I recently got into a discussion with some fellow photographers about the state of High-Dynamic Range (HDR) photography. In case you aren’t familiar with HDR photography here is the basic run down. HDR photography is a way of blending multiple exposures into a single image and getting the best parts of each exposure. In images with really high contrast, areas that are really bright, offset by areas that are really dark you can blend the images together and achieve a properly exposed image across the entire frame. Imagine a dark room with a really bright window. How in the world can you set your exposure to accurately capture the dark corner and the bright window? In typical photography you would have to settle to either expose for the window and underexpose the corner or set the exposure to accurately capture the dark corner while blowing out the exposure on the window.

The origins of HDR were developed to help situations just like these. Then along came artistic interpretation and HDR grew from a useful tool into an artistic technique. Of course some people took the concept wildly overboard and created some wild and fantastic images like the image below which is linked from Scottkelby.com

Many people like this artistic rendering and it can be used in so many different ways. It can be used to salvage a poorly exposed picture to pulling together a high-contrast image, to flat out incredible artistic interpretation.

The KTM below is given a grunge style interpretation giving the image a sinister or devious type feel.

In the image below there is a certain amount of artistic development, however HDR was necessary in this situation to balance the exposure. Shooting into the sun like this would have lost the rear wheel and made balancing the sky and landscape exposure very challenging. HDR to the rescue here.

Above motorcycle images courtesy of Ed Walker @ TopGeek.com

The way that I am using HDR these days the most is to help architectural photos. Shooting the inside of houses for real estate agents is not only a good way to make a few extra dollars, it is a great way to challenge your photographic skills. With a wide angle lens, bracketed exposure and a good HDR program like Photomatix Pro or Adobe Photoshop CS5.0 there is no limit to the great interior or exterior shots you can achieve.

Here is a photo of the interior of a room before HDR treatment.

Shot #1 Underexposed -2

Shot #2 – Proper Exposure +0

Overexposure +2

And finally, here is the image after a little HDR processing.

If you notice this image has a nice exposure of the interior of the house while keeping the windows properly exposed. If you used in an appropriate manner, HDR still has very practical applications for the working photographer. Although I really do like some HDR photos, some of them are overcooked, over processed or overdone.

Westminister, CO – There are photo shoots that you plan for and can control and then there are photo shoots that in the control of others and you are merely there to capture the best image possible given the current conditions. This is what happened the other day when I was asked to shoot the Rocky Mountain Roughrider U16 AAA team and individual photos. I had plans of an on-ice session complete with benches for the players, strobes to manage the light and the usual stuff that I do. However, this day would prove to be very different.

Off-Ice Session
The first strange part of the shoot was that I was not allowed any ice time…none. All of my shots had to be taken somewhere else around the rink. Time to get creative. After scouting many locations around the rink, the best spot or perhaps I should say, the only spot, that would even remotely work for the team shot would have to be in the locker room. I only brought down my Canon 17-40/4.0 L lens and my trusty 70-200/2.8L. My 17-40 would have to do in the locker room, but my Canon 10-22 would have sure come in handy in this situation.

The other real kicker is I would have 15 minutes to setup and get the shot done in the locker room. Not much time especially if you consider all the changes to my normal team picture routine.

I used a two light setup with my Alien Bees B400s. I used a 24×36 softbox as my main light and then bounced the other light of the back wall for fill. I used two Pocket Wizards, one on the camera the other on my main Alien Bee. I set my second Alien Bee into slave mode to trigger off the light from the first flash. The light setup went up quick and easy…now to get 20 hockey players setup.

The locker room was very cramped and a bit too messy for my liking, but you have to make due with what you are given. I cleaned the room as best I could and started organizing the boys. I sure could have used that 10-22 right about now. I had a hard time getting all the boys to fit into the view finder. With my back up against the wall, literally, I was shooting with my back against the wall to get the widest shot possible, I started firing away. Here is what we came up with. I am entirely excited over the results, but the team was very happy.

