My Favorite HDR Shots

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I hadn't shot the OB Pier in a while. This particular sunset was one that featured a low tide. The tide exposed some tide pools I'd never noticed, so I went over and took lots of shots from different angles.

The seagulls were cooperating very nicely by not moving for my HDR shot. I bracketed 3 shots in the camera at -2, 0, +2, then combined them in Photomatix Pro. Looking North on a clear day provided a fun shot.


Next, I moved to the North side of the pier as the sun was setting. Since there were no clouds, the sun was pretty harsh. I wanted to make sure I wouldn't get any lens flare so I waited patiently for the sun to set lower on the horizon. The OB pier is a really long pier that forks out at the end. I used my Canon 17-40L at 17mm on my 5D Mark 11... same HDR settings as before. All in all, it was a fun night with lots of cool angles....another beautiful night in San Diego!

Catalina Mini Get Away

The holidays were very relaxing this year. Although the weather was a bit cold, there were still a few photo opps to be had. As a storm approached, I caught this shot at the San Luis Rey river mouth in Oceanside. The wind was howling and the sky was nice. I almost didn't go out thinking it would be too cold. Well....I'm glad I didn't let a little cold slow me down. The scene was totally worth bundling up a bit.




The close of my holiday vacation provided a last minute opportunity to visit Catalina Island. It is the "off season" there and my wife and I almost had the whole Island to ourselves. I woke up early Monday morning to catch the sunrise. The sky wasn't that great in the morning, but as the clouds rolled in, the afternoon session got better. I wanted to get a shot of Avalon bay from one of the mountain tops so we rented a golf cart and cruised up to the top lookouts over the harbor. If you ever get a chance to visit Catalina Island, make sure you rent a golf cart for a couple of hours. We were able to get ours for 1/2 price which was a bonus. Here's one of the lookout shots to Avalon harbor.

La Jolla Cove & KPBS

It's been a busy holiday season. I've had a few oppportunities to get out and shoot and one of my favorites was a super low tide day at La Jolla Cove. The tide was almost a -2 which is really low and there were lots of things exposed near the water as a result. The first shot was featured by KPBS on their blog page.
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://blogs.kpbs.org%2Findex.php%2Fculturelust%2Fcomments%2Fsan_diego_weekend_the_midwinters_low_tides_polaroid_sunset_and_more%2F"




I had just picked up my new Canon 5d Mark 2 but didn't have the batteries charged yet when I came on this scene. So...I shot this with my 40D and my 10-22 lens....always a good combo. I didn't have my tripod with me...party foul...but decided to try and hand hold a bracketed shot for an HDR. I guess it all worked out in the end. Here is another shot of the low tide day.


I've been doing lots of portraits lately. It's always a fun family shot when you can do it at the beach and not a studio. Below are a couple from this week.


I can't wait for the holiday break. Time to break out the new 5D and capture God's beauty!

Give Clean Water

Our Fiji trip was a great success. We installed 405 clean water filters in 6 different Fijiian villages in 4 days. It was very fulfilling seeing apple juice colored water that came from a well, turned into clean drinking water, simply by pouring it through our water filters. Over 2000 people in Fiji are now drinking bacteria free water every day!

We're already planning our next trips. We'll take 3 or 4 in 2009 and hope to do it on a full-time basis soon. It was very clear that this pilot program was just the beginning of a world changing idea!

I was busy leading this project so I didn't have much time for photo opps. One of these trips I'll stay longer and just take photos around the islands.

Once I returned home, I was really eager to

shoot some new stuff. I took a few shots of the Oceanside Pier this week, and some of Buckaneer Beach in Oceanside. I hope you enjoy them.

Canon 40D with Canon 10-22 lens.

Back to Fiji

I'm headed back to Fiji this Saturday to take a team of 36 people on a mission trip to provide clean water filters to 6 complete Fijiian villages. We're installing water filters that remove 99.99% of all bacteria and protozoa from any water source. In 4 days, over 2,000 people will now drink clean water every day! This is the beginning of a new project called "Give Clean Water."

Photo opps will be limited as I'm running the team, but surely there will be some. Even if I didn't take one photo, this trip would be amazing! It's not often that one has the opportunity to change lives and villages in such a dramatic way.

Here are a few shots from my last trip in August. See you when I get back!

Back after a long break

It was a busy summer. My wife and I celbrated our 25th anniversary in Alaska on a cruise, and I went to Fiji for a clean water project. Both trips gave me a shot at some new pics. Both places were beautiful....in different ways.








I will head back to Fiji in a few weeks to install
over 400 clean water filters in houses from families who currently drink bacteria filled water on a daily basis. I'll be leading a team of 36 people on this trip. Just think...in 4 days, over 2000 people will now have clean water to drink every day!

This moose shot was a lot of fun. We were just getting in a boat to go look for Bald Eagles when this moose jumped in the river for a swim. We took off and caught up with it for some fun close up shots.

Alaska is amazing. If you ever get a chance to go, you should!

My website was just updated with new photos from Fiji and Alaska. You can find it at http://www.tropicalphotosbylarson.com/

Enjoy