Overlooking Munich
A view over the rooftops of Munich, Germany…
I just adore European cities and always look for interesting vantage points - but it’s often difficult to get a view from above a city. In Munich, we took the tour to the top of their City Hall building which has a bell tower, and when we got there I knew this was a view I would enjoy. It happened to be approaching sunset, too, so I was lucky to get some decent light as well!
Sunset in Dublin
A lovely sunset in equally lovely Dublin, Ireland…
Don’t you just love it when you get great light AND reflections? It doesn’t always happen, but when it does the photos just come out great. Most people don’t wish for rain when they are going to shoot - and I don’t either, to be clear - but I will admit that if it rains for just a bit and then clears up, you can get some amazing light such as I had on this sunset shot from Dublin.
Moraine Lake
The dramatic beauty of Moraine Lake in the Canadian Rockies…
It’s just hard to think of a place more beautiful than Moraine Lake.
When we visited the Canadian Rockies, I spent two sunsets in a row here at Moraine Lake. It’s just so beautiful that even though my first sunset was gorgeous and I loved my photos, I wanted to return just to see and shoot it some more. It’s that gorgeous. You just sort of stand there in awe at the incredible natural beauty. I don’t often get the chance to shoot landscapes, and rarely do I get to see ones that are this stunning. It’s a real treat. If you are anywhere near it, please go see it.
Sunset in The Badlands
Sunset in the Badlands of South Dakota…
The Badlands at sunset - done in full color HDR!
I was happy to finally see The Badlands earlier this summer. While South Dakota may not be on the top of your list for vacation destinations, I wanted to go and see this place. It just looks interesting, and now that I have seen it in person, I can say that it really is interesting. And beautiful, in a deserted, empty sort of way.
My daughter and I took a 10 day roadtrip from Texas up to South Dakota and back, with some stops in Colorado and New Mexico along the way. It was a lot of fun and I came home with some photos that I like, such as this one. While I didn’t get any dramatic light on the trip, it was quite fun to bond with my daughter and see new stuff (and take photos of it, of course).
Vintage Venice
A beautiful sunset in Venice, turned vintage…(I think it works).
Venice is a beautiful town, even when it’s turned a little vintage.
I love to experiment with my photographs. New techniques, old techniques, you name it. It’s fun and always educational to just test out ideas on photos and see what you can create. Take today’s photo for instance. This was a gorgeous sunset in Venice, Italy and really didn’t need any post processing from me to ensure it came across as beautiful as it was in real life. However I decided why not try something a little old school on it? You know, give it a little vintage charm and see how it looks? So I added a water-stained paper texture to it and made some other changes, and came up with this. Is it amazing? No, not really. I like it, but it’s not going to win any awards. But I did have a good time creating this look, and that’s always worth it to me.
Beautiful Moraine Lake
Moraine Lake in western Canada, at sunset…..
Ah, the Canadian Rockies - so gorgeous there!
I love Canada, having been lucky enough to visit many times. My favorite part of course is western Canada, and the town of Banff (and the National Park it sits in). It’s just a landscape paradise that is incredibly beautiful and inspiring. When we visited, I took as many photos as possible, just because I wanted to soak up as much as I could and be able to revisit it in my library again and again. This is one of many from Moraine Lake, which may just be the prettiest part of the whole area. I spent two sunsets here in a row, and both were just off the charts amazing.
Sunset in Firenze
A lovely sunset in Florence, Italy…or was it?
Sometimes you just don't get the light that you want.
It happens a lot. You are going somewhere special, and you have a vision in your mind of what a stunning sunset will look like from a specific vantage point that you have never visited. So you plan ahead, get there with plenty of time, have all the right gear, and the light is crap. Totally boring.
Sadly, it does happen and there is nothing you can do about it at the moment. But part of the fantastic fun of post-processing for me is that you can interpret the scene artistically later if you want to. I don't do this much, but sometimes it a great exercise for crafting a photo that fits the vision you held in your mind for so long.
That's what I did with this photo. The light was totally boring, and although the view was incredible, the photos I took were underwhelming. So I went into Luminar and added a lovely sunset sky to replace the boring one I witnessed. I think that is totally ok to do, as long as you let your viewers know that it's an artistic interpretation and not exactly what you shot.
