Monthly Archives: December 2011

Welcome to the Show! (an HDR Montage)


Hope you are all having a great holiday season! Here is a video of many of my HDR shots from the past. I will be be shutting down for the next week…. will be back on January 3rd! Have a Happy New Year!!!! Thanks for visiting Places 2 Explore!! Cheers!!
Music in the Video: Saliva – Ladies & Gentlemen

Orlando, FL – Kennedy Space Center – Rock It! (HDR)


If you are ever in Orlando, FL for vacation one great site to see is the Kennedy Space Center. I have been there a few times and love taking the tour. The shot above is from the Apollo/Saturn V Center. Awe inspiring place to visit. The Apollo and Saturn are great subjects for HDR! Enjoy!

Innsbruck, Austria – Blue Hour Downtown (HDR)


Innsbruck, Austria is a beautiful city surrounded by picturesque mountains. Very stunning and a super place to visit! I can see why they had the 1976 Winter Olympics here. I arrived one late afternoon and walked around the downtown area at nite. As you can see not many shops were open and it was quiet. A great time to take pics! The blue hour gives it a cool feel! I love the one train track that just stops and ends abruptly on the street. Cheers!

Talke Photography Settings
Lens: Nikon 12-24 f/4.0
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 24.0 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: HDR 7 Exposures (+3 to -3)
Aperture: f/11
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS5, HDR Efex Pro, Coloro Efex Pro, OnOne Software Photo Tools 2.6

White Sands, NM – Infrared


One of the coolest spots in the US is White Sands in New Mexico. For those that have been there…it is other worldly. White dunes in the middle of nowhere. Kinda cool and kinda strange! With this in mind I add a planet and made the IR shot outta this world! Enjoy!

Camera: Nikon D70S (Converted to Infrared)
Infrared Conversion: D70S modified by LifePixel
Lens: Nikon 18-200 f/3.5-5.6
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 20.0mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: 1/500 sec
Aperture: f/13
Gear: Hand Held
Post Process: Adobe CS5, onOne Software Photo Tools 2.6, Nik Color Efex pro

Yosemite National Park


One of my favorite places in the US…Yosemite. I would enjoy taking a vacation there for a week in the future just to explore the whole park! The day before a 10 inch snowfall arrived at the park. There is a lodge in the middle of the park…expensive, but how awesome would that be to stay there and wake up everyday knowing that this amazing place is right at your footsteps! Anyone ever stayed in the park? I’d love to hear your stories!

Brussels, Belgium – Speciaal Bier!! (HDR)


It is the weekend!!! Who is up for a beer…how about a speciaal bier?? When walking around the Grand Place in Brussels one afternoon I walked into a liquor store to check it out. So many options…check out the sizes of those bad boys!! European beer rocks! For those that have been around Europe, what is your favorite beer? Pub in London, local German beer, French Beer?? Hmmmm. I must say in my opinion, Czech Beer is pretty awesome! In a town called Bad Kreuznach in Germany, this one local beer I had was tough to beat as well! Now I was told once, that the meaning of “Bad” in front of a city name in Germany stands for “Bath or Spa”. A natural spring may be in the city…this natural water may lead to better tasting beer??? Enjoy the weekend! Cheers!!

Talke Photography Settings:
Lens: Nikon 12-14 f/4.0
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 18.0 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: HDR 5 Exposures (+2 to -2)
Aperture: f/4
Gear: Hand Held
Post Process: Adobe CS5, HDR Efex Pro, Coloro Efex Pro, OnOne Software Photo Tools 2.6

Georgetown Eagles – Composite (HDR)


Finally finished my composite for the Georgetown Basketball Varsity team! This should be the center photo for their media guide! 14 players (each individually shot) + HDR of the Oakley Building + an HDR of the Georgetown Basketball Court + Nik Software + onOne’s Photo Tools 2.6: my fav filter “Brian’s TKO” made by Brian Matiash & a few late nite hours processing = a fun shot!!! A real challenge…not perfect, but with 14 players…hopefully not too bad! Good luck this season Eagles! Enjoy the shot! To all the HDR photogs out there…see your HDR’s can be utilized in other shots! If you are interested in any of my HDR’s for digital usage…please feel free to contact me at any time!

All Aboard to Hogwarts! (HDR)


I did enjoy the Harry Potter movies/books…although some were very slow. The last movie was fantastic! I give J.K. Rowling credit…Hogwarts is a great idea. Can you imagine catching a train there? Would be an adventure! I have taken a few old train shots and wanted to make this one seem like it came from a Harry Potter movie. It was fun creating…about 6 textures (including one with smoke) + oneOne’s Photo Tools + Nik…basically used all I have! I whipped up a bit of Photoshop Wizardry. You can find this train in downtown Orlando. Enjoy!