The Last Spaceship

This shot was taken with a zoom lens which I shifted in and out while the shutter was open. The photo was taken from a top of a tall building in Shanghai.

Another Spaceship

This spaceship building is in Shanghai.

Be the First to Guess the Correct Location of this Space Ship and Get a Free Dummies Book

The first person to post a comment letting me the correct location of this space ship will receive a free Digital Art Photography for Dummies Book.



Good luck!

Tip: For great night time photos without blur set your ISO speed high.

This picture was taken hand-held at 1600 ISO.

Tattle-Tale Photography

Geeze, the other morning I was watching Good Morning America and there were, like, these three ladies whose new career was to catch other people's cheating husbands (they track them down and film them). I mean what with a war in Iraq and people working their tails off fixing damage from blizzards and hurricanes, couldn't they talk about something a little more substantial? The anchors treated these tattle-tales as if they were heroes.

Being a disco-era child, the conservative atmosphere in some media outlets and within many political circles baffles me.

Sure, while indiscretion among married men is reality and not a great thing for men to be engaged in, surely people who look for it have to be as bad (if not worse) than the people who do it.

Today, I switched to Today as they've started going for real news about issues that affect the world and the planet.



Not to be a hypocrite here, but while I was in Paris I fell into the human trap of filming others (albeit, it was an accident that when I shot this photo, a guy walked out of the, shall we say, French franc movie house) engaging in what some people believe to be morally reprehensible acts.

But--hey--I'm an art photographer and my purpose was not to tattle, but to compose an interesting, controversial and somewhat erotic image. Sorry I had to bleat out this guy's face (among other things), but believe me he looked satisfied. And the French establishment that offers these kinds of things was, well, very tastefully done.

Tip: If you lean toward shooting art photos of the no-clothes kind, go for it (don't let a conservative political era scare you away from these types of photos) because some of the most tasteful and best selling art photos are those where people wear little, if nothing.

Rosa Parks

Here's a memorial in New York City for Rosa Parks. The placards that the participants made, are interesting art pieces with textual elementst.

Tip: Capture hand-made and printed placards up close during any street observance or protest.

Joff Roberts

On November 1st, my very good friend and one of the models in my book, Joff Roberts died. His wit and humor will sorely be missed as he always had an antidote about life's idiosyncrasies that pleased.

His skill as a model can surely be seen here as he knew exactly how to pose to replicate Rembrandt. His knowledge of art and culture helped him to understand deep meanings and implications of great works of art and writing.

It is for this reason, perhaps, he made such a good model.

So long, Jay...

Why are Trailer Parks So Popular?

It's printing time. I have to start now printing for my December 10th show because, while my Epson 2200 prints gorgeous prints, it takes several minutes for each one to get printed and several minutes more to prepare them for printing. The minutes add up and so does the time the computer takes to process the big files required for clear prints.

But it's worth it.

Right now I'm printing a new product--Blue Line Motel, for all you trailer park fans (and believe me trailer parks are popular right now, what with the "Great American Trailer Park Musical" running off Broadway in New York City).

If you have any idea why trailers and trailer parks are so popular today in America, please, by all means, comment below. I'd love to hear from you.

Bienvenido a Miami--Converting Florida Color to Black and White

Paradise always! But paradise can be shot in black-and-white.

Tip: To convert a photograph from color to black and white, you could just select Image>Adjustments>Desatuarte, but to take control of the tones try adding Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Channel Mixer, then click Okay to open a new layer, and, last, check monochrome in the Channel Mixer dialog box and then play with the sliders to get increased tones in your shades of gray. Don't forget to flatten your image (Layer>Flatten Image) after you're finished.

Mandalay Puppets

Surely the lore of Mandalay (not the Mandalay in Las Vegas, but the real Mandalay in Myanmar) will endear not only during the holidays, but throughout the year. The real-life escapades of tragedy and triumph of the Moustache Brothers are intertwined within the history of the Mandalay Marionettes.

These Mandalay stars and their puppeteers do make you smile:

Christmas in Manhattan

Okay, so you missed Manhattan at Christmas. Here's some of what the Digital Traveler saw in terms of Christmas window dressings--







Christmas in Manhattan, New York City Christmas, holiday photographs, art photogs

Bienvenido a Miami Using Old Photographs to Develop a Main Character for a Short Story or Novel

The main character in the saga of Bienvenido a Miami is Marvin.

