3 recent HDR's

cjmchch

Being very new to HDR's I set out about doing some practicing. Here's 3 HDR's of the same building, different perspectives. All C/C's welcomed!

Canon 400D
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
f/11
10mm
5/1 sec base approx
ISO 100
Hoya Pro1D ND8
3 x exp bracketing -2 0 +2
Adobe Raw
Photomatix
Photoshop

RJC1

I thought you did a good job with the HDR effect, the third is a little dark for my taste. #1 IS MY FAVORITE
I have one question, I have an ND8 filter I have not used yet,so have no experience with it, what was the purpose for using it on this photo?

cjmchch

RJC1 wrote:

I thought you did a good job with the HDR effect, the third is a little dark for my taste. #1 IS MY FAVORITE
I have one question, I have an ND8 filter I have not used yet,so have no experience with it, what was the purpose for using it on this photo?

Hi RJC1

Thanks for the comments.

One of the reasons I utilised the ND8 was to enhance the sky...the longer exposure enabled the capture of the movement of the sky enabling a deeper cloud base (it wasn't as cloudy that day as it looks there). The second shot is probably the best example of it. I was bordering on using the ND400 filter but didn't need it.

I find that the ND filters allow for a little bit more creativity in a shot especially when doing things like HDR's mixed with a 10mm lens. I find the fun starts at 10mm and enjoy playing around with dark's as well as 'movement'.

One thing I learned very fast was to set the camera up without the filter on in AV mode. Once set I then put the filter on, turn to manual mode then adjust the exposure length based on the measurement taken when in AV mode and multiplied out by the stop factor of the filter. I downloaded a chart that assists with this. I'll find the link after and post it if you require it.) These steps are especially important once you get into the darker ND's.

Shootin1st

The coloring is very nice. Do you have the software to fix the perspectives/distortions?

cjmchch

Shootin1st wrote:

The coloring is very nice. Do you have the software to fix the perspectives/distortions?

I do (Adobe Photoshop CS4) but I choose not to use it mainly because of the fun aspect of these shots, but mostly because I don't know how to apply it properly

Shootin1st

You get to make the choice of what to change (or not), but don't be afraid to play with this stuff in CS4. It's pretty simple to go through the different choices and just try them out.

Again, liked the colors!

cjmchch

Shootin1st wrote:

You get to make the choice of what to change (or not), but don't be afraid to play with this stuff in CS4. It's pretty simple to go through the different choices and just try them out.

Again, liked the colors!

Shootin1st, thanks for the encouragment. I'll certainly have a play with perspective cropping and see how it turns out. I think you can gather from my images that playing with PS is something I enjoy doing. And thanks for the compliments, it mean a lot get the compliments as well as the criticism.

roentarre

Wow, seriously amazing in deed!!! :ivar

Jack'll do

I really love these images. So much HDR is way overcooked but these are just right. The first two are definitely my favourites. thumb

redleash

I've been playing with HDR too and sometimes can't decide between making it look "real" and intentionally going to the extreme. You've done a nice job of reaching a balance, IMO. The colors are very nice and I like the overall compositions. But, while I understand your desire to create "fun" shots with the tilted perspective, I did find it a bit distracting. I'd like to see the same shots but with less tilt. That's just my opinion. Overall, I thought these were very attractive and appealing shots. Nice job!

bryanj87

Nicely done HDR. I love the textures on the bricks and the sky!

cjmchch

Thanks very much for the comments. (Still tring to get my head around the perspective changes. A lot harder than one would think!

jstpeter

Very well done HDR. the Sky was really well pulled out with your technique. I have found I am starting to like cloudy days for HDR shots.

cjmchch

jstpeter wrote:

Very well done HDR. the Sky was really well pulled out with your technique. I have found I am starting to like cloudy days for HDR shots.

Cloudy days ND filters and HDR are synonymous! Thanks for the kind words.

leaforte

The subject works well with the technique. Nice job.

cjmchch

leaforte wrote:

The subject works well with the technique. Nice job.

Thanks leaforte

Skippy

cjmchch wrote:

Being very new to HDR's I set out about doing some practicing. Here's 3 HDR's of the same building, different perspectives. All C/C's welcomed!

Canon 400D
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
f/11
10mm
5/1 sec base approx
ISO 100
Hoya Pro1D ND8
3 x exp bracketing -2 0 +2
Adobe Raw
Photomatix
Photoshop

Wow awesome place to shoot CJ
Love your HDR on these... really brings out the deep colours.
Sky looks great, I'm only using the Demo of Photomatrix, I need to buy it.

Very nice done CJ, and again that is a great location for shooting
... Skippy
.

KED

Skippy wrote:

I'm only using the Demo of Photomatrix, I need to buy it.

.

If you are into HDR, your US$99 (or so) investment is a no-brainer. I love plug-ins that largely take over and get the job done (Noiseware being another example), and while there's more subjectivity to Photomatix than Noiseware, it's very straightforward and intuitive, as I'm sure you have seen from using the trial version.