Category Archives: HDR Photography

Beautiful HDR Pictures from Around the World

A Beautiful Old Box in Peru

Posted on November 19th, 2015 by

Old Palaces

I didn’t quite realize the significance of our hotel in Cusco until we had already left. It was really a transit stop for us, and most of the time we spent there was just to sleep. It was old…built for the Conquistador Pizarro. Much of the ornamentation around was old…really old, but displayed in the open. I can’t say how old these boxes were, or if they were from another time, I do know they were exquisitely beautiful.

A Beautiful Old Box in Peru
A Beautiful Old Box in Peru

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Didgeridoo Player on the Helix Bridge in Singapore

Posted on November 16th, 2015 by

Eclectic Style

If nothing else, Singapore is diverse. Architecture runs from ultra modern to old world. The residents are from China, India, Malaysia, Africa. I was not entirely surprised, but it was surreal none the less, to be greeted on the Helix Bridge by a street musician playing a Didgeridoo! Oddly this is the first time I have ever seen anyone playing one of these Australian instruments. I have always wanted to play one, but unlike my native saxophone, the Didgeridoo does not come with a spit valve.

Didgeridoo Player on the Helix Bridge in Singapore
Didgeridoo Player on the Helix Bridge in Singapore

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Yuyuan Garden Walkway Design Detail

Posted on November 12th, 2015 by

What’s Underfoot

You cant miss this river stone walkway. The moment you step foot on it, you notice the irregularity…its more natural feel. You notice the uneven-ness of nature, but you also know it is anything but natural. This fits perfectly with the way I feel about Chinese gardens in general. It always seems to me the Chinese are looking for some harmony and connection with nature (in their gardens), but it’s always seems a more “perfected” nature, taking the good, discarding the bad…molding to find a perfect form. This is neither good nor bad, and only my interpretation which is course is always changed itself.

Yuyuan Garden Walkway Design Detail
Yuyuan Garden Walkway Design Detail

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On a Deserted Bali Beach at Sunset

Posted on November 9th, 2015 by

Peaceful Wandering

It was peaceful on the beach in Bali. It was oddly quiet when I visited and I was so exhausted that I decided to spend the days I had sitting on the beach at the resort. That is an exceptionally odd thing for me to do…I don’t think I have ever done it before honestly. The ocean in my little cove was calm and the sun had retreated behind the clouds making for some wonderfully warm light. I was walking alone on a beach, halfway around the world for my home. Sometimes, I am in awe of where I have been.

On a Deserted Bali Beach at Sunset
On a Deserted Bali Beach at Sunset

Photo Technical Info

  • Aperture: ƒ/8
  • Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
  • Taken: 17 February, 2015
  • Focal length: 25mm
  • ISO: 100
  • Shutter speed: 1/250s
  • Title: On a Deserted Bali Beach at Sunset

Shelves of a Tea Seller in Shanghai

Posted on November 5th, 2015 by

For the Love of Tea

It is no secret that my wife LOVES tea. So much is her passion, that when I said I would fly here anywhere in the world she wanted to go for her 40th birthday, the answer came without delay. China. I was so happy to take her to her first (I am sure of many) visits to Hangzhou and Shanghai, China, but more specifically Tianshan…Tea City. Tianshan is in Western Shanghai. An endless maze of wholesale tea vendors and shops where your tea dreams can come true. Below is just one shelf of random teas, but the supply was as endless as the offers of more samples. Come prepared to be completely overwhelmed.

Shelves of a Tea Seller in Shanghai
Shelves of a Tea Seller in Shanghai

Photo Technical Info

Peruvian Dancer in Cusco

Posted on November 2nd, 2015 by

Virgen de Altagracia

Travel is a box of chocolates (in the Gump sense). Peru was a series of unexpected sights, locations, sounds, tastes and festivals. Upon arriving in Cusco, we walked to the Plaza San Francisco and were met with a Parade celebrating the Virgen de Altagracia. I am not Peruvian, nor Catholic, but the Virgen is apparently not huge IN Peru, but in Argentina and specifically the Dominican Republic, so I think we witnessed a bit of a small and interesting celebration! This particular dancer frequented my shots, she had a wonderful dress, I was particularly fond of the way the tassels whipped by as she danced round and round!

