Ah yes, things are good in Dogpatch these days…I finally finished that landscaping project in my front yard AND this blog won 9th place in the Travel Photography Blog division of the Tripbase.com competition!
I didn’t even know I was in the running. But I’m not moaning. Nor am I resting on my laurels, (despite what it looks like in this picture), but, rather, learning from those who placed higher.
And it’s an interesting group, to be sure.
First place went to advertising superstar shooter Chase Jarvis (who probably didn’t even know he had a travel photography blog!).What must it be like to have Chase’s eye, career, AND look like Mel Gibson in his prime?
I will never know….but I am going to start shooting more with my iPhone! And looking both ways before I cross the street.
Texas businessman and HDR guru Trey Ratcliff placed up there too with his beautiful StuckinCustoms blog.
And Tewfic El Sawy’s superb Travel Photographer blog, which I read religiously, was also in the Top 10.
I would hold any of these guys’ coats in a fight, or tote their camera bags on a trip. I learn a lot from them and read them regularly.
Nudging me out in 8th place is Olga the Traveling Bra, a blog that features pictures of, um, the author’s bra in various locations around the world. And also on her dog. And other places.
Okay, it’s definitely a high concept thing, and I’m not sure what piece of clothing I would hold for Olga in a fight, or whether or not the author (or my wife Peggy), would even think this was a good idea, but I do know what I’m going to do this coming year to try to up my rating.
Hit the jump for my new award-winning strategy.
I’m hoping to place higher next year by shooting High Dynamic Range (HDR) iPhone photos of my socks all over the world. Genius, eh?
Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks….this Web 2.0 stuff is easy, like shooting fish in a barrel…hmmmmn, shooting fish in a barrel, wearing socks, in HDR infrared B&W maybe? I smell a winner…or some fish. I’m not sure….
Jim
9 Jul 2009WOW!
Matías
9 Jul 2009Keep up the good work and specially the good teaching.
Michael Brochstein
10 Jul 2009Your “award-winning strategy” is brilliant! OTOH, IMHO you should not quit your day-job in the meantime.
Bob
10 Jul 2009Michael: Yes, my strategy may be flawed on second thought. In this economy, it would be nice to have a day job to keep:-)!
arun
10 Jul 2009I was holding off on the HDR thing but I might have to jump in it Bob. Have you tried other software other than the Photomatix Pro ?
Great image
Bob
10 Jul 2009Arun: I’m a babe in the HDR woods.
But I added Topaz (if you go to Trey’s blog, you can get some discount codes) to PhotoMatix Pro because all the HDR guys seem to “add a little Topaz”. I’ve just worked up a couple of single raw files (since I went digital and shoot RAW, I gave up the incessant bracketing of my slide shooting days, but I guess I’ll have to start in again in certain situations).
I’m trying not to get carried away, especially since one of my editors calls HDR, “photography’s answer to black velvet paintings.”
I can’t help it, though, in some situations, HDR just looks cool, and would look great hanging above my plastic-covered couch, next to the Elvis painting I bought at a gas station in Tijuana a while back….
David
10 Jul 2009Bob, with this image, I was expecting a background score of an albino banjo player!
Bob
10 Jul 2009David: Sounds like a good multimedia project!
Jack Kurtz
10 Jul 2009Bob,
You’ll always be first in our hearts. I once went through a phase of shooting my shoes, but it wasn’t HDR. In fact it was on the plasticky substance called film. Not used much anymore.
Looking at the photo at the top of the page, I would say you should photograph yourself in bathtubs around the world.
jack
Bob
10 Jul 2009Hi Jack: Tough to get that clawfoot tub on the airline, but good thought!
Tim
10 Jul 2009Great idea getting in that tub Bob. I think Jack Kurts is on to something. The “Bob Krist” Coffee table book on Bathtub sitting from around the world. Think of the possibilities not to mention all those free baths.
Tim
David Kay
10 Jul 2009Bob, I am glad you chose “socks”! I was getting worried after looking at Olga’s point of reference as other items of basic clothing ran through my mine. I have actually found that the HDR shots I like the best are the ones where only a fellow photographer could figure out that it had to be HDR to cover such an exposure range. Try it at sunrise or sunset or on a covered bridge.
David
Bob
10 Jul 2009Hi David: Actually, “socks” wasn’t my first choice (something that rhymes with it was:-)), but I overcame my Animal House instincts, and went for something less offensive. I’m having fun with the HDR, and look forward to doing more. I have a road trip out west that seems like it’ll be perfect for it.
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Olga, the Traveling Bra
12 Jul 2009Nice to meet you Bob! Maybe your sox and I can hook up for a photo op sometime…Traveling Undergarments of the world unite!!! 🙂 hehee….
Bob
12 Jul 2009Hi Olga: It would be my pleasure…and I’d make sure to wash those socks so I make a good first impression! cheers (and congrats!), Bob
Hudson
14 Jul 2009Hi Bob: Great to see the tub pic on the blog! You really showed me a new way of looking at funky, scruffy locations that day. It was a blast.
I like the HDR truck. I’ll bet you shot it on the 4th of July too. I’m dabbling with Photomatix and Topaz a bit too. I find myself trying to use a VERY light hand to keep it real, like your truck example. There is certainly no lack of new things out there to try out and learn. 🙂
Brenda Tharp
17 Jul 2009Rub a dub dub, a funny man in the tub! Great picture, and congrats on placing 9th! Hey, I’m not even on the radar, but then I’m a quasi-travel blog, I guess…until I hit the road next week. To be surpassed by a couple of boobs must be hard, though 🙂