Golden Gate Bridge, originally uploaded by Sienar.

Just returned from a trip to San Fransisco, California and what an experience! San Fransisco definitely ranks up there as one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited. It was a photographers paradise with a combination of man-made structures, nature and city life. This is a shot of the world famous Golden Gate Bridge just as the fog started to roll in. The fog moves very quickly here because of the strong winds. I heard a few others around me complaining about the fog ruining their shots of the bridge, but I was actually hoping of this! I think it adds a bit of mystery to it.

I also have a shot of the bridge against a clear sky, but that will come with a mass upload of all the photos I shot during my visit so keep an eye out for that.

Alice, originally uploaded by Sienar.

View it on Black
Painted in Photoshop. No reference. Used an old photo for background color samples.

Tinkerbell, originally uploaded by Sienar.

View on White

Painting in Photoshop from memory.

Farmville Sunset, originally uploaded by Sienar.

View Larger!

Great thing about working in Homestead is you don’t have to drive too far to get away from the world. Out where all you see if farmlands and fields of green away from the muted colors of the developed world. So the sunsets here are pretty sweet and very colorful. I like driving out here because there is no noise and there is nothing to block your view of the sky. Clouds were wonderful on this day so I tried to grab as much of it as I could in a photo.

Been sitting in front of my computer consistently for more than two weeks now editing Europe photos so it’s not like I’m exactly looking for an excuse to photograph something else, but the colors in the sky were too good to pass-up. If you’d like to see all the Europe photos i’ve completed just visit this link: Eurotrip.

Enjoy your weekend!

Empire State of View, originally uploaded by Sienar.

First, You must look at this on Black

No tripods are allowed on the observation floor of the Empire State Building. The view of the city that I wanted to photograph the most and my only hope for a stable shot was taken from me. No matter, I managed to squeeze my camera through the railing and prop it up on the edge of the building for a clear view. Release shutter then use my hands to shield the camera from the wind. I received some strange looks from the people around me

It was very cold at the top and the wind only made it worse. I couldn’t feel my hands after taking a few photos and my face was going numb. The mayor was the only person brave enough to stand outside with me and attempt to block people from bumping into me. Well worth the effort I think.

Crossroads, originally uploaded by Sienar.

Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, FL
I snuck away from kite flying to shoot this landscape. The tire tracks called my attention at first and when I bent down to frame the shot the reflection in the water caught my eye.

The day was beautiful.

C-130 Hercules, originally uploaded by Sienar.

Took a trip to Homestead for the “Wings Over Homestead” airshow with Mayor, Nick, & my camera. This was a great opportunity to photograph these impressive flying machines up close and personal. I’ve also been researching some of the basic plane information for each photo and learning a bit more about them as a result.

Here is a link to view all the photos in the set

I will be uploading the remaining photos to this set as I finish them.

Atmosphere, originally uploaded by Chris Acuna.

Left with the intention of photographing a setting sun yesterday, but I could already see that the clouds would block my view. I stuck around to see if anything interesting happened and was treated to a colorful sky.

Just goes to show you that you never know what can develop. It is frustrating and exciting all at the same time. Frustrating because I still do not have the photograph that I first set out to capture, but exciting because I was able to capture the scene above without any planning.

This photograph was HDR processed from 5 different exposures to capture the full tonal range of the scene in front of the lens.