Travel » Arcus Photography Blog

About Travel

It is such a familiar feeling, being back in London. A relative told me that once you travel to the old city and continue traveling through your life, you’ll always return back to London. I feel that rings true with me despite feeling that it was never quite the city for me. It is a bit unavoidable, this crash course with London, Europe, and myself. Every single time I arrive off the plane, I feel more at home than the last.

I am currently relaxing a bit before going to meet up with my sister and her friends near Big Ben and I have had a lot of time to think about travels (despite sleeping the entirety of the flight over). I realized that exploring new and different things is really the backbone of who I am. Luckily I have found someone that I love who feels the same way (wish you were here Elena!). I feel that outside of the cruises, all inclusive trips, and beach travels, finding people who truly love to just be somewhere else to be there is pretty rare. Even in this day and age where it is becoming nothing but easier (despite security checkpoints) to do so.

People save up for many things in life: a good home, electronics, cars, the white picket fence, a wrap around porch (as well as the shotgun and rocking chair to go with it when you’re older). Those are all fine and good but what do they do for you? Do you better your understanding of your fellow person because you bought that super wide television? Do you understand a new culture because you have a white picket fence with a wrap around porch?

I quite often hear “I’m so jealous that you’re traveling”, “I can’t believe you’re going to Europe… again”, “Isn’t that expensive?!”. People tell me all the time that they wish that they could travel and that is guaranteed to be followed up with the inevitable, unavoidable “but“. There is always a reason not to do something. There is a reason not to go to the grocery store on a Sunday afternoon when it’s delightful outside. There’s a reason not to do your laundry on a Friday night even though you desperately need some. There’s a reason not to go and have a drink with friends on a Thursday. There’s a reason to get a job you don’t like or pass on one you do. The problem with reasons like these is that when they add up, they hinder your life infinitesimally.

If you want to go do a trip to Europe for a week and a half, then go look up flights for a month and when they dip below your price, click the button and buy it! Rather than spending $150 on cable every month to make sure you stay caught up on Weeds, The Tudors, and Dexter how about put that money aside every month into a fund that will be your travel fund? That adds up fast. Learn the stores in the local place you’re going to, find out where you can get cheaper, good food. Maybe enjoy the city, take photographs at your own pace rather than springing for a guided tour.

When I meet people I always wonder… where have they been? What have they seen that I haven’t? What can I learn from this and how can I incorporate these teachings, these alive and organism like ideas into my own existence? For as many reasons as there are not to go and travel, explore, and live, I can name five a piece for you to. It isn’t hard, it isn’t scary. It’s eye opening and fills you with a wanderlust that is hardly containable.

In the past 2 years I have been to numerous places in the United States, the UK, Norway, Finland, France, and Ireland. I have traveled every conceivable form of transportation available. I met people who were different from me, some who liked me, some who didn’t. I enjoyed great cuisine and I took amazing photographs. I look forward to the rest of my life. So should you.

Japan Relief: 1 Hour Donations

If you have seen my facebook page then you have heard what I plan on doing. The people of Japan need our help: citizens and rescue teams alike. I am offering $200 1 hour photoshoot sessions with all of that money going to the Red Cross.

I’d hope this would simply be understood but I want to assure you that what I am doing here is not a self-promotion at all. While it would be great I am not looking for new leads or repeat business. In fact if I could somehow take my name out of all of it, I would. Something that comes to mind is an anecdote that has been told to me over the years. It’s a great line in Superman the movie where Clark’s father tells a young Clark Kent when he is upset about having to hide his powers while playing football. He says,

“[...] That is, you are here for a reason. I don’t know whose reason it is, or whatever the reason… maybe it’s… I don’t know…. but I do know one thing: it’s not to score touchdowns.”

I don’t feel that I am superman. I do feel that this is something we can all take to heart when thinking about all the things we do in life. I have often admired those who have dropped everything and taken up photojournalism to spread the word of what is happening in the world a la the amazingly talented photographers ostentatiously aggregated at The Big Picture. While I am not at a point in life to be able to do that, I do feel that I am able to help.

It comes down to this, an awesome way for you to get those photographs that you have been wanting and needing for a bit of time now and to do something wonderful for the world. I’m going to break this down into a few sections that will hopefully explain how everything will go down this next week.

