HDR Friday : Queensland Living

March 23, 2012 in HDR, Travel

Now jumping back to the Pacific side of the world, I figure I'll take a break from posting all the Caribbean travel photos and show you a photo from the down under... the beautiful city of Brisbane, Australia.

I've always love cities by the water, regardless if it's by a river, ocean, lake, etc. when urban architecture and water scenery is combined, you'll typically get amazing atmosphere, awesome people and great photo opportunities :)

HDR Friday : Princess Sunset

March 16, 2012 in HDR, Scenic, Travel

It's been about 10 years since the last time I was on a cruise, I almost forgot how gigantic these things were... equipped with almost anything you would need for a vacation getaway, it was our tour guide on this Caribbean excursion! This photo below was taken at Grand Turk (Turks & Caicos Islands), just an hour before sun completely sets and our port departure. Earlier the day, the wifey and I decided to just roam around without my camera and enjoy the island, though I was still scouting for photo spots, I enjoyed every minute of it. Sometime it's better to just soak in the experience and not through a view finder. Considering that it's our first time here in the Caribbean, I knew I would be able to see some amazing sunsets.

Stay tune for the full blog post of our Caribbean excursion and even some street photography from the infamous South Beach Miami =)

For bonus photo.. check out how amazing the atrium looks within the Rudy Princess Cruise Ship:

HDR Friday : The Place

March 09, 2012 in HDR, Scenic, Travel

Happy Friday folks! I'm currently out of office and crusin' somewhere in the Caribbeans taking photos and enjoying some quality time with the family. But that wouldn't stop me from scheduling the weekly HDR Friday 3000 miles away! If you have been following me (either flickr, or on this blog), you'll notice I always have plenty of photos from Seattle. The reason is basically due to the fact that it has became a tradition to visit the Pacific Northwest at least once a year for past 4 years, and every single time I end up here at the Pike Place Market, regardless if it's planned or unplanned. It's like some sort of magnetic field that gravitates me towards it..

Stay tune for some travel photography next week :)

HDR Friday : Dynamic Portrait

March 02, 2012 in HDR, Lifestyle, Portrait

Wooaahh.. HDR for portrait?? There are always skepticism when it comes down to creating a HDR image that pertains people. Mainly it's because most artists who creates HDR tends to "overcook" it to make the landscape and clouds super dramatic, however almost all the time, it will ruin a person's skintone and make them look super fake and unflattering. So for this week's HDR Friday, I want to show that with proper processing you can still get a great portrait without losing the details that a HDR image would bring. So yes.. the shot below is definitely a HDR portrait ;)

In case you're wondering on how my raw files look.. here's 0 exposure, +2 exposure and -2 exposure, respectively:

For kicks.. here's a black & white film version (edited via Lightroom):

Happy Friday!

HDR Friday : F-Sport Edition

February 24, 2012 in HDR, Personal

Happy Friday everyone! If any of you are having a long and exhausting week and just counting the seconds into the start of the weekend.... I totally feel YOU! At least one good surprise that came to me this week is this pretty little girl, delivered with a whopping 5 miles under the hood. A full photo shoot will be coming soon, so stay tune folks!

P.S. I was bum'd that I couldn't attend this year's WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographs International) due to work obligations, but my awesome Uncle Tony brought me back some goodies!

I got some exciting shoots in the planning for this year so having these information will definitely help :)

P.P.S - In case you haven't already, check out my

portfolio

for my past works & email "info [at] ronlimphotography.com" for any inquiries and bookings!

HDR Friday : Rises Again

February 17, 2012 in HDR, Scenic, Travel

Happy Friday folks! I've been busy with loads of work and life in general so never got the chance to keep up with HDR Friday posts. This first HDR Friday of 2012 should set precedence for rest of the year!

Isn't it odd that when you're on vacation, you'd actually wake up early? This photo was taken at 5:30am in Moorea, French Polynesia, I woke up just in time for a beautiful sunrise over the Tahiti island. I'll admit, if I were to get a view like this every morning, I don't think I would mind waking up at 5:30am :)

P.S. If you're interested in obtaining a print of this photo or any other that I've posted, make sure to head over to this LINK

The End of the Iconic Billboard..

December 02, 2011 in HDR, Random

The very first time I saw the Yahoo! billboard back in the early 2000s, I thought to myself that this was one of the most well designed billboard out there. Though, I never had the chance to photograph the sign throughout my prior visits to the city, I made an effort to visit after finding out that it is scheduled to be taken down this December.

Here's a good write up on the history of the billboard that will probably make you appreciate it a little more: http://www.thesfegotist.com/editorial/2011/november/16/end-era-yahoo-billboard-comes-down

The billboard is schedule to be brought down once a new owner purchase the space.

BMW 335i - E92 - A Farewell Photo Session

November 07, 2011 in HDR, Personal

Ok this may be a little over dramatic but this past weekend I had to part ways with one of my babies (due to contractual obligations)... For three years, "she" treated me well and we spent a lot of time making trips to Norcal, San Diego, Vegas and drove down the gorgeous road of Pacific Coast Highway. So for a good farewell party there's no better way to say good bye than a photo session to attain the memories.

Honeymoon in Paradise - Part 4 - in Bora Bora

November 04, 2011 in HDR, Personal, Scenic, Travel

After 3 days of relaxation and excitements in Moorea, we finally arrived at the infamous honeymoon Paradise, Bora Bora! Albeit, given our experience, we got to admit that it's not as glamorous as it sounds, our preference is definitely Moorea over Bora Bora but then again it's really just our opinion :)

We got to stay at Sofitel's Motu (Motu = Private Island), and talk about private and quiet, only a good handful of couples on the island with another handful of resort staffs. From what you can see from the photos below, the 3.5 days in Bora Bora we spent most of our time sunbathing, swimming with the fishes (unfortunately not with the reef sharks), kayaking, and a 2 hour tour of their downtown district.

Mari's first time kayaking... after, she sworn to never do it again. :(

Our mini trip to downtown Vaitape was brief but more than enough time to explore.

Fancyyy dinner! Ok not that great (given that part of the chicken was still uncooked), but good to try something different than the nightly buffet.

This concludes our trip to the South Pacific, although there are still so many more photos from the trip but I'll go ahead and save them for HDR Fridays :)

In case you missed the other 3 posts of our South Pacific Adventure:

Honeymoon Part 1

Honeymoon Part 2

Honeymoon Part 3

Have a great weekend everyone!

Honeymoon in Paradise - Part 3

October 24, 2011 in HDR, Lifestyle, Personal, Scenic, Travel

Our experience in Moorea can definitely be categorized as "awesome"! From the Island Safari Tour, Jet Skiing around the island and swimming with the Sharks (mainly Stingrays), the only thing missing was deep sea diving... then again that's only if I can actually swim.

Anyhow, here are some photos and please check our jet ski video at the end of the post!

Next post, look out for some photos from Bora Bora!!!