Ivan Makarov, a great photographer from the Bay area and avid Google+ user, recently spread the idea of creating a book for charity. The odds were discussed in various hang-outs and posts and 520 photographers from around the globe contributed images to this great project, showing the influence, value and overall great community aspects of the social media world. The Plus One Collection was born.

Fast forward a couple of weeks, countless hours of work by Ivan and 15 other volunteers working on this project and the Limited Edition of the Plus One Collection is available for order online at http://plusonecollection.com/purchase/purchase-print-book/.

193 images made their way into the final print version and I’m more than happy to announce that my image “Granite Reflections” is amongst the ones selected. Grab your limited edition till Feb-20-2012! Remember, all net profit will be donated to the charity Kiva! (Standard edition book, e-book and app will be out soon, too.)

That being said, I’d like to announce a special print sale of my Yosemite National Park images, “Granite Reflections” (the one in the book) and “High Sierra Santuary”. All orders 8×12 and larger will receive 25% off. The discount runs till Feb-21-2012. Contact me directly at david (at) davidrichterphotography (dot) com to discuss your options. The discount is good for all options, print only, framed prints, canvas and metal.

A great opportunity to safe some cash for the Plus One Collection book!

Prices for Yosemite images, print only.

8 x 12 (Regular: $60) NOW $45
12x 18 (Regular: $100) NOW $75
16x 24 (Regular: $160) NOW $120
20x 30 (Regular: $220) NOW ONLY $165!!!

All other images are currently 10% off from the regular pricing until the point the shopping cart system is up and running. Now it’s the time to grab ‘em!

Happy V Day, by the way!

David

One might think, I have gone a little lunatic, but I am not. My mother had me tested. All kidding aside though, this topic is extremely important to me and that’s why I support #OccupySOPA.

You have never heard of SOPA?
You have come to the right place and before someone asks, no, I am, by no means, an expert in this field!

SOPA is short for “Stop Online Piracy Act”. A bill swirling around in the US Senate as PIPA (Protect IP Act) and the House for quite some time. It’s Hollywood’s last straw to grab in order to maintain profits without innovation. Nothing more. Nothing less. If you look at all the networks, TV channels and movie studios supporting SOPA/PIPA, it becomes clear what is behind all that.

But because I could never express it a such a short and informative way, I urge you to watch this short video; to educate yourself and to think about what this could mean if the US government passes the bill. Internet-based companies, start-ups, all innovation over the last decade and the future are possibly in danger. The freedom of the internet and what we all love about it – Facebook, Google, Wikipedia. Gone for good. Take action. This is serious.

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

For further information and to take action, please refer to one of the following websites:

- http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa
- http://sopastrike.com/
- https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

One of the parks on the list was the bizarre, yet beautiful Mono Lake State Reservation area, pictured below during a crisp August sunrise over the calcium-carbonate spires rising from the interaction of freshwater springs and alkaline lake water, just east of Yosemite National Park and the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Mono Lake, which covers roughly 65 square miles, is considered one of North America’s oldest lakes with a probable age of over 1 million years. Aside from the beauty these alien-like tufa-towers provide, Mono Lake is an essential part for the well being of our ecosystem. Each year, as many as 65,000 California gulls are hatched at the shoreline of the lake, making Mono Lake the second largest breeding colony behind Utah’s Great Salt Lake. Additionally, the waters of the lake are home to 4 to 6 trillion brine shrimp – a species only to be found at Mono Lake.

So why the past tense? This past Friday, December 2nd 2011, it was announced that the Mono Lake State Reservation area was taken off the closure list. What a relief. But does it really change much? Will it have an impact? Why did this first success not go viral? How can I help?

