Posted by Rick Lamb on September 1, 2008 at 1:12 AM
Canon 1D Mark III
Canon 24-70mm F/2.8 @ 50mm
4 Exposures from 1/60 sec thru 1/125sec @ F/11 ISO 100
Hi folks, I did some of my shooting at Mt. Rainier with the intention of trying my hand at HDR (High Dynamic Range) blending. I've never really tried it before and have always wanted to. So this time while out in the field I decided to shoot some sample frames to work with when I got back here at home.
I tried to get the HDR tool in PSCS3 to produce useful results but try as I might I couldn't get it to work - at all. Nothing it/I produced even came close to what I wanted.
All of the above said that Photomatix Pro 3.0 is "the" solution for HDR. And based on my initial fiddling around with it I totally agree. The above image consisted of 4 exposures that Photomatix Pro blended together with easy adjustments from me. Now I'm not saying this is a stellar "mat it/frame it/hang it over the mantle" image image but it IS a far cry from the lack luster results I have been getting with PSCS3. So I am sure with more time with the tool and adjustments in camera craft for HDR I can create even better results!
Now for those who are just getting started in photography here is why HDR is so cool:
Our human eyes can see roughly 14 stops of dynamic range from the darkest darks to the brightest whites and still see detail in both extremes. Our film and digital cameras can render roughly 5-6 stops depending on the film used or DSLR in hand at the time. So standing on the Skyline Trail with my tripod/camera slung over my shoulder I was seeing a stunning array of light and shadow that no way in heck could my Canon 1D Mark III render in one frame.
So to "capture" that vivid array of light and shadow I did a spread of 4 exposures that DID capture that range of lights and darks that I then blended together in Photomatix Pro.
Neat stuff eh? Sure that sky is rather other worldy and the clouds sure did move from frame to frame but the concept has HUGE potential and is vastly easier than the manual blends I've done in the past.
My hats off to the dev team at HDRsoft for a fabulous new tool in my toolbox!! All that for a very reasonable $99.00 US dollars!!
Oh and what's even better is I created a custom export in Lightroom 2.0 that allows me to send files directly from Lightroom to Photomatix Pro and back again! Now aint that the cat's meow!!??
Posted by Bryan Swan on September 1, 2008 at 2:53 AM
This may be the first image I've ever seen thats been run through Photomatix that doesn't look like crap. Quite believable and if you didn't say it was HDR, I doubt I would have even suspected. Makes me think double think my vehement hate for HDR software a little bit.
Definitely not your typical HDR floating around that looks fake and overdone. This image is well balanced and gorgeous. I have to ask, did you use the detail enhancer or the tone compressor for this? I tend to get mixed results with the detail enhancer and pretty much stopped bothering with Photomatix. A few of my early shots that I took were multiple exposures blended into HDR with either Photomatix or manual blending but it seems as the software started to evolve certain aspects of it started to irritate me. I'm slowly getting to the point of giving the software another go but it's been untouched for almost 6 months now.
Posted by Erik Lundh on September 1, 2008 at 4:13 AM
Rick,
Thanks for the post. I never did like the HDR from PS3. The results you aquired are obviously superior to anything I've seen with Photoshop.
Posted by James Walley on September 1, 2008 at 6:50 AM
Makes me think double think my vehement hate for HDR software a little bit.
Interesting you should say that, Bryan -- some of your own images have such amazing dynamic range, I always assumed you were the one photographer on earth who had figured out how to do HDR right!
Posted by Adrian Klein on September 1, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Rick, I agree with what has been said. This does not look HDR at all. I am not an HDR fan but I have talked to some that say you can use it sparingly to help in getting that extra range without it being noticable. I know it's a trend and some people like that HDR look which is fine but not so much for me. Good job!
Posted by Jack Graham on September 1, 2008 at 3:53 PM
Rick... Definitely looks very realistic and just a wonderful image. I'd b hanging this one for sure!
JG
Posted by Bryan Spahr on September 1, 2008 at 4:02 PM
I really like this as well. Like others have said, HDR usually pushes the reality limit for me. This image is extremely well processed for exposure. The only nit I would have would be the blue hue in the background below the mountain range. ( Something that can be adjusted ). Looks like a beautiful place to get lost in for a few days! Well done
Posted by Bryan Swan on September 2, 2008 at 1:50 AM
James, nope. All of my images are single exposure. So far the only shots I've tried to make where HDR would have been necessary were just for experiment. I've yet to run across a scene that has too much range for the camera + filters + a little PP adjusting to deal with.
Discussion
8 repliesCanon 24-70mm F/2.8 @ 50mm
4 Exposures from 1/60 sec thru 1/125sec @ F/11 ISO 100
Hi folks, I did some of my shooting at Mt. Rainier with the intention of trying my hand at HDR (High Dynamic Range) blending. I've never really tried it before and have always wanted to. So this time while out in the field I decided to shoot some sample frames to work with when I got back here at home.
I tried to get the HDR tool in PSCS3 to produce useful results but try as I might I couldn't get it to work - at all. Nothing it/I produced even came close to what I wanted.
So I did some digging and found some info at Digital Outback Photo: http://www.outbackphoto.com/ that pointed me to PhotomatixPro 3.0 at http://www.hdrsoft.com/. I also found the same positive feedback at NAPP http://www.photoshopuser.com/ and at Photography for Real Estate http://photographyforrealestate.net/. I figured this tool just might get me what I've been looking for so I downloaded it and gave it a test drive.
All of the above said that Photomatix Pro 3.0 is "the" solution for HDR. And based on my initial fiddling around with it I totally agree. The above image consisted of 4 exposures that Photomatix Pro blended together with easy adjustments from me. Now I'm not saying this is a stellar "mat it/frame it/hang it over the mantle" image image but it IS a far cry from the lack luster results I have been getting with PSCS3. So I am sure with more time with the tool and adjustments in camera craft for HDR I can create even better results!
Now for those who are just getting started in photography here is why HDR is so cool:
Our human eyes can see roughly 14 stops of dynamic range from the darkest darks to the brightest whites and still see detail in both extremes. Our film and digital cameras can render roughly 5-6 stops depending on the film used or DSLR in hand at the time. So standing on the Skyline Trail with my tripod/camera slung over my shoulder I was seeing a stunning array of light and shadow that no way in heck could my Canon 1D Mark III render in one frame.
So to "capture" that vivid array of light and shadow I did a spread of 4 exposures that DID capture that range of lights and darks that I then blended together in Photomatix Pro.
Neat stuff eh? Sure that sky is rather other worldy and the clouds sure did move from frame to frame but the concept has HUGE potential and is vastly easier than the manual blends I've done in the past.
My hats off to the dev team at HDRsoft for a fabulous new tool in my toolbox!! All that for a very reasonable $99.00 US dollars!!
Oh and what's even better is I created a custom export in Lightroom 2.0 that allows me to send files directly from Lightroom to Photomatix Pro and back again! Now aint that the cat's meow!!??
Thanks for the post. I never did like the HDR from PS3. The results you aquired are obviously superior to anything I've seen with Photoshop.
Interesting you should say that, Bryan -- some of your own images have such amazing dynamic range, I always assumed you were the one photographer on earth who had figured out how to do HDR right!
JG