Mt. Lemon Trip (try it again)

[vipgraphx]

Took the kids up to the Mt. to play in the snow. Here are some photos. Hopefully this time they pleases more people.

Edit deleted photos and updated with new ones.


smallmt5 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


mtwith2road by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


onerock by VIPGraphX, on Flickr




Edit: updated image.

skivalleymtlemmon by VIPGraphX, on Flickr

Just Purchased Topaz Denoize. Wanted to take it for a test run

comunity center2 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr



And gotta through in my Truck


truck 2 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


truck1 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr



Folks please critique and I will do a better job at responding and accepting it.

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[Rotanimod]

Try to number your images when you post so they are easier to reference.

1 and 2 could use highlight smoothing to get rid of the dark unnatural looking clouds. Composition on 1 is better than 2.

3 is my favorite. There is some unnatural halo-ing on the skyline which can happen if you don't keep a close eye on it. Other than this quibble it is a very nice image.

Processing is very good on the last 3.

[vipgraphx]

I replaced the OG ski with the new ski valley without haloing. Tried a few things and was able to get it out (at least on my monitor) Hope this looks better.


With the 1 and 2 thats the part of HDR I do like. Bringing out some of those colors in the clouds we don't see with the eye all the time. I feel it makes it interesting however I do understand that sometimes thats not everyones take on HDR and its intentions. When we went up there was not to many clouds in the sky as you can see in some pictures but on the way down the sun was going down and the clouds started to roll in. There was some darker clouds up there (we are expecting rain again).

I can not process any more tonight so tomorrow I will try and edit 1 and 2 and see the results some tweaks and if I can get it out

I like 1 better as well with 2 I wanted to show the road coming up the Mt between the two big rocks. When I looked down and saw the cars coming up from there I thought it would make for an interesting photo but my CC on this one is that I could not get enough of the rocks because of the railing would get in the way if I backed up and there was traffic ( I was already on the edge of the RD).

Thanks for your CC

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

I would say the first two are the best, even though there is some halo-ing. I am not a big fan of the other fake looking HDR shots. I think #2 is the best. It would be cool if you could incorporate more of the road since you can see the lower part of the road between the rocks. It would really tie the whole scene together I think.

[Bynx]

In 1 and 2 if you move the Highlight Smoothing to the right until the dirty look to the sky disappears your haloing will be gone and the image will look cleaner. If there should still be haloing then repeat with the Micro Smoothing. The third pic is interesting in that the large tree on the left is brightly lit even though its on the shadow side from the sun.

[vipgraphx]

Ok just one more

View top for added photo

GooniesNeverSayDie11 - I had this photo also that shows the lower road and the top road. I was going to wait until tomorrow but....ya know its addicting. Gotta go now but check it and leave CC thanks

Bynx I tried that what you said and it seems like I am still getting haloing in the image. I am tired now so don't have much left in me to try more things. Tomorrow.

Thanks!

[Rotanimod]

The skies that you like are a typical image that Photomatix spits right out without sufficient highlight smoothing. There is nothing special about the skies. You're not really "bringing out the color" in the skies by leaving it that way; on the contrary youre depicting an unnatural color that doesnt occur in nature; you're giving the image an artificial feel. I think the most tasteful and powerful HDR is realistic.

[Bynx]

What I recommend is you to post your untouched shots for pic 1 or pic 2. Then people can use those shots with their respective HDR software and see what we come up with. On another site I belong to we have this as an HDR Challenge thread. Dont use a great shot youre worried about someone stealing. Just a shot where you have halos and dirty clouds that you are having problems with if you dont want to use #1 or #2.

[SCraig]

The shots are great however I'm not a fan of HDR when it's used to produce unnatural colors and contrast. Some like it, some don't. I'm in the latter camp.

[vipgraphx]

What I recommend is you to post your untouched shots for pic 1 or pic 2. Then people can use those shots with their respective HDR software and see what we come up with. On another site I belong to we have this as an HDR Challenge thread. Dont use a great shot youre worried about someone stealing. Just a shot where you have halos and dirty clouds that you are having problems with if you dont want to use #1 or #2.

