I wanted to capture Sunrise at Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park.  When we planned the trip we had planned on camping inside Shenandoah National Park, but when we arrived all the campsites were taken. After a brief bit of panic we found a private campground with space just outside of the park. The good news is it was close enough to get up and catch sunrise in the park. As it turns out it gets cold in Shenandoah National Park in late October. The temperature was at or near freezing every night we were there. So by 6 am our tent was very cold and we were ready to get in the car and warm up on the drive into the park. After driving around and shooting sunrise we would stop and eat breakfast in the park.

After driving south the first morning to look for shots, the second morning we drove north from Swift Gap Entrance toward Big Meadows.  After stopping at a couple of places early before sunrise I stopped at Big Meadows,  and wandered the open space. I think this is my favorite image from my short hour at Big Meadows.

Prints and Licenses

prints

This photo is available for purchase as a limited edition* 16 x 24 print to be matted into a 20×30 frame for $120.

Print will be professionally printed on Epson Hot Press Bright Fine Art Paper

*Limited Edition –  25 print prints available.

Licenses are also available, click contact below

Contact me to order or if you have any questions.

Puzzles

This image is also available as 1000 piece custom Ravensburger Puzzle. After looking a lot of different options for offering my photos as puzzles I chose Ravensburger because of their high standard of quality. I want everything that I offer on this site to be the highest quality possible.

You can purchase this puzzle for $99. This includes shipping to your door direct from the factory in Germany. It takes about 10-12 days from order to arrival of your puzzle. Each puzzle will be individually made and shipped direct to you. Each puzzle is 1000 pieces: and measures 19.5″ x 27.5″.

Contact me to order or if you have any questions.

For Photographers:

This started out as a 6 shot bracket processed in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 from the NIK Collection. I used the default flat setting and then adjusted color in light room and added a simple Black border with a white key  and a touch of Hollywood Glow  in Onone Software’s Perfect Effects 4.

This is the first take from my first sunrise shoot in China. I was able to take a cab to cover the couple of kilometers from our University to the park. I woke up at 5 expecting to leave and have lots of time to get there and prepare, but the sun rises insanely early around here. When I walked out the door it was already very light. I didn’t miss sunrise but it was close. I thought that I would be the only one there and I would have the place to myself….wrong. By the time I got there, there were already hundreds of people there walking exercising, singing and playing music.

I saw this stone arch bridge on my first trip to the park over two months ago, but the trees were still brown and it was the middle of the afternoon. I’ve been watching it for several weeks and two weeks ago it was finally ready. The lonely dragon boat floating beyond the bridge moves around the lake. On this morning it was in the perfect spot.

Prints

This photo is available for purchase as a limited edition* 16 x 24 print to be matted into a 20×30 frame for $80.

Print will be professionally printed on Moab Metallic Pearl Paper

*Limited Edition –  25 print prints available.

Contact me to order or if you have any questions.

Licenses are also available Contact me for more information

Puzzles

This image is also available as 1000 piece custom Ravensburger Puzzle. After looking a lot of different options for offering my photos as puzzles I chose Ravensburger because of their high standard of quality. I want everything that I offer on this site to be the highest quality possible.

Stone Arch Bridge Ravensburger Puzzle

You can purchase this puzzle for $99. This includes shipping to your door direct from the factory in Germany. It takes about 10-12 days from order to arrival of your puzzle. Each puzzle will be individually made and shipped direct to you. Each puzzle is 1000 pieces: and measures 19.5″ x 27.5″.

Contact me to order or if you have any questions.

For Photographers

This is a 6 exposure HDR processed in HDR Effex Pro 2 from the NIK Collection by Google. After blending the exposures I finished up in Lightroom 4 and Color Efex Pro 4. I did a little dust spot cleaning and cloned out a person exercising in Adobe Photoshop CS6.

A note to photographers, if you do not have Photoshop CS6 or plan to purchase it in the near future. Adobe has announced that it will not sell indivudual Photoshop products after CS6. It will only be sold on a subscription basis through the Creative Cloud. I currently use the creative cloud and love it but if you want the software and the discs in hand. They will not be around long.

The waves lapping on the empty beach, break the still silence of  an  October morning. The memories and worry of hurricane Sandy are still fresh in our mind. But the ocean was calm, just days after the storm passed, morning broke clear and clean. A peaceful ocean, and a clear inviting sky remind us that there is beauty to balance the power of nature.

Sunrise at Myrtle Beach, looking out at the Atlantic Ocean, and the 2nd Avenue Pier.

Prints and Licensing

This photo is available for purchase as a limited edition* 24 x 14 print ready  to be matted into a frame for $80.

Print will be professionally printed on Epson Hot Press Bright Fine Art Paper

*Limited Edition –  25 print prints available.

Contact me to order or if you have any questions.

Licenses are also available for this image please Contact me  for more information.

