HDR

Photo of the Day: A Hike Up Mission Peak

I had a rare weekend day off and my wife and I decided to hike up Mission Peak in Fremont California. We got up at 5:30 in the morning to get to the peak by sunrise. It was a 2.5 mile hike straight up.  

There weren't too many great shots because the sunrise happened from behind. But I managed to get pretty low to the ground for this shot. Not bad. It was a series of five exposures on my Sony NEX-7.

Sunrise at Mission Peak, California

Photo of the Day: Red Rock Canyon at Sunset

Red Rock Canyon National Park

During the Consumer Electronics Show this year I decided to take an afternoon away from all the craziness. I rented a car and headed out to the beautiful Red Rock Canyon National Park. 

I only had my Sony NEX-7 because I didn't feel like carrying too many cameras. I got there just before sunset and snagged a series of photos using my new Sony 10-18mm wide-angle lens.

I'll try to post a few of my favorite shots over the next few days. 

Photo of the Day: Disney's Aulani Resort in Hawaii

When we arrived at the Aulani resort in Hawaii I was struck by how beautiful the lobby was. Due to a combination of both jet lag and children I woke up before sunrise and ran down to the lobby. I set up my Nikon D800 and grabbed a series of exposures.

I have been using a light weight tripod that's really not meant for the hefty Nikon D800. It's the Slik tripod that I'd been using with the much smaller Sony NEX-7. I had quite of bit of shaking to deal with even with using the timer mode.

I wanted to get these shots when no one was around. One worker was cleaning the windows and remarked that he'd never really paid much attention to how beautiful this lobby was. He said he hadn't thought about it until he noticed me taking photos. Amazing what a little perspective will do. Maybe he'll have greater appreciation for the windows he's cleaning.

Aulani: A Disney Resort in Hawaii

Photo of the Day

I passed a small field at the base of this beautiful mountain range in Fussen, Germany. It was nearly sunset and I ran down this private road with  my Sony NEX-7. This was the first trip I took where I made a point of shooting thoughtful photography. I used this trip as a bit of a photo bootcamp... learning and trying as I went along. I realize now that I should have increased my shutter speed so I wouldn't have gotten these ghosting issues. 

A field in Füssen, Germany

Photo of the Day

We stayed on a beautiful lake near Fussen, Germany in early Fall of 2012. After we arrived at the hotel I ran down to the lake and shot a few bracketed photos (3 photos with different exposures). It was mid-day so I didn't really think these would turn out. But I ended up being fairly happy with it.

This was my first real attempt at shooting with HDR in mind. There's more ghosting than I'd like, but live and learn.

The next morning I regrouped and snapped a series of photos in the early morning hours as the sun was coming up. I'll share those a bit later. 

Füssen, Germany

Photo of the Day

In my quest to capture some Fall colors I wandered up to a local resort called Woodloch. I don't think anyone saw me trespassing on their grounds. It just started to rain so I set up quickly on a tripod and fired off three exposures of the most interesting angle of the lake.

oodloch Resort