The Situation:

Not that “Situation”, this one actually means something. Last Friday an earthquake, which scaled at 9.0 on the Richter scale, blasted 8o miles off the coast of Japan. This is one of the largest known quakes in Japan’s modern history and one of the largest in recent years globally. Not long after, due to the quake, a tsunami washed over many parts of the coast of Japan destroying villages and people’s lives. The footage online is obscene, watching it you feel as though something like this cannot possibly be real. It is. In fact, it is very real. The death toll is still climbing, the amount missing still not entirely known. Nuclear disaster seems nearly imminent and we can only pray to whatever God or gods or positive spiritual entity in which you believe that they are able to stave off such a disaster.

However, there is good. Human nature is good, the Red Cross gives on average 91 cents on the dollar that is donated to them. Artists abound are donating their time and effort in donating money for these causes. It is times like these that make you want to step up and start making a difference. I feel as if this is my time to help in the way that I know I can.

The What:

$200 1 hour long sessions in which all of the proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross for relief in Japan. I don’t care what this session is for (within reason, of course;). If you want this to be for your Engagement Shoots, awesome. If you want to take concert shots, great. Studio shots? Fantastic. Headshots? Yes. Fashion shoots for a portfolio? Perfect.

I only have a few stipulations and I will list those later. The point is, if you have a photographic need of any kind, now is the time to take advantage of this. Sessions that are typically $250 are discounted and all of those funds. Every last penny. It’s going to help those in need by this disaster.

The When:

Sessions need to be booked by next Wednesday, March 23rd 2011, and paid for in full by next Friday, March 25th 2011. Sessions need to be fulfilled before the end of August, 2011.

The Who:

You. Bring yourself, bring friends, bring lovers, bring enemies. It doesn’t matter. Just get ready to have an awesome time for a great cause.

The Where:

Unfortunately, and this is one of those stipulations, this deal is limited to those in the greater Milwaukee and Chicago areas. If I can easily make it to you, by my judgment, by car from Milwaukee then please. Participate. Unfortunately, I cannot simply afford to travel and donate all proceeds. However, if you do want to pay for my travel costs and then the $200 on top for a donation and it is able to be scheduled out, then by all means I am down and I am game.

The Fine Print:

Why am I putting a time limit on this? Honestly, I don’t know the response. This could flop and I may not get any responses. Or this could go even crazier than I expected. Without this being my full time profession I only have a limited amount of time that I can physically devote to sessions.

Why paid for in full in advance? I simply cannot afford to foot a bill on this one. The sole purpose of all of this is to raise money that I would not typically be able to donate myself for a situation that is heartbreaking to me. This is also about commitment, it would be one thing for me to track someone down to pay me for services I have given but I feel it sort of breaks a whole new slew of ethical violations to make me track someone down – for whatever reason – for a charitable cause. That doesn’t really matter though, you want to donate.

Why is it that only awesome places like Milwaukee and Chicago get to take advantage of this? Like I stated before, it is due to travel costs. I cannot afford to travel much without compensation and this is not about being compensated. It’s about giving.

Finally, these have to be new requests. If I have been in talks with you about a photoshoot, engagement shoot, etc then this offer, unfortunately, does not apply. I sincerely appreciate your desire to donate but it is simply too complicated for me to logistically tackle this on my own if this is not a separate entity. This is new photoshoots that are being proposed to me starting today and going through next Wednesday. I want the sole purpose of these shoots to have originated with the idea of giving to this fund in mind.

What do you receive?

The last point to address is what are your receivables for doing this. I am so grateful that you are looking into doing this that I want to send you a specialized receipt stating what I have done with the money and how awesome you are for helping out. On top of that you will receive a proof of delivery for the $200 to Red Cross. Thirdly, you will receive your photographs, ALL usable photographs (something usually reserved for Weddings & Engagements) from the shoot. The number of these entirely depends on set up time, repetition and similarity of shots, and technical details such as blur, focus, color, lighting, acts of God, etc. But trust me, it’s more than you would typically get in any other scenario. You deserve it.

In closing, please help me help those in need. Look up this situation that is going on. Watch the videos, see the photographs, hear their stories. If you think you have a photographic need in the near future please contact me via this blog, my facebook, twitter @aarcusphoto with hashtag: #ArcJapanRelief, e-mail at adam.arcus.photo@gmail.com, mobile phone, tin-cans, morsecode. Whatever and however you can. And finally, spread the word – e-mail this to your friends, lovers, coworkers, enemies, cousins, barbers, etc. The more we do together, the more we can raise. If you don’t chose to do this through me, look up those other artists, donate to Red Cross’ text method for donating $10 automatically by texting REDCROSS to 90999, go through Google’s crisis response at http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html , other artists: go and do this for your talents as well! We can make a difference.

