Archive for the ‘HDR’ Category
Windmill at Kinderdijk
March 3rd, 2010 | Author: albert
Holland is famous for a number of things, but windmills are perhaps the most iconic of all. Used to pump water out of low lying land, windmills played a vital role in a country of which two fifths lies below sea level. The name “Nederland” literally means “low land”.
No wonder that water has been such an influential force in so many aspects of every day life. After all, this is the country with dykes everywhere and is a nation that plays a dominant role in many water-related sports such as speed skating and swimming.
Today, modern engineering takes care of keeping land dry, but the Dutch are immensely proud of their wind-powered water management legacy. Windmills are a nostalgic icon of those early days and are enthusiastically preserved whenever possible. Nowhere is this more evident that in a place called Kinderdijk, where no less than 17 windmills are clustered together and present just about the most classic view of Dutch country side one can imagine. Needless to say it is a popular tourist spot and a great place to go for a day of photography.
I am hoping to take Linda there in May when we will be in the Netherlands so here is a shot to “get in the mood”. This is one of those 17 windmills at Kinderdijk and is a 3-shot HDR. It was a rainy day (as you can see from the clouds), but I was lucky to get this shot with some great reflections during a break in the rain.
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Valentine’s Day Sunset
February 17th, 2010 | Author: albert
Spent Valentine’s Day with Linda up at Lake Tahoe. We of course did what photographers like to do and sought out a romantic sunset 
This hot is taken from the Eastern shores of Lake Tahoe. Not quite as much color as we would have liked, but still nice.
Blended two shots here, one exposed for the sky, one for foreground. The long exposures also softened the water as it was quite choppy.
I loved these rocks in the foreground and took quite some shots, all with different compositions. I liked this a lot, but will post more in due course.
Another Fort Point HDR
February 10th, 2010 | Author: albert
You gotta love this place! I know do – probably because I love the HDR results one can get from shooting these brick walled corridors. I find the way that HDR can pull out the details just wonderful. Subjects like brick walls, cobblestone streets and wood grain textures just come alive when given the HDR treatment. Add to that the multiple exposures which lets you capture that wide dynamic range and not hard to conclude that HDR photography can be a real treat for indoor scenes.
So here is another HDR of Fort Point for your enjoyment. It looks like the place was deserted, it wasn’t. It’s all about patience, just waiting for people to pass and quickly make your shots. Sometimes I get lucky.
Master Brick Masonry of Fort Point
February 3rd, 2010 | Author: albert
The magnificent Fort Point is located right under the Golden Gate Bridge, on the South side. It was built to protect San Francisco harbor from Confederate and foreign attach during the and after the US Civil War.
While its many arched walkways are considered to be a great showcase for the art of master brick masonry, it is also great for some powerful photography.
Here is a great example of the “feel” of this place. I just LOVE these corridors that disappear into the distance, no distractions or decorations other than the brickwork, arches, faded colors and those wonderful lines. This is agreat place for a weekend visit (the place is only open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday). There are superb views of the Golden Gate Bridge from the rooftop, which is easily accessible.
This is a 3-shot HDR, each shot is 2 stops apart.
Old City Cemetery of Sacramento
November 22nd, 2009 | Author: albert
Visited the Old City Cemetery recently for a photoshoot.
The Sacramento City Cemetery was established in 1849 after a donation of 10 acres by Captain John Sutter (who was later buried there himself). The cemetery follows the Victorian Garden style, popular throughout the mid and late 1800’s. It is perhaps no wonder that this cemetery provides some wonderful photographic opportunities.
The gardens are maintained by volunteers and the 150 year old place is kept in immaculate shape. It has character, in so far a cemetery can have character. It is a place for reflection, remembering lost friends and family and sadness, yet it is beautiful and makes for a great place to go for a quiet walk, with or without camera.
The shot below was taken in November, towards the end of fall color, but the way the sun hit this tree caused every last bit of remaining color to blaze out in all its glory. Published here as an HDR.
