Get it at the launch pricing for a limited time of $59 for new customers and $49 for existing Macphun customers. That’s a $10 savings off of the retail prices
So give it a try as I’m sure you will realize this is the best photo editor for the Mac for beginner to Advanced users.
Once you download and install Luminar, you will get access to a series of 26 videos showing you how to make the most of Luminar’s features and options.
Here is my first photo edited with Luminar and one of the first I took with my Fujifilm X-T2
Got up early to meet up with a friend at a recommended spot at Centennial Park. For someone that is usually not up before sunrise since I work the later shift in my office, getting up before the sun does is out of the ordinary for me. But I did it and it was well worth it I think.
Didn’t get to meet up with my friend since he had gotten a new phone and forgot to set his alarms, but he picked a great spot for a sunrise. We caught up later at another spot which I’ll post photos from later on.
The Sunrise
The water was fairly still so I was able to get a great reflection of the sunrise and the trees. Aurora HDR 2017 did a great job processing this 3 bracket shot.
Folks out enjoying the park in the early morning.
A peacefull morning out in a canoe in Centennial Lake in Columbia.Taking a break from running to take a picture of the view
Another year another calendar month that features my photo
Humbled again to have two of my pictures publish in the JHFCU 2017 calendar. This year I ended up as the main photo for the month of August and in October as a side photo. No matter where I am I’m always grateful for the exposure, so be sure to get your copy and look for my photos.
The image selected for the Month of August.
United States Lightship Chesapeake
The United States Lightship Chesapeake in the Inner Harbor Baltimore during the City Light Festival in 2016
Went on a Photowalk in Havre de Grace with a group of new and old friends.
A photographer friend of mine (Sean Simmons of Clear Elite Photography) set up a Photowalk in Havre de Grace for this past Sunday morning and invited his followers and the members of our Facebook Group All Inclusive Photography Club, of which you are welcome to join. We all meet up at the Concord Point Lighthouse and got ready for the sun to rise. Had a great time talking with friends and taking pictures. I would recommend anyone to go check out the lighthouse and surrounding area as it is a beautiful place to take pictures in the morning. Or any other time of day for that matter.
The Concord Point Lighthouse in Havre de Grace is someplace I’ve told myself I need to go to and photo the sunrise for some time now, but I never seem to get myself motivated enough to get out of bed the hour or two before sunrise to get there in time. I finally did it this past weekend, mostly due to Sean setting up the Photowalk and knowing several of the people who would be going on the Photowalk. So I dragged myself out of bed at 4:30am and hit the road a little after 5am. It is a little over and an hour drive from my house and I was hoping I wouldn’t miss the sunrise or the sky just before the sun comes over the horizon. I just made it in time.
I think all that went and I had a great time. I am amazed by the photos folks have posted in our group from the Photowalk so far. We had a variety of folks with different skill levels and various types of camera equipment from a cell phone to DSLR and Mirrorless cameras. I think this variation of folks is what makes our group great and made for a great Photowalk.
This is what I hope is the first of many photos from this trip as I have many yet to edit. So I”m sure you will be seeing more.
This photo was taken with the HDR method using 3 brackets from -1,0,+1 in exposure and combined in Aurora HDR Pro
Here is a picture edited by Sean Simmons of most of the group that got up early on Sunday to get out there and get their best photo of the sunrise and more.
Click on the link to get all the details on what is included and information about the series.
The Color before the Storm
I haven’t had much of a chance to go out and take pictures recently and I have yet to process those that I have taken. This one I did get to take quickly near my home.
There was a storm rolling in with very dark and gloomy clouds right around sunset. I didn’t think we would get any sunset, but then I looked out and saw this. Ran to get the camera and get a quick snapshot before it disappeared.
Sometimes things don’t always go as planned, but that doesn’t mean the pictures you end up with are not worth keeping.
Recently I went out on two different days with hope to take some breathtaking sunset photography.
On the first trip, I just wanted to get the sunset on a recently cut farmers field. This turned out to be a dud as far as my plans went. First, the sunset did not look like it was going to be that great so I didn’t head out to the location. About 10 mins after I had planned on leaving, the sun broke through the clouds and the start of a spectacular sunset was on its way.
I got into the car and rush to the location I was thinking about. Even though it was only a few miles from where I was, by the time I got there and got my camera equipment setup, the best part of the sunset had gone. I was bummed, but I was still determined to get some photos while I was there so it would not be a wasted trip.
I looked around and saw that the farmer’s combine was parked nearby and that the cab’s window was facing in the direction of what was left of the sunset. I immediately ran over and set up my tripod and started taking pictures. I usually try to do HDR photo’s which require taking a series of shots at different exposures which get combined later on my computer with Aurora HDR Pro to produce the final picture.
