Prague, Czech Republic – Sunset in Old Town (HDR)

NIKON D300, Nikon 12-24, HDR in Photomatix

Here is a nice sunset shot from Prague a few weeks back.  As per my first post from Prague..it was my first visit ever to the amazing city! I had a list of spots of shots I wanted to take in my limited time in the city…Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, etc…  My plan was to get the Charles Bridge in HDR at sunset.  But as it was offseason, the bridge was under heavy construction.  Just about every shot was filled with construction covers.   As I walked over the bridge back into the city from Prague Castle…I was a bit bummed.   I took a few shots, but nothing worthy of posting.  I kept on walking and arrived into Old Town about 20 minutes later and just missed the Old Town Astronomical Clock Display…a sight for anyone visiting to see.   Ouch…was I missing everything??  One of those days.

I looked up and saw some pink in the sky…the sun was setting!   I was walking amongst the buildings and peeked through an opening to see how the view was….not good.   I remembered at the clock tower people were buying tickets…quickly without having any idea…I ran up to the ticket guy and asked if there was a viewing site at the top of the tower?  He said yes!  …Perfect!  Not sure how much it cost…$8??  I didn’t care at this time!  All I could think was how many stairs I had to run up!  Was this day fun or what?

I turned the corner and there was an elevator!!!!   Sweet!  I arrived and had to only walk 1 flight of stairs.  All around the top of the clock tower was a wonderful view of the city.  Doubly sweet!  The sun was just dipping and I sadly bumped some tourists out of the way and set up my tripod in this 4 foot small walk way.  Add my tripod fully open and me…this equals about 3 1/2 feet of aisle blocking material.  OK…maybe 4 feet!   I felt bad for all that tried to pass…they were stuck for a few minutes.  I apologize to them now…sorry!   The Prague Castle was to the right…but the light was not right for a sunset shot there…I panned and overlooked old town and the mountains.  The sky was  orange & pink and amazing!  Quite interesting colors in this shot!   A picture is worth a thousand words and sometimes a fun story!  I do not think I will ever forget this shot.  A fun one to get!  Enjoy!

New York, New York – Merry Christmas!

NIKON D300, Nikon 18-200 VR

Merry Christmas to all my readers!  Happy Holidays as well!!  Hope you are having a great time!  What better way to celebrate on Places 2 Explore than the most famous Christmas Tree in the world…Rockefeller Center in New York City!   Best wishes to you and your family!

Calendar Giveaway Winner!!!

My 5 year old daughter just picked the winner out of a hat!  Thanks for all that have entered!   The winner is Laura Magwood!!!   Congrats Laura…I will contact you for your address and ship the calendar out on Monday  Dec 26th!   For those that missed this opportunity…don’t worry!  This one came out so beautiful…that I will now offer one for sale every year!!  I plan to have a 2011 Calendar ready by August 2010 for all to purchase online!  Enjoy the holidays and congrats again to Laura…thanks for reading Places 2 Explore!!

Austin, TX – Driskill Hotel (HDR)

NIKON D300, Nikon 10.5 Fisheye, HDR in Photomatix

Tis the season to be jolly!  For those that celebrate Christmas…Santa Claus is coming to town tonite!  Here is a picture of the most photographed spot in Austin during the holidays…the Diskill Hotel Christmas Tree.   A wonderful sight to see.    Hope your tree is decorated and ready for some presents to be placed underneath by Santa!  And if you are not celebrating Christmas….hope you are enjoying your holiday as well!  I added a little snow to Places 2 Explore for the holidays…hope you enjoy!

Porto, Portugal – Sunrise in Porto (HDR)

NIKON D300, Nikon 12-24, HDR in Photomatix

While staying in Porto a few weeks back…I had a great time walking around this area in the late afternoon taking photos.  One shot I wanted was the Dom Luis Bridge at sunset.  When sunset arrived the sun was not in a great photo location, so I skipped the bridge opportunity and shot the city that night.  I had a 12 PM flight the next day, so i knew I could wake up early and take a few sunrise shots.   I was staying at the Pestana Porto Hotel and luckily it was off season and they gave me a corner room  on the third floor with a balcony on both sides!  It was nice to wake up and set up on my balcony and shoot away!   This was the view from my room!    The sun was rising a bit to the right so I quickly snapped some shots.   With such an old historic city…such a view is very sureal.    After taking some balcony shots, I headed down to the street for a few more!  Porto is a lovely little city!  Next visit…maybe the winer cellars???  Enjoy!

Grapevine, Texas – Gaylord Texan – ICE!

NIKON D300, Nikon 12-24

When we visited the Gaylord Texan a few weeks back…one of the reasons for our visit was to see “ICE”.  ICE is a wonderful holiday exhibit made completely of ICE!   Above you can see a photo of the Grinch and some Who’s enjoying a holiday feast!    It was great to see!   Check the website for times and costs.  Coats are given to you as the temperature is kept below freezing to keep the ice solid.   For the kids (and brave adults) they have a cool ice slide to enjoy!  Its about 10-15 long and adds to the fun!