Individual Shot

Now with about an hour of time to setup the next shot, I set out around the rink to see what I could come up with. I remember a shoot by Rick Denham a few months back that I really liked and at this point I wasn’t above using a little inspiration. I ended up finding the old Zamboni door and used that as a backdrop for the individual shots. I setup one Alien Bee behind the player and pointing up at the zamboni door. I added a green gel to match the teams colors. I then put my main light up in front of the player and off to the side at about a 45 degree angle. The softbox delivers a lot of soft light so I turned it down to about 1/8 power and got a nice exposure.

The boys had a lot of fun with different poses and the pictures turned out pretty nice.

Every year as the champagne powder begins to fall in Routt County, there comes a little stirring in my soul. Something inside me begins to tickle with the thought of playing on the steep and deep slopes of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Lift lines and crowds aren’t my sort of thing. I prefer to find my fix on first tracks, untouched chutes and pillows of fresh powder. Getting to these areas is a bit unorthodox, however it is just as much part of the appeal as the skiing itself. Backcountry snowmobiles make for our triple chairlift, except in this case three riders go up and only two come down. One rider takes the role of ferry driver and takes the sled back to the bottom of the run to fetch his fellow skiers.

With names as varied as Pepsi, Poppy Fields, Jupiters, Dads and Ghenkis Khan so is the terrain. Pepsi and Ghenkis Khan provide steep and narrow terrain that is challenging enough even for the most season veteran while Poppy Fields and Jupiters is a lot more open and forgiving.

Here is a brief highlight video of some of our daily adventures.

Porsche has just released a newly redesigned and lightened version of the venerable Cayman.  As is common with these lightweight versions, the radio has now become a no-cost delete option to save weight. The new Cayman R can be distinguished from a regular Cayman with special interior and exterior elements. Some of the visual cues are black framed headlights, black exterior mirrors, and Porsche decals on the side. That chassis has also been lowered 20mm and a fixed rear spoiler has been added. Additional weight savings have been made by removing Air-Conditioning, removing door handles and opting for the pull leashes found on the Boxster Spyder and using bucket shell seats. All these changes add up to a considerable 121lb (55kg) weight savings.

Output for the 3.4L flat six has been increased by 10hp to 330hp and acceleration numbers have improved zero to 100 km/h times to five seconds. The special “Chrono” package which includes launch control improves the acceleration mark even more to a world class 4.7 seconds!

What do you like to photograph? Whether it is sports, landscapes, portraits, automobiles, pets or commercial products in order to be successful these days you need to carve out your own niche. Getting a job with Sports Illustrated and traveling the country shooting sporting events is a very tough gig to get and there are literally thousands of extremely talented photographers vying for that job. Now if that is what you want, then go for it.

Today’s photographic climate is very different than it was 15 years ago. With everybody and their brother walking around with an impressive digital camera it is tough to compete with the ‘do it yourself’ photographer. That is why you need to set yourself apart. Find a niche that nobody else is shooting. Market yourself in a way that nobody else is marketing themselves. In many parts of the country well established portrait studios are closing shop. I can only think that it is because they did not reinvent themselves. People are looking for something different, something unique. If you don’t set yourself apart you will have a tough time making it.

Find a niche that works for you. Here are a few niches I have been thinking about lately.

Internet Dating Photographer
Internet dating is a billion dollar a year business and most of the photographs I have seen are pretty much garbage. Do you really want to put your dating and romantic future in the hands of a 2 year old, out of focus snapshot? There is a strong business opportunity to market yourself as an internet dating photographer. Spend an hour or so with your client and create some flattering photos them. These can be shot indoors with modest lighting equipment or shot outdoors in a similar fashion as a Senior Portrait. Offer your client all your images on a digital CD for a flat fee. You can have add-on fees for photo touch up. Be creative. Be different.

Infant Photographer
We have all seen them before. Black and white or sepia toned images of mom, dad and the new born baby. But have you ever tried to find a photographer that specializes in these shots? It is pretty tough to do. This is a niche that isn’t too difficult to develop a real strong style in. Shallow depth of field images, tightly cropped images and add in some post-processing and you have a style that clients will love.

