Tokyo, Japan – Tokyo Tower HDR Fisheye

Aug22

Fisheye lenses rock! I don’t get to take enough fisheye shots…but when I do…I love em! Enjoy this cool view of the Tokyo Tower Fisheye-style!

Riverside, CA – Mission Inn (HDR)

Mar22

From Riverside, CA…one of the most beautiful classic hotels….the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa. A hotel filled with old world charm. This was my first visit. A lovely place to see if you are in the area. The photo above is a fisheye of the amazing rotunda. Probably the most photographed location at the hotel.

Some history from the web: From its modest beginnings as a 12-room adobe boarding house to its current stature as one of the finest hotels in the United States providing a total of 238 rooms and suites, The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa has been the cornerstone of Downtown Riverside since 1876.

By the 1890’s, Riverside was the richest city per capita in the United States. The consistent influx of tourists to Riverside made Frank Miller, the Master of the Inn, recognize the dire need for a grand resort hotel. And so, the evolution of The Mission Inn began. Frank Miller opened the first wing of his new hotel in 1903. The Mission Wing was built in Mission-Revival style architecture and incorporated different structural elements of the 21 California Missions. Mr. Miller went onto add three more wings to his hotel: the Cloister, the Spanish, and finally completed it with the Rotunda wing in 1931.

Peter Talke Photography Settings:

Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: Nikon 10.5mm Fisheye
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 10.5 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: HDR 7 Exposures (+3 to -3)
Aperture: f/8
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS6, HDR Efex Pro, OnOne Software Photo Tools 2.6

Anaheim, California – The Rinks (HDR)

Oct5

I have been working on my HDR backgrounds and found a super cool spot near where I live….it is called The Rinks. I went to scout it one day after seeing picture online and walked in and loved the wood roof!!! Perfect for HDR. I went back one morning at 4:30 AM and shot it before an Ice Dancers practice. Yes, the Ice Dancers had practice at 4:30 AM….now that is commitment!! The shot above was from the center of the rink…fisheye style!! (Sorry not Gangham Style) The curve of the roof in fisheye was cool!! I always like any sports arena in fisheye!

I just posted an HDR Composite using the upcoming release of the standard HDR from here…this shot is of Ana from the Lady Ducks. Ana was amazing posing for this shot! Thanks Ana!!

As for my HDR Backgrounds…for those that may not know…I have been selling my HDR’s as digital downloads on my site Talke Photography for a few months now. These can be used for portrait backgrounds. Also very soon Denny Mfg. will be selling my HDR backgrounds as well!! The backgrounds at Denny Mfg. can be digitally downloaded or made into a backdrop! Since not all the backgrounds can be made into backdrops, the balance of my HDR’s will be sold on my site! Both locations have exclusive HDR backgrounds.

Where to buy Peter Talke Photography HDR Backgrounds –
1. Talke Photography – digital download only
2. Denny Mfg. – digital download and option to buy as a backdrop (Coming soon)

As soon as they are released as Denny Mfg…I will let you know. Should be within the next week or so! This is what the web page will look like…

Hopefully it is not too confusing. My HDR Backgrounds are for sale right now on Talke Photography!!! I’ll put one more write up again when they are released at Denny Mfg.!!! Thanks!

Sports Room in HDR

Sep18

I was looking thru some old pics and found an HDR fisheye pic of my old sports room! This was from a few years back…my man cave in all its glory! If any of you have been reading my blog for the past years…I am a big Pittsburgh sports fan…Steelers, Pirates and Penguins! Basketball…Celtics all the way! Unfortunately, its all packed away now. Up on top of the walls you can see all my original Sports Illustrated covers…kept since 1978! Fat Heads, autographed stuff all over, posters, cards, hats from each visit to the Burgh, hey even for video game fans..my original Intellivision, Atari and Nintendo…all working!! Hey even check out the VCR! Classic!!

Paris, France – Eiffel Tower (HDR)

Aug31

It has been a while since my last post of an Eiffel Tower pic…so I decided to bust one out today! A fisheye view of the tower. Its holiday weekend here in the US. Have a great long weekend!!!

Peter Talke Photography Settings:
Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: Nikon 10.5mm Fisheye
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 10.5 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: HDR 5 Exposures (+2 to -2)
Aperture: f/2.8
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS6, HDR Efex Pro 2, OnOne Software Photo Tools 2.6

Cleveland, Ohio – Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (HDR)

Jul9

From downtown Cleveland here is the RRHOF in a fisheye view! I’ll admit, I have not used my fisheye lens in a long while! I need to dust it off and bust it out soon! On this day the RRHOF was closed when I arrived to shoot it…unfortunately, I have never been inside. Hopefully one day!