If you are interested in how I created this photo, you can find the video I did about it below:
Sunset at the Mermaid Inn
Sunset at The Mermaid Inn in southern England…
A beautiful little town in England and a historic inn, too!
Back in January when I visited London, my friends convinced me to take a couple of days out of town with them and head south to the coast. So I did, because why not see something new and different? I'm really glad that I did too, because it was a lot of fun and I saw some things I would likely never get to on my own.
One such place was The Mermaid Inn in Rye. It's a small town south of London and the Mermaid Inn is a rather historic hotel there. I love the cobblestone streets and the whole scene. We walked around and shot the town a bit, then headed into the bar there for a pint while we waited on the light to change. When I came back out, sunset was in full swing and luckily I only had to walk a few steps to get this shot. I fired some brackets and went back in. My beer was still cold. :-)
Sunset in Jackson Hole
A lovely sunset in Jackson Hole, WY and I hop out of the car to grab a couple of quick shots!
I caught these photos in a hurry! We were heading into the Grand Tetons area just north of Jackson Hole, WY and it was getting close to sunset. I was nervous because I always like to be in position early, in case the light gets amazing. But we were late and had a few miles to go to get there. But I saw this big lake with these great clouds, and had to stop anyway. I just can't pass up a nice view, especially when reflections are involved!
The dying of the light at Bodiam Castle
Sunset at Bodiam Castle in England…so much history and beauty here!
Ah, a castle at sunset? Yes please!
I love castles - LOVE THEM! - and when I had the chance to shoot Bodiam Castle in England I was pretty excited about it. Then, sunset got somewhat beautiful and interesting, which always adds to my enjoyment of a photo outing. So I wandered all around this structure shooting away. By far my favorite view though was this one, straight down the middle in front of the castle.
This photo is a 3 exposure HDR done in Aurora HDR. Thanks and enjoy!
Sunset in Vancouver
A lovely sunset over the equally lovely skyline of Vancouver, Canada!
Sometimes you get lucky with the view!
We rented an apartment when we visited Vancouver last year, and it just so happened that it was way up high with an amazing view. You don't always get that - in fact, often you don't - but we did in this case and I capitalized on it. What this really means is that I spent a lot of time on the balcony with my camera in hand. But hey, no complaints!
Sunset Over Lake Louise
Sunset at Lake Louise, in Banff National Park - a stunning part of the Canadian Rockies.
Ah, the beauty of Lake Louise! I have a serious thing for landscapes, but sadly I rarely get to photograph them since I am most often in cities. So when given the chance, I jump at it. This was taken during our trip to Banff National Park in Canada about a year ago. I still have a lot of photos to edit from the trip. I'm excited just thinking about them all!
The best place to shoot sunset in Austin
Looking out over the 360 Bridge at sunset - my favorite sunset spot in Austin!
I just love shooting sunset at the Loop 360 Bridge - it's a great view! I head over here a LOT to shoot the sunset, and always walk away happy about it. The view is fabulous, being elevated and all that, plus you have the gorgeous Pennybacker Bridge and even passing traffic to shoot. Yes, traffic can be a good thing, at least if you are shooting long exposures. :-)
Grazing their life away
A group of horses just grazing in a field, with a stunning mountain range for a backdrop…
Just some horses grazing in a field in Jackson Hole, WY. Since I am generally in cities, I don't get many opportunities to shoot landscapes and animals. I just don't come across them. So when we were in Jackson Hole, I had a field day. The landscapes are just stunning, but even coming across a group of horses grazing in a field was exciting for me. I watched these horses for a while and snapped a few shots here and there. I especially love the backdrop...what a landscape!
Sunset in the Badlands
Sunset in the Badlands of South Dakota - another state visited!
I have wanted to visit the Badlands in South Dakota for a really long time. Having seen many pics of the place - and being a huge fan of the Springsteen song, too - I just had to see it and photograph it for myself. So a few weeks ago I took off on a road trip with my daughter. It spanned about 9 days and we covered 3100 miles. It was awesome, but boy did I get a little tired of all the driving. Regardless, we made it and I took some shots that I like, including this one that I am sharing today. Enjoy!