Author Archives: Bri Duncan

Parisian Seine

Posted on November 20th, 2011 by

The Seine

On our first day in Paris, right after we dropped our things off at our wonderful AirBNB apartment, we headed down to Notre Dame. The cathedral is overwhelming and deserves its own post (probably several) but one of the first pictures I took was on the Seine. Just an average day, with the river flowing along as it always does. The river has a sort of elegance that is hard to describe. There are thousands of tourists milling about, but even with the hustle and bustle and snap of cameras, the river swallows it all up and washes it away.

HDR Photography
Parisian Seine by W. Brian Duncan

The Parisian Pyramid

Posted on November 13th, 2011 by

And So it Begins

I took 2000 photos on our recent trip to Paris. Processing those has proven to be daunting to say the least. Even with Lightroom’s wonderfully capable categorization systems and flags, I feel buried under all that I have to process. I thought I would begin (unless you count the photos I did for Pamela’s Blog Trois Canelé and Top of Notre Dame) with a simple photo outside the Louvre on one of the better days. The processing is simple, but I was pleased with the outcome.

Future Times

I am working on a new website to house all my travel photography. I am hoping to have it online by the first of the year. Having everything on this site makes it hard for me to promote any one thing. So here it to future endeavors, may they be successful!

HDR Photography
The Parisian Pyramid by W. Brian Duncan

Holy Cow!

Posted on November 4th, 2011 by

Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants

I have been traveling a bit lately; Paris, Chicago, Kansas City, Berne, Indiana. I love being on the move when the move takes me interesting places to photograph. Paris is a smorgasbord of picture taking opportunity. Everywhere you look there is something great to capture. I have been working very slowly on processing the Parisian photos…I know lots of people have been asking for a look. Not to worry, in the 2000 or so photos I took I think there are a few that I will be posting in the future.

Holy Cow!

On a recent trip to Chicago I met up with photographers Aaron Nace and Christopher Allen and had a really interesting night. Both guys are incredibly talented and a frankly quite a bit of fun to spend an evening with. We ended up at a very odd bar and in the middle of eating I turned around and noticed this guy over the door. I have to say…I think he may have summed up the whole night.

HDR Photography
Holy Cow! by W. Brian Duncan

The Trap

Posted on October 2nd, 2011 by

Wandering

As I traveled through Indiana on a recent business trip, I had the opportunity to visit several small towns. In one such place I found an old abandoned Victorian house, ravaged by the hands of time. I stopped to take some pictures of the dilapidated old estate, but what immediately caught my eye was this rusty old small animal trap positioned on the dirty and barren porch. Surely placed there long ago to capture creatures who meant to do the old structure harm given the complete absence of human presence. The trap remained open, long forgotten and innocuous to any of the creatures it was made to ensnare.

Time Marches On

Perhaps it was there to remind me of something. Perhaps it was a simple metaphor of the way time can sometimes erase our will. We forget why we set out to do one thing or the other. We just continue to do them, without a firm purpose; without effect. Like that rusted old trap on the porch of a forgotten once beautiful home, we become trapped within our own selves. Yes, that trap was there to help me to remember something I forgot long ago.

HDR Photography
The Trap by W. Brian Duncan

Oklahoma City National Memorial

Posted on September 25th, 2011 by

Road Trip

Pamela, Mike, Shawna and I went one year to a basketball game in Oklahoma City. We all piled into the car and drove to Oklahoma…making the obligatory stop at the McDonald’s over the highway (none of us actually eats at McDonald’s), and while we were in Oklahoma City we stopped at the Oklahoma City National Memorial. It is a wonderfully serene site dedicated to remembering a truly awful day in American History. I took this picture during our visit and have revisited it many years later and wanted to give this photo my time and attention. I hope it does some justice to the site.

HDR Photography
Oklahoma City National Memorial by W Brian Duncan

Sequoia National Forest

Posted on September 18th, 2011 by

Ok…I am Jaded

I admit it, most things don’t really get to me. I have been quite a few places and seen quite a few things and usually my response is…yep, that was neat…where are we having dinner? There are however some things that have blown my socks off. The Sequoia National Forest is one of them. Specifically I visited the Sequoia’s of Kings Canyon. I say visited because there is a real spirit to this place. It is one of the places in the world I have felt life.

Socks Obliterated

Standing in the presence of these beautiful gargantuans is a truly humbling experience. Thinking now, years later, of their majesty makes me misty eyed. The forest if such a complex ecosystem and it is constantly being threatened from all sides by pollution.

Older than Me

These trees are ancient; some estimated to be 2000-3500 years in age. They remind me a one of my favorite lines in Vertigo, with Kim Novak pointing to a ring cross-section of one of the felled trees…”Here I was born, and there I died. It was only a moment for you; you took no notice.”

HDR Photography
Sequoia National Forest by W Brian Duncan

It Almost Looks Like a Big City

Posted on September 11th, 2011 by

I have been continuing to work with HDR and this Saturday I got up before dawn and make the not so far trek down to the Grant Avenue bridge in North Springfield, MO. When Pamela and I go across this bridge we always remark, “From here, you know it almost looks like a big city”. After the conversion to HDR cropping the pic down to a panoramic to get rid of some of the distractions.

Panoramic photos are always best bigger, this photo has me questioning the width of my blog. It maybe nice to have a wider for photo display, its something I am considering for the future of the site. What are your favorite spots in SGF? I am wondering what I should photograph next.

HDR Photography
It Almost Looks Like a Big City by W. Brian Duncan

Fisherman’s Wharf of San Francisco

Posted on September 4th, 2011 by

It occurred to me recently that I have a bunch of photos I never do anything with. I have been watching Trey Ratcliff’s HDR class from Stuck in Customs and in it he describes his constant 365 project as well as how he releases all of his photos via Creative Commons Licensing.

I use Creative Commons on a regular basis and while I might not be comfortable releasing my personal photos or art pieces, quite a number of my travel photos are ready to be used and can hopefully be helpful for someone.

Though this is a very touristy photo, I hope you enjoy my first foray into Creative Commons licensing. Enjoy!

HDR Photography
Fisherman’s Wharf of San Francisco by W. Brian Duncan