January 8th 2014 - Chamonix, France
136mm - 1/180 Sec - f13 - ISO 640
Shot from the balcony of our chalet/apartment. The peaks here are stunning!
December 17th 2014 - Montalcino, Italy
100mm - 1/60 Sec - f8 - ISO 200 (With Tripod)
Yesterday I decided to head up to our rooftop terrace and do some early morning work. I was stunned by the view. The first day we were here the mist/rain had fogged our little hilltop in and we could not appreciate the view. When I came out on to the terrace the view literally took my breath away. This shot was the best I could do to capture the beauty of this place and trust me when I say I am not doing it justice. I wish I were a much better photographer, I have great subject matter, just not a lot of talent :-).
December 16th 2014 - Montalcino, Italy
17mm - 1/30 Sec - f2.8 - ISO 400
Peter and I just took a walk around our new home town of Montalcino. This is what Christmas looks like in a small Italian Village way past tourist season. We are thrilled to be here with the locals.
December 14/15th - Travel Day
17mm - 1/50 sec - f2.8 - ISO 200
We traveled for 28 hours straight to get from Cape Town, South Africa to Montalcino. Our three hour stop in Istanbul was made much easier by visiting the CIP Lounge. I have never seen a travel lounge like this one. They have everything you could imagine. Food everywhere, baristas everywhere, showers, golf simulator, Play Stations (where I beat Peter in FIFA Soccer), free massages - it was incredible.
The architecture of the lounge is pretty impressive, but this staircase was really stunning in person. I was really tired and not all that with it, but I like the shot.
December 13th 2014 - Kommetije, South Africa
17mm - 1/160 Sec - f2.8 - ISO 200
The Kom Surf Shop sign. Awesome people here - super helpful.
December 12th 2014 - Kommetije, South Africa
205 mm - 1/320 Sec - f 5 - ISO 200
I took this shot this morning while I was out taking pictures of the town. I was a LONG way away 500 yards or so from this guy and it was really early so I had no idea if the picture would turn out at all. This is not really edited at all, the light was blue like this, I just cropped it so you could see the surfer.
We have not seen anyone out surfing this wave because it is big and the swim out is nasty. This guy stood here for about 5 minutes before going for it. I can only imagine what was going through his mind.
December 11th 2014 - Kommetije, South Africa
December 11th 2014 - Kommetije, South Africa - 171mm - f 4.7 - ISO 200 - 1/1250
It was a slow day yesterday here in South Africa. Other than our hike in the morning we hung around the house and relaxed while the kids studied. It was also a windy day and the surf was up, so I shot some of the waves. I could watch and shoot waves all day. Unfortunately, I can't ride them very well - that would be really cool.
December 10th 2014 - Kommetije, South Africa
17mm - 1/5 Sec - f22 - ISO 200
This was another amazing sunset on the beach. I was really trying to capture the movement in the water, but the more I slowed the shutter speed down the more bland the sunset became. The result is not what I was going for, but still nice.
December 9th 2014 - Kommetije, South Africa
17mm - 1/100 sec - f2.8 - ISO 200
The sunsets everywhere we have been have been amazing, but in Africa they are stunning. The bad thing about trying to capture them in a picture is it never fully represents the beauty of the real thing. This is shot right from our backyard in South Africa.
December 8th 2014 - Kommetije, South Africa
300mm - 1/3200 Sec - f 5.6 - ISO 200
We visited Boulders Beach on the Eastern Cape this afternoon where there is a resident colony of 2200 African Penguins. I love this shot because to me it looks like the little guy is smiling at you. Lea loved this place and could not get enough of the penguins.
December 7th 2014 - Kommetije, South Africa
300mm - 1/2500 sec - f 5.6 - ISO 200
I wish I could say this was Peter, or better yet me, but it's just another killer local surfer. I love watching and shooting the great surfers here. Seeing someone like this guy who has practiced something really hard for a long time and is great at what they do is inspiring, and fun to shoot.
December 6th 2014 - Kommetije, South Africa
177mm - 1/2500 Sec - f 5.6 - ISO 200
I love watching Peter surf. He is so much better than I am and can just keep going and going while my arms get tired quickly. I like this shot because to me it captures how much fun he has just playing in the water.
December 5th 2014 - Kommetije, South Africa
150mm - 1/2500 Sec - f 5.6 - ISO 200
I should have been able to capture a better picture with the cutest subject ever, but oh well, this will have to do. Still the best smile ever.
December 4th 2014 - Kommetije, South Africa
17mm - 1/2 sec - f 2.8 - ISO 200
This was taken at the Lumineers concert in Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in Cape Town. The venue is really cool and the band sounded great. It was interesting to contrast a concert in SA with something we would see in the states. The crowd was way more interested in talking to each other and enjoying their food and wine than in the band - and this was a sold out show.
Any photography was really hard, as it was really dark when the band came on and I did not have a tripod so this was handheld for 1/2 second exposure and still came out pretty clear. I like the lights illuminating the crowd in this shot.
December 3rd 2014 - Kommetije, South Africa
17mm - 1/3200 Sec - f 4.5 - ISO 200
This was taken at the Cape of Good Hope. The waves there were incredible, and so was the wind. I could have stayed there all day and watched them pound the surf, but my family would have killed me.
DECEMBER 2ND 2014 - KOMMETIJE, SOUTH AFRICA
177mm - 1/3200 Sec - f 5.6 - ISO 200
Paddling out at Long Beach in Kommetije (pronounced comb - a - key) is always a bit of an adventure. I enjoyed shooting Peter as he learned the ropes.
DECEMBER 1st 2014 - KOMMETIJE, SOUTH AFRICA
17mm - 1/100 Sec - f 2.8 - ISO 200
Stacie and I went to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden as part of her series of Gardens Around the World. They have built a canopy walk which is like an inverted suspension bridge. It sways with the trees and allows you to walk through the canopy instead of below it. It is also made out of what appears to be Teak. It is really beautiful and the curved nature of the walkway reminded me of a snake.
November 28th 2014 - Kommetije, South Africa
17mm - 1/640 Sec - f 3.2 - ISO 200
We woke up to this view on our first morning in South Africa. We had arrived in the afternoon the previous day after very little sleep for almost two weeks given the safari and overnight travel so we did not appreciate where we were. Whenever we land in a new place we always feel a little uneasy and with the townships right down the road and the bars on the windows and doors here, we were certainly uneasy our first night. I saw this view in the morning and literally instantly knew we were going to have an amazing time.
November 26th 2014 - Lamai Safari Camp - Tanzania
17 mm - 1/80 Sec - f 3.5 - ISO 200
Knowing that we are creating all of our checkpoint pages, Stacie and I make it a point to try and take some good pictures of the places we have stayed. This time I took the camera and wandered around our last Safari Camp - Lamai. This place is off the charts amazing and would be on the top of my places to recommend people visit. For some reason these chairs captivated me and I took about 20 pictures of them trying to capture how cool they were. This one turned out the best. Regardless of if you like the picture, you should contact Nomad Tanzania and book a visit to Lamai - you will not be disappointed.
November 25th 2014 - Lamai Safari Camp - Tanzania
120 mm - 1/640 Sec - f 6.3 - ISO 200
I wish I could take credit for this one, because I think it is an amazing photo, but it was Peter's birthday and he really likes to shoot as well, so he had the camera in hand when we came upon this Leopard. In fact Peter spotted this Leopard through his binoculars before the guide did. We have some incredible shots of her, but this one is just perfect in my mind. It is Perfectly framed, and her eyes are just fierce. Very cool to see Peter get into photography and film. Incredible birthday for him as well.