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Travel Photography

Thanks to all who visit my Travel Photography. Feel free to leave comments. They are well appreciated. Any questions on how I do my HDR shots, leave a comment!
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"Big Wheel Keep On Turning"-Traveling through West Virginia, enroute to Blackwater Falls, I saw this interesting contraption on the side of the road and just had to stop and take a picture of it. The sun was shining through the trees and I looked for an angle that would let the light shine through.
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"Big Wheel Keep On Turning"-Traveling through West Virginia, enroute to Blackwater Falls, I saw this interesting contraption on the side of the road and just had to stop and take a picture of it. The sun was shining through the trees and I looked for an angle that would let the light shine through.

sungearswheelwheel millpumpwest virgina

  • "Hanging Out To Dry, Venice"-In Venice, it’s pretty common on the back streets to see folks hanging it all out to dry; work clothes,underwear, lingerie. On a pulley system, the rope rolls it in and rolls it out. I think at home if you let your under garments hang out to dry, for all to see, you might get arrested, or at least laughed at. Makes for an interesting shot. Lacking the space, all things modern haven’t quite hit the back streets of Venice. Still one of my favorites places to go.
  • "Blue Lagoon, Revisited" -While watching the remake of “Blue Lagoon” called “The Awakening” on Lifetime, a scene caught my eye while the castaways were in a waterfall in Hawaii and I thought, “that looks familiar”. So I looked through my Maui photos from the past year and sure enough, it was filmed at Twin Falls on Maui. I had a tough time getting a shot of this beautiful spot without the crowds. A short hike up off the road to Hana, then you wade chest deep through a section of a stream before you reach the falls. I got there ahead of a crowd and as I was shooting I ask them all if I could have a minute to shoot before they got in the water ahead of me. Surprisingly, they obliged and I held back about 15 people eager to get into the lagoon. This is the shot I got before all hell broke loose.<br /> <br /> I wander what it took for the film crew of “The Awakening” to hold back the crowds.
  • "Cliff Towns of Cinque Terre, Italy"-Manarola is one of the 5 cliff towns that hover over the Ligurian Sea in northern Italy’s Italian Riviera. This place is magical with it’s pastel colored buildings hanging from the vertical hills. It’s part of a National Park with hiking trails between each town. You can’t really drive in these small towns, but a train seems to stop every 20 minutes to take you to the next town. We stayed in Levanto and commuted to each town to photograph and enjoy where ancient Romans use to vacation. East of the Cinque Terre, a town called Levanto is a great place to stay with everything Italy has to offer; great restaurants ,B&B’s, beaches, shops, parks and tree-lines streets all tucked in a picturesque cove. Check it out on Google Earth.<br /> <br /> This HDR shot was a walk half-way through town. Had to move trash cans and and as usual patiently wait for tourist to finish enjoying the spot before I could shoot. Part of the job. But what better place to just hang-out enjoying the moment.
  • "Glade Creek Grist Mill"- is located in Babcock State Park in West Virgina. I had seen photos of this location for years and always wanted to go there and take a shot at it. As always timing is everything. I had check when fall foliage was at it’s peak and planned my trip. Just before leaving on any trip, I check the weather forecast. A big front was moving through with lots of rain and wind. I postponed my trip to go after the storm had passed. Got there and 40 mile an hour winds had blown 80% of the colorful autumn leaves off the trees. Who would have known. Got up early and did the best I could and I’ll be sharing those photos.
  • Moab, Utah-I Hear That Train a Comin’It’s a funny feeling hanging around tracks as an adult. You’re looking all around trying not to get caught. Don’t know if it’s legal or not to have your camera hugging a railroad tie, but it sure felt that way. To think as a child of 9 years old, chasing down a train and jumping on was something we did as kids for kicks. Let’s just say I grew up in a roudy neighborhood near Pittsburgh where getting in trouble was par for the course.<br /> <br /> Left of these tracks (east) was Arches National Park and right (west) was Canyonlands National Park. Straight ahead was Moab. Spent 3 days there on a photography trip and enjoyed the heck out of it. Spring or fall is best times to go, unless you’re into hitting the place after a snow storm. Summers are just too crowded with families on vacations.
  • Quiet Morning in Venice-Nothing like a crisp clear morning in Venenzia! Wandering around the walkways and canals, looking for a small outdoor cafe or bakery to sit and relax and enjoy the quiet. Mm.. quiet, Venice is not! How nice that would be, but the canals are typically bustling with activity, people going to work, boats bringing in supplies, kids off to school, saws and hammers pounding away. You have to dig deeper into the backstreets and corridors to find some possible quiet. It’s there somewhere, and it’s nice when you find it! For an impatient photographer looking for the next award winning shot, you don’t sit still long. Of the zillions of photographs taken of Venice, you think you’re going to get that exceptional fine art shot. One can only hope, but in the end, it’s really more about the experience of being there and enjoying the moment..and sharing!
  • "Boothbay, Maine"-As hot as it’s been, this photo of a foggy morning early in June sure felt better then the present muggy weather of Pittsburgh. I don’t look forward to the heat of Phoenix today as I travel back to Arizona to plan for our next get away adventure. Maybe the weather’s good in Hawaii?<br /> <br /> Boothbay is a quaint New England town sitting on a bay, very picturesque and a great place to go and sit on a porch in one of their B&B’s, sip a hot chocolate and dream of the lobster you’re going to enjoy that evening. Got do that again soon!
