April 1, 2008 HDR Thriller (honeymoon)

Day 13: Cinque Terre - More Manarola, uploaded into Flickr by aaronsigfin.

This great shot (HAVE A LOOK IN LARGE ON BLACK) came up with the search word "honeymoon"...chosen while listening tonight to Aimee Mann's Red Vines (link to listen below)...cool song with both a hook AND classic Mann poetry:

Red Vines (Listen Here)
They're all still on their honeymoon
just read the dialogue balloon
everyone loves you--why should they not?
And I'm the only one who knows
that Disneyland's about to close
I don't suppose you'd give it a shot
knowing all that you've got
are cigarettes and Red Vines...

March 30, 2008 HDR thriller (almost)

the path throught the arcades HDR*. Uploaded into Flickr by David Giral. Click on pic to see it in Flickr.

This shot isn't much UNTIL YOU SEE IT IN LARGE ON BLACK. It's a collection of trendy shops today, but with HDR photography like this, it's not hard to imagine Monpazier, France from centuries ago. The town was founded in 1284, evidently, as the photographer says on the Flickr page, by the King of England as a fortification to defend conquered lands. In large it almost puts you right there.

March 29, 2008 HDR Thriller (texture)

Half Dome at Sunset, uploaded into Flickr by Mellard. Click on pic to see it in Flickr.

I have seen a lot of shot of Yosemite's Half Dome, but this one is pretty unique...especially the light, which you've GOTTA SEE IN LARGE ON BLACK.

March 27, 2008 HDR Thriller (thread)

HDR Group Challenge, originally uploaded by slinky2000. Click on pic to see it in Flickr.

"Thread" is the word today...thought this was the best by far...cool composition showing relationships of light and dark on many levels. GOTTA SEE THIS IN LARGE ON BLACK.

March 26, 2008 HDR Thriller (pure)

Far Cry, uploaded into Flickr by Lumase. Click on pic to see it in Flickr.

Yowza...like a photo with some depth? Stop right here in the Italian Alps for a second. GOTTA SEE THIS IN LARGE ON BLACK. No way to know for sure if it's true, but the photographer said:

"Years ago a young hiker disappeared in this valley.
No traces of him. Neither backpack, nor any kind of object. A pure nothingness. Disappeared. Just as if he went through a door to somewhere else"

March25, 2008 HDR Thriller (strange)

Sunset reflecting in the windows, originally uploaded by Amundn. Click on pic to see it in Flickr.

Quite an HDR shot here. TRULY AWESOME IN LARGE ON BLACK.

As the photographer, Amundn, tells it, the orange windows are refecting a sunset, and there is no inside illumination (nor fire!). Eerie and wonderful colors.

March 24, 2008 HDR Thriller (peak)

Yakima Peak Fake Miniature - HDR and Tilt Shift, uploaded into Flickr by Kell Bailey. Click on pic to see it in Flickr.

This is an HDR processed image, and a good one at that, but it's also a tilt-shift processed one too. That's what gives this shot its miniature look. I kinda wanna know where the model train is, but this is a real place...but you might not believe that if you SEE IT IN LARGE ON BLACK.

Need proof? Here's the mountain, and just about any other you want to search for, on peakware.com.

March 23, 2008 HDR Thriller (Tibet)

HDR - On the way to Lin Zhi, originally uploaded by koolgary. Click on pic to see it in Flickr.

Tibet is high and beautiful. I hope things can be resolved there peacefully. Great depth in this HDR shot, and that's from the composition as much as the HDR processing. To gain the full effect, you GOTTA SEE IT IN LARGE ON BLACK.

March 20, 2008 HDR Thriller (painting)

Quiraing HDR. Uploaded into Flickr by aleatoric_yersinia. Click on pic to see it in Flickr.