Athletic Posters
Have you been to a youth soccer game lately? Every dad seems to have a Canon Rebel with the kit lens on it taking pictures of the kids playing. It is a tough sell these days to offer action photos to parents. Even high quality shots are a tough sell. Parents seem to be happy with the shots that they took, even if they lack any punch or professionalism. To set yourself apart offer custom action posters. If you aren’t super skilled in Photoshop don’t worry, there are a handful of companies offering quality templates. Artistic Action and GraphicAuthority are two companies that come to mind.

Real Estate Photographer
With the down turn in the economy, there are more houses than ever up for sale. Quality photographs can set your property apart from the others. The equipment needed for quality real estate photographs isn’t too specialized. You will need a decent quality SLR or P&S camera and a wide-angle lens in the 10-22mm equivalent focal length and a tripod. Investing in High Dynamic Range (HDR) image processing can really give your images some pop and help you rise above your competition.

Whatever niche you decide on look for something that sets you apart from all the other photographers in the market. Be creative. Be different.

I haven’t written about cars up until now, but it is my blog and I figure I can write about cars if I like. I am usually on a motorized two-wheeler but with the latest batch of bad weather I am forced to look at one of my other passions…motorcars!

Porsche released the Porsche Boxster Spyder earlier this year and so far it has been recieved by a mixed audience. Some publications LOVE it, others really don’t care for it at all. I am really intrigued by it and understand why Porsche made the changes that they did. The Spyder has 10BHP above the current Boxster S and has lost a few pounds of weight noticeably from the removal of the automatic roof. Weighing just 1,275 kg or 2,811 lb the result is the Fastest Boxster to date.

The Boxster Spyder has a base price of $62,150 but click a few options and the price climbs to around the $70,000 mark pretty quickly. What you get for that price is the lightest Porsche in the fleet tipping the scales at a meager 2,971 pounds. The DOHC flat-6 pumps out an impressive 320HP and 273 lb-ft of torque making it the most powerful Boxster to date.

Accolades are piling up for the Spyder already. Fifth Gear TV magazine raves that the Boxster Spyder is the best handling Porsche to date and the October 2010 issue of Car & Driver concurs by awarding the Spyder The Best Handling Car award.

The chassis of the Boxster Spyder is so well poised and so neutrally balanced that it can handle even more horsepower and still drive in control.

But first I stopped off to ride in one of Colorado’s most contaminated sludge deposits. I figure I got a bit of cadnium plating for free.

You know why this is so contaminated? Because these hills are so full of metals.

Even the Alamosa River is orange (like my KTM).

Going towards Jasper

Full of metals and thus the colors

Far below the hamlet of Platoro. (plata=silver, oro=gold)

Platoro is barely known to most Coloradans. Seems like it is mostly a place Texans go. I like Texans they are not as legally encumbered as Californians. A lot of Californians have moved to Colorado lately.
So after coffee, a sweet roll and exchanging stories with the Amarillo owners I blasted back into the rain for the long, fast, high dirt road to my campsite.

On the way I past the remnants of old Summitville

…and past the new Super Fund clean up site. What would we do without the Great American Stimulus Act ?!!
Them thar hills gonna bleed metals til the earth quits turning, Super Fund site or not.

Rain and clouds all the way back. It was a 135 mile all dirt day.
(that’s Bennet Peak)

Dark and cold as I descended 5000′ through the clouds to Del Norte.

My 2006 525 EXC was working perfectly. All the mods were adding up to make this ride quite enjoyable. First the inherent capabilities KTM built into this bike – its so smooth, powerful engine capable of sustained 70+ mph speeds with a 13:48 final, relatively light weight make it so much easier than a KLR or LC4, 40-50 mpg, add to that the 24 liter tank, electric vest outlet, the large (warm) hand covers, electric grips, and HID light and I was in heaven riding it even for a 180 miles in these cold 40F temps. All it needs is a pair of Kibblewhite intake valves (this winter) and it will be done. It is perfect for this rough and ready kind of riding.

