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

How to Celebrate a Valentine's Day..... our way

February 15, 2012 in Food, Personal

Happy day after Valentine's day everyone! Hope everyone had an awesome time celebrating the day with your significant other. And I'll quote what my good friend had said, "Even if you don't have a significant other in your life you should always show love to the many other significant "others" in our lives."

Now with the proper greeting out of the way, I'll be blunt and admit that I am very cynical about the day itself.... It is over-commercialized, and there's always chaos at every florist with guys begging to purchase overpriced roses for the last minute rush... but let's troop on and check out what we did to celebrate the day without breaking our bank and minimizing the chaos ;)

I surprised the wife with a home-made photo flip book! Sorry I didn't end up taking a photo of it itself but it contains the following photos in order:

*Photo credits: Yours truly, Ryan Brenizer (engagement photos), Joel Llacar (wedding photos).

In return, the wife surprised me with a card and a make-shift snack box for my daily commute to work:

During my lunch break, I trek back 25 miles back to pick up the flowers I ordered the day before to surprise her when she get home (disclaimer: I don't like to buy flowers..but there's always an exception):

For dinner and dessert, well the pictures shows a thousand words.. and yes, they are homemade! =)

All and all it was an awesome Valentine's Day.. especially since this was our first Valentine's as a married couple :)

P.S. - Even our puppy got into the spirit ;)

Guess the abstracts... these photos were shot at _____________?

February 03, 2012 in Scenic

Salton Sea Couple Session - Karina + Chris

January 19, 2012 in Engagements, Lifestyle, Portrait

So a half day trip to Salton Sea was just not enough time for two different photo sessions. Regardless the time crunch, I was grateful that Karina & Chris was able to come out to hang out and do a quick shoot... after all, the love birds just recently got engaged! Congratulation guys and happy planning!! :)

Superhero Inspired Editorial - Apryl C.

January 06, 2012 in Lifestyle, Portrait

According to Weird California, Salton Sea is one of the oddest place in California and personally there are no doubts about that. Just imagine a HUGE lake with high concentration of salt in the middle of a desert; and along the shore there are hundreds of fish carcasses and the debris of old vacation homes eroding down into the ground its sitting on. What once a popular vacation destination, now it looks as if a bomb had detonated in the middle of the desert and destroyed everything and kept the lake in pristine condition.

So why would anyone go there?? Well, just check out some of the gorgeous landscapes and backdrop it has.. now just add a gorgeous model, photographers and half a day of some creativity experiments, you'll get the perfect formula for a photo session ;)

Model: Apryl C.

Stylist & Makeup: Apryl C.

Assistant Photographer: Nick P.

Location: Bombay Beach, Salton Sea, California

Bonus photos: this is what happen when pissed off a superhero model...

P.S. I'll post up some out-takes on Facebook fan page soon, so make sure you LIKE the page and stay tune :)

2012 First Sneak-peak

January 03, 2012 in Lifestyle, Portrait

Happy 2012 everyone! I hope everyone had a great holiday with lots quality time with your love ones. 2011 for me was a year of adaptation, provided with new environments, and new ventures I learned so many things along the way. Now 2012 will be a push to improve and expand both on the photography front and the personal end, so stay tune for some exciting new changes and projects in the upcoming months! Now for the sneak peak, straight from the beautiful yet urban decayed... Salton Sea - Superhero fashion theme inspired editorial:

Model: Apryl C.

Stylist & Makeup: Apryl C.

Assistant Photographer: Nick P.

Location: Bombay Beach, Salton Sea, California