Landscape

Sydney Opera House

Posted by Snob on November 25, 2019
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Sydney Opera House from the Harbour Bridge

A World Heritage Site Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, the Sydney Opera House has about a 1000 rooms going 9 floors below for production, logistics and miscellaneous operations. It took 16 years to build. The story of its making, a drama onto itself, with a bittersweet ending.

The roof is made of 2,194 pre-cast concrete sections, which weigh up to 15 tonnes each, is covered with 1 million self cleaning tiles that have never been cleaned. I always thought it was made of large vinyl/canvas sails like the the ones you see at some new airports or stadiums. An amazing feat! Have you been to Sydney? What’s your favorite part of this beautiful city?

Sydney Harbor view sunrise to sunset

Posted by Snob on November 20, 2019
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Sydney Harbor at Sunset

A few weeks ago I got to fulfill a life-long dream of visiting Sydney, Australia. I rarely make detailed plans when I travel as I like to give myself ample opportunity to be flexible, spontaneous and seize unique moments and experiences. One area where this rule does not apply however is where I stay. Wherever I stay absolutely must offer me a great view of the city. I want to wake up and see the city in all it’s glory and splendor. I want to draw my inspiration from it’s energy that day. At the end of my day I want to reflect on the day’s experiences within the broader context of the city as it’s lights shimmer and energy glows.

On this trip I stayed at the Sydney Harbour View Hotel. It offered a fairly unobstructed view of the city at a fairly reasonable rate. Even more critical to the success of my trip, there was a metro/subway and bus station literally downstairs, next door. This meant within 15-20 minutes of leaving my room, I could be virtually anywhere around the greater Sydney Harbor area. A lot of forethought goes into planning my trips and this is just one of the many thought processes I go through.

Have you been to Sydney? Do you live in Sydney? What’s your favorite view of the city? Stay tuned for many more views of this beautiful city.

These shots were taken using the Canon 5DsR and Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8 lens on a Manfrotto tripod.

San Francisco from Berkeley hills

Posted by Snob on October 18, 2019
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With my upcoming trip to Sydney and the subsequent holiday madness I decided to make a quick run down to the San Francisco Bay Area. Of course I have captured the city on many occasions over the years but there has been one vantage point I have always wanted to capture. I just could never find the time to plan this excursion and I didn’t have the right equipment until several years ago.

To capture the city from the Berkeley hills, here’s what you will need.

  • Time – to research and explore the Grizzly Peak area and roads around the campus and hills. There are many great vantage points to choose from.
  • Weather – you will need clear skies and good visibility. The bay area is usually hazy or foggy and not ideal for this long of a distance.
  • A long lens – you will need a fairly long lens. In this case I used the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L lens. 200mm probably won’t cut it as your subject is just too far.
  • Tripod – you will need a very sturdy, heavy duty tripod. I used a full size manfrotto with a gimbal mount. Even with that, I still had to contend with wind shake. Keep the tripod as low to the ground as possible.
  • Patience – take your time. Something is bound to test your resolve or patience.

Overall it was a good outing. I got some good shots and will likely be going back again before year end to retake a couple of the shots.

Have you captured the city? What’s your favorite vantage point?

Chasing Sunsets in Chicago

Posted by Snob on December 9, 2018
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Downtown Chicago at Sunset, South View

October was a very busy month. With two major trips planned including one from my bucket list, I was hard pressed to find a quiet moment to write about my exploits. The last time I was in Chicago was around 7 to 8 years ago. It was some time in the spring. I did quite a bit of photography on that trip with my original 7D. I had just started figuring out what my Chasing Sunsets series would look like. Unfortunately as my workflow and archival processes evolved in their infancy, I lost the RAW image files. As a matter of fact, I am unable to locate photos from that trip. Needless to say, I was extremely frustrated when a major magazine catalogue contacted me asking for high quality skyline and cityscape prints of iconic American cities, especially Chicago.

Low cloud cover over Chicago.

