Patriotic ROT Rally – Austin, Texas

For my final photo from this year’s ROT Rally series, perhaps my favorite. You know I’m an urban landscape/architecture person at heart. And this photo perfectly encapsulates 6th Street and the bikes that take over during this weekend.

There is a lot of flag-waving at this event. Texas and U.S. Flags as well as Harley-Davidson paraphernalia. This picture looks particularly patriotic with an abundance of red, white, and blue colors. We have the flags, of course. But the neon sign and the lights all work to give it a festive All-American feel.

I also like how there is both sparkle and shadows, creating an image with pop and with outstanding dynamic range. There is no grunginess of old-fashioned HDR photos with their typical flatness. I just shot a single image with 1 1/3 stop underexposed. I then used Capture One to bring up the shadows. The latest digital imaging technologies make it so much easier.

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