I once mentioned in a previous entry that HDR photos sometimes look like Bob Ross paintings. Now I get a remarkable number of visitors who get to this site by Googling Bob Ross or the Joy of Painting TV series. I don't know if this one above looks like a Bob Ross or not, but it surely looks like a painting. A real Jawdropper that MUST BE SEEN IN LARGE ON BLACK to be appreciated.

But for you Bob Ross fans...HERE'S A POST that shows a challenging Bob Ross-like image that you can use as a model. Also...Ross videos are very hard to find on the web...must be a copyright thing...but here's one real Ross video I did find. And thanks for coming by.

And for the rest, some more fun...here's this shot without HDR processing, so you can see what effects HDR has had on it. A pretty big difference I'd say, particularly the sky.

March 20, 2008 HDR Thriller (mind)

2007-08-07 Whitby HDR, uploaded into Flickr by sayzey. Click on pic to see it in Flickr.

I am back from a brief trip without posting ability, so its nice to get back to it.

Noise can result from HDR processing, and it can be a two edged sword...it can give a shot a dreamy look, but also make it appear too artificial. I think the photographer on this one admits to some noise problems with this shot and the halo next to the flagpole, but, on balance, it is still compelling and has that gaze-grabbing quality to it. I like it. GOTTA SEE IT IN LARGE ON BLACK.

March 16, 2008 HDR Thriller (chaos)

Chairs in Boats, uploaded into Flickr by Stuck in Customs. Click on pic to see it in Flickr.

A remarkable shot that exemplifies how HDR can result in photos that have the character of an oil painting. GOTTA SEE THIS IN LARGE ON BLACK.

Boats rafted up just after sunrise in Naples, Italy. It's going to be a good day. I love how the chairs are stacked two to a boat. I can picture this scene later in the day when everybody is there for the fun. If this is chaos, let me have some.

March 15, 2008 HDR Thriller (preparation)

Pizza. Uploaded into FLickr by Bill Strong. Click on pisc to see it in Flickr.

At a street fair in Toronto. GOTTA SEE IT IN LARGE ON BLACK. I really like how a well-done HDR shot treats a scene like this, both foreground and background, and the combination of multiple exosures make the flags in the breeze a look like they are...well, snapping in a breeze.

March 13, 2008 HDR Thriller (Sombero Galaxy)

M104 Hubble Remix. Published by Astronomy Pic of the Day. Click on pic to see it in APOD.

I kinda keep touch with a cool photo site, Astronomy Pic of the Day, which is exactly what it says it is. I was just going through it the other day I SAW THIS PIC ABOVE POSTED ON APOD and said to myself, you know that galaxy...it has..well...look at the dust ring detail...it looks kinda like and HDR image. I was curious and found sure enough, it is processed in HDR! But to get the best effect, click the link at the end of this sentence, and then click the image that comes up to really superzoom it....LINK.

I know, I know...not real exciting, unless you blog HDR shots everyday...then it's sort of a tiny personal Carl Sagan moment.

Pretty cosmic...in HDR.

March 12, 2008 HDR Thriller (you and me)

Finnigh_HDR - 12041. Uploaded into Flickr by finnigh. Click on pic to see it in Flickr.

Been listening to the new Kathleen Edwards album just out...Asking for Flowers. Great songwriter, haunting voice. She is categorized by some as post-alt-country (whatever that is)...but I kinda think she has invented a new genre with the last song on the album Goodnight, California. Takes "post-alt-country" right into 6:28 of "post-alt-country-chill".

Have a listen here...Kathleen Edwards - Goodnight, California. Borrowed today's search word from the opening line.

Couple of good listening porches in the photo above. HAVE A LOOK IN LARGE ON BLACK.

March 10, HDR Thriller (pink)

San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge Sunset. Uploaded into Flickr by zachwsu. Click on pic to see it in Flickr.

Trying out a color search today that yielded a terrific HDR shot of the Golden Gate here. GOTTA SEE IT IN LARGE ON BLACK. Refections on sand, the headland on the right, and the bridge all make this look so much like a painting instead of a photo.