What would you do if while kicking around the back woods of Colorado you found a pile of gold bars ? If you called the authorities – fool. If you kept mum – rich. Well there you go, even if the stories are true who would ever tell ? Rumors in the San Luis Valley are that some have been found. I read that it was documented that back in the 1940s some cowboys actually found an old set of rotted leather saddle bags with some bars in them along Rio Conejos. But was the main stash ever found ?

Big Lake was beautiful. Looked to be natural too.

Far in the distance I was headed to La Jara Reservoir.

The mountains in this area ascend very gradually from the San Luis Valley. However, these uplifted areas are cut be deep river canyons, its easy to get in from the east and difficult to get across to the west, north or south as you will see. This area has long been influenced by the Spanish culture due to its proximity to Taos and Santa Fe.

At the far south end of La Jara reservoir Bennett can be seen to the north.

From here I wanted to take the back routes to the Valdez Trail down the steep walls into the Conejos River Canyon.

Talking about Valdez… if it were not for that big tank rides like this would not be possible.

Down below lies the fork of hwy 17 and the other road leading to Platoro.

I went astray and ended up far south of where I wanted to be. There was another single track down the milder slope seen in the phot below but I could not find it from on top of the canyon. I ended up going to Fox Creek and riding the pavement back up the canyon (20 miles) and was able to find the bottom of the trail. It was only 2 miles back up to where I had been a couple hours earlier.

Mount Blanca to the NE in bground

Up the Conejo

Gold strike – the trail. Up and down I went to check it out.

These pictures don’t do the steepness justice.

Up and over the rim that is highway 17 leading to Chama in the bground.

Found my tracks from 2 hours before so it was time to head back down.

looking down the switchbacks, accompanied… not a second thought, alone… one big burst of adrenaline !!

There are only two places on the south side of the Conejos River that a trail is possible. Unfortunately I only rode one the next will have to wait for another day. (in hind sight I should have rode it too)

Steep sided canyons cut the land all through this area.

The sun was sinking fast. Blasting through Platoro I took the same high dirt roads home as the day before but this time no rain and no clouds. The 525 behaved superbly.

This is the area that the French mined in. Looking towards the Weiminuche Wildernes Area

North to Del Norte

with a full moon to light the way – my 35 watt hi-lo HID was kick ass too !

a small fire and dinner topped off an excellent 185 mile almost all dirt day

Please come back tomorrow for the brilliant conclusion to Steve’s Adventure and the Rockiest Road he has ever ridden!

Some people wondered why they didn’t see a ride invitation for this one or any sort of advanced notice. First, we needed to prove to ourselves that this could be done. Second, we wanted to set a ‘ballpark’ time that this ride can be completed in so future riders would have a yardstick to measure the ride with. Third, this ride MUST be done in small groups. There is simply no way you can get a large group through these tight singletrack trails efficiently. The ideal group will be 2-4 riders. We went with 3 and it worked perfectly.

So on with the report. The plan was to meet at the base of Moody at 7am, and as with any great plan, things change. I get caught behind a hay-hauling truck coming up Horsetooth and can’t get around. I am late. No matter, when I get there Mark has only just gotten there and Crash isn’t there yet.

Firing up the thumpers, the adrenaline begins to pump, this is going to be a ride to remember. Grabbing judicious amounts of throttle we blast off into our latest adventure. Moody Hill is torn to bits and I manage to nail a sharp rock somehere on the ascent. I get to the top and nearly hit cRAsH headon! Holy Schneikies…we both thought we had the trail to ourselves!! He spins around to meet us just as I am getting the front tire pulled off the bike. As a side note, I have had three flats in my life and 2 of them have been on Moody Hill! WTH?!

Mark enjoys his only only smoke of the day!

Cooling the bikes off on an already brisk morning. September is perhaps the best month of the year to ride in Colorado.

Mark is really enjoying that new trials tire!

Heading up Donners Pass you never know what to expect. Somedays the trail is managable, other days it is a slippery, slimey mess. One thing pretty much stays constant…it is Rocky and Steep!

A little video of the boys climbing Dante’s Inferno

Eventually, just after you think Satan has no mercy, it levels out and you can finally catch your breath!

