Kecak Monkey Performer of Bali

This is one of the monkey performers of the Kecak dance in Bali Indonesia. He was quite the character during the performance often interacting with the audience. A few times he would jump into the crowd and take their sunglasses and put them on, which is I guess what monkeys really do. He gave them back of course.

For this photo I colored it with a red tint and a washed out look to give it a retro mood. 

Today's Photo

Kecak Monkey PerformerThis is one of the performers of the Kecak dance famous in Bali. Tinted red for coolness.

Arizona Sunset

Those following this blog may have noticed I haven't been posting as much as usual. There are a few reasons, one I've been too busy with work. The second is I'm working on a lot more of the backend of this site. Doing this like Tutorials, walkthroughs, and various products along with link juice sculpting, content delivery networks and all that fun back end seo blog stuff that makes Google happy. You may have noticed all sorts of formatting errors and as well as the site running slow or being in maintenance mode. Continue to expect that this next week or so since I'll be doing a major theme overhaul over the next few days.

I'm still designing a new look. I threw this one up as temp that I quickly designed on a bored Saturday when I had nothing else to do. I really like the color palette but it's far to similar to stuckincustoms even though it was my themes default. But that's ok. I'll have something very cool soon. Hopefully. Time to put my design skills to the test. 

Here is a photo for today. I actually have a lot more finished and I'll try to get them up this week when I can. 

Today's Photo

Tucson Arizona Sunset This was the last sunset of 2012 in Tucson Arizona. I used the sun to silhouette the saguaro cactus. Colored with a desert wash look.See more photos at http://alikgriffin.com

Bali Plumeria

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The Plumeria of Bali reminded me of Hawaii. They were so healthy and full and in bloom everywhere. We can grow some plumeria in Southern California but they are never nearly as healthy looking as they are in Bali. So I took the opportunity to get a few shots when I could. This one I colored with that old film look which I am becoming more and more a fan of. 

Today's Photo

Bali Plameria When I was in Bali last year the Plumarias were blooming. I'm not a huge flower photographer since that's a whole art in itself but I took this opportunity to get a few nice shots when I could.Be sure to check out my photos at http://alikgriffin.com

Bali Rice Field Tower

This is a photo from when I was in one of the rice fields of Bali. I don't know about you but this shot reminds me of old Chuck Norris movies. Missing in Action or something. They loved blowing these things up with grenade launchers.

This photo I took originally as an HDR and decided to give it an old film look in the processing. Not something you see everyday, HDR with an old look. It's actually part of a lightroom plugin package I've been building. After I did my Photomatix 32 bit HDR I literally just click one button for my presets and exported. So far these retro presets are looking pretty good and almost ready for public. 

Today's HDR Photo

Part of the Retro Collection

Bali Kecak Dance Ceremony

When I was in Bali I went to one of the famous Kecak Dances. At the beginning there is this ceremony a priest starts by lighting the fires and gives the dancer a blessing by splashing them with water. I was able to get a pretty cool shot of him lighting the fire with the sun setting in the background.

Today's Photo

Kecak Dance Ceremony The priest of the Kecak Dance begins with an opening ceremony. He lights the fire and splashes the dancers with water.

My Lovely Wife In Her Kimono

Well, it's not actually her Kimono. These things can run into the tens of thousands of dollars (for the good ones). The occasion was for her brothers wedding, so all the girls decided to get Kimonos and do it more traditional.

The wedding was a lot of fun even though I usually have no idea what anyone is saying. My Japanese is getting better but it's nearly impossible to learn when I work as much as I do. Even doing these blog posts can be challenging. But I do have some exciting news. I now have completed two Lightroom Preset collections that I'll be selling very soon on this site. One is my 'Everyday Collection' that I use for my landscapes and HDR photography, the other is my 'Retro Collection' which gives more of that fun iPhone Photography look that's flooding Facebook and twitter. For this photo I actually used one of the Retro Collection presets that was then modified. I find presets really help me get my looks and color correction started. It's nice being able to quickly go through and get some color inspiration rather than building all the looks by hand each time. I should have them available this week and hopefully some tutorials next week like I keep promising.

Today's Photo

Yumiko in her Kimono This photo is of my Wife in a Kimono while we were at her brothers wedding in Japan.

I Heart Shanghai

This photo I took a little over a month ago in Shanghai when it was pouring rain. It's a pretty cool city but I was a little sketched out when they wanted my passport number to use the hotel's Internet. Other than that, the food is great, and people seem friendly enough despite the cultural differences of what we consider public courtesy. And when ever I asked someone for help they were always happy to assist. What was funny though, is even in China, I'd still see giant poster of Brad Pitt and other celebrities advertising various brand names. You just can't get away from that I guess.

Today's HDR Photo

I Heart ShanghaiThis is an HDR photo from the last time I was in Shanghai when it was pouring rain. The wet street look really seems to enhances night photography.See this photo at AlikGriffin.com

Looking Down the Grand Canyon

This photo was taken from Mather Point looking down the at the Colorado River as it continues cutting it's way through the Grand Canyon.

To process this HDR photo I used a different method than usual. I did something call exposure fusion. It's a setting in photomatix that sort of blends the colors differently. It seems to work great on some landscapes and especially the Grand Canyon.

Today's HDR Photo

Looking down the Grand CanyonThis view is of the Colorado river as it continues to cut it's way down the Grand Canyon. This HDR Photo is taken from the southern rim at Mather Point.See this photo at AlikGriffin.com

Path to Sari Organik

In Bali Indonesia there is this famous cafe called Sari Organk that serves all organic food grown by themselves. To get there you have to hike 20-30 minutes through some rice fields. Along the way I stopped a few times to snap a couple photos. I saw a lot of people rent little scooters to ride to the cafe, but the hike was so cool I'd hate to rush it. So we walked.

To see the view from the cafe check out my post on The Rolling Rice Fields Of Bali

Today's HDR Photo

The Path to Sari Organik in BaliTo get to the Sari Organik Cafe in Bali you have to walk about twenty minutes through rice fields that look like this.See this photo at AlikGriffin.com

Temple in the Trees

This photo was taken at Miyajima Japan of one of the many temples on the island. The island today has a combination of many Buddhist and Shinto shrines and temples. For this photo I processed it using a technique that blends photography with various textures to give the photo a more painterly feel. 

Today's HDR Photo

Temple in the Trees at MiyajimaThis is a shot taken at Miyajima Japan of one of the many temples built around and in the mountain.See this photo at AlikGriffin.com

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