A drive through Hope Valley
November 20th, 2009 | Author: albert
It was one of those Saturdays, nothing planned, not wanting to sit at home, kind of strange weather, not bad, but not particularly good either. What to do? So a friend and I decided to drive towards Lake Tahoe and see if there was anything worth shooting.
Rather than taking the freeway, we decided to go the back roads and took the Emigrant Mormon Trail and then Hwy 88 through Carson Pass and Hope Valley. The higher the elevation, the colder it got. At 8000 ft it was 37 degrees and this was only October!
In many ways it was kind of boring. Fall color was gone and no snow yet, that in between kind of day.
We spotted an area with interesting trees and rocks and decided, considering we’d come all this way anyway, to get out and shoot something, ANYTHING!
This is the result of that outing, kind of cool actually and I am quite happy with the results and it shows that there are photo opportunities hiding almost everywhere.
California Gold Rush
October 27th, 2009 | Author: albert
Here are some shots of Coloma, in California, the very location along the South Fork of the American River where James Marshall first found gold in 1848. This of course was the start of the famous Gold Rush of 1849.
This site was where John Sutter and James Marshall built a sawmill and re-directed the water from the river to power the mill. The water washed away sand and dirt, exposing the gold. The rest, as they say, is history.
Seen here are the sawmill and some details of the structure. The little building is Marshall’s first cabin.
Coloma is only about 45 minutes drive from Sacramento, where I live. It is a great place for an afternoon outing, a stroll and a picnic. One of the old buildings there used to house a cafe and served awesome coffee and peach pie, but it seems that budget cuts have not left this place unaffected and the park is in fact in danger of being closed altogether. Such a shame…
Exclusive Wine Tasting
October 25th, 2009 | Author: albert
This is the area to go taste Robert Mondavi’s exclusive wines. The open door leads into the cellar where the wines are poured and you can take your glass and wonder around the gardens. This is of course, Napa Valley, where outdoor activities are possible almost all year round.
Linda and I visited here mid October and the weather was nothing short of wonderful and a perfect day to go exploring the valley and vineyards. Some great photo opportunities too.
This shot is an HDR, comprises of 3 shots, each 2 stops apart.
Another shot comprised of 3 images is this next one. Linda and I were quite impressed as there is a photographer selling prints similar to this one, at $250 a pop, non framed. That is quite a lot of money for a photo, a good shot mind you, but we couldn’t help but wonder how many were actually sold at those prices.
Picnic in the High Sierras – Overlooking Kings Canyon
October 15th, 2009 | Author: albert
Finally got around to looking at my Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon pictures, places I went to with my son Rens.
We found, quite by accident, this magnificent picnic spot, overlooking the Sierras and King Canyon.
As you can see, we sat on a rocky ledge with a magnificent view spread out in front of us. I could have sat there all day, just absorbing the splendor of this view.
Just to the left of the bushes you see here on the left side of the picture, was this view seen below.
The canyon you see just to the right of the tree is Kings Canyon. We didn’t actually go there that day, so it is still on the “to do one day” list.
This shot is an HDR comprising of three shots, –1, 0 +1 EV apart. The HDR treatment added extra drama to the sky.
Hidden Meadow
August 27th, 2009 | Author: albert
Another HDR shot from the Sequoia National Park weekend. My son Rens and I were on a hike to check out Tharp’s Cabin. Tharp’s Cabin is a hollowed out log (a giant Sequoia of course) that was used as shelter and later converted into a cabin. It is named after Hale Tharp who has been acknowledged as the first non-native American to enter the Giant Forest.
The hike passed through a burnt out section of forest which was still smoldering. Our natural reaction was one of horror of course, but fires like that are essential for a healthy Sequoia forest so it was actually a good thing.
This meadow was close to the cabin and Tharp used to graze his herd of cattle here. Rens and I were wondering how he got his cattle here as the meadow is pretty far from anything and surrounded by forest. We never did get an answer to that.
This photo was taken with three exposures, 2 stops apart, and blended using Dynamic Photo HDR, saved as a FIFF, re-imported into Lightroom for a little bit of additional processing (mainly contrast) and output as a JPEG.
