HDR Photography Archives • Neilson Reeves Photography

One of the downsides to being a full time professional commercial photographer, and there isn’t many, is I spend all my time shooting client briefs and find it difficult to find the time to indulge my passion for landscape photography. Most of us struggle to strike a balance between family, work and hobbies but because landscape photography is such a time consuming activity it is even more difficult. These days the only time I can truly indulge my passion for landscape photography is on holiday and I am lucky enough to have a wife who also shares my passion for scenic beauty. This year after a recommendation from a friend and a distant memory of a movie I watched some 15 years ago we chose to go to the Greek Island of Kefalonia or Cephalonia depending on where you come from. These are the images I captured during my limited stay on this beautiful island.

Landcape Photography Assos Kefalonia

The small, stunningly beautiful setting and perhaps the most romantic location on the island of Kefalonia. The Assos headland is on the west coast of the island with the hamlet nestling in its horse-shoe shaped harbour. The whole area is encompassed by breath taking coastal scenery of rugged white rocks and turquoise sea with hillsides covered in forests of cypress and pine.

The village of assos Kefalonia photographed from path leading to fortress

Assos on the Greek island of Kefalonia or Cephalonia

Professional landscape photograph of Assos Kefalonia

Assos on the Greek island of Kefalonia or Cephalonia

Landscape Photography Myrtos Beach Kefalonia

Myrtos Beach Kefalonia is ranked as one of the top 5 most beautiful beaches in the world. The first image here is the view of Myrtos beach that is the most popular because it is taken from a lay by where all the coach tours depart for photo opportunities. To get the other images I had to spend some hours walking and climbing the surrounding cliffs looking for the perfect view point.

Myrtos beach professional landscape photography

Myrtos Beach photographed from the tourist view point

Myrtos Beach Kefalonia photographed from a different view point

Myrtos Beach Kefalonia

Landscape Photography Fiskardo or Fiscardo Kefalonia

After some initial holiday research about the island of Kefalonia we decided to use Fiskardo as a base. It is the northern most Port in Kefalonia and has easy access to the vast majority of the islands beauty spots and attractions. We stayed in the Hotel Almyra which sits just outside Fiskado and offers stunning views of the port, mountains and surrounding areas. In addition to the views and easy access to Fiskardo and surrounding areas the Hotel Almyra is a beautiful hotel both inside and out with great service and friendly efficient staff.

view from 2nd floor room of Almyra hotel kefalonia looking out onto Fiskardo Bay

View from our Room 2nd floor Almyra Hotel Fiskardo Kefalonia

Fiskardo bay photographed from the road on the way into Fiskardo

Fiskardo Bay Kefalonia Shot from the Road into Fiskardo

Fiskardo bay kefalonia landscape photography

Firskardo Bay Kefalonia Early Morning Light

Firskardo Bay photographed from the 3rd floor room alymra hotel kefalonia

Moonlight over Fiskardo Bay Kefalonia

The port of Firskardo view of moored boats and restaurants

The Port of Fiskardo

fiskardo bay photographed from the lighthouse looking into port

Firskardo Bay Photographed from the top of the lighthouse

Subterranean Lake and Cave of Melisani – The Cave of Melissani -Kefalonia

No visit to the beautiful island of Kefalonia would be complete without a visit to the Subterranean Lake and Cave of Melisani. I explained to the ferryman that I wanted to take some pictures but the rocking of the boat and the low light in the cave would make it difficult so he agreed to drop me off on the island in the middle of the lake (not sure if he was supposed to). This image is a blend of 5 different exposures merged together to create on picture using a technique called HDR.

Subterranean Lake and Cave of Melisani - The Cave of Melissani - Lakes And Caves

Subterranean Lake and Cave of Melisani – The Cave of Melissani Kefalonia

Greek Church Sami Kefalonia

Take a 360 Virtual Tour of the inside of the Church in Sami Kefalonia

Take the Tour

Neilson Reeves Commercial Photographers Manchester was commissioned by PHS Greenleaf, part of the PHS Group the UK’s leading workplace service provider, to photograph one of their major projects in the Trafford Centre Manchester. Anybody who visits the Trafford Centre cannot help but be inspired by the 40 feet palm trees and wonderful array of both interior and exterior plants and flowers. Well you can thank PHS Greenleaf for the visual pleasure and calming influence these trees, plants and flowers bring to your shopping experience. What you don’t see is the behind the scene’s work that goes into maintaining this oasis of beauty. While your tucked up in the new bed you bought in Barton Square, these guys are 40 ft up pruning palm trees and tending to all the plants and flowers you enjoy during your visit.

The photography brief was quite a challenge because firstly we had to be in the Trafford Centre outside of shopping hours and this meant a 6.45 am start and a deadline of 9am to finish the shoot. Another problem was getting up to a level with the trees to give a realistic perspective to the viewer of the images. And then finally one of the biggest challenges was the light. The reason the light was such a challenge is because the Trafford centre only receives natural light from the windows in the roof. At 6.45 in the morning the light is only just skimming the top of the windows and has not yet entered the main thoroughfare’s that link all of the shops and areas where the Palm Trees are positioned. This means the sky and the tops of the trees are well lit but the trunk and bottom half of the trees are quite dark. Most photographers in this situation would have to make an exposure that would sacrifice detail either at the top of the trees or the trunk. But because Neilson Reeves Photography always shoot commercial work to sell our clients products and the fact the detail in the trunk of a palm tree is just as important as the leaves we decided to shoot HDR or High Dynamic Range.

HDR How We Did It

After carrying out a white balance at each location we were asked to photograph we made 5 different exposures of the same subject. One exposure was for the deepest shadows, another for mid tone and another for all the highlights. When we got back to the studio we blended all the photographs into one photograph therefore expanding the dynamic range of the image. As you can see from the pictures we maintained the blue sky, got all the highlights and detail in the leaves and captured the detail, tone and texture in the trunk of the palm tree. This is a new technique offered by a few specialist photography companies.

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Landscape and Travel Photography Kefalonia or Cephalonia