Category Archives: USA

Amazing Photography of The United States of America

Dawn at the U.S. Capitol Building

Posted on August 20th, 2012 by

Impressing Sites

I love traveling and I find myself awake at some crazy times trying to get photos. Dawn at the U.S. Capitol was no different. For whatever reason Starbucks in D.C. didnt open at first light and I was down a coffee. I showed up to the Capitol Building grounds with my camera and tripod certain I would beat everyone and get in a bit of time with three legs of contraband camera support before I was shooed off. I was right about no one being around. With the exception of one or two joggers and a gaggle of Capitol Guard it was just me. I hate it when people cite safety as a concern when NO ONE is around, but that is exactly what happened. Sir, you cant use a tripod here, its not safe for the other guests. I think she even realized I pay her salary.

Technicals

This was a handheld 3 bracket (-2, 0, +2) combined in Photomatix, edited in Photoshop and Nik, finished in Lightroom 4.

HDR Photography
Dawn at the U.S. Capitol Building by W. Brian Duncan

Ocean Kayaks in Maui

Posted on August 9th, 2012 by

Colorful Ocean Vessels

One of “the shots” I wanted visiting Maui was one of a bunch of long boards lined up to dry. The only place I saw this was some dude’s (it had to be a dude) house along the Hana Highway who had made a fence out of old surf boards. I felt a bit funny stopping along the side of the busy road to take this photo so I “settled” for this shot. From a hotel in Kihei I found this little storage place where the kayaks stay at night. They were just oh so colorful and the early morning light was interesting to me. I hope you all enjoy!

Technicals

This is a three shot bracket (-2, 0, +2) combined in photomatix, exported to photoshop, enhanced with the Nik Suite and finished in Lightroom.

HDR Photography
Ocean Kayaks in Maui by W. Brian Duncan

Sunset in Maui

Posted on August 6th, 2012 by

Sun-Wow!

On the first day in Maui, we were treated to one of nature’s spectacular light shows. This is why I take pictures. Our first night was perhaps the best sunset of the week. From our vantage point in South Maui, you can see the western side of Maui to the right and the smaller island of Lana’i off in the distance to the left of the sunset. We happened to hit the beach our first day when the sun fell directly in between the two islands. Serendipity! Maui is a bit like Paris in that getting good photos is like shooting fish in a barrel. When beauty abounds how can you not succeed. I wonder if paradise becomes so commonplace for the general inhabitants of the islands that they don’t often stop and recognize how spectacular everything is around them…of course the same thing could be said of people in the Ozarks.

Technicals

This is a 9 shot bracket (-3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3) combined in Photomatix. Edited in lightroom for some initial corrections, Photoshop, the Nik Suite, then back to Lightroom for finishup. Total processing time was around 2 hours.

HDR Photography
Sunset in Maui by W. Brian Duncan

The Hidden Church

Posted on July 30th, 2012 by

Where Are We?

Pamela and I went for a day-trip to Eureka Springs Arkansas just to mill around, shop and take photos. While visiting the Historic Crescent Hotel we noticed this little building behind the hotel. What in the world is that building? As it turns out, there is a small Catholic church nestled behind the old hotel dedicated to St. Elizabeth. Its a beautiful little stop if you happen to be in Eureka Springs. The grounds are fantastically manacured and the church, though less exciting when you compare it to some of the Gothic masterpieces like Notre Dame, is none-the-less beautiful.

Technicals

This is a 9 exposure bracket (-4, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4) shot directly at the sun on a tripod. The bracket was combined on photomatix exported and cleaned up in Photoshop. Tonal contract and sharpening were applied with the Nik Suite. Final adjustments were done in Lightroom.

HDR Photography
The Hidden Church by W. Brian Duncan

Downtown St Louis at Dusk

Posted on July 26th, 2012 by

Pretty Light

I am a sucker for a good sunset (and a good sunrise really). We were by the St Louis Arch doing some photographing of the arch, when it turned all pink. I turned around when Pamela said…”Woah, look at that!” The sky over downtown St Louis had gone all…awesome! I and several other photographers setup shots quickly (you never know how long these things will last). I think I missed the peak color by a few minutes, but you wouldn’t know from the shot.

Technicals

This is a three shot HDR (-2, 0, +2) combined in Photomatix. It was edited in Photoshop, Nik Color EFX Pro, Sharpener Pro and Lightroom 4.

HDR Photography
Downtown St Louis at Dusk by W. Brian Duncan

Big Crosses

Posted on July 23rd, 2012 by

Jesus

While visiting Bentonville, Arkansas and one of the cooler American History Museums in the country Crystal Bridges we went down to eat pizza at this crazy place that had a mirrored ’70’s VW bug rotating on the ceiling like a disco ball (yes full sized). On the way we spotted this church with these CRAZY big crosses. They are much taller than the church. This was a photo meant to be taken. I am much more inclined to photograph Gothic and very old Roman Catholic Cathedrals, simply because I find them beautiful. I usually pay less attention to the things we build in the states, but they too are an interesting statement about the faith of people. Enjoy.

