Lost Images of Turin, Italy

The Blissful Adventurer - Turin

View from the Church Steps – Turin.

Lost Images of Turin, Italy

I made my first trip to Turin, Italy in August of 2010. I was simply blown away by the architectural influence of the French Savoy family. However, like most of Italy in August, the city was practically deserted. The empty streets along with the general resignation on the faces of the locals, during this holiday month, gave one of Europe’s richest cities an eerie and sickly feel.

The Blissful Adventurer - Torino, Italy

A haunting bridge over the Po.

I love the ghostly light emanating from the center tunnel in this image. This one ray of sunshine seemed to encapsulate the spirit of this very challenging summer in Italy. [Read more...]

New Social Media Outlets for The Blissful Adventurer

The Blissful Adventurer - New Work

A Room with a View

Old Canon Powershot – Snapseed – Glaze – Vintage FX – Image Blender

Readers, at long last I have the occasion to post again. I want to take a few moments today and introduce you all to some new social media outlets for The Blissful Adventurer.

First of all, I want to say that Instagram is a tremendous creative outlet for me and my photography. I use it as a photo lab to experiment with new techniques and ideas. I post DSLR and iPhone images alike to my Instagram gallery, and I encourage all of you who love photography to dive into the app and follow my work. I know many of you are already there, so please let me know if I have missed you and I will begin to follow you immediately.

I also want to introduce you to a new website for experiential travel writing called Your Life as a Trip . I will be a contributing writer for this wonderful publication and my first piece comes out on April 9. Please take a look at the site and enjoy the many talented writers who contribute to this wonderful site. I will be posting here to my blog everyday prior to April 9 in hopes that we get a big push for my initial outing with Your Life as a Trip . [Read more...]

Point Reyes Images – #3

The Blissful Adventurer - Point Reyes

Birds in the Surf

Point Reyes Images is a series of shots from my recent exploration of one of the most remote and beautiful parts of the Pacific coast of California. Today’s image is a hidden section of McClure’s beach only accessible through a small crevice in a large promontory of boulders. I love the little sea birds flitting about so nonchalantly while the destructive force of the Pacific crashes all around them. The haze of the evening and the waning light give this image a surreal quality that makes me want to tarry. However, the wind was chilly, the heat was fleeting, and my wife had already begun to walk back towards the trail. It was time to leave this amazing place.

Thanks for joining me here on this journey through Point Reyes. There may be an iPhone Haiku Sunday on the horizon so stay tuned. [Read more...]

Point Reyes Images #2

The Blissful Adventurer - Point Reyes Images

Ripples and Reflections

Point Reyes Images is a series of shots from my recent exploration of one of the most remote and beautiful parts of the Pacific coast of California. Today’s image is McClure’s Beach just below Tomales Point (yesterday’s image). I have a fondness for the patterns in the sand made by the surf and tides. This lovely dusk reflection of the sandy promontory in the background adds a lovely yin to the yang of ripples in the foreground, The surf in the distance seems so inviting but is alas quite chilly and inhospitable. [Read more...]

Point Reyes Images #1

 

The Blissful Adventurer - Point Reyes Images

Tomales Point above the Pacific

Point Reyes Images is a series of shots from my recent exploration of one of the most remote and beautiful parts of the Pacific coast of California. The allure of Point Reyes comes from its isolation, gorgeous waters, access to roadside oysters, and surprising to me, its wildlife. [Read more...]

Big Sur Sea Explosion

The Blissful Adventurer - Big Sur

Sea Explosion

Big Sur Sea Explosion is the first image in my series of shots from a long weekend of exploration along the Pacific Coast from Monterey down to Big Sur. This wave caught along the drive through Point Lobos was over 15 feet in height when it crashed against this rock. The spray from the wave actually misted down upon me and the camera some 50+ feet from the image. [Read more...]

iPhone Photography Workshop – San Francisco

Photo by Sam Krisch

Learn How to Create These Images

Hey San Francisco, I am hosting an iPhone and Creative Imaging Workshop April 13 and 14, 2013 in your city. My drear readers and followers of Bliss I would love to meet some of you face to face at this wonderful iPhone photography course taught by uber-talent Sam Krisch.

Follow this link for all the details. If you have wondered where I have been for about a week I have been planning and developing this amazing program. [Read more...]

San Francisco Solitary Trees

The Blissful Adventurer - San Francisco

Buena Vista Park

San Francisco Solitary Trees

On consecutive walks in the city

I came upon separate solitary trees sharing their light and oxygen with me.

I found reflections of self in these lonesome trees

and knew no way to take them in my car or even across the street

So I shot them, not with cannon or laser but handy little phone

Edited them quickly and now they are never alone. [Read more...]

Post-Process Evolution

The Blissful Adventurer - Hipstamatic

Stage 4 of the Process

Post-Process Evolution is a short photo essay documenting the process by which I transform an image into my creative vision. The first image above is Stage 4 of the process and I displayed it here first because few people would have opened the post had I used the Stage 1 image as my lead photo :-) In essence, I am offering a little insight into the magic I use to mess up my images. Feel free to experiment messing up your images and there is a world of discovery good, bad, funky, and unique waiting for you. (Messing up images I borrowed directly from the teachings of Sam Krisch) [Read more...]

San Francisco Dogpatch – A Hipstamatic Tour

The Blissful Adventurer - San Francisco Series

Abandoned Warehouse Through A Broken Barrier

San Francisco Dogpatch - A Hipstamatic Tour is a portrait of  a neighborhood right along the bay and down from Potrero Hill. The name is theorized to have been derived from either the proliferation of Dog Fennel that once dominated the area (and still grows in pockets) or packs of wild dogs that used to wait outside the slaughterhouses for scraps. Until recently I had spent little time in this hood say for the occasional Muni ride to a baseball game back in 2005. Now I have a good friend who calls the place home. Dogpatch is a “cool” place to be now with flashy new lofts, great restaurants, and many artisan shops. The beauty here lies in the abandoned warehouses along the water which still dominate the acreage of the area and are some of the most starkly beautiful places I have ever seen. [Read more...]