Happy Labor Day everyone! I hope everyone gets to get out and spend time in the sun one last time before the official end of summer. This photo was taken in Oahu at Puu Ualakaa State Park. There is a great overlook and not too many people. The trees were a bit tall for my liking, but you get a decent view regardless. I shot this as an HDR with multiple frames stitched together. I am afraid, because of its width, it displays smaller on the site. Click the photo below to get a slightly bigger version!
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One of my favorite things about Chicago, which I often fly through, is how easy it is to get downtown from O’Hare. Just hop on the train, ride for a bit…BAM you are in downtown Chicago. There is a lot to see and do, but I just love wandering the streets around Millennium Park. I was on one of these walks when I caught this photo of Trump International Hotel & Tower and the Wrigley Building with the Chicago River in the foreground.
All of the photographs on this site are released under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. You are free to use these on your blog or as a personal wallpaper, as long is they are used in a NonCommercial fashion and you adhere to the terms of the Creative Commons License. We will even host the bandwidth for the files for you!
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I have been a fan of Brooke Shaden’s work for some time. If you are not familiar with her, absolutely check our her work as it is a bit dark, dreamlike and always wonderfully imaginative. Last week she taught a Creative Live course oddly enough in Seattle (pictured in the photo below). I was lucky to get to catch a little of her teaching online and it got me to thinking about (among other things) textures. I rarely use them to enhance what is going on in my images and I don’t know why. They seem to be all the rage and I love the boost of interesting they add to a flat image so long as the texture is added to enhance what is going on in the photo, not just used in a cool Instagram way. What do you think about textures and did anyone else see Brook’s class? This was created from a single image.
All of the photographs on this site are released under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. You are free to use these on your blog or as a personal wallpaper, as long is they are used in a NonCommercial fashion and you adhere to the terms of the Creative Commons License. We will even host the bandwidth for the files for you!
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We looked out the window of our hotel room and were greeted with two amazing sites of contrast. One was the amazing city of San Francisco. It’s a wonder! A city built on the most inhospitable geography. The City has burned, flooded been destroyed by earthquake…it is a wonder of modern construction and civil engineering. The other amazing site was the sunrise. Despite all we have and will do as a people, I am always most struck by the awesome power, majesty and beauty of the natural world. It is these two contrasts, both the natural and the man-made wonder that had me grabbing for my camera.
All of the photographs on this site are released under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. You are free to use these on your blog or as a personal wallpaper, as long is they are used in a NonCommercial fashion and you adhere to the terms of the Creative Commons License. We will even host the bandwidth for the files for you!
You must, however, do the following:
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Give credit to W Brian Duncan.
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When I travel, I usually have a very loose idea of what I want to see. I don’t make concrete plans, everything stays very fluid…I am a Pisces after all. My general mode of transportation is almost always walking. I prefer to see a city by foot. I often walk so much I end up destroying my feet for weeks to come after my adventures. I am learning the importance of good socks and proper fitting shoes. One morning when we were walking around I shot this street scene in New York City. The light is dramatic, but otherwise it’s street much like you would see in any city. I think that simplicity and the wonderful warm light are what I love about this shot. To me it screams New York in the morning.
All of the photographs on this site are released under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. You are free to use these on your blog or as a personal wallpaper, as long is they are used in a NonCommercial fashion and you adhere to the terms of the Creative Commons License. We will even host the bandwidth for the files for you!
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Vieille ville or Old Town was my favorite part of the city of Geneva. There is something soothing about walking around the ancient Medieval Cobblestone streets, looking in the windows of antique shops, and eating in a small bar or cafe. There was no rush in Geneva, no time schedule, no pressure. It was cold and rainy and my first full day was Sunday when many of the shops are closed so their proprietors can spend the day with family. There were only occasional patches of blue in the sky, but somehow, it felt good. The world was right…the way it has been for a thousand years in Old Town. There is an ease to Europe that intrigues me. Something different than in the U.S. that I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s not better or worse, it simply exists differently. I long to explore it more, to understand.
All of the photographs on this site are released under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. You are free to use these on your blog or as a personal wallpaper, as long is they are used in a NonCommercial fashion and you adhere to the terms of the Creative Commons License. We will even host the bandwidth for the files for you!
