HDR Photography
When the weather turns cold and blustery and rainy, a warm place (e.g. library, cafe, bed) feels like a fortress. On this particular day in the Marin Headlands overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, it was definitely cold, blustery, and rainy, but without a warm place to retreat to while shooting, I made do with a literal fortress, instead.
Here’s a shot I took a while back of one of the Bay Area’s most infamous landmarks. It was sort of a gray, hazy day but with a little judicious tweaking I feel like the island really pops.
Brendan and I have both posted before on how fantastic night shots look in HDR. Today’s photograph comes from Grizzly Peak, looking down over Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the South Campus area of Berkeley; the contrast between these two areas couldn’t be more stark. LBNL is flush with trees and tiny pockets of light along gently curving roads, while Berkeley itself is a foreign grid by comparison.
This is another example of how Berkeley’s campus can fool you into thinking its not in an urban/suburban setting. The wooded groves on the banks of Strawberry creek are some of the most picturesque places on campus. This a Eucalyptus grove on the northwest side of campus with Strawberry creek in the foreground.
I spent last weekend in surreal Palm Desert, California at a particular horse show, but had some time to sneak away from the action and wander the desert. I found this enormous, concrete pylon surrounded by desiccated shrubs and was almost intimidated by the whole sight. I kept waiting for the apes to start fighting around it.
While I’ve posted a few close up shots of flowers on the blog so far this is my first attempt at a multishot HDR shot of flowers. I’m really impressed with the results.
This is one of the earliest HDR images I ever took, and though I was still getting a few of the details worked out, I really loved the way that the reflection of the sun from the building’s windows was captured at sunset. The clouds and the soft forms of the hills make a nice contrast with the buildings of UC Berkeley.
With a few exceptions UC Berkeley has a very pretty campus architecturally. In particular I am a fan of the older buildings because, well, they just look so academic. Stephens Hall in particular looks like I imagine a building on an old university looks. On the south eastern side of the building, where this photo was shot, there is a particularly peaceful little grove with a creek running through it (which was previously featured). The effect is that you are removed from the hustle and bustle of the bay area.
Not all of Berkeley’s water ways are quite so picturesque as my previous post. I think this picture really captures the essence of Berkeley: a mixture of urban and natural elements. The contrast of the graffiti and cement tunnel with the overgrown ivy and the creek, just outside the Berkeley Faculty club, really sums this up.
The Marin Headlands overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge are more than just a viewpoint to take great pictures of the Bridge. They’re also honeycombed with bunkers and gun batteries that once defended the West Coast. Long abandoned, these solid and imposing structures are now decorated with enormous amounts of graffiti. This small bunker is just the beginning of the incredible art at these batteries.
There are some truly spectacular spots on UC Berkeley’s campus including this spot just outside Stephens hall, a quiet place beside a babbling brook to escape from all of the undergrads shuffling between classes. I took this shot around sun down and captured this shot which makes it look like the creek is on fire.
Walking residential streets at dusk transforms the most mundane environment into a magical place. The incandescent lighting tumbles from the houses along with the smells of dinner. I found this particular house, with its gorgeous jungle of a front yard and perfect proportions, to be the most welcoming.
While out shooting the Golden Gate Bridge I found some of the nearby rock formations fascinating with so many little facets. Here I found some patches of lichen growing on the rocks, which looks to me like some sort of alien life form.
Some buildings really have a face of their own. This image is from the northern part of Berkeley; I love how obviously the street is slanted. Still, the lobby looks quite warm and inviting (particularly on the night I took this image; the drizzle was a bit unpleasant.)
There’s something about close-up shots of flowers.
Decaseconds 