Z!!
Well, i hate to be picky here Todd, but youve influenced me probably more than any other photog on this site, so time to start heckling the Master
The HDR here is just murdering this shot, a hand blend or some masks, a bit of fill light...anything would have worked better here. I do really like 90% of the falls, the blue and texture/contrast look very good and natural. Its the bg that really bugs me, all the depth is lost because the tones are even, all the dr is lost in the conversion. Ive been to Zapata a bunch of times, all times of day, and its never flooded with light, its depth is defined by the small amount of light in the bg/top of the canyon. The other thing i find somewhat unusual is the large amount of green, its been really dry lately so id be really surprised if moss was growing all over. I hate to sound so nasty here, but from the piles of TC calendars, books and cards lying around my house, i know this is not good work for you. The bottom 2/3 is actually pretty good though, even with the hdr. And from the other positive remarks here, i certainly could be totally wrong about this, wouldnt be the first time
Posted by Brent Murphy on April 4, 2009 at 9:16 AM
Todd, what software did you use for the HDR? With Photomatix, there are three methods you can use. Details Enhancer HDR, Tone Compression HDR, or a simpler Image Blend (which I don't think is technically HDR). Maybe tweak the settings a bit with whatever method you tried, or try one of the other methods to see what those options look like.
I actually like this a lot, but I think it could be tweaked to make it a little better.
Posted by Craig Schultz on April 4, 2009 at 10:56 AM
Todd, very nice image, but the blue in the ice seems a bit too much. Tone that down a bit and I think I'd like it even more.
Any chance you can post the single best exposure of this image for a comparison to the HDR? I'd like to see how much it helped the image.
Love this composition! I really like those stunning blues of the ice and the contrasting warmth of the background. The colors are very complementary. I've never been to Zapata, what time of day was this? Is the ice always this blue or was it a combination of a blue sky reflecting off of it with the blue light of the shadows?
Posted by Rod Chandler on April 4, 2009 at 2:08 PM
Just for giggles I thought I would reply with my photo of Zapata Falls from March 16. I did not do an HDR. This composition made that unnecessary though I did do some lightening and darkening in PS CS3. Did I overdo the blue?
Much of the ice has melted in the past couple of weeks since I was there.
I like your shot Todd.
Stan: Geez dude, you actually made me cry! Just kidding. Your points are well advised. A manual blend might be a better option, and the blue is overkill.
Brent M.: I'll try those other modes in Photomatix.
Craig: Here's a representative sample of the four images used for blending.
Todd, i'll just have to try harder next time
Seriously, i fully admit that im not a big fan of hdr software, although in a few cases ive seen it used to good effect. Im glad you posted the sample, cause its a great example of what i was talking about--the highlites are strong but just a bit of burning and the great dynamic range there would be preserved, cause the rock to the left looks almost perfectly exposed. Looking back at the original, the fg rocks are actually pretty good, so i was probably a bit rough on you there.
Thanks for the second image Todd. The HDR does add a lot to the overall image. Having never been to Zapata, I'd have never known how this would look anyway, so the HDR didn't bother me a bit. I think if you tweak this a bit so the overall tonal relationships stay the same this will be a really great HDR. Some of the rocks on the left side were brightened a bit too much and the background sunlight rocks darkened a touch too much. This is probably what Stan was objecting too. Tone down the blue in the ice too and you have another great image as usual.
Thanks again for the second post. It's always interesting to see the before and afters of this stuff. At least to me.
Discussion
12 repliesThis is a four-image HDR of Zapata Falls taken yesterday.
Well, i hate to be picky here Todd, but youve influenced me probably more than any other photog on this site, so time to start heckling the Master
The HDR here is just murdering this shot, a hand blend or some masks, a bit of fill light...anything would have worked better here. I do really like 90% of the falls, the blue and texture/contrast look very good and natural. Its the bg that really bugs me, all the depth is lost because the tones are even, all the dr is lost in the conversion. Ive been to Zapata a bunch of times, all times of day, and its never flooded with light, its depth is defined by the small amount of light in the bg/top of the canyon. The other thing i find somewhat unusual is the large amount of green, its been really dry lately so id be really surprised if moss was growing all over. I hate to sound so nasty here, but from the piles of TC calendars, books and cards lying around my house, i know this is not good work for you. The bottom 2/3 is actually pretty good though, even with the hdr. And from the other positive remarks here, i certainly could be totally wrong about this, wouldnt be the first time
I actually like this a lot, but I think it could be tweaked to make it a little better.
Any chance you can post the single best exposure of this image for a comparison to the HDR? I'd like to see how much it helped the image.
Craig
Much of the ice has melted in the past couple of weeks since I was there.
I like your shot Todd.
Brent M.: I'll try those other modes in Photomatix.
Craig: Here's a representative sample of the four images used for blending.
Seriously, i fully admit that im not a big fan of hdr software, although in a few cases ive seen it used to good effect. Im glad you posted the sample, cause its a great example of what i was talking about--the highlites are strong but just a bit of burning and the great dynamic range there would be preserved, cause the rock to the left looks almost perfectly exposed. Looking back at the original, the fg rocks are actually pretty good, so i was probably a bit rough on you there.
Thanks again for the second post. It's always interesting to see the before and afters of this stuff. At least to me.