.

Writing about Europe from Europe… And loving it

This is the first time that I am writing a blog post on a train, my new friend Jools who writes a great blog about train travel, will be proud of me I’m sure. I’m on my way to Salzburg after visiting some amazing places in Innsbruck, Seefeld, Vienna, and Budapest. It feels like I’ve been on the road forever since I’m seeing so much in such a condensed amount of time. I’m so fortunate to be able to photograph such a wide variety of historic places and many of the locations would not have been accessible without the collaborations and help of the Austrian and Hungarian tourism boards as well as the local tourism boards in Austria.

It is so cool to have access to such special places like the Opera House and Parliament in Budapest, or the Imperial Palaces of Innsbruck and Vienna. Sometimes though, it is the unexpected treasures that I stumble upon when travelling that make for some of the coolest photos. I always do my research for where I plan on shooting, but fate has a way of putting me in the right place at the right time on many occasions. For example the Il Tempo building in Rome that was literally 50 metres from my hotel. You can actually see my hotel to the right of the photo.

I managed to get this shot before the police stopped me from continuing. Little did I know the just s few more metres to the right was the Italian Parliament buildings. That explains the large quantity of nicely dressed police officers patrolling the area. This was one of those happy coincidences that placed me in a cool spot, where I was able to get several nice photos that I had not specifically planned on photographing.

Things are looking up in Florence

Walking down the streets of Florence was a complete joy. Every turn I made, every corner I walked by allowed me to see more hidden treasures than I could have hoped for. One of the things that I try to remember when discovering a new city, is to stop and look up as often as possible. You never know what you will discover when you take the time to see the details of the buildings that you were walking by. In old cities like Florence, those details are centuries old and the craftsmanship is extraordinary. In this photo, I love the way the cloudy sky contrasts with the pastels colours of the beautiful old apartment buildings. During the day when there is heavier traffic and more pedestrians it is really worth it to look up if you want to get some cleaner photos with less distractions.

A not so dark alley in Milano

I was visiting the Milan Canali with my friend Rosalba and her husband Daniele when I took this last shot. The Canali are not usually on the list of places for tourists to visit in Milan, but if you’re looking for some great photo ops, this is the place. Night time was magical in the area surrounding the Canali and since it was Christmas season you’ll see all the twinkling lights crossing over the canals. This time the unexpected treasure came in the form of a small alley that we passed heading to the canals. On the way back to the metro I felt the need to stop and get this last photo. To me it seemed so typically Italian, not a scene you’d find anywhere in North America. All I had to do to get this photo was wait for the drunk guys to move out of frame.

Taking the time to look around and walk down side streets and alleys can sometimes provide you with some very special photos. Getting the big shots that you absolutely know you want is great, but I have an affinity for those unexpected photographic treasures that you can find when you least expect them. This is why I always try to have my camera out and usually placed on my tripod, just in case one of these special moments finds me.

I’m having a great time here in Austria and Hungary, looking forward to heading to Germany tomorrow. There have been a ton of unexpected treasures on this trip to Europe, and I’m really looking forward to sharing them with you here very soon!

Enjoy more travel photos and stories:

15 Photos — 15 Fantastic Places | One Year Blog Anniversary!

Central Public Library – Palazzo Sormani Andreani, Milan, Italy

Inside the Breathtakingly Beautiful Bavarian State Opera House

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II at Night in Milan, Italy

Beautiful interior of the Late Gothic style Duomo in Milan, Italy

The post Unexpected Treasure in Italy appeared first on Ken Kaminesky Travel Photography Blog.

According to local legend in Florence, if you and your lover attach a lock to the gate surrounding the bust of famed goldsmith and sculptor Benvenuto Cellini, and throw the key into the Arno river below, your love will be eternal. No one knows where the practice originated, but now there are several places all over the world where you can find lovers padlocks, including thousands at the Great Wall of China. It is suspected that the tradition in Florence was the brainchild of a locksmith, who had a shop on the Ponte Vecchio, not a bad idea if you think about it. In the past, the bridge was home to butchers and fishmongers, but today the only type of merchants allowed to have shops on the bridge are jewelers and goldsmiths. Much more appropriate for such a romantic setting, don’t you think?

Today, the practice of placing the padlocks is frowned upon (and quite illegal), since the voluminous quantity of locks were damaging the bridge and gates. As you can see the city has even posted a plaque warning people not to affix locks to the railing, but that doesn’t seem to be working. Be forewarned that there is a rather hefty fine if you get caught placing a lock on the bridge now. Locks or no locks, the Ponte Vecchio is a wonderful place to spend some time with the one you love… But be careful gentlemen!! If your lover wants to take a walk on the bridge with you, it could end up costing you a small fortune. I’m not talking about the fine here, they sell some rather spectacular jewelry on this bridge, including some VERY extravagant engagement rings.

