Experimenting with HDR
I’ve lately been noticing a whole lot of HDR stuff on Flickr and photography blogs around the net. So, after attempting to do HDR with minimal success on Photoshop CS4, I plunked down the bucks for a copy of Photomatix Pro. And am I glad I did. I’ll be posting some of my “experiments” here.
Old Cape Henry Light - HDR - 5 images
Cape Henry Light
Here is a composit of 5 images, one stop apart. I set my 5D Mk II on Manual exposure, f/11 ISO 50 40mm with Canon 17-40mm L lens. Following the usual procedure, I enabled mirror lockup and used a remote shutter release, pausing on each exposure a few seconds after the mirror locks up to fire the shutter. Tripod mounted, of course. After processing in Photomatix Detail Enhancer, I was impressed with the incredible detail, but one thing caught my eye. The clouds moved a bit in each exposure, so I get this multiple exposure effect which Photomatix’s removal of background movement really can’t handle. Without additional processing of the clouds, I don’t see how this picture makes it. In any case, while the photo itself isn’t much to look at, it really shows off the ability of Photomatix to bring out incredible detail while maintaining a look of realism (that is, if the photographer wanted it that way).
Right click and select “View Image” to see the entire image.