New Orleans, LA – St. Louis Cathedral (HDR)

Jan29

From the lovely and jazzy downtown of New Orleans, LA…you can find the iconic church…St. Louis Cathedral. It is always busy…I had to clone a few people lout in this shot. Worth the visit…beautiful to see inside and out!

Cologne, Germany – Cologne Cathedral (HDR)

Oct27

From Cologne…in my opinion, one of the best cities in Germany, this is the amazing Cologne Cathedral. Hard not to miss it when arriving into city…especially via the train. It is probably the most photographed church in all of Germany! Just be quick with your tripod! I snapped off 5 brackets and was told to take it down as I did not have proper approval. Knowing this was a possible outcome…I packed my gorillapod and attached it to the back of the pews and took this HDR. Gave it the grunge look thanks to onOne Software Photo Tools…one of my favorite filter’s “Brian’s TKO”. Thanks to Brian Matiash at onOne!

Don’t forget Perfect Photo Suite 7 is due out soon! I am testing the beta right now!

Frankfurt, Germany – Frankfurt Cathedral (HDR)

Jul13

From downtown Frankfurt, Germany while walking around downtown…I stumbled across Frankfurt Cathedral. Quite impressive and many visitors! Some info from the web…

Frankfurt Cathedral is the main church of Frankfurt and was constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries on the foundation of an earlier church from the Merovingian time. From 1356 onwards, emperors of the Holy Roman Empire were elected in this collegiate church as kings in Germany, and from 1562 to 1792, emperors-elect were crowned here. The imperial elections were held in the Wahlkapelle, a chapel on the south side of the choir (Hochchor) built for this purpose in 1425 (See the Plan to the right) and the anointing and crowning of the emperors-elect as kings in Germany took place before the central altar–believed to enshrine part of the head of St. Bartholomew–in the crossing of the church, at the entrance to the choir (See the Plan to the right).
It has been recognized as symbol for the national unity of Germany, especially during the 19th century. Although it has never been a bishop’s seat, its was it was the largest church in Frankfurt and its role in imperial politics made the church one of the most important buildings of Imperial history and justified the use of the term (imperial) cathedral for the church since the 18th century.

Between October 1943 and March 1944 the old town of Frankfurt, the biggest old Gothic town of Central Europe was destroyed by six bombardments of the Allied Forces. The physical devastation of the old imperial town was intended to reduce public support for the war. The greatest losses occurred on the 22nd of March 1944. Over one thousand buildings of the old town, the most of them being half-timbered houses were destroyed. The cathedral suffered severe damage and the interior was burned out completely. The cathedral was reconstructed in the 1950s.

Talke Photography Settings:

Camera: Nikon D300
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/11
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS6, HDR Efex Pro 2,OnOne Software Photo Tools 2.6

Köln, Germany – Köln Cathedral

May21

If you ever decide to visit Germany….try to make it to Köln (Cologne). I love this city. They usually have some exhibition going on…so book your hotels early!! The key place to visit is the Köln Cathedral. Not only inside, but outside and across the train bridge. This is the view from across the bridge. A quick 10 minute walk and there are many spots to set up a tripod for this shot. I was here for a very cold 2 hours. I took tons of pics. I always try something different if I can..so I added the angle. Kinda cool! Enjoy!

Talke Photography Settings:

Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: Nikon 18-200 f/3.5-5.6
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 70.0 mm
ISO: 100
Exposure: 30 seconds
Aperture: f/11.0
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS5, Color Efex Pro, Photo Tools 2.6

Köln, Germany – Sunset (HDR)

Mar14

While in Köln last winter…my goal after work was to head out to this vantage point overlooking the railway bridge with Köln Cathedral in the background. It has got to be on of the best shots to take in the city. It was in February…and a bit chilly this nite. I was here for about 2hours taking shots waiting for the blue hour. I have posted a shot at that time before. This was my sunset shot in HDR. I always love pink skies…the lighting is always magical! Germany has so many great cities…this is one of the top 5 for sure to visit!

Talke Photography Settings:

Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: Nikon 12-24 f/4.0
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 24.0 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: HDR 5 Exposures (+2 to -2)
Aperture: f/22
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS5, Color Efex Pro, HDR Efex Pro, Photo Tools 2.6

Santa Fe, New Mexico – Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis (Infrared)

Dec30

From the lovely town of Santa Fe, New Mexico…the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis in Infrared. A quick post today…Have a Happy New Year celebration!! Be safe! Cheers! May 2011 be wonderful for you and your family!!

Talke Photography Settings:

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: 22.0mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: 1/90 sec
Aperture: f/13
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS4, Viveza, Color Efex Pro

Santa Fe, New Mexico – St. Francis Cathedral (HDR)

Dec25

A Merry Christmas to everyone from Places 2 Explore! Best wishes to you and your family!! Enjoy the holidays!!

