Behind the Falls

This is an HDR rendering of a scene at Starved Rock State Park in north central Illinois, back in late October. I climbed behind the waterfall at the head of LaSalle Canyon and fired off a five-shot sequence that I tonemapped twice in Photomatix and blended in Photoshop to produce the image you see here. When I use HDR it's for the purpose of expanding the dynamic range beyond the sensor's capability to more closely reveal what my eye can resolve. There's plenty more detail that could be pulled out of the upper part of the frame, but I'm careful to try to avoid the almost shadow-free look that HDR is famous--or is that infamous?--for. How does this look?

Great job Kerry... I wouldn't have known it was HDR. Comp is spot on too. Excellent work!

I like it too!

Great image. I like the look and am sure it looks better the larger it is viewed. Starved Rock has some interesting things. I have been wanting to get back there for a couple years some to shoot and I really like the brunch at the lodge.

Excellent image, Kerry...the HDR is perfect here.

nice shot.... i live north of Davenport really not that far from starved rock, but i have never been there.

Nice work, Kerry. Beautiful comp and the HDR looks very natural.

You did a great job with this shot. I tried one of these this past summer and it didn't turn out nearly as well. I wouldn't have known this was an HDR shot.

Thanks for the comments, everyone. "I wouldn't have guessed it was HDR" is exactly the reaction I'm always looking for when processing these images.

Wally, do yourself a favor and make the pilgrimage to Starved Rock one of these days. I try to get out there at least twice a year (don't always make it) and I always find something new to photograph. It's one of the most photogenic state parks I've had the pleasure of experiencing--not just in Illinois, but anywhere.

Kerry, this is a beautiful image! Excellent composition and PP work! I agree it looks very natural. When I first looked at it, I thought you were using fill flash to illuminate the overhead rock/ledge. Well seen, captured and processed!

I have tried something similar at Scott Falls near Christmas, MI, but not with results like this! I'll be thinking HDR next time I'm in this situation. Thanks for sharing.

Brian, I tried this at Scott Falls too, a couple of years ago. I wasn't satisfied with the results...though this was in my HDR processing infancy, so perhaps I should go back to the original set of files and give it another try. I can't remember now if the problem was related to wind causing blowing foliage, making it impossible to adequately align the images...if so, there's no fix.

Nice image here too. I wish you could wider but that would be it.

I really think it works great as-is. Great job managing the exposure here, and a good example of HDR done properly! Excellent work Kerry.