You must, however, do the following:
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Give credit to W Brian Duncan.
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At one point in my life, I wanted to work on Wall Street. For a portion of my younger years I had an…interesting love of Michael J. Fox’s character Alex P. Keaton. This included a brief case to carry my school supplies, dressing in clothes more intended for church then normal school days and regular reading of the Wall Street Journal. Needless to say I was very popular in the 6th grade, or as I like to look at it, I have never been afraid to express myself differently then those around me. Thought the briefcase was left behind years ago, I still to this day find myself doing things a little differently then others. I didn’t think much about the contrast when I was at the New York Stock Exchange, photographing, but it strikes me now how what WAS and what IS in our lives is constantly changing. Then again, isn’t everything.
All of the photographs on this site are released under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. You are free to use these on your blog or as a personal wallpaper, as long is they are used in a NonCommercial fashion and you adhere to the terms of the Creative Commons License. We will even host the bandwidth for the files for you!
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Give credit to W Brian Duncan.
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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.
All of the photographs on this site are released under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. You are free to use these on your blog or as a personal wallpaper, as long is they are used in a NonCommercial fashion and you adhere to the terms of the Creative Commons License. We will even host the bandwidth for the files for you!
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On my last trip to Chicago, I got a bit of time just to roam the streets downtown. It was a great day for a photowalk and I had a great time just meandering. Often carrying a camera makes you a target for all sorts of harassment. The police these days seem to be overly suspicious of why anyone would want to take a picture of anything. People get mad if you get in their way or stop on the sidewalk for a look around (stupid tourists). On this trip I was yelled at by a guy asking for a bus fare. He repeatedly told me, “I’m not a bum!”. To which I said I was sorry I didn’t have any cash. He cursed at me and stormed off muttering something about my wallet full of cash. Obviously he doesn’t know about the airline mile earning credit cards I used to get to Chicago in the first place. Really sir…I don’t carry any cash.
Palmer
I took this shot of the Historic Palmer House Marquee. Little did I realize at the time I missed an awesome photo opportunity inside as the lobby is apparently gorgeous.
All of the photographs on this site are released under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. You are free to use these on your blog or as a personal wallpaper, as long is they are used in a NonCommercial fashion and you adhere to the terms of the Creative Commons License. We will even host the bandwidth for the files for you!
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Give credit to W Brian Duncan.
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Pamela and I experienced our second SXSW Interactive festival this year. One of the un-official events, but very high up on my list, was the photowalk put on by Google+ and Trey Ratcliff. I had never been to a photowalk before and honestly it was sort of miserable weather. It rained the whole time, it was cold and the walk was mercifully over before I even knew what happened. I didn’t get many great shots, but I know a secret. A secret I am going to share with you…I stick around after events (often fun things happen).
The After Party
I am always quiet around new people, but I wanted to meet some new photographers. I made several new friends and spent a very interesting evening hanging out with some very fun people. One of the interesting things about hanging out with a bunch of photographers is (and I think I have Karen to think for this quote) you never feel like you need to apologize for talking time to get a picture. Most people just don’t get the joy of spending 45 minutes trying to get just the right angle. Photographers understand this completely.
A Walk to the Forum
We walked to the Texas Capitol Building where I got the shot below. I ended up hand-holding this bracket at 1600 ISO…my slowest frame was 1/8th of a second. Usually I cant hand-hold at this speed, but I was using my trusty knowledge dispensed to me by the incomparable Joe McNally (via YouTube of course). Yet another reason why I need to buy Joe a beer. The other great thing is I was voted the best photograph in the “Everything’s Bigger in Texas” category. Another first for me…it was my first photo walk, my first photo-contest entry AND my first win! Not bad for a beginner!
All of the photographs on this site are released under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. You are free to use these on your blog or as a personal wallpaper, as long is they are used in a NonCommercial fashion and you adhere to the terms of the Creative Commons License. We will even host the bandwidth for the files for you!
You must, however, do the following:
Link back to this site at https://www.batteredluggage.com/.
Give credit to W Brian Duncan.
Copy this text and past to your blog. To learn about resizing this image, more about the license requirements or about commercial licensing visit the License Page.