Austin, Texas – Cathedral of St. Mary (HDR)

Jun24

Here is a cute little Cathedral in midst of downtown Austin. It is just a few blocks form the Capitol Building. A great spot to stop by and grab a few shots while on a photo walk!

Info from the web: Saint Mary’s Cathedral is the seat of the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin, Texas in the United States. The origins of this church date back to the 1850s, when the Catholic community in Austin, Texas (then the new state’s temporary capital with a population of around 600) built a small stone church named St. Patrick’s on the corner of 9th and Brazos streets. In 1866 the church was renamed Saint Mary’s, and the parish decided they needed a new church and could afford masonry construction. In 1872, after Austin was made the permanent capital of the state, the parish laid the cornerstone for a new church, choosing a location one block north of the original building.

The parish had laid out a basilica-shaped foundation and begun raising the walls, which were five feet high when the architect Nicholas J. Clayton began to design their new church. Eventually to become the foremost Victorian architect in Texas, Clayton had never designed a church and Saint Mary’s was his first independent commission. Born in Ireland in 1840, Clayton learned masonry and building design in Cincinnati, and came to Galveston in 1872 on behalf of his Ohio firm. At the time, Austin was part of the Diocese of Galveston, and it may have been through the Holy Cross fathers that the bishop connected Nicholas Clayton with the first Catholic parish in Austin. This church began Clayton’s long, prolific career centered in Galveston, building primarily ecclesiastical structures but also commercial buildings and homes.

Originally this parish belonged to the diocese of Galveston. When the new Diocese of Austin was formed in 1948, this became the church from which the new bishop would preside. Because the bishop is the successor to the apostles, sent to preach the gospel, his church is called a cathedral from the Latin word “cathedra”, the chair from which he presides. At that time, the church was remodeled, many of its neo-Gothic decorations were removed, and the neo-Gothic altars and altar rail were replaced with 20th century marble and the baldachino with its cactus and bluebonnets, evocative of central Texas. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on April 2, 1973.

Talke Photography Settings:

Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: Nikon 12-24 f/4.0
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 20.0mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: HDR 5 exposures (+2 to -2)
Aperture: f/4
Gear: Tripod, Cable Release
Post Process: Adobe CS4, Photomatix, Viveza

Nürnberg, Germany – St. Lorenz Cathedral (HDR)

Mar18

I just returned form Germany. It was quite cold and snowy! I visited many cities and had a chance to stop by one of my favorite places in Germany…Nürnberg. A cute little city north of Munich and east of Frankfurt. Temperatures last week were about 20-35 degrees. A bit chilly! When I arrived in Nürnberg late one afternoon, I had about an hour before my main target St. Lorenz Cathedral closed for the day. I got there and had about 45 minutes to shoot. You walk in this amazing church and your jaw drops! I set up my tripod and shot away! About 20 minutes later the guard came up to me and said it was ok for me to shoot with a tripod! WOW!!

I set up all over the place…using wide angle and my fisheye. It is such a large Cathedral…this shot above is just the back end section!!! I have many many great HDR’s from here. I’ll post a few more over the next few months. The Cathedral closed at 6 PM and I walked outside to the beautiful little streets filled with shops in every direction. As I walked an looked for my next location…a tremendous snow squall fell upon the city! It was snowing so hard, I could barely see. The flakes were enormous! In a matter of minutes of walking down the street, I was covered in white!! I walked up to a Christmas/Souvenir Store and warmed up inside waiting for the snow to pass. 20 minutes later the snow was gone and I went out to shoot some more. A fun evening of photos in Nürnberg!

Talke Photography Settings:

Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: Nikon 10.5 Fisheye f/2.8
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 10.5.0mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: HDR 5 exposures (+2 to -2)
Aperture: f/11
Gear: Tripod, Cable release
Post Process: Adobe CS4, Photomatix, Viveza

San Francisco, CA – Amazing Grace (HDR)

Feb13

It is photos like this that make HDR a favorite of mine. There are certain subject like interiors of Cathedrals/Churches that make HDR’s stand out. I know there are HDR nay-sayers, but how can you dislike what HDR does to a scene like this?

Grace Cathedral is a lovely small Cathedral that sits above Nob Hill in San Francisco. I had about an hour here and took quiet a few shots. This one became an instant favorite of mine! I took a few straight on fisheye’s and liked em, then this one popped out and the angle creates a wonderful feeling! What is great about this Cathedral is that I had my tripod all over the place and not one person asked me not to use it! So I snapped away! I am not sure of the history of Cathedrals, but there are quite a few I have seen that look very similar from the outside. Notre Dame, San Fernando, Grace Cathedral and I am sure many more! I’ll post this outside view soon!

Talke Photography Settings: