Re-route to Max Patch, NC

On my way to Chattanooga I got a call from Spencer Victory telling me that I had to stop by his crib in Knox and head out to Max Patch with him the following day. I'm always down for whatever life throws at me and apparently the bald got 24-30inches of fresh pow pow.

I have never skied, snowboarded or been in the mountains for that matter with that much snow, so I was psyched to get there.

Here somes images from our day trip:

Vertical Pano

Sunset Pano

Looking at Sharpening & Noise Reduction in CS5

I recently upgraded to CS5 and have noticed some amazing features. One of the newest features that I have found to be very helpful has been the Sharpen/Noise Reduction in Camera Raw 6.

The key factor under the sharpening tab is the "Masking" slider.

This now enables the artist to easily create a mask so we can sharpen parts of the image that need to be sharpened while not touching other aspects such as a

sky where we only want noise reduction.

Here are is an example of an image I recently reworked to test the difference in this feature:

You can see I have dragged the masking slider most

of the way to the right to a set point of 90.

A key feature with this is to hold down "option"

on a mac while dragging the slider.

This enables the user to only see a black and white image of the layer mask so you can fine tune what you what masked.

In this example you can see the before and after preview of the image.

The image on top has a really nice gradient of noise reduction while keeping the sharpness and detail in the bridge and buildings.

The sky on the image below is very noisy and would not look good if printed at 100%.

Full Length Version "THE VERTICAL WORLD"

Finally the "6min" version you didn't see on the Reel Rock Tour's site is now online.

I had a great time kicking it/being apart of this project with all these guys/gals this summer.

Can't wait till New Years Eve when we can all party again together!

ENJOI

"Big Show" MMA fight at the Belterra with Eric Gifford

Eric Gifford is a sponsored climbing athlete with companies like:

La Sportiva, Revolution Climbing & MTN Ranks.

I've had the pleasure of being friends/climbing partners

with Eric for a decade now.

We've traveled many places throughout the years in search of rock.

Every-time Eric fell in love with a destination he would move there,

dominate the area then choose a new destination.

We would lose touch intermittently through the years, but like true family, no matter the obstacle we would always reunite like no time had passed, relive and create new memories.

I look forward to more climbing roadtrips with him

once my injury has fully healed.

We have both suffered spine injuries and Eric has

proven to me that through time,

anything can be achieved despite what doctors may say.

"Mind over matter"

Eric picked up Mixed Martial Arts about a year and a half ago after

moving to Cincinnati and now has 3 fights under his belt.

I finally got to show up for the most recent fight at the

Belterra Casino and show support for my brother.

Here are some shots from this past weekends fight!

Getting wrapped and pumped up.

Watch out for the "Louisville Slugger."

Round One

His opponent: Aaron Miller

Great Camaraderie

The Win...Congrats Bro!

Falls of the Ohio

Gorgeous weather and increases gas prices led me to an area very close to home this past Sunday with a friend of mine. We just wandered around and chatted for most of the day, but I did end up shooting a few shots.

"During the Middle Devonian, the Falls of the Ohio fossil beds region was covered by a shallow, tropical sea located some 30 degrees south of the equator. Evidence of potent tropical storms is visible because all but the largest corals and stromatoporoids have been jumbled around. While the organisms are different, the Jeffersonville Limestone ecosystemis comparable to a patch reef ecosystem in Florida Bay or the Bahamas today."

The Riverbed full of fossils

Erosion from the ebb and flow of the river tides

I really dug this fossil. Reminiscent of the structure of a hurricane.

Different perspective of the above fossil.

Check here for more info on the Falls

Showcase Cinema

Growing up as a child in the late 80's, early 90's this was the place to go hang out. Best place to watch movies, play video games, etc. It has been abandoned for quite some time now and they have finally begun the demolition phase on the building/property.

I was driving by there the other day when I noticed that if I didn't get photo's of it now, I never would be able too.

Who knows what will go there or if anything will in the near future...

...and this is my favorite!

LRC "Stonefort" Guidebook Images

Images from the LRC guidebook from Greener Grass Publishing

Chris Sierzant on "Psychosomatic" V9 | Page. 127

Senya Iaryguine on "The Pinch" V7 | Page. 147

BUY THE GUIDE HERE

My Life as a Mail-Order Bride: Oksana Makarova

Back in July I got a call from Redux Agency asking me if I wanted to assist a photographer who was flying into Louisville, KY to shoot a portrait session to accompany an article for Marie Claire. I thought this would be a great learning opportunity to work with another photog.