Las Vegas Exposed

Time for Las Vegas long exposures! Done solely with the 17-40mm and the 24mm TS-E, they were rather enjoyable as wide angled landscapes. I walked around the night after the hospitality event I took photos for with my boss and had a good time experimenting with tilt shift long exposure – I thought regular long exposure was difficult to expose… sheesh- and flash mixed in with long exposures. All in all I would call this a successful night of photography.

I really wish to go back when the weather is nicer (above freezing perhaps?) and just do nothing one night except walk and take long exposure shots of Vegas. I stuck pretty close to the same area as it was so cold and I had no jacket or gloves. I had also wanted to get some long exposures of the water show in front of the Bellagio but ended up with just the ‘ho-hum’ shot you see below as they closed it due to weather! OH, the last one here is a panorama so be sure to click on it to get the full effect.

Though this photograph of Paris was certainly what I was going for!

For the most part my aim here was simply to show the extreme lights and feel of Vegas at night. Even in the coldest part of the year in non-peak season the town seemed so alive. It is ironic as they are going through an extended financial crisis mainly dealing with real estate foreclosure. So here is to Vegas getting its groove back and blowing your socks off at some point this year.

Gear Used:

Canon 5D Mk II

Canon 17-40mm f/4.0 L lens

Canon 24mm f/3.5 TS-E L lens

Lumopro LP120 flash

Manfrotto Tripod + Head

The Slopes: A Travel Photoventure

That My Conditions Are In

This past week – as much as it was about skiing, food, drink, and good times – was about pushing more bounds as a photographer. I read recently an article that described how a photographer should excel in only one form of photography. Technique, as he put it, “is something mature photographers simply get past”. This rather astounded me as I typically follow this fellow and agree with a good amount that is written about. I however, extremely disagree with this statement. How can you be the best at something if you do not know the basics of everything? I am not saying to go and perfect each style, though surely at that point you would be a pretty damn good photographer, what I am saying though is that you should know how they got there.

Long Exposure: High ISO

What kind of lighting was used, why was it used, what effect did it have, what ISO range, rough speed, depth of field are utilized frequently? Is it a standard or a tilt shift lens? Why was this particular angle chosen? If you choose only a specific set within all of these questions and go with that, then that is all you have. Having a brand versus perfecting only one technique are completely different monsters.

During the Day

This weekend was about making moving, emotional images with a prime lens that I rarely have used in the open. My Canon 24mm f/3.5 TS-E L lens. I bought this a short while ago knowing that this was not a focal length that I was familiar with and that I was unaware of how tilt-shift would affect it. Most of my tilt-shift experience has been on the View Camera or in the 45mm to 90mm focal lengths. I felt this would be a fantastic way for me to break my binds and develop a new technique. The results are below. Let me know… did I crash and burn or was there success in my efforts? My favorite is at the end.

And let me know what do you think: Is perfecting merely a single technique the same as having a brand? Or is there more to it then that?

The One That Got Away

Which in this scenario, is definitely acceptable and provided me with one of those perfect imperfect images. I went skiing this past weekend – first time and I didn’t die! W00T! - and on our drive back from breakfast in a near white out snow storm a bunch of what seemed to have been pheasants (birdwatchers, let me know if you recognize this one) were in the road. My camera was on and ready but alas! I had left my lens cap on. I dashed it off and a fraction of a second later had the 24mm TS-E lens snapping away at the chaos of the 8 or 10 birds in our path. I only took three photographs, and in my opinion only one turned out. I had originally wanted a brilliant shot of the driver and a bird that was flying along side the car but my gaze was taken and my lens delayed just enough to get the photograph below. For some reason it really grabs my eye. The underexposed corners along with the telephone lines jutting through the frame. The snow/ice mixture on the cars window mucking up the edges enough to push your eye through the other side of the photograph. Lines of snow cutting through the foreground of the animal. A bird’s contorted flight beckoning to be felt by others as a flee for its life. It really spoke to me and I want to know: does it do the same for you?

Have you had this type of “success” before? A seemingly accidental photograph intentionally taken. It is, for me, a rare occurrence to enjoy one of these this thoroughly but I find myself invested in this one.

The One That Got Away: A Bird In Flight

GEAR USED:

Canon 5D Mk II

Canon 24mm TS-E L Lens

The Vault: Black Stone Cherry AT Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle

The band that got me into it all. Black Stone Cherry. I came back to my apartment one afternoon from classes in Uni and I had a message in my flickr account. It was from Jon Lawhon, the bassist of BSC, telling me to contact them next time they were in the area and I could shoot their live show. I flipped out. Major flip out. I mean these guys were my modern day Zeppelin. This would be the equivalent of if I lived in the 70′s and John Paul Jones said “hey, why don’t you come shoot a few shows for us”. Given they are not really the same genres, music styles, etc but that was the idea.

