I have had a super busy week so far and it's only Tuesday.  My camera hasn't seen daylight in a few weeks, so tonight's image is from the GSMNP trip I took a few weeks back with a few friends.

This is a 3 image HDR processed in Photomatix Pro.  This image was only tone mapped once.  I decided to go with a more natural look on this HDR shot.  I did try a double tone mapped version but it didn't look near as good as this one.

Enjoy!

Here's a shot I made on the Downtown Atlanta workshop that I helped out with for Bear Woods Photography.  This is a vertical HDR panoramic shot I made at one of the downtown parks.  12 shots total make up this shot.  3 HDR shots per section, and 4 sections...I hope that makes sense.

The 3 HDR shots per section were shot at 0, +2 and -2.  I processed each section in Photomatix Pro.  Then I joined the four final HDR sections in Photoshop using the Photomerge tool.

This isn't an award winning shot by any means, just a reminder to not overlook the vertical panoramic shot next time your out and about.

Enjoy!

Last weekend I had the good fortune of assisting David Akoubian in a workshop/walkabout in the downtown Atlanta area.  It was a ton of fun to walk the street of downtown and meet new people at the same time.

We started out and ended up at Centennial Park.  We covered several different subjects during the walk.  My favorite subject was the Candler Building.  It is an old office building that another workshop assistant works in.  He got us special access to get inside and photograph.  This is a rare and great opportunity.  Inside the Candler Building was amazingly beautiful.  I hope I could capture half of its' beauty in this photograph.

This photo was taken in the lowest level of the building looking up the stairway.

Enjoy!

5 shot HDR Processed in Photomatix Pro.

Yesterday, I took a much needed break and rode up to GSMNP with a few friends.  It was just a quick day trip to Cades Cove and back, but boy was it ever fun and relaxing!

As always, it was beautiful inside Cades Cove.  There was a very nice layer of fog and the temperatures were amazing compared to what we have had in North Alabama recently.

We didn't shoot Sparks at first light simply because the fog hadn't made it to Sparks Lane just yet.  We rode down Hyatt Lane looking for some wildlife and ending up shooting spiderwebs for about an hour...then we made it back to Sparks.  By this time the fog had rolled in.

Although I have shot this same scene looking down Sparks Lane more than a few times, I have never shot it for HDR processing...until yesterday.  I processed this image a little on the strong side with my HDR software, but I really like how it came out.

I hope you enjoy!

This was a 3 shot HDR processed using Photomatix using the same technique I show in my HDR tutorial.

I also posted a new tutorial today in my typical Lightroom Workflow.  Check it out here

Here’s a shot I took a month or so ago at one of my favorite waterfalls, Rutledge Falls in Manchester, TN.  I can’t even begin to tall you how tranquil and relaxing this place is at the end of the day.  To capture this image I had to get in the water.  I didn’t mind at all.  The water in the creek is spring fed and is very cold!  Perfect for a June in the South…or July, or August.  I collapsed my Vanguard Alta Pro 283CT to it’s lowest position to get my camera “eye level” with the cascade in the foreground to capture this unique point of view.  I also used my B+W Circular Polarizer to eliminate sheen from the water’s surface. foliage and rocks.  A cable release was also used to reduced camera shake.  The release is a pretty essential tool in my bag, I use it almost every time I use my camera.  Once I had my camera setup for the composition I wanted, I dialed in my polarizer, adjusted the camera settings (ISO 100, F/16 @ 3.2 seconds) and fired the shutter via camera release…about 3 seconds later this is what I got.

I hope you enjoy!  Looking at this picture again makes me want to drive back up there right now.

This past weekend I got to take a pretty amazing trip to Birmingham, AL to visit the Alabama Theatre.  This was an extra special trip because due to a friend that knew a friend that works with a guy…you know those kind…we got an all access, behind the scenes tour of everything we could in 2 hours.  We met a guy named Tom Cronier there, who let us in and showed us all the good stuff.  He was a great tour guide.  Not only did he offer to turn on/off any lights we requested, he knew pretty much everything there was to know about the place!  I learned a bunch!  Tom is also passionate about the organ in the theatre, so we got to learn a lot about the organ and how it works.

I only took a total of about 11 pictures, however they were all HDR, so I took several pictures to make up those 11.  Here are just a few from the trip.  I still can’t tell you how cool it was!

I hope I was able to capture the ambiance of this place and the history you feel just by walking in the place.

This is a shot from the balcony looking back to the stage.  5 shot HDR processed in Photomatix Pro.

This is a shot from the hallway, looking up the stairs. 

This turned out to be one of my favorite shots from the day (it is hard to pick one though).  Another 5 shot HDR processed in Photomatix Pro.