Heidelberg, Germany (HDR)

From the lovely little city of Heidelberg, Germany. A place made for photography. Heidelberg Castles is nestled in the hills overlooking the River Neckar. The day I visited we only had 3 hours in the city….I really hope to get back there one day and spent a nite or two. It is one of the few German cities that make you feel you have gone back in time. Sorry for the now added watermark. They will now be on all pics from now on. I’ll try to keep them low profile.

Talke Photography Settings:
Lens: Nikon 12-24 f/4.0
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 22.0 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: HDR 5 Exposures (+2 to -2)
Aperture: f/22
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS5, HDR Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, OnOne Software Photo Tools 2.6

onOne Software Perfect Photo Suite 6….Scott Thomas!!

Congrats Scott!!! Scott has won the onOne Perfect Photo Suite 6 software!! Thanks again to Brian Matiash at onOne Software for the opportunity to have this giveaway! Also thanks to all that have entered the contest! I hope to have another giveaway soon! Have a great weekend!

San Francisco, CA – Alcatraz (HDR)

I have been watching the new show called Alcatraz. Cool show. I heard today that ever since the show started, tourists think there is a special “bat cave” room under the jail and have been wandering off the tours in search of it. No such room is there. Any prison is a great place for HDR. This one has tons of tourists so people dodging is the biggest issue.

Talke Photography Settings:
Lens: Nikon 12-24 f/4.0
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 12.0 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: HDR 7 Exposures (+3 to -3)
Aperture: f/8
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS5, HDR Efex Pro, Coloro Efex Pro, OnOne Software Photo Tools 2.6

COMPOSITE BACKGROUNDS now available for sale!

EVOLVE YOUR IMAGERY! Talke Photography is proud to announce many of my HDR’s are now available to utilize as backgrounds for compositing! Special packages are available! Check my website for more details. Composite Backgrounds by Talke Photography

Basketball HDR Composite

Just like HDR’s for landscape photography…HDR Compositing in portraiture is growing! I am still a beginner and do not have all the gear the pro’s have, but make the best of what I have. The Pro’s use a pair of grid soft boxes on each side and a large octabank above the camera with super strobes. For my shots…I all used were 2 Nikon SB-700′s and 2 Westcott shoot thru white umbrellas on each side. I recently had a chance to meet and talk to the master of this style Joel Grimes and he liked my style and said that the harsh light for these composites is not nec on every shot. Compositing is art and you create it however you like! Wonderful guy! One day soon I will have the proper gear…I am getting close!

I am just about to announce a new product for sale…my next post will be the formal post…but if you are reading this today…you can get a first look…On Thursday, Jan 26th I will make available many of my HDR’s for sale as HDR Composite Backgrounds. Prices are 10 HDR’s for $99 and 15 HDR’s for $149!! For the full digital files! All purchasers must agree to my terms and then they can download the files from my site. You can take a look here…Talke Photography HDR Composite Backgrounds

For this shot of Logan I used on of my Warehouse backgrounds. Enjoy!!!

Giveaway – onOne Software – Perfect Photo Suite 6!!! ($300 Value)

Thanks to Brian Matiash at onOne Software I have a copy of the full Perfect Photo Suite 6 (Mac/Windows) to give out next week!! Perfect Photo Suite is my favorite post processing software!! Included in the suite is….

Just click either picture to read more details from onOne! For a chance to win you need to do three things:

1. Click on either photo and read more about the wonderful onOne products
2. Go to my Facebook page and “Like” Talke Photography (if you have not already)
3. Under the post on Facebook for the giveaway tell me what part of Photo Suite 6 you are most eager to use!

That is it! I will pick the random winner next Friday! Good luck!!!

San Francisco, CA – Golden Gate Bridge

From San Francisco, CA one of the top iconic photo locations in the world…the Golden Gate Bridge. What would be the top photographed well known structures in the world? Eiffel Tower, Golden Gate Bridge, Times Square? Hmmm…what else would be on the list?

I have a great give-away tomorrow on Places 2 Explore!! Come back tomorrow to check it out!!!! Have fun!

Dublin, TX – Dr. Pepper Bottling Company – shuts down

Always sad when you hear about businesses closing. Thanks to Scott Thomas, he gave me a heads up on a note via my previous blog post from Dublin…unfortunately, the Dublin Dr. Pepper Bottling Company is no longer selling Dr. Pepper that uses pure cane sugar they way it was originally manufactured since 1891.

What happened: Dublin Dr. Pepper was sued by Dr. Pepper Snapple Group for allegedly selling the Dublin Dr. Pepper outside its six-county distribution area via its website and toll-free phone number. The suit asked that Dublin cease using the Dr. Pepper name and trademark in addition to halting outside sales. As part of the agreement, the Dublin Dr. Pepper Bottling Co. will change its name to the Dublin Bottling Works and will no longer produce the cane sugar-sweetened Dr Pepper, though it will continue to bottle other sodas including Nu Grape, XXX Root Beer and Big Red. It will also continue to operate Old Doc’s Soda Shop and museum in Dublin, a town of about 3,700 residents roughly 74 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

Poor Dublin was just trying to make some extra money and the big guys did not like it. I am glad to say I visited this location and I am a Dr. Pepper fan. The Pure Cane Sugar Dr. Peppers were great! Sweet and tasty in a cold bottle! I just had one in my fridge last week! At least they are still open for business, just loose the DP name. Sorry to hear the news Dublin! Good bye Dr. Pepper, Texas.

Crayon Fun

Had a little fun in the studio recently. I have always wanted to shoot crayons and create art with them, not using them. I have another shot idea with the crayons on a black background…look for it soon!

Talke Photography Settings:
Lens: Nikon 50mm f/1.4
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 50.0 mm
ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/125
Aperture: f/16
Gear: Hand Held
Post Process: Adobe CS5, Color Efex Pro, OnOne Software Photo Tools 2.6

Farming in Infrared

IR Farm Equipment? Why not? I was cruising by this farm one day in upstate New York and pulled over on the side of the road and grabbed this shot. Not sure how it would turn out? Looks cool in IR! Roadside shots are always a fun part of being a photographer. How many great shots have you taken just by pulling over? Once you have the “photographers eye”…as you travel anywhere (car, plane, train)…how many times have you said to yourself, “That would be a great photo!” If you have your camera with you…pull over and take that shot! You will be happy you did!