I’ve always thought that high dynamic ranger photography (HDR) was lame. I’d run across images online of skylines, sunsets and other picturesque landscapes looking a bit too surreal for my taste. Then, I visited the Digital Darkroom exhibit and the Annenberg Space for Photography and my eyes were opened.

Digital Darkroom focuses on showing how using tools like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom give photographers the ability to really transform their work into pieces of art. Some of the images displayed at the exhibit were HDR which got me to thinking, “Maybe I should give this a try.” So, that’s exactly what I did during a weekend trip to Palm Springs.

Using my tripod, I captured these scenic images on a hike through Tahquitz Canyon. Once I saw the finished product, I understood what all the fuss was about.

Hello everyone! I wanted to personally invite you to come out for “Cuba: Life After the Revolution,” an exhibit featuring some of my photography from October’s trip to Cuba.

The event will take place on the same night as art walk, at the Papillion Institute of Art, just a few blocks from the center of Art Walk. There will be alcoholic refreshments on opening night, as well as Cuban music and films to help set the atmosphere.

If you can’t make it on opening night, there’s no need to worry. The exhibit runs through Sunday, January 15 — but of course I’d love to see you on Thursday.

Now for a bit of info about the event:

“Cuba: Life After the Revolution” provides an intimate look at the daily lives of people living in a country frozen in time.

From the farmers in the valley of Viñales producing some of the world’s best cigars, to the prostitutes walking the Prado, these images show how things have changed – or stayed the same – since Fidel’s reign begin some 50 years ago.

And of course what’s a trip to Cuba without documenting the Detroit classics zipping down the streets of Havana, or the rustic buildings lining the Malecón?

This is, at least I hope, the spirit of Cuba presented in one night. Please come out and enjoy.

There are always a few gems I overlook in my editing process, and these images are among them. I captured all of these shots during my trip to Cuba, but I am just now rediscovering them some two months after they were taken.

I almost always process images I capture on the same day that I capture them. Consequently, I never really get around to looking over all of the images again until months – sometimes years – later. I usually get so caught up in one or two images taken during a day, that everything else becomes a blur.

Thankfully, while preparing for an event I’m hosting next month, I had to go back and look over all my images from Cuba again, and that’s where I found these. Enjoy!