I set up my tripod for this shot and took my photos quickly!  When using your camera in cold weather…batteries can drain fast!  Luckily it was just a few shots…I had to wait for the traffic to pass by to grab this shot!    Not sure if that turkey is served hot??  After you finish the ICE tour…you return your jackets and can grab a snack and some hot chocolate to warm up!   It was enjoyable and something different to experience!

Here is some info from the their site: With two million pounds of hand-carved ice, Gaylord Texan brings to life the Dr. Seuss holiday classic — How The Grinch Stole Christmas! In a series of colorful scenes straight out of the original storybook pages, the spectacular ICE! attraction brilliantly showcases how the “Whoville-hating” Grinch with a heart two sizes too small learns the true meaning of Christmas.  The unique attraction is created by 40 master artisans from Harbin, China, who magically transform 5,000 blocks of ice into the city of Who-ville. From the Grinch’s frozen mountaintop lair and 20-foot high slides to a variety of family photo opportunities and the picturesque Who-ville including feasting Who’s and Max the dog, the enchanting attraction is sure to make more hearts than just the Grinch’s grow three times in size.

Hope the Grinch doesn’t show up for the holidays near you!

Paris, France – Le Grande Roue de Paris

NIKON D300, Nikon 12-24

A fun sight to see in Paris at certain times of the year is the Le Grande Roue de Paris.  It is  located near Place de la Concorde (in between the Louvre and Arc de Triomphe).  Right across the street are the wonderful fountains – seen in some of my photos.  While there a month ago, I could not resist taking shots of this ferris wheel.  I wanted to capture motion and this was a closeup with a long exposure.   Makes me a bit dizzy looking at it!

Here is a standard view of the Le Grande Roue de Paris:

Here is some info from the web:  There was already a Grande Roue de Paris at the universal exhibition of Paris in 1900, not at the Jardin des Tuileries but near the Champ de Mars. That Ferris wheel had a diameter of 100 m and was demolished in 1937. The Grande Roue (big wheel) of 60 m high as you can see now was built for the millennium celebrations and was supposed to stay at the Place de la Concorde for only one year. The owner Marcel Campion refused a judge’s order to have the wheel taken down so that after much controversy the wheel was dismantled only n 2002. After that the wheel was re-erected in the UK in 2003 and 2004, and later the Netherlands and Bangkok. The Grande Roue came back in Paris in 2007 and is to come back each year in Paris and illuminate the Place de la Concorde and Tuileries for the end of the year festivities.  Enjoy!

San Antonio, TX – San Fernando Cathedral (HDR)

NIKON D300, Nikon 12-24, HDR in Photomatix

This past week we took a day off and traveled about 1 hour south of Austin to San Antonio.  San Antonio is known for the Alamo, Riverwalk and some wonderful Missions.  We were eager to see the Riverwalk as it is  decorated with holiday lights.  When we checked into the hotel, the San Antonio magazine located in our room had this picture of the San Fernando Cathedral on the cover.  I thought what a great pic for a sunset!  I called down to the front desk and they told me it was just 5 blocks away from the hotel!  We went for a walk in the cold and arrived just as the sun was setting.  The Cathedral had its own “patio” out front which included tables and fountains.   In a city…perfect spot for relaxing and having lunch…and for photographs!

The sun was setting and I snapped away…trying different settings..hoping for the perfect HDR.  For each shot I liked that included the fountains, I tried using F/4 (wide open) and F/22.  As with all water shots…water looks great when it has fluid motion.  The f/4 versions with the fountains just did not look as good compared to the f/22.  So use f/22 for any flowing water for HDR’s!   The longer exposures create magic with water!   I will post another shot of the Cathedral soon with details.   If I ever make it back to San Antonio….I will make sure to shoot here again!  Lovely!

NEWS: Talke Photography + Getty Images!

Talke Photography has just signed a contract with Getty Images.  Currently 6 photos have been chosen and possibly more to come.  As a photographer, it is a great pleasure to have your photos noticed.  This is why I have this blog Places 2 Explore!  I will soon have to delete the entires that included these photos once they have been finalized with Getty…they soon will have exclusive rights.  It is a nice addition to my portfolio!    Hopefully one day these photos will be worldwide or make it to a magazine cover!??  Nice to dream.  Any cool placements and I will keep you advised.   There are millions of photos at Getty…it is still great to be included!

Prague, Czech Republic – St. Vitus Cathedral

NIKON D300, Nikon 12-24, Topaz Adjust

Here is another shot from the Prague Castle – St. Vitus Cathedral.  After the security guard told me no more tripod usage…I had to go hand held.    I knew 5 exposures hand held in low light was not an option.   So amazingly I took normal photos and not HDR!  I could have tried a single raw filer HDR process, but since I purchased Topaz Adjust from Topaz Labs…I decided to give a try!  Topaz Adjust is very cool.  For those of you that want a one click HDR-like photo…Topaz Adjust is for you!    It is a plug-in for $49.99.   Very cool settings and you can have fun!

After your file is Topazzed (just made up a new word?)…you will be impressed.  Just go to their site for a free trial.   With this shot…I processed it in TA, then put it into Silver Efex Pro for B&W.  For some reason, I am liking B&W more as it gives a nice contrast.  The color version was nice as well!   It may not meet Ansel Adams Zone System perfectly..but the range is not bad.   Enjoy!