I am not from California – heck, I’m not even from the US. So some might wonder why keeping those parks is so important to me. Well, the answer is pretty easy. Because the landscapes, historic structures and sights need to be protected for future generations – the reason they were created in the first place. I’m not here to preach, far from it, actually. It would just be sad to see these beautiful areas gone for good. The old saying, “You won’t miss it until it is gone” certainly applies here for many, it seems. There was no public uproar (at least none that I remember), it wasn’t on every station but I do believe that it needs to be, more people need to know about this, more people need to care about the lands in danger. I am sure most know everything about the divorce of Kim Kardashian though. (Add cynical commentary here.)

Just a couple of hours ago, I came across a project that really grabbed my eye and is the reason for this blog entry. The guys behind “The First 70″ require funding for their documentary film about the state park closures.

With passion and a lot of commitment, they want to show the beauty of the parks in all their glory, as they think, and I fully agree with them, the whole case didn’t quite grab the media outreach it deserved.

Without further ado, please watch the trailer below and consider helping them out by either contributing at or by sharing this blog entry, the link to the trailer and other info across the interwebs.

The First 70 Trailer from Heath Hen Films on Vimeo.

For a full list of parks on the closure list:
http://my.calparks.org/site/PageServer?pagename=2011ParkClosures

Thank you.

Without further blah blah, here are my favorite 5 images of the last year.

1. “Granite Reflections” – Yosemite National Park, California

Cathedral Peak majestically towers over Upper Cathedral Lake high in the Sierra and a lesser visited area in the Yosemite National Park, California. Read the story behind the ascent here or by clicking the image above.

2. “Defiance Falls” – Columbia River Gorge, Oregon

The official name of this little known jewel in the Columbia River Gorge is Lancaster Falls, named after Samuel C. Lancaster, an engineer responsible for the construction of much of the original Columbia River Gorge Highway. (Which is an awesome drive by the way!)

3. “Captain’s Point” – Cape Kiwanda, Oregon

A beautiful soft and warm evening light kisses the sandstone formations of Cape Kiwanda on the Oregon coast near Pacific City while the raging surf shapes the ever-changing cliffs.

4. “Rising Dawn” – Convict Lake, California

Stormy rain clouds are pushing over the ridge of Mt. Laurel at Convict Lake, California; lit by the rising sun over the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

5. “Firestorm” – Natural Bridges State Park, California

A rare colorful sunset during the late summer season in California. Usually the beaches in Northern California are covered in a thick marine layer which blankets the coast like an impenetrable coat, suffocating all chances of possible color. With a little luck and a lot of patience, the spectacular sunset eventually happened, accompanied by lit up rain showers.


Last but not least, I want to thank you all for the support throughout the year. I resolve to post more in 2011, spend even more time in the field, explore new places, offer a better experience when browsing and shopping for images on my website (reads: a major upgrade is in the works) and buy more of the Cialis and Rolex watches I am offered every day. Thanks Spammers. I love you too.

That said, enjoy “Laced in Frost”. My last image of the past year taken on December 30th; complete with hoarfrost covered branches, steam rising from the river and a little pink magic; brings 2010 to a worthy end. Here’s to a great Twenty-Eleven y’all!

David

Some of you might wonder what’s the deal with me shooting food now. To cut the long story short, when the landscape and sky are rather dull, and quite frankly, they were pretty much all time this year, it’s great to have something to shoot in or around the house. While spring flowers like tulips and ranunculus have there fixed position in my yearly things to do in spring list, it’s always nice to venture out into a new field of photography. May it be the challenge of some sort, with its own limitations and a way to broaden one’s horizon or simply the fact to learn a new technique for a certain style of shooting which you can adapt to other fields of photography.

Fennel Orange Salad with cucumber, red onion and pear.

For me, it was kind of both. While cooking is nothing new to me, cooking for photos certainly is. I am not a professional food stylist my any means nor do I spill a gallon of motor oil over the salad to make it look, well, tasty. It’s rather the fact how you put the food on the plate. When cooking for friends, I take great care about how the food looks on the table. While you might think that is nothing different for photos, you err. Making food look good on the plate alone is one thing, making it look good in the photos you take is a different kettle of fish.

