Tag Archives: cityscape

The Best Sunset in Honolulu

Posted on September 2nd, 2013 by

Awesome Sunsets

Happy Labor Day everyone! I hope everyone gets to get out and spend time in the sun one last time before the official end of summer. This photo was taken in Oahu at Puu Ualakaa State Park. There is a great overlook and not too many people. The trees were a bit tall for my liking, but you get a decent view regardless. I shot this as an HDR with multiple frames stitched together. I am afraid, because of its width, it displays smaller on the site. Click the photo below to get a slightly bigger version!

HDR Photography
The Best Sunset in Honolulu by W. Brian Duncan

The Chicago River

Posted on August 1st, 2013 by

Walking Downtown

One of my favorite things about Chicago, which I often fly through, is how easy it is to get downtown from O’Hare. Just hop on the train, ride for a bit…BAM you are in downtown Chicago. There is a lot to see and do, but I just love wandering the streets around Millennium Park. I was on one of these walks when I caught this photo of Trump International Hotel & Tower and the Wrigley Building with the Chicago River in the foreground.

HDR Photography
The Chicago River by W. Brian Duncan

Honolulu Memorial Park

Posted on July 25th, 2013 by

Cemetery

On the drive back to Waikiki Beach from visiting the Pali Lookout, I saw a roadside turn off that I immediately pulled over on. I love these scenic overlook as they are most often great places to shoot landscapes from. There is a strong Japanese influence on Oahu which can plainly be seen in Honolulu Memorial Park also know as Kyoto Gardens. It is both a garden park and an adjoining cemetery for Buddhists…I didn’t get a change to visit while I was there, but I have this on my stop list for a visit next year.

HDR Photography
Honolulu Memorial Park by W. Brian Duncan

Kerry Park Overlook Seattle

Posted on May 20th, 2013 by

Textures

I have been a fan of Brooke Shaden’s work for some time. If you are not familiar with her, absolutely check our her work as it is a bit dark, dreamlike and always wonderfully imaginative. Last week she taught a Creative Live course oddly enough in Seattle (pictured in the photo below). I was lucky to get to catch a little of her teaching online and it got me to thinking about (among other things) textures. I rarely use them to enhance what is going on in my images and I don’t know why. They seem to be all the rage and I love the boost of interesting they add to a flat image so long as the texture is added to enhance what is going on in the photo, not just used in a cool Instagram way. What do you think about textures and did anyone else see Brook’s class? This was created from a single image.

Travel Photography
Kerry Park Overlook Seattle by W. Brian Duncan

San Francisco Sunrise

Posted on April 15th, 2013 by

Dawn

We looked out the window of our hotel room and were greeted with two amazing sites of contrast. One was the amazing city of San Francisco. It’s a wonder! A city built on the most inhospitable geography. The City has burned, flooded been destroyed by earthquake…it is a wonder of modern construction and civil engineering. The other amazing site was the sunrise. Despite all we have and will do as a people, I am always most struck by the awesome power, majesty and beauty of the natural world. It is these two contrasts, both the natural and the man-made wonder that had me grabbing for my camera.

HDR Photography
San Francisco Sunrise by W. Brian Duncan

A New York Morning

Posted on March 7th, 2013 by

Morning Walks

When I travel, I usually have a very loose idea of what I want to see. I don’t make concrete plans, everything stays very fluid…I am a Pisces after all. My general mode of transportation is almost always walking. I prefer to see a city by foot. I often walk so much I end up destroying my feet for weeks to come after my adventures. I am learning the importance of good socks and proper fitting shoes. One morning when we were walking around I shot this street scene in New York City. The light is dramatic, but otherwise it’s street much like you would see in any city. I think that simplicity and the wonderful warm light are what I love about this shot. To me it screams New York in the morning.

HDR Photography
A New York Morning by W. Brian Duncan

NYSE in the Morning

Posted on January 14th, 2013 by

Life Goals

At one point in my life, I wanted to work on Wall Street. For a portion of my younger years I had an…interesting love of Michael J. Fox’s character Alex P. Keaton. This included a brief case to carry my school supplies, dressing in clothes more intended for church then normal school days and regular reading of the Wall Street Journal. Needless to say I was very popular in the 6th grade, or as I like to look at it, I have never been afraid to express myself differently then those around me. Thought the briefcase was left behind years ago, I still to this day find myself doing things a little differently then others. I didn’t think much about the contrast when I was at the New York Stock Exchange, photographing, but it strikes me now how what WAS and what IS in our lives is constantly changing. Then again, isn’t everything.

HDR Photography
NYSE in the Morning by W. Brian Duncan

Downtown St Louis at Dusk

Posted on July 26th, 2012 by

Pretty Light

I am a sucker for a good sunset (and a good sunrise really). We were by the St Louis Arch doing some photographing of the arch, when it turned all pink. I turned around when Pamela said…”Woah, look at that!” The sky over downtown St Louis had gone all…awesome! I and several other photographers setup shots quickly (you never know how long these things will last). I think I missed the peak color by a few minutes, but you wouldn’t know from the shot.

Technicals

This is a three shot HDR (-2, 0, +2) combined in Photomatix. It was edited in Photoshop, Nik Color EFX Pro, Sharpener Pro and Lightroom 4.

HDR Photography
Downtown St Louis at Dusk by W. Brian Duncan

Palmer House

Posted on April 30th, 2012 by

Walking the Streets of Chicago

On my last trip to Chicago, I got a bit of time just to roam the streets downtown. It was a great day for a photowalk and I had a great time just meandering. Often carrying a camera makes you a target for all sorts of harassment. The police these days seem to be overly suspicious of why anyone would want to take a picture of anything. People get mad if you get in their way or stop on the sidewalk for a look around (stupid tourists). On this trip I was yelled at by a guy asking for a bus fare. He repeatedly told me, “I’m not a bum!”. To which I said I was sorry I didn’t have any cash. He cursed at me and stormed off muttering something about my wallet full of cash. Obviously he doesn’t know about the airline mile earning credit cards I used to get to Chicago in the first place. Really sir…I don’t carry any cash.

Palmer

I took this shot of the Historic Palmer House Marquee. Little did I realize at the time I missed an awesome photo opportunity inside as the lobby is apparently gorgeous.

HDR Photography
Palmer House by W. Brian Duncan

Le Consulat

Posted on April 23rd, 2012 by

Noir Streets

It had been raining most of the day in Paris. The streets were still very damp the night Pamela and I walked the hill to Sacre Coeur through Montmartre. I had been looking for the Le Consulat building, everyone takes a photo of it when they visit Montmartre; it sort of stands out among the other buildings. Because of the rain the cobblestone streets in this old part of town seemed very black. Much like one of those wonderful old Film Noir movies I so love. I was, photographically speaking, happy for the continuing mist that kept things damp that night, even though it made for a chillier walk. I think Pamela described the mist with different words.

On Other Photographers

There probably isn’t much doubt that I really enjoy my photography. I take it more seriously than a good number of things and as such I spend quite some time scouring the web looking for inspiration, ideas…challenges to issue to myself. I recently stumbled upon (actually it was Google+) a photographer named Elia Locardi who runs the site Blame the Monkey. I was blown away by Elia’s work with color. It made me stop and think about where I place my emphasis during post. His work seemed to issue a challenge to me to pay closer attention to leading the viewer’s eye and color in my own images. Today’s photo of Le Consulat is a step in that direction.

HDR Photography
Le Consulat by W. Brian Duncan