some HDRI's

[misterx]

The batch from the tunnel didn't work out due to a lack of bright data (I really did need the tripod after all) but I think I've got the hang of it now with properly exposed photos and the newer software. The photos show some differences due to variations in the settings... I'm still deciding what I want these things to look like.

HDRI = High Dynamic Range Imagery. Take multiple photos of a wide contrast scene, varying the exposure up and down to capture the full range of data available. Using special software, you combine the images, and use tone-mapping to convert the scene-wide contrast into "micro-contrast". This compresses the tonal range a bit, and enables details that would have been lost to come through.

Here's some images I made a couple years back to explain it...
http://www.vaughnsphotoart.com/miscimg/hdr1.jpg (3 exposures)
http://www.vaughnsphotoart.com/miscimg/hdr2.jpg (result)

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6.

Comments

[sinboy.livejournal.com]

Nifty. It's like shift tilt, in reverse.

[misterx.livejournal.com]

At first I didn't get your comment. When I think of tilt-shift, I think of a special lens that you use to offset parallel line convergence in architectural photos (which is really more the "shift" part). Then I realized you were talking about the artificial miniaturization effect you get by manipulating depth-of-field using the "shift" effect. HDRI does tend to visually flatten an image a bit, removing depth of field, whereas tilt-shift expands the apparent depth of field. So I get it. :)

[midnightmadness.livejournal.com]

Nice. So what do you do HDR in - Photoshop, Photomatix, something else?

[misterx.livejournal.com]

These came out of photomatix 3, but I've also been experimenting with qtpfsgui and some others. I haven't gottn worthwhile results out of the others yet though.

[midnightmadness.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I use Photomatix as well - its tone mapping range and algorithm just seem so much better. Also tried others and have had the same disappointing results, even in PhotoShop. I was just curious to what you used because your results are fantastic.

[chelchik.livejournal.com]

I love HDR, these are great.

[misterx.livejournal.com]

cool beans. thanks. :)

Wish you lived closer, I'd love to go out shooting with you.

[teal-cuttlefish.livejournal.com]

It gives them a bit of a painted effect.

[misterx.livejournal.com]

Yes, it does. It also seems to "flatten" the image sometimes.

[theweary.livejournal.com]

these are so beautiful, I'd love to have prints of these, I'm in awe.

[misterx.livejournal.com]

w00t

[sitaangel.livejournal.com]

I love the first picture and the last one.. and the third one. They are great. :)

[misterx.livejournal.com]

Cool. These are frustrating to work on sometimes, but it's nice when one turns out.

[neversremedy.livejournal.com]

Wow. The lighting from this method is surreal and best evidenced in the image of the house and the color photo of the tractor. For a moment, I had trouble telling if they were real photographs or highly detailed 3-D imaging models. ^_^

[misterx.livejournal.com]

They do look different, don't they. There are much better examples out there on the 'net than these. If you like the look of HDRI, you should search some out. Some of them are just amazing.

[neversremedy.livejournal.com]

My mom's a pro, too, and when I talked to her about HDRI, she showed me a few on her Flickr favorites page that knocked me over. :)

It's an amazing process. What software do you use to layer the tonal ranges?

[misterx.livejournal.com]

do you have a link to those?

I use Photomatix.

[neversremedy.livejournal.com]

They're mixed in at her Favorites page. :)

[misterx.livejournal.com]

For a moment I thought she had taken all those, and I was blown away. :) Some great shots in there.

[neversremedy.livejournal.com]

Nope, she's not able to take a lot of anything anymore being in a wheelchair. *sighs* She had to pass up a job in Africa taking stills for her friend's latest movie, too. The sound of her rolster (electric wheelchair) is likely to frighten the wildlife. Nevertheless, her architectural photos in Germany are stunning, and from her a different perspective than most photographers would view them (sitting down vs. standing up). Thankfully, she's getting back into photography and writing, which I sorely think she needed.

[misterx.livejournal.com]

any links to her work? (I know, i'm being a link whore)

[neversremedy.livejournal.com]

This is her Flickr site, which includes old work from the 80's and some of her newer work in Germany. I think there are family photos in there as well, but I'm not sure if they're viewable by the public.

[codeninjaking.livejournal.com]

wow. I'd love to be able to do that. I was actually playing around with the exposure level at the quarry but wasn't sure what kind of effect I could gain from that. I think I asked some question about that at some point. How expensive is that photomatix software?

[natf.livejournal.com]

I think that HDR works better with the manmade objects - especially #3 and #5. I do my pseudoHDR using Photoshop's Shadows/Highlights adjustment which closer simulates what our brain does with our eyes' image data.

[misterx.livejournal.com]

Can you provide a link to an image you did this way?

[natf.livejournal.com]

Not off hand I am afraid - I don't think I have any online and/or cannot remember where, if I do. Also, the subject matter would not be an ideal comparison for you to compare to your HDR images.

Your best bet would be to try it out using the middle image of the bracket that you took for one of these images (e.g. the third one) and see what you think. The effect will be less surreal, definitely (and I think these look great with the HTD/surreal treatment). Maybe one of the nature ones would be a better example, like the Iris in this post. If you'd like me to try to S/H one for you so you can compare, feel free to email me an original image at natalief AT livejournal DOT com and I will see what I can do!

[misterx.livejournal.com]

With the exception of the tractor, I could have gotten the same detail out of most of these via other methods. In this case though, I was wanting to do HDR specifically, for the unusual look it gives. It also helped to learn the software by starting with non-challenging exposure situations like these.

I'm curious what you are doing though, so I'll find something to send you. Any particular subject matter I should look for?

[natf.livejournal.com]

Well, I just use these techniques (just one step in photoshop) when there is a wide contrast range from very bright to very dark to do what our brain does so that we can see all of the image. If you have PS you could play with Shadows/Highlights just as easily as I could - it is under the Image Adjustments menu on my CS3.

[misterx.livejournal.com]

I suspect I do the equivalent in Lightroom.

[cheeze.livejournal.com]

#3: fucking amazing.