Huntington Beach, CA – Under the Pier (HDR)

One of SoCal’s best beaches…Huntington Beach. A great place to shop, walk on the pier, relax on the beach, check out some beach volleyball, or grab some food at Duke’s. Enjoy the view under the pier…always a great location for an HDR!

Salisbury, England – Stonehenge (HDR)

I will admit to being a big fan of the show Ancient Aliens. How these ancient cultures built these amazing structures years ago…make me wonder. Stonehenge was on my bucket list and I had to visit it. After seeing it…nothing special. I imagine years ago it was cool to visit when you could walk amongst the rocks. Now they have it roped off and you walk around in a circle to view the structure. Not much excitement. Maybe the Flintstones built it?

This B&W is thanks to my new fav B&W conversion tool…Perfect B&W by onOne Software. NIK has faded away! Download a trail if you want to try it…it is awesome!!!

HDR Composites from Firefly Nights Photography!

My HDR backgrounds have ben selling like hotcakes and one of the amazing photographer that has been using my backgrounds is Megan Drane of Firefly Nights Photography! She is an award winning portrait and commercial photographer located in Chicago. I like her style…her bio from her web site notes… “Our goal is not to provide you with pictures that will be on your desk until the next milestone, but to provide art that can stand the test of time.” Right on Megan!!

If you read my article on HDR Composites in HDR One Magazine and Inspire Magazine….being an artist is what composites are all about! We chatted via email and she noted she was looking for something new to offer her clients and HDR Composites have been giving her business rave reviews!! If you are in the Chicago area…please give Megan a call! Visit her site and blog from this link….Firefly Nights Photography …and check out her stunning photos!

Here are two HDR Composites using my swimming HDR backgrounds…fantastic work Megan!!!

Laguna Beach, CA (HDR)

I posted a similar photo in infrared a few weeks back. I liked the location so much I decided to shoot it in HDR as well. Now all HDR artists know well…HDR + mid afternoon = blah. How did I help out the blahs? I shot this HDR with ND Filter. In day light with a hint of clouds I anted to maximize my exposure times. The ND filter helped out this mid day HDR tremendously. They say not to HDR in mid-day…I say why not!

Peter Talke Photography Settings:

Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: Nikon 12-24 f/4.0
Setting: Manual Mode
Filter: B&W ND #106 1.8-64X
Focal Length: 18.0mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: HDR 5 Exposures (+2 to -2)
Aperture: f/8
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS6, NIK Color Efex Pro 3, NIK HDR Efex

AMA Supercross – Ryan Villopoto

From a race earlier this season in Anaheim…this is Ryan Villopoto. If you have read Places 2 Explore for a while…you know that I am a big Supercross/Motocross fan. I try to go to at least one race a year. Photography and SX/MX are meant for each other. I’ll give Ran Villopoto his due…not my favorite rider (that’s Dungey) …but he is tough to beat this year. Looks like another SX title in 2013 with only 2 races 2 go. Kudos RV2!

Stanford Memorial Church (HDR)

South of San Francisco, CA you can find a gem of a University…Stanford. It is a great place to photograph in HDR. The top place to at the university to photograph is the Memorial Church. The photo above is the view looking at the back end of the church….not many churches have back views that are amazing. If you are in the area….def stop by for a few pics!!

Wildcats Team Poster – Composite

This recent composite is one of my favs…it is my daughters softball team. It is our first season of softball. Def a fantastic sport for girls. We have a great team and coaches. While watching the games every weekend I had recent thought about a “Team Poster”. Once the background was complete…the fun part was to get the photo session complete in mid-season. This past Saturday I brought all my gear (I’ll post the list below) and set up a white backdrop clamped onto the backstop. I do not use green screen. It can cause a green hue for composites. I had an hour to photograph all the players as they warmed up before the game. We got it in and I processed for about 3 hours Sunday AM to complete the poster. Now its time to order some prints or vinyl banners!!! I really enjoy doing these posters….hopefully I will have a chance to photograph more teams in the future! Such a great keepsake!

Gear List:
Nikon D300
Nikon 70-200 f/2.8
Denny Mfg Freedom Cloth – White backdrop
2 – clamps (purchased at Home Depot)
Paul C Buff – Einstein 640W Strobe
Paul C Buff 36″ Octa
Paul C Buff Vanguard Mini Battery Pack
Manfrotto Stand

I used the Octa straight on to the subjects…I had the camera lower and slightly to the left. The Einstein are amazing lights…so much power! Beautiful even light! I am ready to give up on my hot shoe flashes!!

Pasadena, CA – Billy’s Dugout Bar (HDR)

Pasadena, CA is a perfect SoCal location for HDR. Lots of alleys and grungy areas in Old Town. This was probably a happening place one day? Billy’s Dugout Old Town. Could it have been the Cheers of Pasadena…only the old customers know the story. Looks like the Dugout…struck out. Wonder what it looks like inside? Now that might be a cool HDR!?

California Adventure

We live about 20 mins from Disneyland and as soon as we moved here…we picked up Season Passes to Disney. This includes CA Adventure. I have yet to get there and HDR the park. I will soon. I have to pick a nite and go later when the crowds are lower. Maybe next week? I really enjoy Cars Land and this section of CA Adventure where the Wold of Color is held. Look for some cool photos soon! Technology is great…you can download an app that gives you estimated wait times. My favorite is “DL Maps” …its free!

Old School HDR

From Lake Forest located in Orange County, CA you can find Heritage Hill Historical Park. A quaint location that will give you a glimpse back in time. I visited to see the old schoolhouse. Not sure of how old it is…but Im guessing early 1900’s 3rd grade class. I saw a picture online that this old classroom was all wood. The HDR artist in me wanted to catch a few brackets. I was lucky this day and walked in after a tour and was able to grab a few shots. I think you may have to be on a tour to have the doors open. Ms. Crabtree may have been the teacher? Have fun!