Category Archives: USA

Amazing Photography of The United States of America

A Highway in Downtown St Louis

Posted on September 24th, 2012 by

Barren Wastelands

On a recent trip to St Louis, MO while shooting The Gateway Arch, the new Cardinals Stadium and Downtown St Louis in general I walked several times across this highway. It was one of those submerged areas, green parks were all around, but somehow in this one spot, it seemed very desolate to me. On one of those back and forth trips there was this odd magenta hue to the sky and the entire concrete wasteland was bathed in a color that, to me made it feel even more detached. We build these things for convenience, for transportation, for speed, but how impersonal they are, how inhospitable, how so like the end of the world they feel.

HDR Photography
A Highway in Downtown St Louis by W. Brian Duncan

A Maui Cove

Posted on September 20th, 2012 by

Over Land

Getting places in Maui often required a bit of legwork. The best places seemed to require a good deal of treacherous hiking and the Red Sand Beach was no exception. The think is, regardless of where you happen to look you get a wondrous view…the walk to this particular beach was no exception. After scaling down what by comparison was a rather small hillside (none the less deadly) we were greeted with this cove.

HDR Photography
A Maui Cove by W. Brian Duncan

Outside of Left Field

Posted on September 17th, 2012 by

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

While in downtown St. Louis, Pamela and I made it a point to walk down by the new Cardinals Stadium in Downtown St. Louis. The new stadium is right next door to the old one, there is a big empty field now where the old stadium once stood. I didn’t get what I wanted of the front. The sun was going down behind me as I shot the front of the ball park. I think the real excitement would be a morning shot from home plate with zero people in the stadium. If anyone knows someone that can make this happen, let me know, but I did get this shot of the sunset while walking along the Left Field Wall that came out very nicely.

Photo Talk

I noticed something working today I have never before realized. Using automatic Reduce Ghosting Artifacts in Photomatix REALLY seems to increase the noise in your HDR TIFF output. I still need to do some more testing, but here is the short of it. I created my first HDR without Reduce Ghosting Artifacts. I realized I had that funny black blob effect in the cars headlights that sometimes happens. No problem. I started again with Reduce Ghosting Artifacts on Auto High. BAMMIE WHAM (shout out to FilmRiot)…NOISE out the Wazoo! I have long sense though my images were too noisy. I thought it was mostly due to how hard I push my files…perhaps with more testing I will prove myself wrong!

HDR Photography
Outside of Left Field by W. Brian Duncan

Somewhere in the Ozark Mountains

Posted on September 13th, 2012 by

Heritage

I often prefer the big city, the ancient structure, the regal palace…its easy. Places like Sequoia National Forest or the Eiffel Tower are hard not to love. The most celebrated treasures of the world should be adored, but there are things closer to home, things we see every day which we too often ignore in our hustle and bustle world. The wonders of our own backyards should never be forgotten. I thought of this on a drive home from Eureka Springs Arkansas when I took this photo at a random scenic overlook. The treasure of others sparkle so brightly while we often ignore the glory and beauty of what we ourselves possess. Be thankful for your blessings. Be thankful to be where you are today…tomorrow it maybe gone.

HDR Photography
Somewhere in the Ozark Mountains by W. Brian Duncan

The Sunning Seal

Posted on September 10th, 2012 by

Hiking

It seems the best beaches in Maui require a bit of a hike. I am all for this honestly, you need exercise to look good in that bathing suit right? The Red Sand beach in Maui, Hawaii is another one of those places you should forget I am mentioning. Its hard to get to, dangerous…you shouldn’t go! Wow is it neat! It is really just a very small cove that is, well red. Its more of a fine gravel than a sand, but its so cool I didn’t really care.

Marine Life

The first thing I noticed was the red sand. The second, the nude sunbathers (why oh why are they always hippies). The third thing I noticed was this awesome seal sunbathing with everyone else. He was very still and I feared at first he might be dead. A product of the circle of life, but when the water would get to close, he would lively flop his way further onshore in irritation. He didn’t seem to mind the children on the beach or me getting close enough for a picture so I grabbed this shot.

HDR Photography
The Sunning Seal by W. Brian Duncan

Union Station Washington D.C.

Posted on September 6th, 2012 by

Trains

I love trains. The blame falls squarely on the shoulders of my Uncle Patrick. When I was a boy, my uncle had the most wonderful model railroading sets in the upstairs of my Grandparents home. They were always in a constant state of construction and I am not sure I ever saw one of these designs ever finished. To my 9 year old eyes, however, they were the most amazing creations in the world. As I grew up, I half created my own versions of these same mechanical marvels. I too never quite finished the complete design, but from youth I still carry the love of all things locomotive.