Technicals

This is a one shot photo edited entirely in Lightroom 4.

Photography
Big Crosses by W. Brian Duncan

Chapel in the Woods

Posted on July 16th, 2012 by

A Funny Place for a Church

On our last road trip to Arkansas, we returned home a different than we usually drive. The purpose of the diversion was to visit the Mildred B Cooper Memorial Chapel in Bella Vista Arkansas. This site was designed by E Fay Jones, an architect from Arkansas who was an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright. The chapel is open to visitors when there isn’t an official function happening and as luck would have it, there wasn’t a ceremony that afternoon. In fact the place was deserted! Upon arrival there was a small group of Asian tourists leaving as we entered the chapel. I set up my tripod and snapped a few shots.

Peaceful

The chapel is glass…lots and lots of glass. The woods of oak and pine surrounding the chapel envelope you when you are inside and out. You feel like the chapel is part of the Ozark woods and the woods is part of the church, the separation is perhaps an illusion. If you happen to need a beautiful place for a small ceremony and are close to Northwest Arkansas…this is a beautiful location.

Technicals

This is a three shot bracket (-2, 0, +2) combined in Photomatix, edited in Photoshop and Lightroom.

HDR Photography
Chapel in the Woods by W. Brian Duncan

D.C.F.D. Engine No3

Posted on July 12th, 2012 by

FIRE

On my last trip to Washington D.C., I stayed at a nice hotel about two blocks from the U.S. Capitol building’s south entrance. The first thing I noticed when I walked up was that there was a D.C. Fire Station right next door…WHOOPEE! I like fire station’s as much as the next guy, but not sirens at 3am which sort of concerned me. I need my sleep! Fortunately I always pack ear plugs on trips (light sleeper) and I didn’t notice any late night emergencies so my fears ended up being for not.

Rain

It started raining on me that night as I walked to the Washington monument just after shooting the World War II Memorial. When I say rain, perhaps I should really call it what it was…a very sudden severe thunderstorm that lead me in a dead run for the nearest Metro stop back by Smithsonian Castle. I took the metro (happy to be underground) back to Union Station and by the time I got off, the rain was down to a drizzle. I walked by the fire station…all the doors were open, the trucks lights were on getting ready to go to work. It was a picture made for the taking…I wasn’t ready. The last thing I wanted to do was stand in the middle of everything and delay the D.C.F.D. from saving the day! I stepped aside and watched the trucks roll out, getting my camera set for the shot I wanted. I think it ended up decent, but it would have been much more dramatic if I would have been about 10 minutes earlier. Thus is life.

Technicals

This photo is a three shot bracket (-2, 0, +2) on a tripod combined in Photomatix, edited in Photoshop, Nik and finished in Lightroom.

HDR Photography
D.C.F.D. Engine No3 by W. Brian Duncan

The Jeweled Ceiling of Union Station

Posted on July 5th, 2012 by

Jewels

Ok…so maybe jeweled is a bit of a stretch, but it is really impressive looking. Perhaps not in the European Palatial sense, but I found it quite stunning. I shot from my tabletop tripod and kept expecting someone to tell me to get lost. The great thing about that little booger is that people don’t see it as a hazard like they do my larger tripod. I incur the wrath of many a security guard when trying to open my Really Right Stuff legs, but my tabletop…NOTHING! It’s like a tripod in stealth mode! I cant recommend one of these little guys enough.

Technicals

This was a 3 exposure bracket (-2, 0 +2), processed in Photomatix, exported to Photoshop to repair some burned out light bulbs, Tonal Contrast was added out the wazoo in Nik Color Efex Pro 4 as well as sharpening done in Sharpener Pro, final touch-up work was done in Lightroom 4.

HDR Photography
The Jeweled Ceiling of Union Station by W. Brian Duncan

The Washington Monument

Posted on July 2nd, 2012 by

Washington

The Washington Monument is the worlds tallest obelisk at 555 feet 5 1/8 inches. I am certain Dan Brown can tell you the significant of that height in one or more of his books, but I have nothing but speculation to offer. I took this shot in the early afternoon on a very warm day in D.C. I was honestly very happy to be standing in the shadow of the memorial as it was much cooler and I was sweating through my clothes. This is also the ill fated trip where I got tons of great photos, but utterly destroyed my feet with blisters in the process of obtaining said photos. I enjoyed putting the sun in my shots while I was in D.C. and taking 9 stops worth of brackets. In this particular instance, I only felt like I needed 3…which in the end saves quite a bit of hard drive space.

Techincals

This was a three shot bracket (-2, 0, +2) processed in photomatix, extensive work was done to remove tourists in Photoshop, Nik software was used for tonal contrast, sharping, finish work was done in Lightroom 4.

HDR Photography
The Washington Monument by W. Brian Duncan