Diversion Dam... Trying Out HDR

DaddyO

Have been wanting to try HDR to see what its about. This location was
my first chance to get 3 frame sequences. Arbitrary 1 2/3 stop exposure seperation.
PP'ing the photomatix result proved a bit more work than
expected. Still haven't nailed the result yet. Could use some tips for
baseline adjustments. Is photomatix the right software for price to use?

C&C Welcome.

black mamba

Hey Michael.

There's hardly anything I admire more in a photographer than his willingness to try new approaches and explore new venues. This whole HDR thing is something I'd like to try ( got all the right books and Photomatix ) but I have yet to jump into the fray. I'm thrilled to see you have the gumption to give it a go.

The only negative I might observe in these early efforts on your part is that the pictures appear to me to be a little " soft "....like being slightly out of focus. Keep at it and good luck.

Tom

DaddyO

Tom. Thanks for commenting. The soft I think comes mostly from the noise
filter. Still trying to dial that software in. Was also out there without a
tripod so I was stuck with the hand rail and fence posts for the triple shots.
In PP I couldn't seem to get away from the "washed" look. I'm sure if I was
to read how to work with HDR's I will find a solution. Good luck with your
efforts with HDR's. Michael

Travis

Nice first entry into the world of HDR. I think you'll find it to be a bit addictive once yu really get into it and discover the possibilities. To answer your question about photomatix as the right tool - I'm sure that there can be a lengthy debate here but the truth is that it is one of the most used tools because it gives great results for the price. Just remember that the file produced by Photomatix is in no way the finished image. You really need to bring it in to an image editor to give the image the pop it needs.

As for the struggle with noise and noise reduction. I believe in this instance, the noise can be attributed to the tonal range that you were using. 1 2/3 stops between exposures is a huge difference. I try to keep mine to .7 - 1.0 stops and use 5 images instead of 3. I find it enables the software to better quelch the noise since it doesn't have to compress the range so much.

Good luck and enjoy your future experiments!

Ridgetop

I'm new to the forums but have been playing with HDR a lot (it's pretty addictive after a while and works nicely for messy, contrasty winter scenes.) and have found taking more than three shots with slightly smaller range between shots can make all the difference. I think you'll also find that the tripod will really come in handy . Good job though for a first attempt. I like that they aren't heavily overdone like some people like to do.

DaddyO

Travis. Thank you for your input. Highly appreciated. Price is right for
photomatix and it does what I feel is a great job for as much as I know
how to tweak it so far. I'll go ahead and purchase and get on with it.

Figured my bracket range was a bit much when I set it.
Thought I could sub dived them via lightroom if need be. Looks like theres a need be.
I'll try the 5 frames bit with much smaller separations. How does the
5 frames bracketing in camera work? I was thinking only 3 were to be
had bracketing in camera.

Nice tip on the noise reduction issue. I'll keep a close eye on that.

I pushed these images all over the place in PP after photomatix. What a
work out.

Thanks again! Michael

DaddyO

Ridgetop wrote:

works nicely for messy, contrasty winter scenes

Thanks Ridgetop!
:lol Messy. Nice way to put it. I'll have to switch from the words I
was using in those cases to this new much nicer one.

Agreed. Tripod is a must have. When the outing is serious I carry one.

I did back off the photomatix result in search of "natural" look for as
much as I could make that happen. Learned a lot there.

Am looking forward to more in this line of effort. Results matter.

Travis

DaddyO wrote:

I'll try the 5 frames bit with much smaller separations. How does the
5 frames bracketing in camera work? I was thinking only 3 were to be
had bracketing in camera.

It really depends on your camera. My Sony a100 allowed 5-frame brackets I believe; however, my D300 allows up to 7. I've never had much success blending 7 but find for very contrasty situations, 5 works best. Most of the time you can get away with 3, just limit the range to a stop either way.

anonymouscuban

Travis had some pretty good tips.

Travis is correct in that the noise is introduced by too much clipping in your exposures. Use the histogram to determine how many exposures and the stops between. Sometimes I can get enough range with just 3 images at .7 stops between. Other scenes require 7 at 1.0 stop each. Just depends on the range of the scene.

I have tried several Tone Mapping software and I find Photomatix Pro to be the easiest to use and the one that produce the best results most consistently.

I found a very good tutorial here that I think will really help you get going.

BTW, the softness in your image is probably because of movement in the camera between shots. You really need to get a tripod in order to get tack sharp results.

ront

Good tutorial anonymouscuban.

DaddyO, great start here!! I have also just started using Photomatix and as already mentioned. It can be very addicting!
Here is a link to some of my early attempts.
http://ront.smugmug.com/gallery/7727877_ajfEF#499560972_NVFHY

I am looking forward to more of your images.

Ron

DaddyO

anonymouscuban wrote:

Just depends on the range of the scene.

I found a very good tutorial here that I think will really help you get going.

BTW, the softness in your image is probably because of movement in the camera between shots. You really need to get a tripod in order to get tack sharp results.

Very nice and thank you.
Range of scene. Can I buy that skill? Plug it into my matrix.
Its like learning to see all over again. Wonder how that will work out. Look and look again.
An extra moment well spent considering whats up front.

Link to tutorial reviewed & bookmarked. Appreciate this starting point.
So needed that link to get on track. + all other great advice from
everyone.

For softness I understand what you are saying.
That said I did study closely what the noise software thought was correct. It blurred by its
default values. When I backed off certain ranges I got some detail back.
Practically the first thing I learned in photography was tripod, tripod, tripod.
Use of one can not be over stated enough. You want the shot, tripod. You
want to chance it, handheld / high shutter speed... lower DOF. Light dependent.

Again my thanks for furthering the leg up to press on correctly.

DaddyO

ront wrote:

Good tutorial anonymouscuban.

DaddyO, great start here!! I have also just started using Photomatix and as already mentioned. It can be very addicting!
Here is a link to some of my early attempts.
http://ront.smugmug.com/gallery/7727877_ajfEF#499560972_NVFHY

I am looking forward to more of your images.

Ron

Appreciate your thoughts. Will check out your early HDR works up the learning
curve. Michael