Since then I have been meaning to get back out to Chicago just to photograph it at Sunset for my limited edition collection. Early October presented my only opportunity to accomplish this before winter and the end of the year. I searched extensively for a hotel, apartment, condo, and property with a decent view of the skyline. My main plan was to capture the city from the Observatory which extends out into the lake and offers a clear unobstructed panoramic view of the city. However as always with the weather in Chicago, it was severely overcast all day Saturday, my only full day in Chicago for this trip. This was especially frustrating. I was prepared to weather the rain for my shot but the low cloud deck covered half of the skyline all day.

Waiting and hoping for the rain and clouds to reveal the Chicago.

So after exploring he city up close via the CTA metro system, I resigned to my hotel room and hoped the cloud deck would lift just enough to clear the sears tower around sunset so I can get my shot of the skyline. Finally just before the sun set, Chicago revealed herself. At this point I had already had a couple glasses of wine to calm my nerves and ease my frustrations at the prospect of making the trip to Chicago from Sacramento and still not being able to capture the skyline.

Waiting…

The hotel room offered unobstructed views through glass walls floor-to-ceiling. It was the perfect backup scenario. I immediately went to work, sorting through the various obstacles and challenges, such as water droplets on the hotel room window, ghosting, reflections and distortions. I shot primarily with the Canon 5DsR and EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens. My trusty Manfrotto travel tripod handled the task with ease. All’s well that ends well. I shot through the sunset keeping the room as dark as possible to avoid reflections. I tracked down every light source inside the room and masked it with dark socks, towels, scarves, and garments. You’d be surprised just how many point light sources you can find in a dark hotel room.

My view upon arrival. Terrible weather.

After the sunset I went down to the bar in the lobby for a some dinner and a celebratory drink. I eventually ran into an engineer from Apple who had just landed from China. He happened to have his camera with him and really wanted to capture the skyline as well. So after a few more drinks, and with clear skies, we teamed up and headed out to the Observatory at midnight…

…to be continued.

On Exhibit: Sacramento Sunset

Posted by Snob on April 10, 2018
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Sacramento Sunset

I wanted to post a little about the prints that we selected for the SMUD Exhibit: Through the Lens as part of the first inaugural annual photography month in Sacramento. I went back through my archives to find out when I took this shot and realized it’s been over 4 years ago. It was shortly after I visited Folsom Lake. California was approaching the height of a long drought. As a result the Folsom lake level was so low, it exposed an old gold mining camp/settlement that was otherwise buried under over a hundred feet of water. It was a profound experience walking among the old settlement from the gold rush days. It was also alarming as it underscored the dire situation Californians were facing. I posted about that excursion here: The California Drought – Folsom Lake.

As I walked the lake bed, it suddenly occurred to me that the river by Old Sacramento must have been at it’s lowest level in a very long time. The next thought that came to mind was that the low levels on the river would make for calmer waters and receded banks. This meant that I would be able to get a more dramatic shot at sunset. I was pretty much right on the money. The levels were so low no boats or water crafts didn’t dare disturb the water. It was as beautiful as it was spooky. I also captured a time lapse of the sunset in which you could see this thin ghost-like wispy clouds creeping up the river.

This image took 60 shots – 20 frames (two rows of 10 HDR) each consisting of 3 brackets. I shot it with the Canon 5D Mark III and the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II at 200mm. Composing, stitching and editing this shot took weeks as I would frequently exceed the limits of editing software and memory. Single layers were easily over 1.5GB in size had to be committed to separate files. Opening one layer quickly used up 8-10GB of system RAM, often resulting in data corruption. Producing this shot was a veritable test of patience, well worth the time and aggravation.

This shot like much of my photography is only available in a very limited edition of 10 signed and numbered copies. At the time of this post, only 4 copies remain in the edition. This is a large format print, while it is available in custom sizes, the smallest recommended size is 6.5 feet in length. It can be printed to the scale of a mural without any compromise in fine detail. You can make out wine glasses hanging over the bar inside the Delta King as well as every nut and bolt on the Tower Bridge. You can also make out art hanging on the walls in the office buildings. I am actively looking for opportunities to place at least one of the limited copies as a large format art installation.

Exhibit: Through the Lens

Posted by Snob on April 4, 2018
Posted in: Art, Cityscapes, Culture, Events, Landscape, Limited, Nature, News, Travel, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Sacramento Sunset

It is with distinct honor and privilege that I share this with you. Several of my photographic works were selected for the SMUD art exhibition featuring local photographers. For those not familiar with the Sacramento region SMUD stands for Sacramento Municipal Utilities District. While my audience and collectors over the years have spanned the globe, there is something very special about getting a nod from from my adopted home town.