In Photo 1, you can see an air of sophistication.
In Photo 2, you can see he's going to be into bodybuilding but without Arnold expectatations (Tiny Tim is his role model). (I cropped and blew the photo below from Photo 2 of the above photo set.)





















In Photo 3, you can see he likes to compete, participating in bubble-gum blowing contests at every available opportunity.
In Photo 4, you can see that he loves animals, giving a duck rental space on his head.
In Photo 5, you can see a person of deep introspection (of course the black and white film helps).
In Photo 6, you can see that his environments lends itself to informality (his poodle Gigi isn't clipped).

Tip: In photography and writing, do not forget that you have your own sense of humor that, if appropriate, can be sprinkled around within any aspect of the art that you create.

Art Photos in the New York Times

Today is Art Photo Day in the New York Times

Beginning on the paper's front page the photos throughout the paper are filled with ideas that you can use in your own photos for your own publication purposes, whether it be the Web or to hang on your all, or to sell.

Here's a list of what the papers done to make it's editorial content look as if it's walked right out of a modern art museum:

1. A photo set of President George W. Bush going to a locked door, making a face, and then finding the right door. It would seem kind of ridiculous if it weren't for the dramatic backdrop that's behind him (a wall of red with round architectural elements protruding outward).

As a matter of fact, the paper could have run my photo set (Art Photo Set) and it would have been just as interesting.

2. Follow the paper's art lead down to the bottom and you get a small shot of a Scrabble board taken at the end of an intellectually challenging game as a preview of the inside story about the game. Great art. But perhaps they could have used Photoshop (I don't think they're allowed) to get something like this (albeit this isn't Scrabble, but it could be just as interesting).

3. And by far the most artful of today's image-and-text potpourri is within the Scrabble headline itself on the inside pages where the story is featured. The letters are subscripted as they are on each Scrabble game piece. What fun!

I hope the art directors all over the world follow suit, as modern art as part of newspaper content may be a novel new trend.

Matthew Bamberg Upcoming Events

Nov 23 to Dec 5, 2005--Gallery Opening: For information on Matt Bamberg's Neon Nostalgia in Singapore go here: USA Neon Nostalgia by Matthew Bamberg

Dec 10, 2005, 1 to 5 p.m.--Book Signing and Art Show: Book signing/art show/digital camera demonstration December 10 from 1 to 5 p.m. in the courtyard of Koffi, 515 N Palm Canyon Drive, 416-2244. Celebrity Books will take care of the book sales. Twenty percent of the art sales will go to the Desert Aids Project.

Jan. 28, 2005, 2 p.m.--Book Signing: Borders, 71800 Hwy 111, Rancho Mirage, CA

March 27-29, 2006--Speaker TechEd International Conference & Exposition TechEd Conference, Pasedena, CA

Photojournalism Moment--The Case for Putting Wires Underground

In the United States we have succumbed to second world infrastructure practices that are antiquated. In South Florida, which is undergoing a flurry of repair, they are making quick fixes, which if another tropical storm comes--even a weak one-- the power will go out once again.

In Asia (pictured above), however, they have moved into the first world infrastructure of underground wires, not only because they are efficient, but also because of asthetics (it's kind of nice not having to see dozens of wires swooping overhead).

For more go here: Underground Lines: Panacea or Too Pricey?

What can we do as citizens of this country to get underground wires for our communities? Is it a quailty of life issue?

Kids and Photography

Go ahead and hand your kids the camera while they are in the backseat of the car. Set your camera at the "running man" setting so that the picture will come out good while the car is moving. You don't have to open the window because the glass will just act as a filter sometimes even making the picture clearer.

My nephew Eli shot this from the car window while the car was moving. He is four years old.
















He also shot this from inside his house through glass and tightly knitted screen to get a very special effect:

Photojournalism Moment

A f t e r t h e H u r r i c a n e

Hurricane Wilma ripped through Ft. Lauderdale Florida about a month ago. Here's how it looks now.

Tip: As many areas of the country face hurricane repair, there are many opportunites to document and create art photos during the rebound.

Asian Temples

For peace (especially now that I'm with family in Florida) I look to the temples in Asia. Each blazes with a spirituality that gives me comfort...

Tip: Adding a color filter (a yellow one was attached to my lens and the effect is shown in the top two pictures to the left) to your Single Reflex lens enhances the color and feeling of your photograph. Photoshop offers multicolored filters also, that almost match the glass ones that you can add to your SLR camera's lens.