For Photographers

I processed this in Lightroom 4, and then Onone software’s Perfect Black and White. I used Define 2 from the NIK Collection by Google to reduce the noise and finally added a border in Onone Perfect Effects 4

We stopped at Myrtle Beach last fall the day after Hurricane Sandy passed by in the Atlantic. The night we were there the waves were still rather high, so I really didn’t have an opportunity to get out and look for interesting places. The second evening we were able to walk the beach and see the pier and all the sights along the shore. So the on our second morning I woke up before sunrise and drove down to the pier to try and get some good sunrise shot of the pier and the ocean. It was amazingly beautiful and calm considering that one of the largest hurricanes on record had just passed by. While doing another round of edits of my photos from that trip I came across this shot from under the pier and it caught my eye. I’m not sure why I missed it in the past but I really like the way it came out in the end.

Prints

This photo is available for purchase as a limited edition* 16 x 24 print to be matted into a 20×30 frame for $80.

Print will be professionally printed on Moab Metallic Pearl Paper

*Limited Edition –  25 print prints available.

Contact me to order or if you have any questions.

Puzzles

This image is also available as 1000 piece custom Ravensburger Puzzle. After looking a lot of different options for offering my photos as puzzles I chose Ravensburger because of their high standard of quality. I want everything that I offer on this site to be the highest quality possible.

You can purchase this puzzle for $99. This includes shipping to your door direct from the factory in Germany. It takes about 10-12 days from order to arrival of your puzzle. Each puzzle will be individually made and shipped direct to you. Each puzzle is 1000 pieces: and measures 19.5″ x 27.5″.

Contact me to order or if you have any questions.

For Travelers

You can find the pier just south of the Myrtle Beach BoardWalk and Promenade

For photographers

This image started as a 6 shot bracket from -3ev to +2ev. I processed it in NIK HDR Effex Pro 2 and Onone Software’s Perfect Effects 4. In perfect effects I added a glow and played with contrasts and blending to get the effect that I wanted. I forgot to write down exactly what I did so unfortunately I cannot share the exact recipe with you.

I found Wet Willie’s on the riverfront in Savannah Georgia. There is something about a well decorated interior that draws my attention. Wet Willie’s was decorated for Halloween and it all seemed to be perfect for making an interesting image. I asked the person behind the counter if I could take a shot, and got the ok.

I really enjoyed the river front area of Savannah. The shops and restaurants and shops all have so much character. I really liked all the art shops that we found in the historic section of Savannah, some of the painters had some amazing work on display.

Prints and Licensing

This photo is available for purchase as a limited edition* 16 x 24 print to be matted into a 20×30 frame for $80.

Print will be professionally printed on Epson Exhibition Fiber Paper

*Limited Edition –  25 print prints available.

Licenses are available for this Image. Contact me for details.

Contact me to order or if you have any questions.

For travelers

You can find Wet Willie’s in the warehouse district of Savannah, Georgia. It is right on the river near the docks.

For Photographers

I took a 6 shot bracket and combined them in NIK HDR Effex Pro 2. I did a little work Lightroom 4 and Onone Perfect Effects 4

I don’t have all the processing information this time, or a preset. The move to China kind of messed with my processing schedule and work flow so all I have today is the photo thanks for visiting and check back next week for another photo.

Prints

This photo is available for purchase as a limited edition* 16 x 24 print to be matted into a 20×30 frame for $80.

Print will be professionally printed on Epson Exhibition Fiber Paper

*Limited Edition –  25 print prints available.

Contact me to order or if you have any questions.

For Travelers

You can find these amazing stairs in the Supreme Court building, in Washington, DC

We camped at Greenbelt National Park in DC and took the train downtown. The park was really nice and the train was very easy to take, Definitely a good way to beat downtown traffic.

For Photographers

This is a single image processed in Lightroom 4. The black and white conversion was done in Lightroom, then I worked with the clarity brush and added a vignette. It was shot at ISO 1600 so I had to do some noise reduction as well. In Photoshop CS6 I did some burning on the shadows to enhance the character in the marble.

Our first stop on vacation last fall was at the Museum of Science and Industry and Chicago. It is an amazing place with all kinds of character. They do an amazing job with the cinematic lighting, and then make it extremely difficult to capture it by banning tripods. I took hundreds of photos, and got very few that I would classify as keepers. It is just too dark to get a good solid shot without a tripod.

On the flip side I love wandering the museum. They  do an amazing job of drawing a your eye and creating beautiful exibits. This is the U505 submarine in the very bottom of the museum. It is a German Submarine that was captured during World War 2.

For Travelers

You can find the museum and this exhibit in downtown, Chicago. More information is available on their website

For Photographers

I started with a 5 shot bracket that I took hand held resting on a steel railing next to the sub. I processed it in NIK HDR Effex Pro 2 I started with the deep preset and then played around with it to get it where I wanted it. This is straight out of HDR Effex.  You can get the preset I created when processing it here.