Enjoy more travel photos and stories:

Maligne Lake at dusk, Jasper National Park, Canada

Mozart, Chocolate, and the Salzburger Dom Cathedral

Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, Ottawa, Ontario

The Haunting Beauty of Savannah at Night

Canadian Pacific Railway Train Entering the Town of Banff, Alberta, Canada

The post Lovers Lock Legend, on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence appeared first on Ken Kaminesky Travel Photography Blog.

Most people are far more brave than me when it comes to heights, but it still seemed strange to me that no one was really bothered by the wet and icy observation deck. The railings seemed to be no higher than waist level, and yet people still would walk up to it an lean on it. I wish I wasn’t overcome with such an anxious feeling when in such high places, it would make the experience of beholding such spectacular views far more enjoyable. Even though I was dreading the feeling of being so high up, I was not moved to leave too quickly, and like with so many things in life it was for good reason.

As the snow turned into more of an icy rain, a fog began to hover over the city. Even though my camera was getting wet, I still did not want to leave, the scene in front of me was just too beautiful. At one point a couple next to me asked me to take their photo and as usual I was happy to oblige. I ended up doing this for a number of couples and eventually ended up talking to one nice couple from the US. We spoke for a while and they told me all about being on the road for months, it sure sounded like they were having the time of their life. They had just come from Venice and told me that it was flooding quite badly, and that it was also uncharacteristically cold. I had mentioned that Venice was high on my list of must see places and would make a point of getting there on my next trip to Europe. After all, I had promised my wonderful friend Viv who had passed away a few months earlier, that I would shoot there one day soon. Venice was her favourite place in the world, so I want to make sure that I honour her by doing some of the best photography I can. I can’t wait to go there and see for myself what made Venice so special to her.

After talking to the nice couple from the states, I told them a bit about Viv, how much she meant to me, how much I miss her, and her struggle with cancer. I explained how much she inspired me to see the world and photograph it in my own way, and that I think of her in all the beautiful places I am so fortunate to see. I began to tear up, and at that moment I just wish that she could have been at the top of the Duomo with me. She would have loved the snow covered scene that I was enjoying so much. At this point the guy in the couple I was talking to just gave me a big hug and told me that I looked like I needed it, and I guess I did. Perhaps the nicest thing about traveling is the unexpected kindness of strangers, and this remains one of my nicest memories of all my travels, and I smile every time I think about it.

Enjoy more travel photos and stories:

PARTY!!!

Walking into Gotham on the Brooklyn Bridge | NYC – The City that Never Sleeps

Electrifying Imagery and some Exciting News!

Inside the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, Italy

Olympic Aquatic Centre in Montreal, Canada

The post Snowy rooftops | The view from the top of the Cathedral in Florence, Italy appeared first on Ken Kaminesky Travel Photography Blog.

So many churches and cathedrals in Europe are mind numbingly beautiful. The Duomo or Cathedral of Florence is no exception. In my opinion, the exterior of the building is one of the most breathtaking structures created by man. However, the austere interior of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore left me rather disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, it has its charms, and yet in comparison to the Duomo di Milano, Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, or any number of other churches I visited in Europe, I was left wanting the inside of Florence’s great cathedral to be something… more. The plastic chairs instead of pews just didn’t seem appropriate, nor did the sparse or non existent decorations or art on the walls.

I still thought it was a beautiful interior, but my expectations of something more lavish and ornate stemmed from being so awe struck by the intricate, multicoloured marble masonry of the Duomo’s unique exterior. The last thing that I’ll mention about the interior that I found out of place, was part of the elaborate artwork on the inside of the massive dome. Here is where they obviously spent their time and effort, to crate a masterpiece for the ages. Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari created a spectacular work of art on the dome’s 3,600 metre² surface, what I truly consider to be the interior’s pièce de résistance. I just wasn’t expecting to see people being burned in hell and pitchforked by devils for all eternity. In a church? A cathedral no less? I found that to be rather disconcerting for a place that is supposed to be welcoming, forgiving, and loving. Just sayin…

The official name of the church is Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore and there are three main parts to it. The main church seen in the photo, the Baptistery, and Giotto’s Campanile or bell tower. Together they are listed as a United Nations World Heritage site and rightfully so! While in these beautiful cathedrals, I often would wonder how so many centuries ago, people were able to build such incredible structures. Some of these churches date back over a thousand years, so how did they manage it? It was by pure luck that last week the great PBS show Nova had a broadcast of Building the Great Cathedrals. If you are a fan of these magnificent buildings and would like to see how they managed to construct them without modern tools, I would recommend that you watch the show.

In upcoming posts, I’ll have more photos of the exterior of the Duomo, as well as some lovely views of Florence as seen from the top of the dome.

Enjoy more travel photos and stories:

Lovers Lock Legend, on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence

Italy, Iceland, Sweden… Living the Life!

Private: The Historic Nathaniel Russell House in Charleston, South Carolina

The Duomo, Campanile & Baptistry in Florence, Italy

Inspired by Iceland | A photographic journey into beauty

KZNEAEUDRRBD

The post Inside the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, Italy appeared first on Ken Kaminesky Travel Photography Blog.