Here is one of the pictures I ended up capturing. It was not the red sky and the farm field that I had planned on, but I made the best of what was available to me.
Sunset Reflection in the cab of a combine after a long day on the job.
This shot was a result of the HDR process by combining the 3 shots shot at -2,0,+2 exposures and using Aurora HDR Pro to process the combined shots into the final you see above.
Now on to another trip where my HDR Process failed me
A recent purchase of a 30.000″ x 13.750″ print of Balloon Glow by a buyer from Baltimore, MD reminded me that the Maryland Preakness Hot Air Balloon Festival is just around the corner.
First, I want to thank them for their purchase and I’m always grateful to anyone for purchasing my work.
The above picture is the one they selected. A wide shot of the Balloon Glow that they hold on 2 nights of the festival.
If you have never been to the Preakness Hot Air Balloon Festival I would recommend going. It is a fun event and is family-friendly. You can get Balloon rides and walk inside one of the balloons. If you can only go one day, I would go on one of the days that they do the Balloon Glow, pictured above. It is rather amazing to see all the Balloons lit up. Be aware that when they are all firing their flames to illuminate their balloon it is rather loud
Here is a small selection of photographs I’ve taken at this festival in earlier years.
Went down for the last night of the Light City Festival at the Inner Harbor yesterday to redo some shots that I was not happy with and to get a few art pieces that I had missed somehow.
Although I did like the picture I got of the “Voyage” (the floating lights), I felt getting a few more shots when it was darker of just the lights would be better. I also went back to the Peacock to get some more shots when it was darker and was hoping with less people. Alas, it was as popular as before, but I think I got a few good shots in between all the folks walking up to the work who were there to admire it as well. I will say the “Voyage” and the “Peacock” were my two favorite pieces of the show. The Laser Lotus may have been another one, but the two days I was in the area it didn’t seem to be working.
I had gone back down to also get the “The Pool” as I had somehow missed that exhibit entirely last time even though I would have had to walk right passed them to get to the metro on my way home the other night. I guess I was just too tired to notice at that point.
Here are a few unedited shots I got of each. I took a ton of photos of each as I knew it was the last chance to get them. It is going to make it tough to narrow it down to the best of each.
The Peacock
The Peacock a 20 foot tall animatronics bird with illuminated wings up to 40 feet
The Voyage
Voyage presented by Brown Advisory: Aether & Hemera (United Kingdom) 300 “paper boats” with rainbow-colored lights that were manipulated by festival-goers.
The Pool
Colorful concentric circles that changed colors as folks stepped on them
Spent another night at the Inner Harbor for the Light City Festival last night.
This time I started over at Inner Harbor East and walked back towards the Inner Harbor. This was the side that had more of the individual artists displays. Out of the two halves that I saw this is definitely the more interesting side.
I did miss getting the tall ship Stad Amsterdam as it had left the Inner Harbor and was a bit disappointed about that. That just stresses the point of, if you see something you want to take a picture of take it as it might not be there tomorrow. As in my case, I got the stern of the ship and meant to get it from the bow last night, but it had left.
The show goes on until Sunday night (4/3/16) and it is worth the visit. If you are limited on time I would start on the East side and make your way back towards the Inner Harbor.
The Big Cube
The Beacon: The Barnycz Group (Baltimore, MD) A landmark multi-story cube built from hundreds of LED panels. The Beacon will engage, inform, and entertain festival-goers with Light City images.
The Floating Lights
Voyage presented by Brown Advisory: Aether & Hemera (United Kingdom) 300 “paper boats” with rainbow-colored lights that are manipulated by festival-goers.
Spent the good part of Tuesday night in downtown Baltimore at the Light City Baltimore event. This is just one day of many I plan on being down there for this event. Most of the displays are around the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, but some are also spread around the city. See the Light City Baltimore website at lightcity.org/ for details of what is where.
This first night I started out on Federal Hill to get the wide view of downtown and then slowly made my way up towards the Light St Pavilion. This is not even 1/2 way around the event. I took my time and in many situations, as I had to be very patient to get the shot I wanted. I will say I didn’t see as many photographers as I expected, but then again I haven’t seen all the displays yet and some of the more interesting displays are in areas I will go to on Thursday.
I’ve got many pictures to go through and process, but here is just a sampling of first the two I’ve processed quickly for you.
The Ferris Wheel
The Ferris when by Rash Field and the Maryland Science Center. My first attempt at doing this kind of photo. I think it turned out pretty well.