March 9, 2008 HDR Thriller (storm)

Winter is Coming, uploaded into Flickr by Stuck in Customs. Click on pic to see it in Flickr.

Another HDR jawdropper from StuckinCustoms. GOTTA SEE IT IN LARGE ON BLACK. Where is it from?...a place called Stadarskali, Iceland. The Icelandic landscape, so recently (at least in geologic terms) wrought by volcanism, is so...so..out of the ordinary. The earth at work.

March 7, 2008 HDR Thriller (glimpse)

A glimpse of the bastide through the arcades IV HDR*. Uploaded into Flickr by David Giral. Click on pic to see it in Flickr.

This one is calming for some reason, at least to me. GOTTA SEE IT IN LARGE ON BLACK. The archetype of an old town in Europe, Giral's photo here is from Monpazier, France. I could stare at it a long time. The colors. The history. The search word is quite ironic today, because if I were here, I could sit in this place or under that veranda on the right, with a good cafe, for hours.

March 6, HDR Thriller (unfinished)

The Ka'baa... (HDRi), uploaded into Flickr by _Nomad_. Click on pic to see it in Flickr.

Astounding, this one is. I know very little about Islam, but I am aware of the Hajj to Mecca that moslems are required to partake in some time in their lives, if they have the means. Thought this was a terrific shot of the Hajj's centerpiece that gives a dizzying perspective of the faithful whirling around the Ka'baa shrine in the middle of the Grand Mosque. GOTTA SEE IT IN LARGE ON BLACK. And what you see here is just a very small part of the mosque. To see it in relation to Mecca itself, DEFINITELY HAVE A LOOK AT THIS (another HDR shot by the same photographer). Now that's a mosque!

While there is something very intriguing about a religion where all the followers at some point journey to one place on earth, you might think by looking at the photo it could get a bit dangerous, and you'd be right.

March 5, 2008 HDR Thriller (scenic)

Cliff top village., uploaded into Flickr by tassie303. Click on pic to see it in Flickr.

First, this is a great HDR shot...YOU GOTTA SEE THIS IN LARGE ON BLACK. Do you think all of the folks who live here appreciate it? I mean REALLY appreciate it...every single day...are they getting up just to see the damn dawn...every day of their lucky little lives? I don't want to know for sure, but I suspect there's gotta be one sniveling, sorry-ass Tuborg-drinking reprobate who doesn't value this place. As for the people who do appreciate living in this town and have an extra measure of joy added to their day because of it...I salute you!!!

March 4, 2008 HDR Thriller (stone)

ayutthaya-B-head_0204. Uploaded into Flickr by Water Bowl. Click on pic to see it in Flickr.

Just your average ancient stone Buddha peering through a banyan overgrown temple. Part art, part history, and all eerie. GOTTA SEE IT IN LARGE ON BLACK.

March 3, 2008 HDR Thriller (ominous)

Church ..., uploaded into Flickr by asmundur. Click on pic to see itin Flickr.

An easy selection today. There are a lot of elements here beyond just HDR processing, but HDR really allows asmunder to take advantage of an amazing lighting condition. And, of course, it's from Iceland. When am I ever going to get there already! A MUST SEE IN LARGE ON BLACK.

I think other shots from asmundur have popped up before, too...Like this one.

March 2, 2008 HDR Thriller (wave)

Nova Scotia Coast, uploaded into Flickr by Tim Moffatt. Click on pic to see it in Flickr.

Pretty cool view of the Nova Scotia sea coast. A MUST SEE IN LARGE ON BLACK.

March 1, 2008, HDR Thriller (fair)

Wheel of Doom, originally uploaded by NY_Doll. Click on pic to see it in Flickr.

Back after a brief time away. Here's an unusual shot that mesmerizes. Like it either ON BLACK or LARGE ON BLACK.