My family loves the beach, sand, sun and water. So we drove from Panama City Beach to Okaloosa Island, one evening to see the Island and the beach, on the way back we were hungry and craving Chinese food. Well my wife and I were, the kids will eat rice and maybe noodles. So we stopped at PF Changs to eat. I walked in took one look around and knew I had to go get the camera and tripod. I have love HDR images of the interiors of buildings. There are a few restaurants that I am dying to get an image of, the one closest to us in Omaha, is the Cheesecake Factory.  I love all the work and planning that goes into creating the atmosphere. I think all of this in theory is there to make you think what your eating is more expensive and fancier than it really is. But anyway, I really liked the look of the place, so I hauled in my tripod and camera bag and took a couple of bracketed sets while we waited for our food. If you want to see some more great interior HDR work check out RC Conceptions blog

For Travelers

A great place to stop for dinner if your in the area, the atmosphere is great after dark.

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For Photographers

This started as a six shot bracket processed in NIK HDR Effex Pro 2, I started with the “dramatic” preset that comes with the software, then made some changes to make it less grungy and noisy looking. You can get the preset here. I then exported it to Onone Software’s Perfect Effects 4 and added the “Glow Baby Preset” to smooth out the long exposure noise and clean up the tones a little.

When planning our fall road trip this summer we knew we wanted to see and explore Savannah, Georgia. We did not plan out our camping site in advance, so we had a  little trouble finding a place to camp. However we did find a place and were able to spend a day wandering through Savannah. We made sure to include the riverfront area, in our walk through the downtown, historic area. There were all kinds of amazing shops with artwork, candy, foods, and all forms of tourist memorabilia.

There are a couple of these winding curved stone stair cases that lead down to the warehouse area by the riverfront. We found a guy making roses out of palm leaves, he gave the kids and my wife each a rose and we gave him a donation for his generosity. Definitely a better way to buy a keepsake in my opinion.

Prints

This photo is available for purchase as a limited edition* 16 x 16 print to be matted into a 20×20 frame for $80.

Shipping to US addresses included

Print will be professionally printed on Moab Pearl Metallic Paper

*Limited Edition –  25 print prints available.

Contact me to order or if you have any questions.

For Travelers

View Photo Locations in a larger map

For Photographers

This started out as all my HDR images do, with a tripod. I think I have mentioned before the importance of a tripod. For shots like this you need the stability it provides to keep all your images the same.  I manually focus these shots in live view then I take my exposures manually adjusting the shutter between each exposure. This one was six exposures total from -3ev to +2ev in 1ev increments. This might be a little over kill but I don’t plan on being back there anytime soon and I want the shot to be there when I get home.

I combined the exposures in NIK HDR Effex Pro 2 and used the default setting, with all the detail in the image the NIK Software wanted to add more detail than I wanted for the first pass.

In Lightroom 4 I added two of my presets to get the colors to pop the way I wanted. You can get those presets for free here. This image sat at this point for a while waiting for inspiration to hit. Then Peter From posted a video tutorial on adding light rays to a photo and I realized that this is exactly what this image needed so here is the link to his video it is an excellent tutorial. To finish off the image cropped it square and add a black border in Onone Perfect Effects 4

While driving around  Cades Cove,  Great Smoky Mountain National Park, We stopped to wander through the historic Dan Lawson place. This is the view looking away from the Dan Lawson cabin across the center of the Cades Cove.  This was taken early in the morning,  in the middle of  November. The frost was amazing, I think the temperature was just hovering around freezing. The fog hanging over the mountains shielded the frost from the sun, keeping it alive well into the morning.

Prints

This photo is available for purchase as a limited edition* 16 x 24 print to be matted into a 20×30 frame for $80.

Print will be professionally printed on Epson Exhibition Fiber Paper

*Limited Edition –  25 print prints available.

Contact me to order or if you have any questions.

For Travelers

View Photo Locations in a larger map

For Photographers

This is a 5 shot bracket processed in NIK HDR Effex Pro 2 I used the “deep preset” to darken and bring some extra vibrance to the scene. After saving back to Lightroom 4, I added my Lightroom 4 preset “ U505″ I made some brush adjustments and adjusted the blacks then added my” Smoky Mountain River” preset. You can download both of these Lightroom 4 presets for free here. I finished by fixing dust spots in Photoshop CS6.

When I parked at the Dan Lawson cabin, I was first interested in the old barn and cabin at the site, but the view across the cove was just too amazing. I decided to include the fence in the frame to add a foreground element to give the image a sense of scale and dimension. I chose to keep the image dark and moody, to reflect the feeling of the chilly, early morning. I chose to leave the colors cool and on the blue side of the scale, again to portray the chill and the ambiance of the scene