This exhibit is organized by the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission and led by Viewpoint Photographic Art Center, a non-profit organization located in Midtown Sacramento, and in collaboration with many partners including SMUD and the City of Sacramento, the community’s first-ever Photography Month Sacramento will take place in several venues throughout April 2018.

“Born and raised in Cameroon, West Africa, photographer Bryan Allo studied his craft in Madrid, Spain. A longtime resident of Sacramento, Allo continues his love of world travel and photography. This exhibition features three of Allo’s very large iconic urban and rural images. His shooting style is more of a realist expression. He shoots what he sees and only retouches his photos to the extent that they better express the beauty of his subject. He believes if a photo is worth taking and is well taken, it is better off left alone. “I take my camera and lenses with me everywhere I go including the bottom of the pool. My carry-on bag is always full of lenses. Clothes are an afterthought. I am obsessed with capturing beauty in all its fleeting forms in the greatest possible detail”.

Three of my mega prints are on display at this exhibit. I will be posting more details on each limited edition print soon. They are as follows.

  • Sacramento Sunset (Old Sacramento, Delta King, Tower Bridge)
  • Eagle Falls Sunrise (Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe)
  • Bassi Falls Sunset (Eldorado Hills)

If you are in or around the Sacramento area or just visiting, definitely take some time time to stop by the SMUD gallery. Don’t forget to get in touch with me so I can meet up with you and walk you through the exhibit for a personal touch.

Chasing Sunsets in Seattle from Alki Beach

Posted by Snob on October 24, 2017
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Seattle Skyline from Alki Beach / Duwamish Head, Luna Park

Seattle skyline after sunset from Hamilton ViewPoint Park

It’s been a really busy year. Unfortunately the first thing to take a hit has been my blog posting. I have not been able post as consistently as previously. However I’m happy to say my photography has not taken a hit. I have pretty much dedicated whatever free time I can find to actually doing photography and traveling whenever I can. This means it’s just a matter of catching up and sharing. If you follow me on Instagram (@bryanallo), you will catch more frequent glimpses of my photographic exploits.

I recently returned from a trip to Vancouver via Seattle a little over a week ago. It dawned on me that I had visited Seattle about a year ago as well. I did a lot of Photography but never got around to posting about that trip. I suppose the main reason was I never got around to composing the large panoramic shots I had painstakingly captured. This one was captured just after Sunset, from Duwamish Head at Luna Park, in the Alki Beach area. I scouted this shot all afternoon with my brother who had just moved to Seattle at the time. After scouting the shot, we walked to the burger joint down the street for a late lunch. We returned to Luna Park and camped out there through the sunset. Fortunately Seattle revealed herself. It was quite windy though. This was only compounded by the long 400mm focal length required to get a good framing. My first choice location was Hamilton ViewPoint Park but alas there was what looked like an Ore Ship painstakingly offloading it’s cargo all weekend long right in the middle of my shot. So I went with plan B which did not disappoint at all.

I shot this with the 50 MegaPixel Canon 5DsR and the EF 100-400mm L IS II. I’m not sure I could have done it otherwise. The resulting panorama is half a GigaPixel with boat loads of detail and color. I am very much looking forward to taking this to Limited Edition print. Only 10 signed numbered copies will every be made.

Have you ever visited Seattle? What was your favorite view on the city?

 

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Chasing Sunrises at Eagle Falls, Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe

Posted by Snob on June 22, 2017
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Sunrise over Eagle Falls

After chasing sunsets all day over Glen Alpine Falls and Lilly Lake I retired to my room in a little motel on the outskirts of the City of South Lake Tahoe. Yes I did consider just sleeping in my truck as I sometimes do, since I only planned on sleeping a few hours. However, after hiking and standing on my feet all afternoon till after dark, I knew I would need a shower and a good night’s sleep; well 5-6 hours of sleep at least.

