Category Archives: hotels

Spa shoot in HDR

I’m not usually a big HDR guy. The first few of those over-the-top shots I saw with hyper-dramatic clouds and impossible shadow detail were interesting, but I quickly tired of the look. But that’s not to say that all HDR is inappropriate. There are times that I find it incredibly useful, as in this shot of the Alvadora Spa at the Royal Palms in Phoenix, AZ.

The room was soothingly dim but it was quite bright outside. The client wanted to show both the interior and exterior spaces in the same shot — something that might have been a challenge back in the days of shooting transparency. Then, I probably would have waited for dusk, when it would get darker outside and I could achieve a better balance between the brightness of the interior and exterior spaces. Another alternative might have been to light the interior space to bring it closer to the exterior, but I was also interested in keeping a slow shutter speed so that the water falling on the table would be nice and silky looking.

With digital and HDR capabilities now, it really wasn’t difficult to achieve this shot, even given the massive contrast in the scene. I mounted my D700 with a 17-35mm f/2.8 zoom on a tripod and added a neutral density filter to cut even more light and get a longer exposure for the water. I then shot 5 bracketed shots, each 1 stop apart so that I had images exposed at -2, -1, 0, +1, and +2 stops with the middle shot being correctly exposed. The most underexposed image held detail in the bright sky and distant mountain, but the interior was extremely dark. The most overexposed shot held detail in every corner of the dark interior but had blown out portions of the exterior. Not to worry, though. This is where the HDR comes in.

With the images imported into Lightroom, I selected all 5 and opened them using the “merge to HDR Pro in Photoshop” option under the “Photo>Edit In” menu. Photoshop now did all the heavy lifting, opening all 5 images and combining them into one high-dynamic-range image that I was able to save back out as a 32bit tiff. It doesn’t look that great in Photoshop at this point, but not to worry. When that tiff was opened in Lightroom it looked and acted like any other RAW file, except that the shadow and highlight recovery sliders had much, much more information to work with and, with a few quick adjustments, I had the image you see above. Detail in the darkest shadow as well as information in the bright sky above that far mountain. By being careful not to push the contrast and clarity too far, I think I was able to avoid that unnatural look that so many think is the only purpose of HDR.

And, to rebel against the cold rainy supposedly Spring day outside my window today, I’ll leave you with a few more shots of what was a much warmer day spent at the Royal Palms in Phoenix, just a couple of weeks ago…

Hotel Carpet

I announced this on Facebook earlier but neglected to do so here. I’ve launched a new site, Hotel Carpet, to showcase photos of rug patterns I encounter while traveling. It’s an idea I’ve had for a while and I wish I’d started documenting these carpets earlier but I haven’t always traveled with my iPhone and that has proven to be the most efficient way of recording these floor coverings. At any rate, I’m doing it now and you can find the results at: http://michaelcsnell.com/hotelcarpet/

There’s not much here in the way of serious intention, more just observation. It seems that – especially among chains in the U.S. – hotels are gravitating toward really wild, bold patterns in their carpets. It’s a trend that I’ve decided to document and share. You’re welcome. 😉

I’ve had questions about whether I’ll accept submissions and, for now, I’m just testing the water with a couple of people. Down the road, I may add a way for more people to participate by uploading their own images but, for now, I’m keeping this simple and manageable. If things change, I’ll announce it on the “about” page of the Hotel Carpet site.

Updates will be sporadic, just like my travels. Enjoy.

The image I launched the site with, from a hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana. See more at Hotel Carpet.

Roaming the rooftops

If there’s one thing I love, it’s getting access to a new vantage point and finding a new angle on a familiar photo subject. Having lived in Topeka, Kansas, for a much of my life, there are a lot of familiar subjects around but not that many new angles. So when my friend Doug Stremel mentioned that he and fellow Gizmo guy, Jeff Carson, were heading up to the top of the old Jayhawk Tower Hotel building the other night, I made sure I got myself invited along.

I grew up seeing those neon Jayhawks glowing over downtown Topeka. Next to the Capitol building itself, the twin birds might be most recognizable elements of the Topeka skyline. I’ve been in the building many times — way back when it was a hotel and more recently after its conversion to offices — but I’d never been on the roof before.

All-in-all, it was a great night. It’s always fun to hang around with Doug and Jeff but this was a particularly special evening. Thanks to them for letting me tag along and I hope to shoot with you both again soon. Or just drink beer. I’m pretty flexible. Thanks, too, to the folks at the Jayhawk Tower for letting us on their roof.

Here are a few behind-the-scenes shots — some are mine, others are courtesy of Jeff and Doug, the Gizmo guys:

Palm trees, two ways

This is the idyllic view that I had from my hotel room for most of my time in Fiji. Abstracted to just palm fronds, trunks and ocean, it tells the story of a perfect vacation spot. I shot this view several times over the course of my stay, taking advantage of different lighting, clouds, etc., but perhaps my favorite version of it was the first one I shot, and in the most imperfect situation:

It was hot in Fiji. And humid. And when I checked in to my room, the air conditioning was cranked to the point that water was condensing on the sliding patio door to my balcony. It was also a bit cloudy that first day which, in combination with the “rain” on the glass, painted a very different picture. As a stock image, I like the way this shot says “the vacation that wasn’t”, “rained out”, etc.

