HDRs - Sturtevant Falls
mmroden
Registered Users Posts: 472 Major grins
Hi,
Normally, I'm really allergic to nature, but my cousins convinced me to go out on a hike with them this morning. I brought along my camera and tripod, and man, I'm glad I did. These three are all HDR's of the scenes, and otherwise ungettable as the dynamic range of the scene was otherwise just too high.
This is one of the falls themselves. Not too impressive as waterfalls go (remind me of Ruby Falls, for those who've been to Tennessee):
The top of the hill is in direct sunlight, and the bottom in shadow. The HDR actually rendered the scene completely flat, but I added in a bit of that original range in order to make it more interesting.
This is the pool just above the falls:
Again, lots of range here, including blown highlights on the tops of the rocks.
Here's the path back:
While the horizon isn't _technically_ flat, I like the way it looks.
For those who're curious, this is how I do my HDR's:
1) get CS2.
2) three images, -1.70, 0, +1.70 stops in exposure time on a tripod.
3) Merge using photomerge in CS2.
4) change mode to 16 bits, and use 'local adaptation'.
5) Open the histogram with the two down arrows.
6) Slide the bottom portion of the curves line to the left of the histogram (just where values start to appear), and the top portion of the curves line to the right of the histogram (ie, when coming in from the right, where values start to appear).
7) Set the size and threshold to taste, and then hit ok.
8) Copy the image into a new layer. Change that layer to 'overlay'
9) Copy the original image into a new layer again, and put it on top. Change that to 'multiply'.
And done. Those last two steps restore a lot of vibrancy that seems to be lost in the HDR conversion.
Comments, critiques, improvements on my technique, all welcome
Normally, I'm really allergic to nature, but my cousins convinced me to go out on a hike with them this morning. I brought along my camera and tripod, and man, I'm glad I did. These three are all HDR's of the scenes, and otherwise ungettable as the dynamic range of the scene was otherwise just too high.
This is one of the falls themselves. Not too impressive as waterfalls go (remind me of Ruby Falls, for those who've been to Tennessee):
The top of the hill is in direct sunlight, and the bottom in shadow. The HDR actually rendered the scene completely flat, but I added in a bit of that original range in order to make it more interesting.
This is the pool just above the falls:
Again, lots of range here, including blown highlights on the tops of the rocks.
Here's the path back:
While the horizon isn't _technically_ flat, I like the way it looks.
For those who're curious, this is how I do my HDR's:
1) get CS2.
2) three images, -1.70, 0, +1.70 stops in exposure time on a tripod.
3) Merge using photomerge in CS2.
4) change mode to 16 bits, and use 'local adaptation'.
5) Open the histogram with the two down arrows.
6) Slide the bottom portion of the curves line to the left of the histogram (just where values start to appear), and the top portion of the curves line to the right of the histogram (ie, when coming in from the right, where values start to appear).
7) Set the size and threshold to taste, and then hit ok.
8) Copy the image into a new layer. Change that layer to 'overlay'
9) Copy the original image into a new layer again, and put it on top. Change that to 'multiply'.
And done. Those last two steps restore a lot of vibrancy that seems to be lost in the HDR conversion.
Comments, critiques, improvements on my technique, all welcome
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Dave
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
dbaker and mushy-- thanks! I'm glad you like the guide as well.
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