Peruvian Dancer in Cusco
Peruvian Dancer in Cusco

Photo Technical Info

Deep in the Bamboo Forest on Maui, Hawaii

Posted on October 29th, 2015 by

Hiking in Maui

On my most recent trip to Maui I decided to try an “easy” hike I had never attempted before, the Pipiwai Trail on the Eastern side of Haleakala. It’s not a particularly difficult trail. The ascent is easy, with only around 600 feet of elevation gain. As always the fantastic hikers at Unreal Hawaii wrote a detailed guide to the Pipiwai Trail, but please be forewarned, you will sweat and take some bug repellent. I forgot and ended up with a number of bites. Today’s photo is just a random shot I took along the trail.

Deep in the Bamboo Forest on Maui, Hawaii
Deep in the Bamboo Forest on Maui, Hawaii

Photo Technical Info

Meet Ms Scarlett My 2016 Mini Cooper S

Posted on October 26th, 2015 by

It was her employer MS SCARLETT!

It’s a day I thought would never come…I finally purchased a NEW car! I am a frugal sort of person. All of my automobiles have been given to me in some way. A used car someone didn’t want any longer. My old 1992 Ford Ranger XLT had been through most of the members of my family when it came to live with me. Oscar is its name, but from looks, to convenience, to a dead air conditioning system on a super hot summer…I finally decided, after 40 years, it was time to actually BUY a car.

Ms Scarlett came to live with us yesterday. When I met her I literally squealed and jumped for joy. She was custom built, just how I wanted her by the awesome Mini team in Oxford, England. Already I can tell she likes to drive more than I am accustomed to. The interesting thing is she is SO FUN to drive, I am completely agreeable to this new arrangement between myself and das auto. The Mini people refer to it as “motoring” and I can tell Ms Scarlett and I have a long number of years of fun ahead of us together!

Meet Ms Scarlett My 2016 Mini Cooper S
Meet Ms Scarlett My 2016 Mini Cooper S

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Makapu’u Tidepools

Posted on October 22nd, 2015 by

Second Favorite Easy Hike on Oahu

Without a doubt, my favorite “easy” hike on Oahu is the Lanikai Pillbox Hike. Almost every time I visit Oahu I make an early morning trek across the island from Waikiki to Lanikai and hike up the hill to the old Pillboxes. It’s a hot hike, but Lanikai Beach (one of my favorite in the world) is waiting below to wash your hard work away. The problem on my last trip…RAIN!

Never fear, the Makapu’u Lighthouse trail is almost entirely paved! I started up, but realized I had never taken the not entirely sanctioned (or safe) Tidalpool side trail. It’s a wonderful view down on the rocky beach. The blowhole was in good form and there were almost no people around! You can’t tell, but this tidalpool is about two stories down from the cliff I shot it from and could easily hold 100 or more people! You can JUST see the Makapu’u Lighthouse in the background.

Makapu’u Tidepools
Makapu’u Tidepools

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A Dead Tree by the Ocean

Posted on October 19th, 2015 by

For the Love of Hawaii

People have stated to notice the frequency of my visits to Hawaii. I go maybe two or three times a year. It’s an easy trip that I often get upgraded on, but there is something more than the 8000 or so miles I earn. Hawaii pulls me back. The Hawaiian islands are paradise, but not for the reason’s people are sold. I was talking with an old friend this weekend and I think we felt similarly. Its not the sun, or the beaches, or the joy of temporary vacation. It is the ease at which everything operates in Hawaii. There is a calm there that is infectious and calm is perhaps the thing we need the most these days.

Speaking to Trees

This is one of my favorite trees in the world. It, for now, sits alone on a beach in Kauai. It can’t speak any longer. It is dead. But it still stands as a monument to itself. A beacon on a cliff that will likely fall into the ocean soon as well. This tree seems to me to encapsulate the spirit of this place. All around is life and death, air, earth, fire and water all in their rawest forms, constantly battling for supremacy. Somehow even in death, this tree speaks to me. I need to go back to hear more of its message, before it vanishes, returning to the sea.

A Dead Tree by the Ocean
A Dead Tree by the Ocean

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