The 450exc is in her element up here. Unfortunately I have been battling a bug all week and pretty much feel like somebody took a baseball bat to my entire body…and this is just the first climb of the day! Oh boy!

Who knows what the signs says, but we were there!

Mark makes it to the top of Satan’s highway.

cRAsh makes sure no man gets left behind.

Mark continues to puff on his first cigarette of the day…you will soon be amazed at how long ONE cigarette can last!

I asked Mark if I could borrow his new tire, he graciously told me where to go!

“If you haven’t ridden the Rowdy Section, you haven’t ridden Donners” – Mark

I don’t have a picture, but the other two guys do, but I had my first off-trail-excursion (OTE) in a long, long time on this trail. My shoulders bounced off a tree and sent my handlebars in the wrong direction at the wrong time! Oooops! Did I mention I felt like crap before the ride even started?

We all worked up a sweat on this ride on a cool September morning!

I asked Ray if he wanted me to ride his bike down for him…he politely declined.

One thing becomes apparent really quickly. These boys CAN RIDE! Don’t let them tell you otherwise.

Where were we?

Oh yeah, we just got to the bottom of the Rowdy Section and Mark is wondering why his rear brake isn’t working. You didn’t have to be the head checker at WalMart to figure out that his brake lever was bent clear around.

Keeping on task was really important on this ride. If we were going to get this done before dark, we had to keep moving. We made our way over the switchback section of Donners and then off to Monument Gulch. As we approach the open meadow area of Monument Gulch we are given a little gift. A whole bunch of Wild Turkeys!

Can’t see them? How about a little ZOOM!

Monument Gulch is not a technical trail by any measure, but it does have a nice rhythm to it. We motored on through and headed down Pingree Park Road to Poudre Canyon. We had wondered if the recent asphalt truck accidents were going to cause us any problems, but luckily the canyon was open.

Gateway to Poudre Canyon

Shearboy motors down 63E

Motoring up the canyon we head to Rustic. After grabbing a Gatorade at the store we were up Seven Mile trail like a flash. We are really working hard at keeping the stops to a minimum. And there weren’t any pictures until we got to the top.

cRAsH was loving the pace!

Shearboy, do you like riding fast? YUP!

Swamp Creek Cutoff is a rocky, rooty, roller coaster of excitement. The excitement begins as soon as you pass through the fence and never reallly lets up until you get to Bald Mountain Road. Shearboy, cRAsH, and I rode well together. No matter who was leading, we never had to wait long for any rider to catch up. Riding with 2 other guys that share the passion for riding is a great feeling.

The crux is a wonderful challenge. I don’t think I have ever gone the same way twice.

More Swamp Creek action

Popping out of Swamp Creek we run into two guys from Longmont that had never ridden the area before. We download our limited knowledge and talk the guys into riding Swamp Creek. I think perhaps they enjoyed themselves. We zip up Bald Moutain Road and get to Killpecker. Our goal is to get up and over Killpecker by noon. The clock is racing so we get moving.

If I had to design a trail from scratch, I think I would end up with a trail like Killpecker. There is really nothing else like it in the area. The trail is three different sections all linked together. There are rocks, roots, water crossing, ledges, climbs, descents, singletrack, and narrow trees. Sheer nirvana.

I am pretty sure the other guys love this trail as much as me.

We roll into our lunch break at 12:10. Only 10 minutes past our goal. Not bad. We made excellent time over Killpecker.

Trailside Cuisine is served.

After laying on the ground for 45 minutes, letting the feeling return to our arms, it is time mount up for the return trip.

Killpecker just flowed well. We never even stopped so no pictures!

Before we know it we are back at Swamp Creek Cutoff!

What is not to love??

We are really putting the hammer down now. Not a single stop on Swamp Creek on the return trip. We are in the zone now. We stop at the top of Seven Mile only long enough to regroup and we are off again.

Down at Rustic we are greeted by a high mountain shower.

Cheddar Harvest Sun Chips and an Orange Gatorade and a few gallons of gas. Getting resupplied takes long enough to let the storm pass.

This is my last image as we don’t stop again until we reach the bottom of Donners Pass. I will have to rely on my riding partners to finish this off!