HDTH, Pt. 9,342

Here's another hard drive treasure hunt find. Many will recognize this view as looking up into Mayflower Gulch on the west side of the Tenmile Range. I hadn't done anything with this shot because I was becoming unsatisfied with the results of hdr in Photomatix, not quite getting what I wanted. Enter Bret Edge several weeks ago, and his casual mention of Exposure Fusion. This is a three-image blend in Photomatix with the aforementioned ExFuse option, then some tweaking in CS3.

As you can imagine, jpeg compression is taking its toll on the details, but you get the general idea.

Now this is the type of HDR work that I can wrap myself around!
Wonderful composition, exposure and scene.

Very nice! Great details in the shadow areas and in the bright peaks.

Looks good. Nice control on the highlights and shadows.
How does the sharpness of the final image compare to one of the originals?

Bill, I've found no indication that this merge is any less sharp than a single original. Then again, there was really no wind to speak of, so all the elements stayed put. Has that been an issue for you?

Gorgeous photo, Todd! Really dig the middle of the creek perspective here. Perfect blend, too.

I've had no issues w/ sharpness using Exposure Fusion whereas I did when I experimented w/ HDR.

Well done!

I agree with John! It's a bit hard to tell, but it looks like there is detail in the trees where they poke up into the red sections of the mountains. Those can be tough areas to do with layer blends, but it looks like it's working well here. I haven't done any HDR work myself, but results like this are getting me interested.

Nice shot Todd.

Wow, I am going to get out and have to try this! I had only ever had mediocre results with photomatix. Exposure Fusion looks like it may do the trick.

Yes, Todd, I've noticed some sharpness loss while blending with Enfuse.

The second image in my last Longs Peak sunrise post was a good example.
I tried blending two exposures, both shot using a tripod, 2 sec. delay and mirror lockup.
The image had no close objects and I'm sure Longs Peak wasn't moving.
Even so, I let Enfuse do an automatic image alignment before processing.
When comparing the blend and an original at 100%, there was a noticeable difference in sharpness.

Now, I'm being rather picky. I'm not sure that you would see this difference in a print under 20"x30".
But it still bothered me, so I went back to processing a single exposure - which is posted.

Maybe the Enfuse alignment algorithm gets all confused when there isn't anything to align.
In any case, it is certainly something that I will now continue to check in any future exposure blending.

Beautiful shot. The hdr still looks funky to me (not that i could improve on it any!) I just have a problem with the fg looking as bright as the alpenglow when theres no light on the fg. And the grayish non-lit portion of the peak has basically the same luminosity as the alpenglow portion--its just bizzare looking. I sympathize with the dilemma (trying to convey luminosity with a non-luminous medium!)--the three exposure shot i took of Pikes the other day gave me fits cause i still think the fg still looks unaturally bright compared with the bg, but when you let the fg go darker it sort of defeats the whole purpose of 'HDR'. The trees look good here, and the water is almost there, but the shrubs up front are half stop too bright for me, and the shadow area on the peak definitely needs to be darker. Just my take.

Pretty cool, Todd - the image itself and I am impressed with you artful use of HDR

A real nice composition, but I have to agree with Stan, the area of the peak that is in shadow looks unnatural.

Overall I really like this, Todd. I think Stan's point about the shadowed area on the peak is valid though.

Very nice Todd. It looks like just a few minor tweaks and you will have another killer image to add to your collection.

Nice "save" from your archives Todd. Processing looks pretty good to me. Love the mix of green, red and blue colors here.

One has to wonder just how deep this vault is. Sweet light on those peaks, and your pp has the balance in lighting perfect.

I'm with Stan on this one. Technically, its one of the best looking HDR images I've seen. I don't see any funky halos. The mid-tones haven't gone super saturated. But the brightness of the foreground is just a smidgen too much and the grey under alpenglow is just a little too bright. And just one other minor thing. It seems to me the shadows should be carrying just a bit of blue/cyan.

What a find!