Mysterious Byzantium

Mysterious Byzantium

Image by Stuck in Customs
These were shot here in Austin with Stephanie and Janus at a cool winebar/restaurant called Imperia in downtown.

I put some textures on here (obviously) from the tutorial at stuckincustoms.com/a-world-of-textures/ -- I have a second HDR free tutorial at stuckincustoms.com/2006/06/06/548/

My iPhone Knows I am in Hong Kong. How?

Image by Stuck in Customs
Has my iPhone evolved into a sentient being? Am I in the middle of a campy Star Trek episode where Data is trying to figure out what it "means" to be human?

I brought my iPhone with me to China so I could listen to music and flip through the albums with my fingers because it is cool rather than functional. But upon landing in Hong Kong, I got this SMS message: "Welcome to PEOPLE'S Hong Kong! Calling home / other countries? Dial ." You can zoom in to the maximum size to see the message yourself.

I thought this AT&T thing only worked in the US. That's what the man said to us, but now I have reasons to doubt the man.

How does my iPhone know I am in Hong Kong? A few weeks ago at a lunch with Will, we put our iPhones very close to one another on the table while we ordered our food. We were hoping that perhaps they would mate and spawn a third iPhone. But maybe what really happened is my iPhone started to learn from Will's iPhone. I don't know what it could have learned, other than how to dress conservatively and part your hair in such as way as to make you look one-quarter inch taller, but that does not explain the Hong Kong Recognition Enigma.

Perhaps my iPhone is confused and thinks I am Steve Jobs because I sometimes wear all black in speak like a vainglorious huckster. I cannot say for sure, but I will continue to explore what happens to the iPhone in various countries.

Another Smithsonian Winner, some upcoming appearances, and a new photo of Rockefeller center

Image by Stuck in Customs
(below content makes more sense when viewed here on the blog! -- www.stuckincustoms.com/2009/02/16/another-smithsonian-win... )

Why are my blog titles getting so long? Sorry about that... I guess with one post per day, sometimes there is a lot to squeeze in!

So, a few days ago I received a letter from the Smithsonian saying that I have another one in the running for the 6th Annual Photo Contest! Cool! Two years ago, I had 2 winners in the 4th Annual Photo Contest , and one of those ended up hanging in the Smithsonian castle in DC. I know a few of you out there got to see it on road trips - maybe we can make another pilgrimage this year!. I didn't win anything last year in the 5th annual contest... It was a bad year for me, what can I say?

The one that is in the finalist pool this year is the Times Square one that I have placed above. Just below that, I have placed a NEW photo of Rockefeller Center that I have been working on over the weekend. I hope you like it.

I will be speaking in Austin, Texas next week at the Digital Photography SIG on Thursday night, Feb 26 (next week). It's free to come - please do - I'd be happy to meet you in person! I'll be talking about photography and going through a tutorial. If you are in Central Texas, be sure to stop by -- it should be a good time!

Also, over the weekend, I was interviewed at the Pro Photography Show, which is a podcast that should be made available in the next few weeks. I will be sure to put a link to it here whenever it goes live.

China's Opal Blue Bay of Lamma Island

Image by Stuck in Customs
I took the ferry over to Lamma Island from the port of Hong Kong. It's the third biggest island in the area and a nice escape from the concrete jungle. It has only about 6,000 residents and is home to a lot of ex-pats - especially artists and musicians. I stopped and had snacks at a cool place called "Deli-Lamma" and spent the late afternoon and evening hiking from one side of the island to the other.

I started out at Yung Shue Wan and hiked for several hours around the outside of the island until I made it to Sok Kwu Wan, which you can see below. It is a little fishing village where a bunch of people live out on the water. You may have to zoom in to see the little WaterWorld village... very cool and different.

Nice Framing

Image by Will Spaetzel
LL got me this great frame for Valentines day. Thanks so much, it is so great.
Thought it would be cool to take a photo of photos in my new frame, so here it is: