Albany NY

I decided to take the NY bar exam - for more reasons than one - and was assigned to the Albany testing location. I was hoping for Manhattan but it filled up before I registered. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised with the city. Albany, as I forgot, is the capital of NY. When I arrived, instead of studying, I decided to take a walk around the city. I came across the NY state capital building - which happens to be the most beautiful capital building I have ever seen.

Most capital building are very stereotypical. Large white buildings with domes on the top. This building looked like something you would find in Europe while visiting some late Archdukes summer cottage.

It was unfortunate that my visit was during the winter months. The reflection pool in front of the capital building was drained. The reflection off the pool would have been perfect. However, I can't complain. Due to the single digit weather, there was nobody outside to ruin my shots.

I'm still experimenting with HDR photography. The photo you see above is an example of my progress; however, I was still battling with the dreaded 'halo effect' which usually occurs in most of my HDR photos - that is, until recently.

On my journey, I ran into an unsuspecting stranger. We started talking about photography when he saw my camera and I soon realized that he was also a photographer. We talked for about an hour - each sharing tips and tricks of the trade. I walked away with some really good advice and subsequently produced one of the best photos I have ever taken.

While I am still learning technique with the camera, as well as post processing, my chance encounter taught me how to line my images up perfectly in PS and then use the manual controls in both PhotoMatix and then Lightroom. For the longest time I would choose the lazy way out and just select a preset, but taking your time with the manual controls produces much better results.

This is the outcome. Funny enough, I was getting frustrated with the cars on the street. I was trying to get a photo without any cars, but having to keep the shutter open for 30+ seconds made that difficult. In the end, I've learned to appreciate the light trails. It projects the proper mood of the city nightlife.

If anyone is interested, I would be more than happy to discuss techniques about creating HDR photos. It is really simple once you get the process down, but getting there on your own can be a challenge.



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