10 Beautiful HDR Photos from Around the World

For my primary business, I travel a lot. In fact, I've built a whole course and community for people that want to build businesses that allow them to work from anywhere in the world.

My home base is in Portland, Oregon but I spend a good 3-4 months out of the year in various other places across the globe.

Because of this, I've had the chance to shoot a lot of HDR photos in a ton of cool places.

While I'm far from the world's best photographer, I do get lucky every once in awhile.  These are some of my favorite HDR photographs from around the world.

All of these were edited with either Photomatix or HDR Efex Pro (some of these were taken awhile ago, and I don't remember specifically which software I used for each photo).

September 2012: Brigantine, New Jersey

I was in NYC for about 4 days after a friend invited me to New York Fashion Week.  After the event was over, my friend Dan invited me up to his house in Brigantine for a little scotch, golf, and apparently spectacular sunsets.

We hopped to the other side of the island last minute, and I was treated to one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen.

Sunset in Brigantine, New Jersey

June 2012: Petra Jordan

You've probably seen some of these photos around the site, as this was one of my favorite things I've ever shot.  Petra by night, is one of those “must do” bucket list type things.

I was fortunate enough to take a trip to Jordan sponsored by their tourism board, and the photo opportunities were limitless.

Petra, Jordan at night. Edited with Photomatix 4

December 2010: Portland, Oregon

The great thing about Portland in the winter, is it gets really clear.  This photo was taken from Vista Bridge, which is the most definitive “postcard” spot in Portland. I've always liked this photo. It's just a shame I can't find the original brackets, anywhere…

Skyline of Portland, Oregon

February 2012: Havana, Cuba

For years I'd wanted to visit the forbidden land that is Cuba.  I never thought it would actually be feasible until I began working for myself and I had a trip to Playa del Carmen planned.  Havana is just a quick flight from Cancun, so I grabbed a couple friends and said, why not?!

We smoked cigars at the place Hemingway used to hang out, and drank more mojitos than I thought possible.  This shot was taken from the top of Hotel Parque Central looking back at the Capital Building.

Sunset in Havana, Cuba. Capital Building in the background

April 2012: Yangshuo, China

Last April I was in China for the first time looking for business opportunities and spending some time with friends there.  One of them insisted we head to Yangshuo for a couple days. I'd never heard of this place, but boy was I glad we went.  Think of it as the outdoor capital of China.  This view is from outside our guest house.  The video below was a tour of the guest house.

Yangshuo, China

May 2010: Puert0 Galera, Philippines

During the red shirt protests in Bangkok, I had to take off at the last minute.  Where to? Well, I knew some people in the Philippines!  48 Hours later I was sitting on the beach in Puerto Galera.  While this photo makes it look pretty “third world” I promise, the majority of views were much more scenic.

Puerto Galera, Philippines

May 2010: Bangkok, Thailand

When I lived in Bangkok, the storms were unlike any I'd ever seen.  This night in particular the lightening was firing every few seconds and I still hadn't bought a tripod yet.  So what did I do? I turned over some garbage cans and very precariously tried to balance the camera to get my first shot of lightning ever.  Shot with one RAW image.

Lightning in Victory Monument, Bangkok, Thailand

June 2010: Bali, Indonesia

On my first trip to Bali we spent an evening at Uluwatu, watching one of the most beautiful sunsets I'd ever seen.  This is one of the first HDR shots I ever took, and while it isn't perfect, there's no denying it's a pretty gorgeous view.

Uluwatu, Bali, Indonesia

February 2012: Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Right after our quick stint in Havana, we buckled down in Playa del Carmen, Mexico for a week of work and margaritas.  We found probably the best deal in town and our huge two bedroom condo had a rooftop terrace and two other balconies.  Here's the view from one of them:

View in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

August 2011: Las Vegas, Nevada

After a random series of events I found myself in Las Vegas, Nevada shooting a pilot for a TV show (that unsurprisingly didn't get picked up).  I went out with a pro photographer at 2 am and took a bunch of photos on the strip.

To this day, this shot is still one of my favorites I've ever composed.

Anyway hope you enjoyed this quick little trip around the world! Where's your favorite place you've ever photographed?