Kiener Plaza

This is Kiener Plaza in St. Louis. More significantly, the building in the background is the Old Courthouse, built between 1839 and 1862. The Courthouse is the site where an enslaved husband and wife, Dred and Harriet Scott, sued for their freedom, and Virginia Minor sued for a woman’s right to vote in 1872. Also, the St. Louis Arch is in the background.

This photo was taken on a rainy evening at ISO 100 with the lens wide open to f2.8. It is a a three shot HDR photo processed in Photomatix and Lightroom.

Forest Park Suspension Bridge

Forest Park in St. Louis is so nicely maintained that it even looks great in the winter. This is an old footbridge along the waterways that run through the Park. This bridge sways so much that my Basset Hounds refuse to walk on it!

This was taken at sunset (50mm, f6.3, 1/250 sec).

Suspension Bridge

Hodgson Water Mill

This old water-mill is located in south central Missouri near the Arkansas border.  The original mill site came to life in 1837. A second mill, built in 1861, burned down as Missouri endured the chaos of the Civil War. Finally, the sturdy building you see in the picture was constructed in 1882.

This photo was taken with my Nikon D7100 and Sigma 17 – 50mm 2.8 lens (ISO 100, f14, 1/10 second) and processed in Lightroom.

Sunset in Forest Park

It is always amazing how beautiful our Forest Park can be.

I am trying a new Sigma lens here. Had to take the photo quickly to capture the geese so the photo is not as sharp as I would like…

Art Fair

Here is a photo taken this fall at the St. Louis Art Fair in Clayton, MO. This is a low light photo just using available light. I used a 50mm prime lens at f1.8, 1/100 sec. This photo still came out almost black so processing in Photomatix brought out the highlights and interesting tones.

Highway 51 Bridge

A number of my photos and articles here have been about low light or night photography. I thought I would share one of my favorites. This is the Highway 51 bridge allowing access onto the island city of Minocqua, Wisconsin. This is the third bridge constructed here in my lifetime and I think the 6th overall. This photo is used by Yahoo’s weather app and was featured in Minocqua’s 2014 visitors guide.

I just purchased my Nikon D7100 and did not really have a chance to use it. My wife and I were walking back from dinner and we stopped by a place called the The Boathouse on the way back to our hotel. While sitting on their dock, I set the ISO and snapped this photo (ISO 1000, f5, 1/8th sec). The shimmering light on the water really made the shot.

Christmas Oak

A nicely decorated oak tree on the Missouri Botanical Garden, Garden Glow.

This is a handheld shot using an ISO of 2000, f3.5, 1/100 sec @ 17mm.

http://greatrivers.smugmug.com/Missouri-Botanical-Garden/i-zZwb55J/A

Improving your photos during the Golden Hour

Golden Hour-10

Golden Hour-11If you would like to really improve your photos, you should shoot mostly during the “Golden Hour.” This is about 20 minutes before sunrise/sunset to 20 minutes after sunrise/sunset. At these times you will get softer but more dramatic images. This includes sunrise/sunset images, better color and fewer shadows.

If there is a particular subject you would like to photograph or if it’s an outdoor portrait, check a weather app on your cell phone to determine the best times.

The top photo was taken a few minutes after sunrise at Chaumette Winery in St. Genevieve. The bottom photo was taken about 5 or 10 minutes after sunset, following a tip I learned from another photographer: Wait! That is, don’t snap the picture of the sunset just as the sun is on the horizon. If you wait, you will see subtle colors and lighting from the sun past the horizon making a more interesting picture. By waiting I was able to get a better reflection off the lake plus the nice silhouette of the hills surrounding the lake.

For more information on taking these types of photos, see my photography tips on this page.

The bottom photo was taken at Devils Pool Restaurant at Big Cedar Lodge. I was having dinner out the deck and as the sun started to set, a number of people came to the railing to take photographs (with iPhones). I waited until the sun had set, put the camera on the railing and took this shot. Click on either photo to see a larger version.

Misty Lake

This is listed on my Smugmug page a one of my most interesting photos. So I am posting it here. This is Lake Minocqua around 6 AM on a very still and cold morning just before the snows started to fall. In the mist is one of the interesting old boathouses on the lake.

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© E.L. Engler Photography

Minocqua, WI