A New Life

What happens to these grand old buildings is a current fascination wrought from the same love of that 9 year old boy. It seems after the trains stop running and the buildings have served their original purpose, only one of a handful of lives are left for these depots. In Kansas City and Paris, both Union Station and d’Orsay respectively, have become Museums (the latter being one of the most celebrated in the world). In Washington D.C. a different fate has come to its Union Station, though you can still see its soul through all the shine. She IS still.

HDR Photography
Union Station Washington D.C. by W. Brian Duncan

The Lava Coast of Maui

Posted on September 3rd, 2012 by

Treacherous Beauty

In the pursuit of the soul of a place, Pamela and I will often not be terribly afraid to go off the beaten path (especially when visiting first world countries). This particular location in Western Maui (on Kahekili Highway around MM 16) is one of the views we had after hiking over considerably treacherous terrain looking for some natural ocean baths. These are natural “pool” formations in the lava that collect water that is then warmed by the sun and the black lava rock. Its quite an interesting and somewhat difficult place to get to but oh so worth it much like the Heart Shaped Rock.

Technicals

This is a three shot bracket shot on a tripod (Despite the lady telling me emphatically while on our way down SHE wouldn’t try to get down there with all that camera gear. Of course she was also wearing flip flops (slippers in Hawaii) and carrying a small child…hmmmm.) (-2, 0, +2) combined in Photomatix, edited with a number of curves layers in Photoshop, enhanced with the Nik Suite and finished in Lightroom.

HDR Photography
The Lava Coast of Maui by W. Brian Duncan

Heart Shaped Rock

Posted on August 30th, 2012 by

Nature

Before taking our recent trip to Maui, I asked around on the Interwebs if people had any specific recommendations of places not to miss on the island. My friend Destination David suggested the Nakalele Blowhole. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when we decided to go. First we happened to be in Kahului (which I always called the airport town) and we logically approached the blowhole from the east. This is apparently a road only people who LIVE on the road actually attempt to drive on. It was largely one lane, with VERY steep drop offs…I LOVED IT! The hike to the blowhole is steep, dangerous, likely to cause injury and oh so worth it (Don’t be like me…heed the signs and turn back from certain death).

Crazy Formations

The blowhole is a site we will surely explore in another post, but in this one I wanted to highlight an interesting heart shaped rock you will see if you turn around from being awed by the force of the blowhole. I have been unable to find information about whether this rock is a result of the awesome power of the ocean, or if someone purposefully carved this into the rock. I would love to know, so if you have some supportable documentation please post it below in the comments!

HDR Photography
Heart Shaped Rock by W. Brian Duncan

Volcanic Sunrise

Posted on August 27th, 2012 by

Inferno in the Sky

It was the most glorious sunrise I have every witnessed. If you visit Maui, the Haleakalā National Park visit is at the top of my recommended list. It’s an extremely early trip. We were staying in Kihei, so it was about a two hour drive to the summit of the volcano. As we neared the time of sunrise, we continued to wind forever up, up the road. The sky continued to change ever more interesting colors and hues and I had a hard time not watching the specical, but rather keeping my eyes on the dangerous road.

Ranger Blocked

As we neared the top, a ranger stopped everyone saying the summit was full. Were were told we couldn’t go to the summit and instead would have to stop at the Kalahaku Overlook. I was terribly distraught by this at first, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The summit would have been terribly crowded and I would have been very restricted as to where I could put my tripod. At the overlook, no one seemed to care. I actually hiked way out to the rim of the volcano. This photo was at the very start of sunrise, from the official overlook. Get up even earlier then you think you need to, the sky changes wonderful colors WAY before the official sunrise time.

Technicals

This is a three shot bracket (-2, 0, +2) combined in Photomatix. I then did some exposure blending in Photoshop to really bring back in the blackness of the sky. I love sky gradients where there is a change in light (or an absence in this case). I then used the Nik Suite to add contract and clarity, and perform sharpening. The final exits were done in Lightroom.

HDR Photography
Volcanic Sunrise by W. Brian Duncan

The Gateway Arch

Posted on August 23rd, 2012 by

Less an Abstract Arch

The first photo I published from the St Louis Arch was a bit on the abstract side. I took a number of photos really close up on the arch, they still feel like the arch to me, but they also don’t scream out ARCH! With this photo I wanted to bring a more concrete feel, but still give a different perspective then we usually see. I tried to frame the arch so it feels different with a strong and different graphic flow. I have more of this series I would like to work on…the sky that day had a wonderful cloud system overhead and a deep blue feel.

Technicals

This is a three bracket (-2, 0, 2) shot on a Canon 5D Mark II with a Really Right Stuff Tripod, combined in Photomatix, processed quite a bit in Photoshop and the Nik suite, finished in Lightroom 4.

HDR Photography
The Gateway Arch by W. Brian Duncan