Posted by Kalin Wilson on April 8, 2007 at 3:04 AM
For you photo-tech heads, like me, I did a little experiment with HDR techniques tonight. I posted the results on NPC, [url]http://www.npcolorado.net/forums/showthread.php?t=243{/url] if you are interested.
This follows up on the other recent discussion here.
Hey Kalin, that's a very informative experiment. I also like the first one the best. I don't know how to use masks yet, but one day I will. Thanks for sharing.
Interesting experiment, Kalin. The three approaches yielded quite different color balance, and the originals, to my eye, have the most pleasing colors. The middle of the 3 originals appears to be very close to the tonal quality of the composite, and after cropping the corner, the range seems manageable, making me wonder if - in this case - you could have worked with just that one via curves, levels and localized burning/dodging.
The one trouble area that probably benefits from more time-intensive blending is that upper left corner. I played around with it briefly, and - even after cropping the corner - couldn't find a non-blending technique that would reign in the remaining glare and still yield a result that looks consistent with the neighboring areas. The 'vivid light' tool followed by local burning of the shadows in that area did a very good job, though.
I'll post the results of working with just the one middle original here (if you'd rather I not, just let me know and I'll remove it). I left some of the spectral highlights that got eliminated in the composite just because I think they add to the image. I did get a little sloppy with one or more of the tools (you can see a darker, slightly redder area just to the left of the upper rock face; more precise masking would easily address that). Not sure if that's faster than the HDR technique and the problematic readjustment of color that you experienced, but this approach took me about 5 minutes give or take; 10 if I would have been more careful about proper masking... . The end result is a matter of personal taste, but the tonal range seems manageable relative to any number of personal adjustments.
BTW...I love the image. Having just shot my first slot canyon images down in Escalante, I have a new apprecitation for how difficult it can be to get keepers, and how time-consuming it is to process images with such wide tonal range.
Posted by Kalin Wilson on April 9, 2007 at 4:02 PM
Thanks, Rick. Nice job.
I agree that the base exposure has the most to work with. I like the detail of the background face from the under-exposure. I go back and forth on the color balance between definite red and more orange. You see all of those colors when there.
I had started work on the base exposure RAW in lightroom for global adjustments but hadn't continued with local work in CS2. I think I'll revisit that.
I think starting with a good exposure and bringing in subtle details from bracketed exposures that you can't bring out with shadow/highlight or similar tools is a good approach (lesson re-learned). The full blown HDR route is better suited to very large ranges and special situations.
Discussion
7 repliesThis follows up on the other recent discussion here.
See ya!
http://www.npcolorado.net/forums/showthread.php?t=243
Don
The one trouble area that probably benefits from more time-intensive blending is that upper left corner. I played around with it briefly, and - even after cropping the corner - couldn't find a non-blending technique that would reign in the remaining glare and still yield a result that looks consistent with the neighboring areas. The 'vivid light' tool followed by local burning of the shadows in that area did a very good job, though.
I'll post the results of working with just the one middle original here (if you'd rather I not, just let me know and I'll remove it). I left some of the spectral highlights that got eliminated in the composite just because I think they add to the image. I did get a little sloppy with one or more of the tools (you can see a darker, slightly redder area just to the left of the upper rock face; more precise masking would easily address that). Not sure if that's faster than the HDR technique and the problematic readjustment of color that you experienced, but this approach took me about 5 minutes give or take; 10 if I would have been more careful about proper masking...
BTW...I love the image. Having just shot my first slot canyon images down in Escalante, I have a new apprecitation for how difficult it can be to get keepers, and how time-consuming it is to process images with such wide tonal range.
I agree that the base exposure has the most to work with. I like the detail of the background face from the under-exposure. I go back and forth on the color balance between definite red and more orange. You see all of those colors when there.
I had started work on the base exposure RAW in lightroom for global adjustments but hadn't continued with local work in CS2. I think I'll revisit that.
I think starting with a good exposure and bringing in subtle details from bracketed exposures that you can't bring out with shadow/highlight or similar tools is a good approach (lesson re-learned). The full blown HDR route is better suited to very large ranges and special situations.
Thanks for contributing your interpretation!