This was shot yesterday morning at Carlin Park Beach in Jupiter, Florida. I was hoping to get a decent wave, but with the Canon XT it’s a little different than using my Canon 5D MK2. Mainly because it’s slower switching from shutter speed priority to aperture priority since that’s how I shoot my waves. I talked about this technique during my webinar for TopazLabs. A recording of that webinar will be available soon. I’ll send out a link in my monthly newsletter for May to be published on Friday.

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Software I use for processing my photos:
Photomatix Pro - Used for creating high dynamic range.
Topaz Plugins - Photoshop enhancement plugin.
Picasa - Free photo management program.
PS Elements - Used for post processing HDR images.
Lightroom - For adding the finishing touch.

I manage to get three pretty good shots from my last venture to Stuart and this would be my third image from that night. Coconut trees are always cool to have as a subject, even better when it’s at night under some stars. But to top it all off is the Roosevelt Bridge in the background. This ends my epic series for my last minute trip to Stuart, Florida, for a sunset shoot.

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Software I use for processing my photos:
Photomatix Pro - Used for creating high dynamic range.
Topaz Plugins - Photoshop enhancement plugin.
Picasa - Free photo management program.
PS Elements - Used for post processing HDR images.
Lightroom - For adding the finishing touch.

Yesterday I drove up to Stuart for a sunset photo shoot. It was a last minute decision to go there because the weather was pretty bad. I really wanted to shoot something so I checked the radar and there was a small gap up in Stuart where there wasn’t any storm clouds. I hate making last minute choices like this because there is always something that I forget. In this case it was gas which was at the quarter mark. I didn’t want to stop for gas because I didn’t want to miss the sunset. I drove up this bridge on an empty tank! My car was basically driving on fumes, lol. Luckily there was a gas station close by but before I got gas, I had to get all my shots in. I think this shot made it all worth the risk. When it comes to evening light at sunset hours 5-10 minutes makes a big difference.

Learn How to Create Photos Like the Captain with…
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Software I use for processing my photos:
Photomatix Pro - Used for creating high dynamic range.
Topaz Plugins - Photoshop enhancement plugin.
Picasa - Free photo management program.
PS Elements - Used for post processing HDR images.
Lightroom - For adding the finishing touch.

This evening I made a quick dash to Stuart to catch the sunset. I was hoping to get the sun before it dipped below the clouds but I was too late. However I still managed to get some amazing colors this evening after the sunset.

This was shot with my Canon Rebel XT, a 8mp camera that keeps blowing my mind. This was my first DSLR camera that I bought a long time ago, but never did any HDR with it. Right now I’m just fooling around because I plan on taking something similar with me to Thailand.

I don’t feel like lugging around my 5D MK2 because it’s heavy and expensive. The last thing I want is 6K worth of equipment stolen or damaged. I figured it’s probably best to get a $600 setup that can do a reasonable job and easy to carry around.

If all my shots come out like this, or better, from my new Canon Rebel T3, then I am going to be a happy Thai tourist!

Learn How to Create Photos Like the Captain with…
“Click Here for Captain Kimo’s eBook Membership”

Software I use for processing my photos:
Photomatix Pro - Used for creating high dynamic range.
Topaz Plugins - Photoshop enhancement plugin.
Picasa - Free photo management program.
PS Elements - Used for post processing HDR images.
Lightroom - For adding the finishing touch.

Here’s a single exposure of a yellow crown night heron perched on a palm waiting patiently for a fish to come close. And of course I was waiting just as patiently for it to strike at the fish when it did. However I lost to the night heron in patience since I settled for this simple shot and left.

Learn How to Create Photos Like the Captain with…
“Click Here for Captain Kimo’s eBook Membership”

Software I use for processing my photos:
Photomatix Pro - Used for creating high dynamic range.
Topaz Plugins - Photoshop enhancement plugin.
Picasa - Free photo management program.
PS Elements - Used for post processing HDR images.
Lightroom - For adding the finishing touch.