I went out and shot for them a couple of times which you can view at my website. The third time I shot for them was May 25, 2009 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. My study abroad Alma Matter. I was travelling abroad after graduating from the University of Illinois. The stars could not have aligned better that night. Jon had lent me his brand new Canon 5D MK II – at the time I was shooting with the XSi – and his 17-40mm f/4L lens. I was in the pit. I got a press badge. I had two shooters and three lenses!! I mean this night was effing meant to be.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the photographs from the 5D. They seem to be lost in the touring world, somewhere. Which is a bit sad as it was my first experience with that pro-camera but I still managed to get photographs that I absolutely love with that XSi. From this moment on I knew that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

GEAR USED:

Canon 5D MK II

Canon Rebel XSi

17-40mm f/4L

85mm f/1.8

50mm f/1.8

28-135mm f/3.5-5.6

LIVE CHATTER:

The band was brilliant and full of a massive amount of energy. The pit was perfect, albeit quite long due to the protruding piece in the center for the main act’s, Nickelback, set up. BSC gave me full reigns on time, with no issues what so ever taking photographs. I ran into issues with Jon’s memory cards, they were faulty and would not format. I ended up only being able to shoot with one of his cards and one of mine from the XSi – CF vs SD right there – so being picky and taking only the shots I wanted was key.

Irish Adventure: II

I know it has been a while but apparently Wedding Planning and traveling for business take more time than I thought they had! Anyways, I am back on the game just in time for the holidays. Here is another post of Ireland, this time day two!

The second day in Ireland consisted a lot of walking the streets of Dublin, going into stores, and some street performer photography. The latter of all will have it’s own post as it was an interesting experience there, very different from what I had expected. Elena and I went and saw Dublin Castle, ate a fantastic sandwich outside a Georges Street Arcade’s market, went to dinner at the Gourmet Burger Kitchen, and visited plenty of shops on Dublin’s pedestrian friendly streets. As it turns out the Castle barely stands in any original form as it was. Many parts have been rebuilt, remodeled, and altogether destroyed. It made for some interesting stories (which we secretly listened to via proximity to a tour group). The Church, Records Tower, and Library Garden were of the more particularly interesting places to shoot as they offered a bit more of that archaic, medieval feeling than the newer areas where people worked.

As you will see in the first few photographs, the sun was just absolutely blinding on O’Connell street walking towards the River Liffey. It made it very challenging to shoot but produced some of my favorite photographs from that day; particularly the one of the Christmas Tree and Spire. We first ventured into Temple Bar this day as well and were quite excited to go back and devote some time to it. After that it was a lot of good food, beers, espressos and window shopping!

My main lens for the travels was the Canon TS-E 45mm. I know I have pushed that lens a whole bunch but it is truly extremely versatile. Really unbelievable. Occasionally I broke out the 17-40mm for the super wide shots. Fortunately, I believe, that lens was only on in a limited fashion. I wish I spent a bit more time in the actual country side of Ireland, then perhaps I would have used it a bit more. The beautiful thing about that though is there is always something for “next time”.

The light was beautiful after the harshness of the morning died down a bit. I think I got some cool effects with the strong natural light but it made it rather difficult to shoot mostly though over the cold that was there I welcomed it with open arms.

Now for the main event: the photographs!

Let me know what you think in the “Comments” section below!

Irish Adventure

Well I have barely posted anything from Ireland. Fortunately it is for two formidable reasons: I am editing a ton of video that I shot there with the 5D and I stepped on a nail. For the first reason: it will be my first video experience and really is more of a home movie for my fiancée and I (Yes, I proposed. In Ireland. On the cliffs in Howth. At sunrise. Jealous?). The latter has little to do other than I have been in and out of doctor’s appointments – it’s all fine and good now, the foot gets to stay! However, I do want to get a few of my favorite shots up on here for everyone to see so I can start updating more frequently. So here is my first batch from the first day. I must say I do not feel as if I hit my stride until basically the final day in Ireland. I feel prior to that I was too preoccupied thinking about the Ring, the proposal, the beer, cafes, and the surreal feeling of being in Ireland that my photographic mind was just off. It was almost the equivalent to “Writer’s Block” except I was still able to click the shutter button. Anyways, I will let you be the judge on the photographs.

Elena and Adam: Engaged!

Here is day one:

: Elena and Adam: Engaged!