Calico, CA to Los Osos, CA

Yesterday, I drove all the way from Calico, CA (which is a few miles from Barstow) to Los Osos, CA. I followed Route 66 until I made it to San Bernardino where I got and stayed on the interstate so I could make it to my destination before midnight. This was perfect timing as I was needing a little break from shooting old gas stations, abandoned buildings and neon signs.  Attached are three shots I took yesterday.

It's my birthday today (the big 4-oh) and I'll be spending it relaxing and planning the future. I plan to enjoy a bottle of mead (honey wine) that I picked up in Russia a few months back.

Comments

[Glyn Dewis]

Hey Happy 40th Birthday to you Ben, and enjoy the bottle of Mead. My wife and I visit Cornwall every year and that's one of the 'must have' items on our shopping list cos we can't seem to buy it in London.

Thanks for the reply to the blog entry I posted a couple of days ago. The updated version of your Photoshop For Photographers tour sounds awesome, and the fact that you're coming to London on the 27th July is fantastic!!! Can't wait!!!

Anyway, hope have a great day and celebrate your 40th in style, but what out for the mead ... it has a real tendency to sneak up on you (if you know what I mean :o)

See you soon,
Glyn

ps> The latest post of photos, as always are fantastic. If you get time on the day to show the technique you're using in Photoshop that would be superb!!!!

[Jason D. Moore]

Happy Birthday Ben!

[Shad]

Happy Birthday Wishes from me as well. And I hope your musings on your future include a lot more photo taking :)

[Eddie Murphy]

Happy Belated B-Day, Ben. Oh, and moo.

If you're around my neck of the woods, we should get sushi.

[Andy]

Nice photographs! I particularly appreciate the top one... willing to share any processing tips on that one?

Thanks,
Andy

[Ben Willmore]

Thanks for the B-day greetings everyone!

Shad... my future plans involve a lot more photo taking opportunities :-)

Andy, all the images I've been shooting lately are HDR images, which means they are a bracket of at least three exposures that are combined with a both photoshop and photomatix pro.

I'm developing a second seminar for Photographers for NAPP that I should roll out later this year that will detail how I make all these HDR shots and a lot more. I'm testing out the concepts in a week-long hands-on seminar this week and then will refine them further before the second seminar tour starts.

-Ben

[Dan]

Are the techniques you are using in your recent online photos going to be covered in either of the upcoming CS3 books - How to Wow or CS3 studio techniques?

[Ben Willmore]

Dan,

No. They will be covered in the second photographers tour seminar I'm working on and possibly a book dedicated to photographers that I'm considering.

-Ben

[Dennis]

Hey Ben thanks for the tons of help at the NYC photoshop class. Love the 3rd shot down. AMAZING!

dennis