Beef, lettuce hearts, ripe mango, red onion rings, Parmesan cheese and mango garlic mayo between sesame and black cumin seed bun.

I am sure some professional food stylists and photographers will laugh at my approach but what do I care? Being a landscape photographer at heart, I tried to bring the basic principles of composition onto the plate, all spiced up by some high key treatment. These concepts, of course, are leading lines, some kind of foreground element that pulls the viewer into the scene and the rule of thirds. You can find these concepts perfectly illustrated and adapted to landscape photography in the article “Understanding Composition” at the Aperture Academy website which I highly recommend.

That being said, I hope you feel somewhat satiated and remember to try something new and challenging when the light isn’t just right and if you like, share your experiments here on the blog.

I’ll be back with flowers and waterfall pictures next week. Please excuse me while I plan my 3 month US trip this summer. California watch out! LOL

David

P.S. I also played around with the new possibilities of CSS3 and jQuery to add to my website later. Head over to the new and improved contact form and let me know what you think. It features my take at the iPhone unlock slider, which ironically doesn’t work on the iPhone itself yet but I am working on it.

Speaking of a successful easter egg hunt, here’s my free egg for you. Download the wallpaper below by clicking on it and saving it to your hard drive. To use the image as a wallpaper, just right-click it after it loaded, select “make desktop background” (or something like that) from the drop down menu and you’re good to go.

“Pastel Beauties”

Happy Easter!

Sincerely,
Bunny

For years I believed to live in a snow-safe area but since the dry and cold air masses from Russia stopped colliding with the wet ones moving in from the UK, we seem to have a hard time around Christmas each year, snow-wise speaking. We had a good cover already, something to build up on, but right in the middle of Christmas Eve the thermometer revealed 41F/5C which is a major disappointment.

Anyhow, after the break, I’ll be back to Dresden to shoot the city with Mr. Blue Hour himself, Mr. David Bank, flying straight in from London. Really looking forward to that and I am in high hopes the weather will cooperate.

I’ll leave you with an old favorite of mine. A square crop from one of the majestic winter sunsets I have witnessed. Standing atop the highest mountain in the region let’s you reflect on the past but also makes you look forward to the great things to conquer in the days, weeks and months to come, so now I said it, I am looking forward to 2010 but I will cover my excitement with the New Year’s post.

Until then, happy shooting! Never stop exploring!

David

Earlier this year I came across a lovely surprise. I was contacted by the well-known architectural painter Salvatore Ventura of the company Ziti (zee’-tee) Cards which is providing tasteful cards for companies and individuals seeking for the lasting impression and one of my shots of the winter 2008/09 was selected by Salvatore to make it into the holiday card stock display for the season of 09/10. Yay! I am extremely happy to announce that you can get the card NOW. I feel honored to be right in a row with Ivan Makarov and Kevin McNeal whose work has always been a huge inspiration.

To view the card in all her glory and to get more information on how to order, please follow the link by clicking on the picture below.

Here is the original shot which needed a little rework to meet the highest standards for print and the ultimate winter experience:

Until the next time, happy shooting!

David

So, yesterday, I was out for some portraits for the about site. I ended up at a spot called Hirtstein with weird hexagonal basaltic rock formations which made the whole picture-taking quite interesting to say the least. Composing, setting self-timer, running to the planned spot without falling and hitting your head open at one of the sharp rocks and then standing there without moving for several seconds … all of these actions can be quite difficult at their own but doing them in this rather complex sequence, it proofed to be extra hard. I am happy with the outcome though and till I find myself surrounded by beautiful carved snow drifts I will leave it at that.

Until then.

David

welcome to my blog and website. I try to keep this short and sweet. At all times! Duh. Who knows me very well, is probably laughing his or her ass off but anyway, this is where I will post some background information about journeys, places, photos and also announce future trips, workshops (if anyone is interested) and so on. The place where I rant and rave and the place where I might put one or the other Photoshop tip and processing technique up.

That was pretty much the start-up.

See ya soon fellow light catchers!