Where The Heck Has Ben Been?

So, what happened to this Ben guy who hasn't updated his blog since mid-December?

He's been living life and not caring what the neighbors think. Here's a quote from a recent interview that might give you an glimpse into my recent attitude: 

"Shut off your computer, turn off the TV, put down that book, turn off your cell phone, then go outside and live your own life instead of reading/watching/talking about what everyone else is doing... blaze your own trail! Don't wait until you retire because you just might not have the energy or ability to get around compared to what you can do today. Why not keep your old cell phone, your older car and stop trying to keep up with your neighbors and spend that money on living more life more vividly right now?"

Here's a quick rundown of where I've been since my last post:

1. Moved the bus to San Diego for the winter.
2. Spent a few weeks over the holidays hanging out with friends in Maui, HI 
3. Attended a vintage bus rally in Arizona where I was about a dozen buses similar to what I've been thinking about buying (would cost half as much as my current bus and have a lot more style)
4. Test drove a 1956 Chevy Nomad that I was thinking of using to replace my Jeep Liberty 
5. Flew to Florida, taught a three-day hands-on HDR class and then spoke at a conference known as Fotofusion 
6. Spoke at the Connecticut Professional Photographers Association convention
7. Started using Facebook. Please only send a friend request if I'd actually recognize you, otherwise become a fan (just don't want to read too many updates from people I don't know all that well)
8. I shaved off all my facial hair just to see what was hiding under there  
9. Been working on a new product that should be ready by mid-March (you have no idea what it is, so don't start guessing) 
10. A bunch of other stuff that I can't recall at the moment, but usually involved visiting friends or trying new things. 

Here are a few random photos related to the items above:

I guess I haven't been posting here because I haven't gotten too many new finished images to post and I feel like I should always include a photo with each post. I've been updating my facebook page much more often instead. 

Most of the photos I've been taken over the last few months have been nudes, which is why I haven't been posting them here. Here's one that doesn't reveal much that I show in Maui just to give you a taste of what I've been up to. I shot this image in a dark room and lit it using only a flashlight. 

 

I've added a new mini-map to the left sidebar of this blog to indicate where my current location is. I can update that via many different web pages and iPhone apps via FireEagle. I'll try to remember to update it any time I change cities. In the future, I'd like to have a similar map that would show where I've been in the past and to show the photos I've taken in each location, but I just haven't spent the time to figure out the right service for that kind of stuff. 

OK, that's all I can think of for now... I've been meaning to post something here for quite a while and it was only after messing with the truck stop image above that I really thought I'd have the text and photos I usually use when posting.

The photograph at the top of this post is a nine shot HDR panorama composite that was taken in December near Sierra Blanca, TX. When it comes to the panorama, that's three images. But, each of those images is made from three exposures that were merged into an HDR image before being combined with others to make up the panorama. Only after the three HDR shots where stitched did I tone map the image using Photomatix to make it look good. I then saved the result as a flattened 16-bit TIFF file and opened it through Camera Raw for further enhancement. Most of this stuff is covered on my High Dynamic Range (HDR) Mastery DVD. As usual, you can click the image to see a larger version.

Comments

[JC Dill]

Wouldn't the HDR pano work better if you first merged the 3 pano exposures at each exposure level, and then blended the 3 panos (each at a different exposure) to make the HDR the way you would do non-pano HDRs? It seems that by merging each piece of the pano first you don't get a good HDR blend across the final image. For instance, you have an abrupt change in the sky on each side of the pole on the right 1/3 of the image.

[Michael Palmer]

Good for you Ben!! How random that I was surfing and thought WTF has that Ben dude been up to - and you had a post today - You are actaully close to where I use to live in Linda Vista - been 25 years - enjoy So Cal

[Balliolman]

Good to read something about your recent shenanigans, Ben. Being clean shaven makes you look younger. You could always post into your flickr account and use its mapping facility. A map trail is a great idea especially for your readers abroad who have never been to the USA.

Balliolman,
England.

[Carlton Ward]

Great to see you active again Ben.
I found your Facebook group and became a fan.
I bought your HDR DVD and am learning, practicing and developing my touch & I have been combining HDR with Topaz filters and getting cool results.

Cheers, Carlton

[Jason Caine]

Glad to see you're back at the blog and that you've enjoyed wintering down through the south!

[Cathy]

Amazing - I haven't been to your blog for quite a while - that I should surf on the day after you made your post. Timing I tell ya'.
Was up in the mountians around Julian (best apple pie in the world) shooting the snow on the weekend - if you haven't been there the trip is worth it. It'll take about an hour and a half from where you're at.
You're just down the road from me, I'm in Escondido.

[Michael S.]

Hey Ben,

Glad you are OK. See you at Photoshop World I hope!

[SBL Image process outsourcing]

This is really brilliant post...

[Ben Willmore]

I'm amazed at the number of people visiting the site directly... you should look into RSS feeds and programs like NetNewsWire (don't know the windows equivalent)... then updates would come in just like e-mail... not need to visit the site just to see that I haven't updated.

-ben

[Libby]

Gee, Ben, I visit the site directly because YOU gave me (and several hundred others at the one-day seminar) the URL... :-) Lately, of course, I've subtitled that click "I live in hope". Glad to see you back to posting updates. I look forward to your Tuesday afternoon pre-con at Photoshop World in March.

[Jacqueline]

I love the nudes with the flashlight....are you going to do any nude workshops?

[Dennis G.]

Hello Ben,

First: yesterday I stumbled across your website(s). I am in instant fan, and thank you for all you have written here!

Then: Trailguru might be useful for your travelling endeavours. It's a free App for your Iphone and tracks where you are going through GPS. After uploading a tracking (free) you get a URL that gives loads of data and an interactive Google-ish Map (map/satellite view) which shows your where you have been.
Might be worth to check it out.
(if you have any questions, you can always e-mail me)

The only thing I find annoying (besides it empties my battery quicker) is that you need this app to stay active in the foreground. Hopefully this will get fixed in the (near) future.

And speaking about travelling: if you ever would decide to come to the Netherlands, let me know. I'd be happy to show you around (this could include some interesting photographic sites :-) ).

Cheers!
Dennis

[tipol]

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