Bienvenido a Miami I'm Gonna Move to Florida

Good Thursday morning to you and welcome back to Florida--Florida in the 40s and 50s.

History somehow always rehashes itself. How many people in the United States have sacrificed their lives by moving from the North to the South?

The scenario: It's bitter cold. You adorn your cuerpo (that would be body in Spanish) with a t-shirt, a shirt, a sweater, another sweater and a coat and, perhaps, an overcoat, not to mention gloves, scarf, boots. Slade (that's Eleanor-speak for sh-t)!

"I can't stand anymore!" you say. "I'm gonna go to Florida!"

Bienvenido a Miami!

Here's how the story looked in the middle of the last century--from the North to the South, first on vacation then permanently.

Bienvendio a Miami 50s, 60s or 70s?

Old photographs are just great. Remember the good ole days when people used to wear fur without being chastised by PETA? Here we have the character Eleanor in various states and places in the middle of the last century. But which part of that century?

If you look closely you'll find the zany patterns of the 70s and the conservatism of the 50s (check out the hemlines) to help you along.



And now a moment for a Photo Tip: Sort your old photographs by decade.

Back to our protagonist, Eleanor, in all of her states of dress over a period of about two decades.

It is with these photographs that I use to build my character traits of the matron in Bienvenido a Miami. Her personality, outgoing and aggressive, shocks some and endures others.

She's always too ready to pick up the palm of your hand and read it, telling your fortune while she gazes at the planets of your chart. Her hobbies begin to encompass her, attracting hordes of the new Latin American immigrants to her home for their weekly occult reading.

Notice closely the items in the photographs that can help develop the character of Eleanor.

--she smokes
--she wears fur coats
--she has a family
--she gets away from her family and travels with other couples
--she's fashion conscious, keeping up with trends
--she's somewhat well-to-do
--she cooks, and if you look closely she's not too happy about that

Stay tuned for the next character, Marvin coming next time...

Also, don't forget to take a look at Digital Art Photography for Dummies, which gives you step-by-step instructions about how to upgrade these photos so the tears and yellowing will disappear.

Just about two more weeks before the publisher Wiley mails me my copies. Yikes!

Bienvenido a Miami

M i a m i

So much has been said about the place and I lived so much of my young life there, that it's become a a bit of a bombshell in my head.

So much so, that I wrote a novel called "Bienvenido a Miami" that unfolds with drama and religious conflict among a bevy of controlling women that steal the show. Of course this being my first novel, it hasn't sold yet. I am, though, hopeful.

So what in the heck does my novel have to do with digital photography? Well...a lot. First I have collected almost a thousand images that relate to my youth (those fabulous times I had lighting every vacant lot on fire, breaking and squating in abandoned homes in Coral Gables, Florida and stealing from the Rexall Drugs in South Miami, Florida). More about how I capture this in photography later...

Thank the good Lord all that has passed. I'm here now (that's the same expression the star lamented in the play "the Color Purple") to share it in a way that entertains and in a way that I'm hopeful will let people know that dishonesty both can be redeemed, but doesn't need to be if it wasn't acted out in the first place.

So, I begin my Miami series of entries with a piece of graffiti that I shot in Latvia (that's a little place in the Baltic States of Northern Europe) of all places.


You see, this stencil grafatti was everywhere in the country's capital city, Riga. This is the picture that I placed in front of me to get me to write and write every day so I could finish my novel.



Tip: If you've got writer's block, stick a picture in front of you to stimulate your nerve endings.

This particular picture assisted me in writing the setting to my novel, giving it a Latin American flavor that I'm so fond of at the same time reminding me of the throngs of Jewish boys that interacted with the hundred-or-so thousand Cuban girls (and vice versa) that arrived in Miami in the 60s. Add the African American population who sat on the fringe at the time and you got a melting pot setting that could (and did) erupt into violent protest several times.

All this brings me to one of the protagonists of the novel, my mother (fictional in the novel) but here represented by a drawing I found in my family's old family photos.


In real life her name was Estelle (she's dead now), in the novel it's Eleanor...more tomorrow...and then off I go to...Miami.

Text in the Museum

Many museums in all over the world (and in New York City) let you photograph some of their collection. It is these collections that offer digital photographers fine starts to pieces that can be recreated in Photoshop. (You also don't have to stick with what's on display, look further, even to the text describing the display).

Subway Light

Tip: Snap the exits of subways, images that take viewers into the light.

Light for Light's Sake

New York City offers light peeking from everywhere.

