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The Drake Passage / Barrientos Island




Today the photography leaders presented their work offering visual introduction to the kinds of work in which they specialize, tips on how they overcame challenges, and lots of inspiration. It’s always inspiring to hear other visual artists who are at the top of their game, share their work and provide insights into what motivates them. In the arts, it seems nothing is more important than passion.
We got lucky and had an opportunity at the end of the day to make our first zodiac landing at Barrientos Island, which contains a large chinstrap penguin colony. I came in on the last zodiac and by the time we reached the shore the winds had picked up dramatically forcing our expedition crew to move the take out site to the opposite side of the island. It was a great warm up, familiarizing everyone with the routines necessary for zodiac landing and cruising.

Find out about our next Antarctica digital photography workshop here.

Sign up for the pre-announce list for our next Antarctica voyage.
Email jpc@digitalphotodestinations.com.

Green Action – Turn Down The Thermostat


Be more green!
You can make a difference today!
Make many small changes to make one big change!
And you’ll save a lot!
Take action now!
Here’s one idea.
Tune Up The Heat
If each household lowered its average heating temperature by 6 degrees Farenheit over a 24 hour period, we’d save the energy of 500,000 barrels of oil every day.
If your household is like most households, 40% of the energy you use is for heat. Inefficient heating systems can waste 30-50% of the energy they generate.
Test, clean, and adjust your heating system annually for an average of 5% savings.
For Forced Air systems insulate ducts. For Electric systems a heat pump can reduce your bill up to 40%. For Hot Water systems put reflectors behind your radiators.
Save energy, save money, save the planet.
Save now. Then help your friends save. Imagine how much we’ll all save!
Find more resources that will help you take action now here.
Find environmental organizations to support here.
 

Crossing Into The Drake Passage


After an evening cruise down the Beagle Channel, the rolling waves of the Drake Passage began to perform. There had been high winds for several days so we expected a rougher than average crossing. These waves were different. There were no breaking crests, no slamming of the boat, just endless incessant rolling – 40 degree rolls. Making this passage was like being rocked by an over-zealous mother. The gray skies blocked any trace of sunlight. No crests, no distinctive clouds, no light; this was one of the less picturesque crossings I’ve made. Fevers at night, daily headaches, and slight nausea put a final damper on the whole affair for me.

Find out about our next Antarctica digital photography workshop here.

Sign up for the pre-announce list for our next Antarctica voyage.
Email jpc@digitalphotodestinations.com.

Save 15% On Flypaper Textures


Flypaper Textures offers a variety of high quality easy-to-use downloadable texture files.
(I use them all the time with my iPhone photographs.)
You can get 15% off Flypaper Textures with this code – johnpaul .
Visit Flypaper Textures here.
Plus, mouse over images on their blog for  before / after previews.
Read A Little Stress Can Be Good For Your Images on The Huffington Post.
“Stress can be good for your images. The analog materials used in painting and photography, often add rich textures that can enliven images. Throughout the history of art, drips, scratches, cracks stains, grain, vignetting, light leaks, fading, erasure and other analog artifacts have all been successfully used to add a compelling character to many images. Far from being something to be avoided, these effects can become a creative wellspring you can draw from time and time again.
Distress your photographs a little and you can make contemporary photographs look antique. Distress your photographs a lot and you can make photographs seem like they were made with other media – pencil, ink, paint, etc. The same effects and sensibilities can also be applied to and enhance images made by hand, with paint or with painting software, or computer rendered, whether 2D or 3D.
Stress can do a lot for your images …”