Guest Blogger: Glenn Taylor


Today's guest blogger is Glenn Taylor. Glenn has been on a few of my workshops and is one talented dude. 

Take it away Glenn.

On a recent trip, traveling through Northern Arizona, my wife and I spent a day visiting some old mining towns along the way to Hoover Dam and Las Vegas. One of the towns we found was Chloride, 20 miles northwest of Kingman. It was named for the chloride silver ore that was discovered nearby in 1863. The mining ended in the 1950s and the town dwindled. Now it’s a cool little place off the highway that’s home to artists and folks that enjoy the wide open spaces.

In the center of town there is a colorful former filling station, with old gas pumps out front, it’s covered with old junk and signs, and mining tracks circling the building. On the front door is a sign, “This is a private home. You may take photos, but please respect my home.” That sign was all the invitation I needed. The structure had character, the sun was bright in the mid-afternoon desert and it was the perfect opportunity for an HDR image.


I shot it a from a few different angles, but when I got back, I liked the wide view from the right side the best. The tip here is to shoot a subject at different angles - so you have a choice when you get back home as to the best view.

I captured the three exposures on my Canon 5D MkII using my 24-70mm L lens at 42mm, ISO 100 at f/9 for 1/400, 1/100 and 1/25 of a second. I normally use either Photomatix or NIK HDR EFEX PRO depending on what feels right for the image and the look I want to achieve.

On this image I liked the look that Photomatix gave the sky and the building textures. I finished the image in Adobe Lightroom by adjusting the tone balance, some color tweaks, a little dodging and burning and some selective sharpening on the building details.

I love the way this image turned out and was thrilled that Rick noticed it. I learned a lot of tips on HDR from his workshop in Florida earlier this year and got to put them to use on this trip.

Here is a link to Rick's 2012 Florida Photo Caravan.

You can see additional images from this trip and other subjects on my Flickr page at:             http://www.flickr.com/photos/gtaylor57

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If you are new to HDR, you can get discounts on HDR Efex Pro and Photomatix here.


Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. If you need some HDR tips, check out my iPad app, Rick Sammon's iHDR.