Manhattan Finale

Ahhh, I've taken a bite out of the Big Apple and am less than enthusiastic about leaving. Some of the best weather ever here in mid-November, temps near 65 and the sun decorating the city with sensor capturing light.

Tip: Look for light--blazing, yellow, red, blue, peeking, shocking, fascinating, sterling, ravishing, radiating, blasting, surreal, shocking, stunning, rich, subtle, scattered, heavy, whitening, seductive, crass, crude, bellowing, demonizing, scattering, twinkling, twirling, cascading...

To: Sean, Bill and Rush

In America, we have some radio hosts that lean toward the thoughts and ideas of our beloved Republican party.

They prop up our president, unwavering in their attitudes, often spreading a message that the other side (the liberals and/or Democrats) is "radical."

But let's hold it a moment here, what they say is true...


Here's one of the definitions of radical from answers.com:

Favoring or effecting fundamental or revolutionary changes in current practices, conditions, or institutions.

There are policies that our president has created that has caused the good people the world over to protest in massive numbers. The word "radical" should be viewed with pride from the other side.

Photography Tip: Express your views with Photoshop's great new text options within the context of your picture.

The View from Brooklyn; Photomerge in Photoshop

And odd pair here, but the two work well together. Cross the bridge from Manhattan and you get to Brooklyn where the view of NYC is pearly; click on File>Automate>Photomerge in Photoshop and where melding a couple of pictures together is nifty--a photography project where you come up with a of Manhattan from Brooklyn strung together in Photoshop.

Here's what I got in Photoshop after crossing over the Bridge to Brooklyn and snapping a couple of images of the Manhattan skyline, one after another, while moving my camera horizontally across the buildings of Manhattan to the Brooklyn Bridge (the view from Brooklyn Heights).


The steps in Photoshop were:

1. Convert all the pictures you've taken of a skyline on a horizontal plane to jpeg or tiff format.
   
2. Put all the pictures you want to merge in one file.
   
3. Open Photoshop and click on File>Automate>Photomerge.
   
4. In the Photomerge dialog box, navigate to files.
   
5. Click on browse and navigate to your folder.
   
6. Click choose and the program will start working to merge your files automatically.
   
7. In another photomerge dialog box your pictures will appear at the top, click and drag each into the working space in the center of the window. (They will automatically snap together).
   
8. Click okay.
   
9. Crop your picture.
   
10. Smooth out the edges using one of Photoshop's smoothing tools.
    
11. Flatten your image (Layer>Flatten Image).
    
12. Save your file.
    

Fallout Shelter

A real throwback to the fifties is the Fallout Shelter sign.

Fallout was something that Japan experienced at the end of World War II and we did not, but that doesn't mean we weren't worried.

The signs were ubiquitous until the 70s and this is the one of the last as far as I know and it's still up on 5th Ave. in New York City.

It won't be for long.

The Big Apple

I like public art. I think most people do. An installation of 7,503 fabric panels here, and a big apple there, no matter where you are in New York City, there's always public art nearby. The fabric panels refer to the The Gates, Central Park, New York, last February's installation by Christo. Lesser known works such as the apple above exist too. I was glad I found it, as I wanted to remember my trip to the city as full of color.

In order to photograph it I stepped up on a ledge after taking a half full soda can off the top and wiping it off with my shirt sleeve.

I love the Big Apple, all colors of it.

Send Our Boys Home

Hello from New York City. The weather's cool--in the 40s and I've just spent the entire day in MoMa (the Museum of Modern Art, 44 W 53rd St) The place is huge with gallery after gallery of everything from video art to classical modern paintings (like Van Gogh's "Starry Night").

After being motivated (modern art museums spark a creative fever within), I wanted to send my message to President Bush about the war (note that this is my personal opinion and one in which sparks ideas for my art).


Look at the following series of images (a series that I used Photoshop's Guassian Blur tool on after taking each with my Kodak 5 mp camera in macro mode) that I hope sends a message...to our politically wounded Commander in Chief.







What you can do...

Pick up the phone...
and call your Congress.

Route 66 Sample

This is one of the few signs left on Route 66 that truly represents the design elements of the mid-century modern era.Elements within the sign could be considered Googie. For more about Googie see here: http://members.aol.com/writprofb/googie.html

While the image is good, there are some shadows casting upon it which could cause it to be rejected by some gallery owners. (I had one who does not like intrusive shadows on architecture).

What do you think of the shadows on the sign? Do you notice them?