HDR Photos From Berlin, Germany

Sony Center Roof

Sony Center Roof

While Cali Lewis and I were in Berlin last week for the IFA 2011 show we had the opportunity to spend a day wandering around Berlin. As usual I annoyed the hell out of her by stopping every 15 feet to take a photo.

The following is a collection of HDR, or High Dynamic Range, photos that I took. If you’d like to know how this works, you should go read my friend Trey’s HDR tutorial. That will explain everything.

Enjoy!!!
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Discount Coupon for Trey Ratcliff’s HDR Video Tutorial

Trey Ratcliff's Horse HDR

Trey Ratcliff's Horse HDR

Do you guys remember when I did the little video of uncrating that magnificent HDR Wall Art that my friend Trey Ratcliff created for me? Or maybe you saw when I posted his awesome video Japan: Heatbeats of Time? Or maybe you’ve just seen some of his awesome photography in general? He’s had over 44 million views on Flickr and 22 million on SmugMug!

Well, I’ve got some good news… Trey now has a NEW downloadable version of his HDR Workshop! And, thanks to the magic of friendship, you can get 10% off any version of the HDR Tutorial using the coupon code: JOHNPISAGREATGUY. So feel free to Order the HDR Video Tutorial Now! (Oh, and don’t bother looking for a bigger discount code anywhere. It doesn’t exist, so no need to waste time.)

What’s This All About?

This isn’t any old HDR Tutorial… this video was shot on location in Austin during Trey’s sold-out HDR Workshop which people paid $1,000 to attend. (And I should know… I shot it!)

And lets not forget that Trey Ratcliff is the greatest HDR photographer on the planet, and the first person to ever have an HDR hang in the Smithsonian Museum.
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My New Custom HDR Wall Art From Trey Ratcliff of StuckInCustoms.com


A few weeks ago I got a brand new piece of art from Trey Ratcliff, who specializes in hdr photography. And I’m not talking about a little 8″x10″ photo or anything… I’m talking about a 5 foot diagonal full color photograph specially printed on a high gloss aluminum surface.

The photo is one Trey took in Central Park which I immediately loved and asked him to get printed for me. Here is a little video of the un-crating of this magnificent piece of wall art.

If you have some room in your home or office for museum quality photography I highly encourage you to contact Trey and just make it happen. He’s one of the most accommodating artists you could ever want to meet, so just give him an idea what you’re looking to do and he’ll take good care of you. Here is his page that lists current hdr prints, but keep in mind that as long as you have the budget I’m sure he’ll make any piece available for you.
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Stuck in Customs HDR Book Contest Day 3 – Architecture Photos

Ahhh, day 3 of our 3-day photo contest! I’ll tell you what, you guys have kept me busy! First with the landscapes, then the vehicles, and now we’ve moved on to Architecture Day!

As with before, as you scroll down you’ll find many of the photos submitted by users that I really enjoyed today. And at the end we’ve got the final winner of Trey’s new book A World in HDR. For those of you who are in the Austin, TX area don’t forget that next Wednesday, December 9th, there is going to be a book launch party at the Driskill hotel in downtown. So come on out and get your copy signed.
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Stuck in Customs HDR Book Contest Day 2 – Vehicle Photos

Ahhh! Day 2 of the Stuck in Customs A World in HDR book giveaway contest, made possible by PeachPit of course! Of course, today is my favorite because the theme of the day is vehicles! And I do love vehicles!

Abandoned Chevy Cartoon - sm

So, this first one we’ve got here is a photo I took this weekend in Tucumcari, New Mexico of an old abandoned truck. Hope you like it. It’s just here to set the mood. Now let’s take a look at some of my favorite submissions so far and then I’ll announce today’s winner at the very end.
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Stuck in Customs HDR Book Contest Day 1 – Landscape Photos

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m judging Trey’s photo contest in which PeachPit is giving away 3 copies of his soon to be released book A World in HDR. I’ve been watching the submissions (anyone can participate – you just Tweet links to photos!) today, and I’ve collected several of my favorites below.

It’s was very difficult picking a winner because all of the submissions are really fantastic. The photographers did a great job, and the people who submitted the images had a keen eye. But don’t you worry your pretty little heads… I picked a winner down below! ;-)

So, today is Landscape day and let me give everyone two big hints if you want a better chance at winning:

  1. Make sure you link to an image that is a reasonable size. If I can’t view it in at least 1024×768 it is definitely not going to win. I mean who wants to squint at a tiny little image. Just upload it in 1920×1080 and you are going to be safe. Oh, and don’t put ugly watermarks all over it either…
  2. If it’s not Creative Commons licensed then it’s not going to make it onto my blog or any other reputable ones either. Which means that you also aren’t going to get a powerful backlink. Or the traffic that comes with it. Using a CC license doesn’t erode your ability to sell commercial licenses, it just lets you get free publicity from people like me who might use it non-commercially.

That’s it! Off to the photos now!
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The Stuck In Customs HDR Photo Contest

Chicago-HDRI first wrote about the photography of Trey Ratcliff in February 2007 with my article The Best Photography on the Web – Part 1. At the time, I recognized Trey’s work as unique and original, but I had no idea that he was to become an icon of the High Dynamic Range movement.

Just two months after I wrote about him, two of Trey’s images won the prestigious Smithsonian Magazine Annual Photo Contest. I mean, he didn’t place just once… he had two top 10 photos in the same contest. That goes way beyond luck folks.

A-World-In-HDRFlash forward to 2009, and Trey is about to publish his first book called A World in HDR. And in conjunction with the book release, Trey and Peachpit Press are running a contest to give away 3 copies of the new book.
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HDR Photos from the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas

Cadillac Ranch Crop 1920x1280You might not have recognized what I was referencing by the name, but chances are that when you see the images you know what I’m talking about.

According to Wikipedia:

Cadillac Ranch is a public art installation and sculpture in Amarillo, Texas, U.S. It was created in 1974 by Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels, who were a part of the art group Ant Farm, and it consists of what were (when originally installed during 1974) either older running used or junk Cadillac automobiles… from 1949 to 1963, half-buried nose-first in the ground….

These Cadillacs have appeared in movies, photos, songs and just about every other form of popular culture, but they are so remote that most people won’t ever see them in person. However if you ever find yourself on I-40 in Amarillo, Texas just keep an eye on the south side of the highway around exit 60 and you can’t miss em.

Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo
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The Best Photography on the Web – Part 2

I now present part two of my Best Photography on the Web series. It takes me a little while between these posts because I find them slowly over time as opposed to searching for them constantly. Before we get started with this issue here is the standard disclaimer:
BE WARNED! Photographers take pictures of places, things and people. Sometimes naked people.

If you are sensitive to nude men, naked women or wet fruit please move on to another article.

Dr. Feng Jiang

Feng JiangWe begin the second installment of the Best Photography on the Web with Chinese artist / Photographer Dr. Feng Jiang.

Dr. Jiang’s stunning photos of China are enough to make me want to visit just to see these places in person; and his mastery of light, reflections and composition are simply impressive.
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