In Hermann, Missouri (Missouri’s wine country) there is an overgrown alley called Hollyhock Alley. If you venture up the steep grade, you will find this old barn along with some hidden Bed and Breakfasts.
Photo tip – invest in a good tripod
Tripods improve your photos by providing sharper images, by allowing you to take longer exposures in low light situations and allowing you to take photos in harsh environments. Tripods come in many different price ranges ranging from $30 to $500 or more! This is an area where you should not scrimp. A good solid tripod will be more stable, last longer and be easier to use.
The photo to the right is the Me-Foto I use. Their Road Trip model only weights 3½ lbs. and reached to 61 inches high. These are moderately priced at $150+.
The photo below is a three shot HDR taken in 40mph winds. A light support would not have worked!
More from Downtown St. Louis
Here is another version of the previous post. This was a very rainy night that produced some great photos!
This is a three shot HDR photo (ISO 100, f13) with an average exposure of 6 seconds. Processed in Photomatix and Lightroom.
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.
New Car
Here is a little scenic corner in Ellison Bay, Wisconsin with a truck that has a new life as a flower bed! Of course, had to stop to take a photo.
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).
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.
Great Rivers Imaging 