On the HDR I used the new HDR Efex Pro 2 to process it. My first usage of the new software. Looks great! Once I get a feel for it…I’ll give you more feedback.

Talke Photography Settings:

Lens: Nikon 10.5mm Fisheye
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 10.5 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: HDR 5 Exposures (+2 to -2)
Aperture: f/2.8
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS6, HDR Efex Pro 2, OnOne Software Photo Tools 2.6

Vienna, Austria – St. Peter’s (HDR)

Apr26

One of my favorite cities in the world…Vienna. While walking around in previous visits I had taken outside shots of St. Peter’s a few times and had never gone inside. So this day I walked inside… in the middle of a sermon…you can see I was amazed at how stunningly beautiful this church was!! I had to take a photo!! The attendant gave me a scowl as I took out my camera and tripod. But St. Peter must have sent him a message from above as my name is Peter and he allowed me to take a few photographs. LOL Well at least that is my thinking. I showed the attendant a few of my wide angle shots on the back of my camera and he was hopefully impressed. I then took out my fisheye lens and quietly told him…just a few more. He nodded and I took this shot! Sweet. I thanked him and left. Churches are meant for HDR…and especially fisheye HDR! Thanks St. Peter!

Talke Photography Settings:

Lens: Nikon 10.5mm Fisheye
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 10.5 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: HDR 7 Exposures (+3 to -3)
Aperture: f/11
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS5, HDR Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, OnOne Software Photo Tools 2.6

San Francisco, CA – Street Car (HDR)

Mar3

From the lovely city of San Francisco, CA – this was taken one early morning at Fisherman’s Wharf. It was parked and empty in front of the CVS Store. The driver must have ran into CVS and grabbed a coffee…it is public transportation, the door was open and I decided to go in and take these HDR’s. A few minutes later the driver came back and jumped when she saw me! I guess she had no idea I would be in the car. I felt bad and apologized, she said it was ok and let me continue taking photographs. All for the love of photography! This one is done in Fisheye! Enjoy!

Denver, Colorado – Colorado State Capitol Building (HDR)

May30

If you are in downtown Denver you can find the Colorado State Capitol. I had never been until this day and knew that inside you can find a cool dome view. My thoughts were with any circular view is to try a fisheye! I have had experience with my local dome in Austin, TX…and knew it would work just right! Getting the right angle was they key. I stopped in this day for a quick 10 minutes and then had to catch my flight…so time was limited. I dodged a classroom of kids and people walking down the stairs to attend another session…and luckily grabbed this photo! Enjoy!

Talke Photography Settings:
Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: Nikon 10.5 Fisheye f/2.8
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 10.5 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: HDR 7 exposures (+3 to -3)
Aperture: f/11.0
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS5, Color Efex Pro, HDR Efex Pro, Photo Tools 2.6

Foothill Ranch, CA – Inside Oakley Headquarters (HDR)

Feb7

Per my post the past week, this is the awesome inside of Oakley Headquarters! Super cool!! Great architectural design! I love the Thunder Dome look! Not only is the Oakley Headquarters great on the outside, but fantastic on the inside! I posted issues taking pics here on my last post….since then Oakley was kind enough to apologize and asked me to contact them for a shoot on my next visit. Thanks guys! I would truly enjoy having a little time here after/before hours to get some great shots! I have a few cool ideas. As we all know..30 minutes to photograph a location is definitely not enough time.

This would be one cool office to work at! I loved seeing all the folks leaving this Friday nite with skateboards, motocylce helmets, etc… A nice relaxed place to be at. No wonder they excel at whatever products they produce. The people there live what they sell. I’ll be back in the OC again soon…hope I can get back here and grab some additional photos! It is in the heart of the OC…just look for El Toro Road…it is about 5 minutes from the 405.

Some info from the web site…Oakley: t’s a place of reinforced blast walls, product torture chambers and the padded cells of mad science. Oakley’s design bunker is where inventions are conceived, developed, perfected and manufactured. In addition to the hidden catacombs of research labs and proving grounds, the architectural design of Oakley President Colin Baden includes a 400-seat amphitheater – and absolutely no adult supervision.

Talke Photography Settings: