Standing out

As part of the continuing evolution of this blog, I’m likely going to share more and more about my explorations and of the gear I use (or have used) in those explorations. That could include a wide range of stuff from cameras, travel related gear, accessories and more, snd will likely cover things I like… and don’t like. Also, starting tomorrow, I think I’ll spend a few weeks posting photo from many of the places I have explored around the floor, all of which will be dedicated to those out there who may not have had the good fortune to getting too far afield from their own part of the world. I’m doing that to both share the beauty I have seen with those of you out there who enjoy seeing what’s out there (but have not yet had the chance to explore), and as a reminder to myself to not take for granted what I’ve been able to see through the years. And since I promised one very close friend in particular that tomorrow’s shot will be from Paris, France, that is what it will be! In the meantime, here’s one from the undergrounds of Berlin, Germany.

Cooking up a storm…

I love this old abandoned kitchen at this decaying sanatorium in Germany. I wonder how many people they cooked for in this place. Processing this shot today with the soon to be released Aurora HDR 2018 and already released Luminar Neptune brought back some truly awesome memories of epic urban explorations in Germany, especially in former East Germany. Try epic stuff there! I’ll post more of those shots here, of course. Oh, and if you want to see what the photograph looked like straight out Aurora HDR 2018, before I added finishing touches, take a look at the image second image in this post. Some of you may like that version better, but I really prefer the final version I developed in Luminar.

Version of photo straight out of Aurora HDR 2018 before Luminar edits

The Generator Room

Here’s a shot from one of my explores to an awesomely dilapidated old generator building at an abandoned sanitarium near Berlin, Germany. It’s the kind of place just screaming out for High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography. For this shot, I used the new Aurora HDR 2018 to bring the eight brackets together, before finishing things off in Luminar. I suppose I could have done most of the edits in Aurora, but I’ve gotten so used to Luminar for my final touches. I began recording a screencast tutorial for this one, but then ended up spending more time on the edit and thought you all might be bored with a longer video. So, I suppose that begs the question: how long a video tutorial is best for folks? Five minutes? Ten? More? Less? Let me know your thoughts. Oh, and what software is the best for such screencast tutorials? Screenflow? Something else?

Orange Crush

I’ve mentioned before that I used to play a lot of computer games, particularly of the First Person Shooter variety, like the Doom, Quake, Duke Nukem, Half Life, etc. Â I remember being amazed by the graphics the artists where able to create in the gaming environment, making it quite easy for me, the player, to suspend disbelief while playing through the various levels. Â I knew it was a game, and I knew they were computer generated graphics, but it felt pretty real while I was playing. Â That’s the way I look at HDR. Â Sure, it’s not “real”, but to me it “feels” as real as when I was there, if not more so.

The Balloon Man of Berlin’s Underground

Ran out this morning, on Father’s Day, to grab a few brackets before heading to church with my family.Â I found this cool graffiti in one of the underground metro stations here in Berlin.Â Loved the colors and symmetry and thought you might enjoy it as well.Â By the way, Happy Father’s day to all the dads out there!