A Storm Coming HDR

I was running some errands in the Boca Raton area and I noticed a thunderstorm rolling in. I drove around, looking for a good vantage point and finally found a spot on Spanish River Boulevard where it crosses over I-95. I had to park some distance away and walk to the top of the overpass with my camera and tripod. I took a few shots, then headed back down to my truck. Less than a minute after I finished loading my gear, the heavy rains of the storm reached me.

Nikon D7000 with Nikkon 12-24mm f/4.0 lens. HDR processed.

Color Lab of Florida

Once upon a time, before digital cameras, professional photographers in Fort Lauderdale would take their film to Color Lab of Florida to have it developed. Many photographers, including myself, loved to shoot transparency film, also known as reversal or "slide" film. You could get deep, rich colors with slide film that you couldn't get from color negative film. The process for developing color negative film is called C-41, while the process for slide film is E-6. Consumer photo labs like the ones in Wal-Mart or CVS only had C-41 machines because the general public didn't buy slide film. If you brought a roll of slide film to your neighborhood drug store, they would send it out to a lab. Professional photographers used to rely on local labs like this one to develop their film quickly.

Many years have passed since Color Lab closed its doors, never to open them again. Today, the building still stands on Dixie Highway in Fort Lauderdale. Sometimes I miss shooting film but now I can use HDR techniques to create images that weren't possible with film.

Nikon D7000 with a Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 lens. ISO 200. HDR processed.