Two "topazed" shots from my HDR folder - a blast from the past

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I was going through my photo archives (and I have thousands of photos from shooting digital and film the last 9 years) and came across a folder marked "Topazed". This was when HDR photography was a newly discovered technique used to "jazz" up contrast and saturation of a shot. I had downloaded a trial version of the software from Topaz Labs and added it to the Lightroom to experiment with it. To achieve an HDR effect, one brackets the shot, +1, 0 and -1 or +2, 0 and -2 as intended, it is important that the camera is on a tripod, a good sturdy tripod, otherwise the results would not be very pleasing. Today HDR photography is a thing of the past, replaced by smart photo filters that can correct, alter, render more beautiful than real one's images in a thousand ways. I am exaggerating, but you get the point.

Both of these shots are HDR images. I like the fact that they were not taken to extreme, that the images closely represent what I saw and wanted to capture with my camera. The black and white landscape image below was of a park in Palo Alto late afternoon, shooting into the sun intentionally for the effect. Three bracketed shots taken in succession were then combined and converted into gray scale in Lightroom.

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The picture below of the Baskin-Robbins joint in San Jose at the corner of The Alameda and Race Street was a HDR in color. This iconic Baskin-Robbins hang out was somewhat out of place because its diner looking neon lit facade did not quite fit this part of San Jose. a mile long at best, The Alameda had a little of everything, the new and the old, a church, a Chinese take out, a fancy Thai restaurant, New York Pizza, offices and Starbucks strategically located from Coffee Bean, yes, two nemesis, diagonally from each other, separated only by the only street. A little out of place to me, I remember wondering when it might give way to something more popular with the Gen Y, or the Gen X and the Millennials, perhaps a Pinkberry. Well, it did finally give way to a burger joint - a popular joint named Five Guys Burgers and Fries that serves up finger licking good burgers, grilled fresh, variety of ways one could order one's salad, beers and sodas. Its interior decor hints of a no frills college town eatery with a hint of a pub. On most nights, parking is hard to find with patrons trying for a spot on nearby residential streets. Looking at this picture of Baskin-Robbins basking in its old glory brings back a little nostalgia, a little sadness. I feel for an iconic eatery whose time has come to pass.

Santana Row, Silicon Valley's answer to Rodeo Drive

In the Bay area for a project again, more specifically in San Jose. Was fortunate enough to find a place to stay near Santana Row and so I took the opportunity to take a morning stroll to Santana Row today, my very first weekend in town. There was light drizzle and intermittent sun. I enjoyed a nice cuppa of latte at Starbucks, read the morning paper and proceeded to do a bit of photography.

If you have never been to Santana Row, you must plan a visit soon. It is the most trendy place in town, with chic stores, restaurants, wine bars, and luxury apartments atop the fashionable boulevards. A place where the young and fashionable would want to be seen and hang out with friends. It is easy to get to on 280 exiting at Winchester, a quick drive from Silicon Valley. Starbucks and Peet's coffee complete both ends of the two large city blocks. I mustn't forget to mention the weekly Sunday farmers market there that is popular with local folks adn visitors alike. See links below for listings of Farmers markets in the area.


Santana Row was built to rival Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and it is as charming and upscale as the famed Rodeo streets. Sidewalks lined with flowers and wooden lazy chairs to relax in next to the many gardens and fountains that make the area a city oasis. For all you jazz fans out there, the San Jose Summer Jazz festivals kicks off late August so mark your calendar.

San Jose Mercury News Farmers market listing

An alternate listing of farmers market in the Bay Area listing.

The kids were simply adorable in their cowboy attire !!

Cinco de Mayo celebration - downtown San Jose, May 03 2009

I had not made up my mind what I was going to do when I headed out in my car this past Sunday. It was raining, though not very hard. I looked to the eastern sky and saw the sun was trying to break out from behind the early morning rain clouds. I was on 17W in the direction of Santa Cruz and had the idea that I would wait for the right moment and shoot the morning scenery as the light breaks and the rains stop with the mist still in the air. However, that never did work out. I surveyed the area I had in mind and decided that it would not be much of a shot. It was one of those mornings...I was searching for photo ops and really did not have any idea where I would find one - the elusive photo op :(. Not a good sign I was thinking to myself.

"Young cowboy and his craft"
I headed back into San Jose, decided perhaps I might find something downtown. San Jose is a rather interesting town with numerous century old buildings. I drove around the city square and was just about to give up to head to Trader Joes for my weekly produce shopping when I heard neighing horses to my left - Ah...a group of horsemen and their families had gathered with their horse carriages in the city parking lot a block from St James Park. Downtown San Jose is at the heart of Silicon Valley and so the horses were quite a sight to see. I parked my car quickly, grabbed both my cameras and sprinted across to where the small crowd had gathered. I had no clue what it was all about. In my mind, I had an image of a horse auction of some sorts, like the one one sees in the Western movies...I was told there would be a Cinco de Mayo celebration that morning and they were getting ready for the parade. The kids were all dressed up and looked so adorable in their cowboy attires. Some were sitting on the ponnies...I asked if I could take some pictures and many quickly obliged and gave me their email addresses to send them some pictures - Sometimes it is funny how things turn out..


"his eyes...there is something about them"
Above is one of my favorite shots (see more in my Smugmug gallery)....There was something about his eyes..... They remind me very much of the boy in the movie I Am David. There was definitely more behind that pair of eyes....I wish I know what they were.....

"I thought he looked rather like Paul Newman, this could have come from a movie..the ride along Pacific Coast Highway 1 in Malibu :)"
You can see more of my Cinco de Mayo photos by visiting my Smugmug gallery. The link is Cinco de Mayo 2009, San Jose

I am Speechless

OMG, OK, now I am speechless. Now I know how those beautiful images were created, some of them at least.

Painted archway leading to the wetland

Part II of my HDR study. I drove to Alviso, a rather charming old town 20 minutes north of San Jose proper this morning. A friend told me of the town and the weathered buildings, salt mines and cannery. There is also a tiny creek that drains 5 miles into south San Francisco Bay. I arrived around 8:15am as the sun was breaking through the dark clouds (rain expected later in the day). At the wetland were archways painted in light yellow and wooden pathways leading to each of the wildlife viewing platforms. It was magnificently beautiful, simple, yet, to a photographer, it was heaven. I had gone on an HDR mission, and so with the camera on the tripod, I shot a series of bracketed exposures and below are the toned mapped HDR images: I am blown away by what the software does to combine the tonal spectrum...... I am still in shock. Needless to say, I am sold on Photomatix, and will pay up ($99) to get the license so I can create my HDR without the Photomatix watermark and add my own watermark.

All 6 images were toned mapped using Photomatix, with little or no adjustment, all shot with camera on tripod, bracketed exposure and camera set for three consecutive shots with one single shutter click

Twigs in a small creek, Alviso marina

Painted building facade, Alviso, CA

Red brick building facade, Alvisio, CA

wild mustard field, Milpitas,CA


wild mustard flowers, Milpitas, CA