Another sample test from my Canon Rebel XT. For an old 8mp entry level camera I am very impressed by what I am able to do with the images. I’ve come to find out recently that just because a photo was shot with a crop sensor camera doen’t necessarily mean that it’ll produce high quality processed images. I guess not all pixels are made the same. I’ll write more about my recent experience on a later post.

This photo was taken at Grassy Water Preserve, a very cool place I like to visit when I need to get out of the house. Since I’ve already got a few shots from this vantage point I wanted something a little different so I converted it to a pseudo IRish image in Lightroom.

Learn How to Create Photos Like the Captain with…
“Click Here for Captain Kimo’s eBook Membership”

Software I use for processing my photos:
Photomatix Pro - Used for creating high dynamic range.
Topaz Plugins - Photoshop enhancement plugin.
Picasa - Free photo management program.
PS Elements - Used for post processing HDR images.
Lightroom - For adding the finishing touch.

This is my first post from my new laptop that I’ll be taking to Thailand. I decided to get a new laptop since my old one has a black hole the size of penny on the screen which happened when I flew back from my last trip to South East Asia. This time I got a nicer laptop, something that will be able to process photos without lag. The old one was terrible, it was small and portable and did everything great except for post processing HDR photos, lol, which happens to be everything I do.

This new laptop is a 14 inch Asus with a i7 processor, 8 gigs of ram and a 750gig harddrive, all for 600 bucks online at Compusa. I jumped on that deal the moment I saw it, and I’m glad I did because the next day the price went up to 650.

So far this laptop has been blazing fast considering the mobile hard drive speed. I think I’m going to have a lot of fun post processing photos from Thailand. I also bought this beefy system so I could do more video tutorials while I’m there. Hopefully I’ll have the internet speed available for uploading large files.

Learn How to Create Photos Like the Captain with…
“Click Here for Captain Kimo’s eBook Membership”

Software I use for processing my photos:
Photomatix Pro - Used for creating high dynamic range.
Topaz Plugins - Photoshop enhancement plugin.
Picasa - Free photo management program.
PS Elements - Used for post processing HDR images.
Lightroom - For adding the finishing touch.

I’ve been in the market looking for a smaller camera setup to take with me to Thailand. The first camera that I bought was a Sony NEX-5 because it was super small making it very portable. Plus it had a crop sensor which gave me more image to work with when processing my HDR exposure… so I thought. I’ll do another poet on my expeirnce with the NEX-5 later. Lets just say I sold it 2 days later to get a Canon Rebel T3.

What made me get the T3 for HDR was because of this image. This was taken with my old Canon Rebel XT which I gave to my sister. After playing around with it for a day, there was no doubt that the Rebel was perfect for what I needed. It is bigger than the Sony NEX5 but the image handles HDR processing so much better.

Learn How to Create Photos Like the Captain with…
“Click Here for Captain Kimo’s eBook Membership”

Software I use for processing my photos:
Photomatix Pro - Used for creating high dynamic range.
Topaz Plugins - Photoshop enhancement plugin.
Picasa - Free photo management program.
PS Elements - Used for post processing HDR images.
Lightroom - For adding the finishing touch.

Here’s a pretty large pano I did while I was in Fort Pierce looking for a spot to shoot the Super Moon. Number of frames equal 6 for a total of 18 exposures. Normally a panoramic of this size gives Photoshop a hard time when stitching the images together. But it did a fairly good job with only some noticeable areas that didn’t seam to blend well. However I was able to touch it up enough to make it less apparent.

Learn How to Create Photos Like the Captain with…
“Click Here for Captain Kimo’s eBook Membership”

Software I use for processing my photos:
Photomatix Pro - Used for creating high dynamic range.
Topaz Plugins - Photoshop enhancement plugin.
Picasa - Free photo management program.
PS Elements - Used for post processing HDR images.
Lightroom - For adding the finishing touch.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Learn How to Create Photos Like the Captain with…
“Click Here for Captain Kimo’s eBook Membership”

Software I use for processing my photos:
Photomatix Pro - Used for creating high dynamic range.
Topaz Plugins - Photoshop enhancement plugin.
Picasa - Free photo management program.
PS Elements - Used for post processing HDR images.
Lightroom - For adding the finishing touch.