Laguna Beach, CA – Lifeguard Tower (HDR)

I took a cruise to Laguna on Thursday nite to grab a few HDR’s and walked around downtown and headed back to my car after sunset. At Main Beach you can find a basketball court, volleyball courts, a cute little wood (boardwalk style) pathway, beautiful beach, restaurants, shops, hotels….you name it is there! Blue hour was happening during my walk back and I took this shot. Laguna rocks!

Peter Talke Photography Settings:
Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: Nikon 12-14 f/4.0
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 12.0 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: HDR 5 Exposures (+2 to -2)
Aperture: f/8
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS6, OnOne Software Photo Tools 2.6

Santa Barbara, CA – Coastline (Infrared)

We took a quick trip up to Santa Barbara to enjoy time off during the holidays. It was my first visit. We arrived and wanted to see the Mission. The outside was under construction and lots o people were there. As I asked for ticket prices…they told me no tripods allowed. Blah! So next time…gorilla pod! We stayed at a hotel right next to the beach. About 1/2 mile from the wharf. Nice! The weather was wonderful and we awoke this morning to catch some early AM HDR’s. As the sun rose…HDR time was complete. Now it was time to shoot in Infrared! The beach is lined with stoic palm trees. Just an amazing sight! I snapped bunches of pics while walking back…this one is a small snippet of the palm trees. Enjoy the view!

PeterTalke Photography Settings:

Camera: Nikon D70S (Converted to Infrared)
Infrared Conversion: D70S modified by LifePixel
Lens: Nikon 18-200 f/3.6-5.6
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 22.0 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: 1/180 second
Aperture: f/9.5
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS6, onOne Software Photo Tools 2.6, Nik Silver Efex pro

Newport Beach, CA – Balboa Pier (HDR)

Life is a beach! Balboa Island is a great place to relax and forget the hustle and bustle of the world…sit on the cool sand, listen to the waves crashing the shoreline and catch a beautiful sunset! I’ll be here Friday nite…a nice way to start a weekend!

Newport Beach, CA – Pier (HDR)

Just down the road from me in SoCal is the awesome Newport Beach! Here is an early morning pier shot in HDR. Enjoy your weekend and the view! =)

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

Laguna Beach, CA – Victoria Beach (HDR)

Laguna Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in SoCal. One place I had never been until recently was Victoria Beach. Park on PCH, walk through a few streets, down some steps and walk over some tricky rocks and you have arrived! It is a private public beach. The main attraction is the tower that was built in 1926. It was designed to provide spiraling stairs down from the cliffs above. The design is a Victorian Lighthouse. A very cool spot, but be careful walking up with your gear. Waves were crashing up on the rocks….luckily not too large this day.

As for the photo…not something I do very often…shoot an HDR in extreme sunlight. For this reason I used a B&W Filter – Neutral Density #106 1.8-64X. It helps with longer exposures.

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: 20.0mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: HDR 5 Exposures (+2 to -2)
Aperture: f/20
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS5, Color Efex Pro, HDR Efex Pro

Laguna Beach, CA – Infrared

What is a photog to do in SoCal when it is sunny most of the time? Shoot in Infrared. This shot is from Laguna Beach. A short walk from the Montage Spa & Hotel overlooking the Pacific Ocean. You can see a small part of it in the pic. This is my favorite spot in all of SoCal. You can find some seats that overlook the sea along the walking path and if you are here at sunset…stunning views! On this day about 1 mile out from the coast I could see a whale pop out of the ocean! How cool is that! If you are even in SoCal…Laguna has lots to offer!

San Clemente, CA – Pier (HDR)

While shooting our XMas card in San Clemente at the Pier, we finished early and I took a few HDR’s of the pier at sunset. I’m thinking of making a run of SoCal pier shots over the next year or so and possibly making a photo e-book? I’m a big fan of piers in HDR’s. Might make a cool coffee table book in my studio one day??

This shot above was a different angle and a “Photoshop Action” to give it the tone. I have learned to enjoy actions. If you use NIK or onOne…relatively about the same output…but there are so many more actions out there! Google “Photoshop Actions”…you can buy some cool ones and find some for free!

Peter Talke Photography Settings:
Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: Nikon 12-24 f/4.0
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 22.0 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: HDR 7 Exposures (+3 to -3)
Aperture: f/22
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS6, HDR Efex Pro, Photoshop Action

San Clemente, CA – Pier (HDR)

One more pic from my new favorite beach spot in SoCal…San Clemente. This shot was taken while in midst of my family session. Kudos for the good eye Dan! Dan asked if I could snap this shot of the seagulls under the pier. I did and after processing…a favorite!! A different view of a pier! Enjoy your weekend!!

San Clemente, CA – Pier

We spent Saturday and Sunday in San Clemente at the Pier shooting some sessions and this was my first visit! Such a cute little beach area! I did not bring my gear for HDR’s or IR. But will plan to visit in the next week or so to get some sunset shots!! The photo above is just hand held standard photo with a texture added. A beautiful day in SoCal!! Look for more pics from here soon! Enjoy!