Just me, and the Sunrise

I have photographed Eagle Falls several times before. Most recently I visited the falls this past winter and made a daring hike down to the lower falls. I just realized I never posted about that excursion. It was quite and experience to say the least. I’m not sure I want to do that again. None-the-less, there had been one item on my Bucket List and that was to photograph the falls at sunrise. Sunset here is much less dramatic if not drab and unremarkable.

I woke up at 3:30am, showered, put on my winter clothes, prepped my camera gear, loaded up the truck and was on the road just after 4:00am. I arrived at the trail head around 4:30am. I was the only soul at the falls. Sunrise was around 5:30am. This gave me enough time to scout my shot. It was dark, with clear skies. After a few minutes my eyes adjusted and could see the stars. It was beautiful. I used Google SkyMap to determine where on the horizon the sun would appear so I can frame my shot to center it’s radiance. I was all setup and ready to go with so much time to spare that I actually took the time to photograph myself. I always forget to do this and thus have no record of ever being there.

Sunrise piercing through the trees

Nothing could have prepared me for the sunrise over Eagle Falls. Nothing. As the sun started to rise the breathtaking beauty all around me just kept intensifying. It was surreal. One thing I love about sunrises is that they tend to last much longer than sunsets. I reflected back to the previous day as I lay on my sofa just before noon and decided all of a sudden that was NOT now I wanted to spend my weekend. Now there I was the following morning, my soul overflowing. My passion fulfilled. I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend.

I hope you enjoyed the photos and they inspire you to dare to venture out and explore. The shots are unedited and straight out of the camera, as I tend to do these days. This explains the halos and ghosting typical of in-camera HDR images. The camera has less elaborate HDR algorithms. Who has time to tinker with image editors when you could be out there? I typically only edit/process when I’m taking a photo to limited edition print. The two panoramas here will definitely be available in very limited edition print.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing.

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Lilly Lake

Posted by Snob on June 17, 2017
Posted in: Landscape, Nature, Travel. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

Lily Lake

Several weekends ago while Chasing the Sunset over Glen Alpine Falls, I took a break for a late lunch snack a little further upstream at Lily Lake. It was so relaxing to just sit there and take it all in, all of this magnificence, all to myself. No cell phone reception forced me to unplug from technology that has so much invaded every aspect of our lives.

Taking a break from chasing the sunset at Little Lake.

We’ve had record rain and snowfall this year so I wondered what this lake would look like with a little less water – perhaps more like a bog?? I made a note to revisit it later in the summer. Maybe with waders on? An inflatable dingy/boat? A shot from the middle would be beautiful.

I did take a fem moments to give the scene a good photographic treatment. I have yet to process the ultra high resolution panorama, but judging from the looks of these quick and rough shots, it should be a real treat to look at when it is ready. It will most likely be available in very Limited Edition print.

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Chasing Sunsets at Glen Alpine Falls

Posted by Snob on June 15, 2017
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Glen Alpine Falls at Sunset

This time of year my calendar just seems to spontaneously fill up. However several weekends ago I found myself lazying around on the couch all Saturday morning. By noon, I thought to myself “how did this happen” and “why aren’t I out there stealing a piece of beauty to keep for myself?”. Lately I have been on a bit of a waterfall kick. So I grabbed my phone and started searching for waterfalls around Lake Tahoe. Eagle Falls came to mind, but I have shot it during the day and very much wanted to shoot the sunrise there.

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Scouting my shot for sunset.

Driving up in the middle of the night just for the sunrise didn’t sound too enticing so I figured I’d look for another good waterfall to capture on that day, spend the night in Tahoe and then capture the sunrise over Eagle Falls. As soon as Glen Alpine Falls popped up on the phone, I knew that was where I would be chasing the sunset.

Glen Alpine Falls

I hurriedly packed for an overnight visit, scoured the internet for a cheap, decent room where I could lay down for a several hours before casing the sunrise. I was on the road within an hour and made it to Glen Alpine around 3:00pm – just the way I like it. I had ample time to explore the general area and plan my sunset shots. It was far more majestic than I had hoped.

With time to spare, I went up to Lily Lake to explore and have a late lunch snack before heading back down for the sunset at the falls. It was a very relaxing day well worth the effort to get out there. I highly recommend it and will be going back to explore the Glen Alpine Trail soon.

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