Tranquility #3

What is it about the serene bubbling sounds of water that so calm the human mind? Does it hark back to millions of years to our origin from water to land?

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Calming waters on the River Walk in San Antonio. Click on the photo for more viewing options on Flickr.

3-shot bracketed HDR using a 28-70mm f/2.8 Sigma Lens fitted on a Nikon D7000. Processed in Photomatix Pro and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

Tranquility

Tranquility
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At the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. A HDR of 3 shots at -2, 0 and +2 merged in Photomatix Pro. I loved the tranquil moods in this part of the gardens with the flowing stream and colourful japanese maples.

Human activity

A stark reminder of the destruction we are causing to life in the oceans. A shark made up totally of non-degradable garbage found in our seas on display at Sea World, San Antonio. The disappearance of flight MH370 and the number of false sightings of wreckage in the ocean indicates that our oceans are full of floating debris resulting from indiscriminate and reckless dumping of waste, much to the detriment of all life that has survived for millions of years.

Floating peril
All manner of plastic waste found in our oceans!

The Oldest Church in Texas

San Fernando Cathedral was founded in 1731 and is the oldest, continuously functioning religious community in Texas. The Cathedral building has the added distinction of being the oldest standing church building in Texas. (Source: http://www.catholicearth.com).

San Fernando Cathedral
San Fernando Cathedral, San Antonio, Texas

3-shot bracketed HDR at -2, 0 and +2. Merged in Photomatix Pro.

You lookin’ at me?

A red-eared slider turtle basking in the Texas sun at Sea World, San Antonio.

You lookin' at me?
3-shot bracketed HDR photo.

3 -shot bracketed HDR photo merged in Photomatix Pro and processed in Adobe Lightroom.

Still life – HDR

With the weather going from bad to worse here in the UK, the scope for outdoor photography has been limited. I therefore, took to an indoor experiment using a bunch of flowers under natural lighting. Both pictures are from 3-shot bracketed exposures at -2, 0 and +2 at f/3.2 1/40, 1/1o and 0.4 second exposures. Merged in Photomatix Pro. I would love to hear from you!!

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The reality dysfunction

Spot the reality!! With due apologies to Peter F. Hamilton for his fantastic book of the same name as the title of this post..

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Can you spot the difference between the real and the painted? Check out a larger picture on Flickr by clicking on the photograph. In Belgrade, Serbia

Ely Cathedral on Christmas Night

This is a photograph of the historic Ely cathedral on christmas day. 3 pictures are exposures between 14 and 52 seconds were bracketed to produce this picture.

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Click on the photograph for a larger version on flickr.

 Processed in Adobe Lightroom and Photomatix Pro.

 

Winter Rose

It is a sign of the mild winter here in Cambridge so far. I photographed this rose in my garden over the weekend (14 December, 2013). It is rather strange to see a bright rose at this time of the year, and therefore merits a blog post of its own!

A rose in winter!!
A rose in winter!! Click on picture for a larger image..

Three-shot bracketed HDR processed in Photomatix and Adobe Lightroom.

Gnarled and twisted..

A tree at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Park in Glen Rose, Texas. Handheld HDR of 3-bracketed exposures merged in Photomatix Pro.

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Click on the photo for a larger version on Flickr