Grandpa's Truck

Do you ever revisit your old images?  I do on occasion and probably should do it more often.  I took this picture almost 10 years ago.   It was a truck in the woods on my grandfather's farm.  As a kid I thought I had been just about everywhere on that farm, but never saw this truck.  After the farm was sold to a developer I decided to make what I thought was one last visit, but in truth I ended up going back several times.  The developer had cut a road through the woods and this truck was visible from the road.  I think many years ago it was probably left parked at the edge of a field and over time the forest kept growing and eventually encompassed the truck.


When I shot this truck I knew that I needed to take more than one picture, but this was before I had learned much about HDR.  So I took a few brackets and it was enough to keep the sky behind the trees from blowing out.

Skip forward to today.  I loaded the 3 bracketed images into Photomatix and then moved the HDR image into Photoshop where I applied a little contrast and then used Topaz Impression for the painted look.

With today's technology I can achieve a look that exceeds anything I thought possible at the time of capture.


Photomatix is my favorite tool for creating HDR images.  It is available as a free download and is fully functional for 30 days.  If you decide to purchase use the discount code "RRPT" for a 15% discount.

Topaz Impression is a fantastic tool for creating that "painted" look.  Use the code "roadrunner" and click here for a 15% discount on Topaz products.  Topaz products are fully functional for 30 days, so give it a try.  

Independence Day

Today we celebrate our independence and I thought it only appropriate to dig into my archives and find a suitable photo.  Taken earlier this year during one of my tours at the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, it celebrates my love of country and urban exploration photography! 

I will be leading the photography tour at the Asylum in September.  If you have never been, I suggest you sign up because we always have a great time!  

Carrie Furnace

In November we will be hosting a rather unique meetup at the Carrie Furnaces in Rankin, PA, but first a little history.  The Carrie Furnaces were part of the Homestead Steel Works located on the Monongahela River outside of Pittsburgh.  Today all that remains on this site are the number 6 and 7 blast furnaces.  Built in 1907,  the furnaces produced iron for the Homestead Works from 1907 until 1978.   

This facility appears quite large when you first visit, but as I researched the history  I found myself wishing that more of the site remained.   The unique thing about our visit in November is we will be the first group to ever photograph the location after dark!   I’m really looking forward to light painting parts of this facility.

For the picture above, I used a Lensbaby Composer Pro with a double glass optic.  Considering that pipes seemed to run in every possible direction, I used the Lensbaby to help simplify the shot. 

If you want to see more of this great location, check out the small gallery I posted on Flickr.

If you want to join us in November act quick, as of this writing there are only a couple spots left.  

Palouse Day Seven

On our seventh morning we were lucky enough to find this crop duster working a field.  We had seen these planes earlier in the week, but never so close to the road.  At times my 80-400mm lens was too much, especially when he would fly overhead.   It was amazing to watch as he never sprayed the road or us for that matter.   I think he made about a half dozen passes before moving on.  The hard part was choosing a favorite from the 170 images I took of this plane.  

Take Time to Photograph the Flowers

Last Sunday evening I grabbed my camera and tripod and did a little photo walk around the neighborhood.  I like traveling to great locations but don’t forget the locations next door!   In the case of the flowers, I just setup my tripod on the sidewalk of a neighbor’s house and clicked away.