That photog ended up being Melissa Golden, who was a pleasure to work with.

Melissa Golden is a photographer who has been based in the D.C. area mainly shooting for The Wall Street Journal and works with quite a few politicians. Melissa is moving to Los Angeles in the near future, so look for her on the west coast.

The article I assisted Melissa on just came out in this months issue of Marie Claire and is now available online.

We worked with a woman originally from the Ukraine named Oksana Makarova. It's about her struggle as a mail-order bride, coming to the states for a brighter future for her son, being "domesticated" and her struggle to break free from those issues and create a life for herself in the states.

Photo Credit: Melissa Golden/Redux/Redux

READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON MARIE CLAIRE

Updates to danlubbers.com

• New images added
• Full screen viewing under galleries. (Click bottom right screen icon)
• Optimized for all screen sizes
• Working on getting the site compatible with all mobile devices, but not there yet...

ENJOI

2010 Rocktoberfest | RRG | Oct. 8-10

ROCKTOBERFEST 2010

All information in regards to events, parking,

camping, etc can be found here

CORE will be featured Saturday night.

The Commonwealth | Jonathan Wood | Explosions in the Sky

Been spending time shooting some band images for their Press Release kits.

"The Commonwealth"

A few shots from the practice studio.

The Commonwealth performing @Headliners Music Hall

Jonathan Wood performs @ Ear-X-Tacy

Explosions in the Sky performing @ Headliners Music Hall

LRC "Stonefort" Guidebook

Out soon for your bouldering pleasure...

Check: Greener Grass Publishing

Vertical World | Reel Rock Tour 2010

Contest ends Sept. 10th

Keep Voting!

Vertical World

Zombie Walk 2010 | Highlands | Louisville, KY

The annual Zombie walk in Louisville was this past Sunday evening.

Zombie's littered the streets of the Highlands.

Bardstown road was shut down as zombies

slowly dragged through and watched a band

perform horror songs in the street.

A very fun gathering which started 6 years ago by John King for his birthday.

ZOMBIE MONTAGE

REEL ROCK TOUR CONTEST | The Vertical World

THE VERTICAL WORLD

SLADE, KY

VOTE HERE

We all had an amazing time shooting this video

over the course of a weekend.

Wish I were able to spend more of my days doing things like this.

The video on the site is an edited version to a time-frame of 2min.

If the video wins, the extended 4-5min version

will be on the site and will travel

around the world with the Reel Rock Film Tour.

Check out Joe's Blogpiece for a couple screen grab's of the video.

Check below for some behind the scenes shots

I uploaded a month or so ago.

NOW GO VOTE!!!

Shoot for Marie Clare and Forecastle Festival

Sunday July 11th, 2010 was an amazing day.

Assisted a shoot for editorial "Marie Clare"

with photog: Melissa Golden.

The portrait shots will be seen in either the

Oct or Nov issue of Marie Clare.

I'll post an update when that issue is out and online.

Assisting on this shoot was an avenue of new beginnings. No ropes to set up. No hiking. Not dealing with the elements of Mother Nature. Gave me a different perspective. I suggested that any inspiring photog should assist others. There is always something you can learn from any given situation and take that knowledge with you to apply in the future.

After the shoot, I rushed down to the Louisville waterfront for a glimpse of "She & Him" (Zooey Deschanel & M.Ward).

Ended up having a really nice dinner at Proof on Main.

If you have never eaten here, this restaurant is a must stop in downtown Louisville.

After dinner, I rushed back to the waterfront to attempt to get a cheaper ticket to see "The Flaming Lips." As soon as I approached the gate, I saw my buddies from the RRGCC (Red River Gorge Climbers Coalition).

Thanks to Burton, I found my way in to see the Lips for "free."

I've never seen The Flaming Lips, but have heard great things about their shows. Wayne Coyne came out in the Hamster ball and crowd surfed during the intro.

Confetti & balloons were floating all over the crowd.

These guys can put on a damn good show.

Peace signs were held by all to honor those in war.

I will definitely be seeing them again!
* all images shot on an iPhone*