When traveling — and certainly when on vacation — I would much rather have the first scene be the one outside my window, but I’m very much hoping that some photo editors out there are in need of the second version.

Frauenkirche in Dresden, Germany

Here’s an interior of the Frauenkirche that I mentioned in my last post. It’s hard not to be impressed by the effort that went into the reconstruction of this building when you look at the condition it was in from 1945 through the early 1990s. Beautiful inside and out, its dome is once again a prominent element of the already stunning Dresden skyline. I was lucky enough to have a room that overlooked this skyline and made good use of it at sunrise and sunset to capture a range of light both artificial and natural. Much of the skyline is lit in the evenings but the Frauenkirche seems to be lit the longest. I would start shooting while all the lights were on and continue as they winked out one by one until just that dome was lit. In the mornings, the whole thing was dark and silhouetted by the sunrise. Here are just a couple of shots from my window at the Maritim — sunset and sunrise:

Mexican Sunrise

091015barcelo_sotc

I returned from Mexico wednesday night to temperatures in the 30s. It was in the upper 90s and humid in Puerto Vallarta. Needless to say, it’s not been an easy transition.

I flew down on Sunday the 4th in three legs: Kansas City to Dallas, Dallas to Mexico City, Mexico City to Puerto Vallarta. With layovers of several hours at each airport I didn’t arrive in Puerto Vallarta until long after dark. The photo above is my third frame of the trip – a 30 second exposure made from my balcony just before sunrise, as I was getting my first glimpse of the Pacific and the beautiful Barcelo La Jolla de Mismaloya resort that was hosting the Society of American Travel Writers Board meeting for the next three days.

The Board meeting preceded the SATW Annual Convention in Guadalajara. I attended the Board meeting as an observer since I would be joining the Board at the close of the Guadalajara meeting as the new Chair of the SATW Freelance Council. It was a great opportunity to get to know the other Board members and incoming Board members – I’ll be serving with a great group of people for the next two years.

With all the meetings, shooting time was limited but I made the most of free moments and some incredible outings that were arranged for our dinners. I’ll share more over the coming days as I begin post-processing.

It’s not always 5 star

A couple of weeks ago I posted about some of the luxurious accommodations that I occasionally find myself in. I also mentioned that there are times when they’re not so luxurious. My brother asked for photographic evidence. Here it is:

box by the river

This is a four foot by eight foot plywood box, four feet high, that is sitting on the bank of a river in Nebraska. It was late February or early March and it was cold. Very cold. My wife and I were there to photograph the Sand Hill Crane migration and had to be closed up inside this box a couple of hours before sunset so that we wouldn’t disturb the birds as they returned to the river for the night (Cranes “sleep” standing in the water). We couldn’t get out of the box until after the birds all left which is usually a couple of hours after sunrise.

I don’t think we were alone in that box, though. We could hear something in the straw at night but couldn’t turn on a flashlight to investigate (again — mustn’t disturb the birds) and some of our snacks were missing in the morning.

I’m not sure how many cranes were in that stretch of the river that night but I think it could have been in the tens of thousands. About half a million migrate through in a very short period of time. It was quite an experience hearing them all chattering in the night but I think once was enough for me. I’ve never had a greater appreciation for nature photographers than I did that night.

Storms moving in

lodge lanterns

trees in fog

All during dinner I was watching the weather outside the windows of the dining room of the Mount Magazine Lodge as the clouds descended. Storms are moving past to the north and tornados have been spotted in the area of Ozark, Arkansas. It looks like the most severe weather will miss us but it’s still a bit rough out there. I’d just about given up on getting any twilight shots tonight when the mist cleared just enough to show the trees across the road from the lodge. I grabbed the camera and ran outside for a few last shots of the day. Some of my favorites as it turns out. The low clouds were blowing through very fast and the visibility would rapidly come and go. I thought about going back inside for the tripod but noticed the trees were rocking back and forth so it really wouldn’t have helped. I cranked up the ISO as far as I dared and did the best I could hand-held.

Easter Island, a little less remote

Easter Island Moai When I visited Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, a little over a year ago it was stunningly isolated. Just a few thousand people lived on the island, mostly in the one small town of Hanga Roa. Groceries were purchased in a small garage-like building on a brick street and there were only a handful of small hotels for tourists. Nothing glamorous — fairly basic lodging.

There was talk at the time among the locals of a new hotel that was to be built on the island’s south side. It was causing some concern and I could understand why. Few places have escaped the plastification of tourism and it would be sad to see this remote outpost fall as well. I was picturing in my mind a rude concrete tower with a neon-lit casino and shuttles buzzing to and fro hauling tourists to the various archeological sites.

Today, I find this on the internet:
Explora En Rapa Nui

I guess I feel a little better. The newly opened Explora En Rapa Nui appears to be a very nice hotel. The architecture fits in nicely with the landscape and bears some resemblance to the ruins of Orongo that perch on the cliffs of Easter Island’s southwest coast. Still, you wonder what the impact of this hotel will be on the island. Is it just the first in a long line of “improvements”? Is a Starbucks soon to follow? I hope the island can retain its charm. And I hope that whatever further changes come are good for the local people.

Michael C. Snell photography blog

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