Saturday, April 30, 2011

Mayernik - Pittsburgh Wedding Receptions


What a beautiful reception hall!  As the night was winding down, I grabbed a few images of the beautiful Mayernik Reception Hall.  The lights glowed beautifully in the night and there was a very faint light coming from a cloud covered moon. Both views were taken with the Nikon D300s and the Tamron 17-50 utilizing five bracketed stops to create the image.  The second image was completed utilizing Nik Silver efex pro 2 and Nik HDR efex pro.

Personally, I like the look of the black and white version but that is because I like the soft tones created in the black and white.

Either way, I had a great time creating and designing the images.  This is an another example of a beautiful place within an hour drive from my house.

A few tips:  Typically, I have a tripod in my vehicle at all times.  I have a day backpack that I carry one camera body, a few memory cards, 17-50, 35mm, and 70-300vr.  I recommend carrying your camera with you at all times.  Carrying a tripod might not work depending on what else you have in your vehicle.

These images were taken at the end of the night after a wedding.  The wedding was at Victory Family Church and the reception was at the Mayernik.

ISO 200
f/ 5.0



Mayernik - Pittsburgh Wedding Receptions

Pittsburgh Wedding Receptions



I learned HDR Photography from Trey Ratcliff, and you can too! 
Check out his new course here: 
Click here to view more details




High School Senior Portraits and Weddings by dr Frank

Contact dr Frank to photograph your wedding, portraits, or special event.

Specializing in Wedding and Portrait Photography
Beaver County, Pittsburgh, and surrounding communities.

Friday, April 29, 2011

Victory Family Church - HDR - Pittsburgh Wedding Photography

Victory Family Church
When I arrived at the church an hour before taking this image, I knew that unless something changed, the sky would make an amazing backdrop for an image of the church.  In my mind, I knew that I wanted a black and white HDR image.  The wind was so strong that I didn't risk letting go of the tripod since there is no doubt that the would would blow it over.  Personally, I really like when the sky is very dramatic but many times it brings with it either rain or strong winds.  Earlier in the week, the beautiful sky brought rain. Today, the beautiful sky came with powerful winds.  

Nikon D300s
Nikon 35 mm f/1.8
ISO 200
5 bracketed shots
Nik HDR Efex Pro

I mentioned this thought in the past but it bears repeating.  Take a different path to work, look around your neighborhood and surrounding communities.  Keep looking for new and unique images to photograph and while you are photographing the community, you are documenting it for future generations.



Cranberry Township, Wedding Photography

Butler County wedding photographers

I learned HDR Photography from Trey Ratcliff, and you can too! 
Check out his new course here: 
Click here to view more details




High School Senior Portraits and Weddings by dr Frank

Contact dr Frank to photograph your wedding, portraits, or special event.

Specializing in Wedding and Portrait Photography
Beaver County, Pittsburgh, and surrounding communities.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

HDR - Black and White - Pittsburgh Wedding Photography

Cranberry Portrait Photography









I took this image at Fun 4 All in Cranberry Twp, PA.  It is one of the most interesting buildings I ever saw on a miniature golf course.  It is a composite of five images combined in Nik Software - HDR efex pro and Silver efex pro 2.

Immediately when I saw the building, many different variations of a final image came to mind.  The sky was cloudy and a storm was fast approaching.  The storm sky creating a tremendous backdrop.  In my opinion, much better than a beautiful sunny day.  The strong contrasts in the sky created the perfect mood for the image.

I could have spent hours with different angles and views.  However, there was not enough time and I was able to get a few fun shots of this building.  Many ideas came to mind for portraits and different backdrops.  A fun shot would be to position a bride on the steps and let the contrasting background build the image or a high school senior in formal wear and a guitar.  So many different ideas come to mind.  As a photographer with the right setting, we are only limited by our imagination and time.



Shot detail:
5 images combined
Tamron 17-50 f/2.8
ISO 200
Lightroom and Nik Software
Manfrotto Tri pod
Nikon D300s

The second image is the same five images combined to create a different look.  This second look gives the appearance of an old photograph of a hillbilly home in the mountains.  I can imagine folks singing and dancing in the background.  A few different techniques were applied to create a completely different look.
HDR Photography by dr Frank


I learned HDR Photography from Trey Ratcliff, and you can too! 
Check out his new course here:
Click here to view more details



High School Senior Portraits and Weddings by dr Frank

Contact dr Frank to photograph your wedding, portraits, or special event.

Specializing in Wedding and Portrait Photography
Beaver County, Pittsburgh, and surrounding communities.