  • I Have My Eye On You! Arches National Park, Utah-Wide angle lens can be fun especially when you got time on your hands. I was having a rough time in Arches this day trying to get some “near and far” wide angle HDR landscape shots, but the wind was not cooperating. It was gusting up to 50 mph and it was all I could do to hold my tripod down. Any trees or plants upclose was pretty well distorted and messy. So I went for long shots where the trees weren’t so noticeably blurred. The clouds were moving quick and blurred at 3 HDR shots. Arches is a beautiful place for dramatic shots and you really can’t go to wrong here. My rent-a-car special added some fun to the moment.
  • "Double Arch, Utah"-Traveling in Pittsburgh at the time for July 4th week. Got back from Pismo Beach a couple of days ago and will have some nice photos to share from that trip.<br /> <br /> Arches National Park in Utah on a very windy, but sunny day. Double Arch is a short hike up to this massive arch. It’s hard to get a true picture of the shear size of this thing. I’m using a wide angle 16-35 mm Canon lens to capture it and I’m literally right up underneath of it shooting almost straight up. Great experience.
  • Row Boats at Ross Castle, Killarney, Ireland-I thought this was a colorful display of boats on the grounds at Ross castle. It was being the normal Ireland and raining, so photographing with an umbrella over your head was a necessity. I think the thing that grabs you in Ireland is how vibrant the greens are. Makes me want to go back! If it wasn’t for the stress of driving on the opposite side of the road, just maybe.
  • Lough Leane Lake-Ross Castle-Killarney Ireland sits on Lough Leane lake. “Lake of learning” as it is known has an eerie feel when clouded over as it was the day we were there. This pair of geese seem to like it just fine.
  • Aspen Grove-Picnic Anyone?-When I saw this grove, I just had to get out and walk around in the knee-deep meadow grass. Up in the mountains of Colorado National Park, you occasionally find this kind of paradise and when you do, you savor in the moment. Imagine throwing down a blanket and having a picnic in a place like this. Beautiful crisp mountain air, some fried chicken, being with someone you love, carving your name in an Aspen tree. Don’t know if that’s legal, but it sounds cool!
  • Antelope Slot Canyons, Arizona<br /> This is like entering another world. Slot canyons are on an indian reservation, so you must be escorted onto this private land by a guide who takes you through in groups. I signed up for a photography tour which for the extra money you got extra time and crowd control for the special shots. Well worth the greenbacks to have the space and time to plan your shots.<br /> <br /> If you ever go here, spend the extra money for a photography tour and bring a tripod. You’ll be dissappointed if you don’t. And a surgical mask to keep the dust out of your lungs. This shot was taken with 3 photographs at different exposures and then post-processed in Photomatix and Photoshop cs5.
  • "Big Wheel Keep On Turning"-Traveling through West Virginia, enroute to Blackwater Falls, I saw this interesting contraption on the side of the road and just had to stop and take a picture of it. The sun was shining through the trees and I looked for an angle that would let the light shine through.
  • Aspen Grove, Wyoming"-Autumn comes early in areas of Wyoming. This is a trip I took mid September and colors of fall were everywhere.<br /> <br /> I’m on the central coast of California at the moment avoiding the heat of Phoenix shooting sunsets around Pismo Beach, before possibly heading back east. Weather back there is a bit iffy so will see.
  • Spanish Architecture at Balboa Park, San Diego-On a recent trip this summer to San Diego we stayed at a B&B, just walking distance from this famous park. Everyone knows about the popularity of the San Diego Zoo which is in Balboa Park, but most people miss the beautiful architecture that surrounds the park. Since taking photos of animals is not my thing, wandering around shooting buildings and landscapes is. HDR photography works best when things don’t move, since you have to take multiple pictures and then merge them together. Otherwise you get ghosting and other problems. Usually wind gives you enough problems to deal with and HDR programs provide some latitude for this as long as it is not extreme, like it was on a recent springtime trip to Arches National Park.
  • "Oregon Coast Bridge"-Every year I make an effort to travel to Oregon to photograph the coast. Ever changing, ever beautiful. It’s a great place to just slow down and enjoy nature’s wonders. This part of Oregon’s central coast is very rocky and makes for touching compositions.
  • "Levanto, Italy"-This Italian town is a great place to stay when you’re visiting Cinque Terre National Park. My favorite cliff towns are; Rio Maggiore,Vernazza and Manarola. Everything in Levanto is within walking distance including the train station to the cliff towns. Beautiful beaches,flee markets, tree-lined streets, patio restaurants, bakeries, B&B’s, you name it, you’ll find in Levanto.<br /> <br /> This photo is close to the beach in a square. Our room is on the 3rd floor of the B&B in the background with the window open.
  • "Umauma Falls, Hawaii"-To see this falls you must enter the World Botanical Gardens on the Big Island of Hawaii. A triple falls with beautiful red cordeline plants in the foreground.<br /> <br /> This was a fun photo to take. I used a vertical pan stitching 3 photos together and then tonemapped with Photomatix to give it a touch of zip. Beautiful gardens abound on this botanical wonderland. I spent half the day photographing in the gardens.
  • "The Old Red Fire Truck"-In Arizona at Goldfields Ghost Town sits this old fire truck peacefully at rest behind the rustic western stores. It was pretty far after dusk when I tried to pull the last light out of the sky to catch this HDR. Long exposures can create some fun effects. The colors can grow to be deeper. No color was added in post. I rarely enhance color in photoshop and this one was created by adding a small amount of contrast.
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