That's a good idea when I get home later today I will post them an see what you'll can do.I shot in RAW so will convert to tiff or jpeg.

[Bynx]

I played with your hi res image of pic 1 and the halo wouldnt go away. It has to be fixed in the creation of the HDR image not after. I did come up with some nice versions though. I prefer the painterly look but thats individual preference.

[vipgraphx]

Ok after a while of editing this particular image and trying different methods I have come to the conclusion that the more realistic I try to make it the more I don't like it. I feel that I could take a picture of this 1 exposure in RAW and do the same get the same result without HDR. Using some fill light,levels and curves. I am not sure if it is this image or what but the Halo is really hard to get out. I even used one exposure to test it out and still got the halo. I will admit could me my lack of knowledge when it comes to this method. I usually do not have problems with halo other than skys. Could be I need to go -1,0,+1 instead of -2,0,+2 and maybe raise my Fstop from 11 to 18 or something.

I also have come to the conclusion that I know what style/method I like at this point in my life in respect to HDR and I can not please everyone nor should I try to. Not trying to knock anybody down at all please understand this. I just feel that if I am editing an image for everyone I will go insane because not everyone likes each style or HDR for that matter.

Anyways I did a few edits and I think I am about maxed out on what I can think of at this point.

Bynx and anyone else if you would like to have a stab at it I have attached the 3 bracketed photos for you to use.

Here is me new edits
Going for a more realistic photo. I think its better but still can see some halo or maybe its haze/fog/smog

tworocks by VIPGraphX, on Flickr

These are more of what I like (right now maybe my likes will evolve and mature in time)

smallmt by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


smallmt2 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


Kinda like this one but not my favorite.

smallmt3 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


I think I will come to the conclusion that NOT EVERY PHOTO IS GOOD TO HDR!


Ok here are the unedited files. Note - I spot healed the bright sun out of my photos.

Using Photo Bucket







USING FLICKR SEEMS LIKE THEY ARE MORE SHARP

-2 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


Untitled by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


+2 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr




have at it.

[Rotanimod]

Well, I think users specifically in this sub-forum are going to recognize something that comes straight out of photomatix and place lesser value on it than image that is more professional and polished. I'm just guessing and not speaking for everyone.

Here's a good way to look at it: Photomatix is your dark room from which you create your negative. It is critical that you understand this is only the first part of the process, just the negative. You then need to use photoshop and other tools to tweak and finalize the image.

Let's examine your new edits. #1:

Here is me new edits
Going for a more realistic photo. I think its better but still can see some halo or maybe its haze/fog/smog

tworocks by VIPGraphX, on Flickr

#1 you've achieved a natural look. What is great about this photo is that you've successfully circumvented the limitations of your camera sensor and reproduced the scene as seen in person. That, to me, is the biggest reason HDR is so cool. Since the eye naturally wanders between the two rocks, the sky and the road grab your attention. The clouds appear natural, pleasant and realistic. Coincidentally the road itself even looks a little better with better brightness and contrast.


Now #2, 3, 4

These are more of what I like (right now maybe my likes will evolve and mature in time)

smallmt by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


smallmt2 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


Kinda like this one but not my favorite.

smallmt3 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr

#1 you are clearly shooting in daylight giving the lighting of the scene. The clouds having a dark, grungy, eerie feel to them just doesn't seem to fit;

#2 I like the contrast and the prominence of the foreground in this image. The lighting on the rock formations is nice. Also notice the color imbalance in the sky. The blues in the far left corner are out of harmony with the rest of the sky.

One thought you may consider is to process your HDR brackets multiple times as you've done here and then layer the images in photoshop. You can then take the best features from each photo by masking.

#3 there's not a lot to say about this one. It just doesn't work, for me.

I also have come to the conclusion that I know what style/method I like at this point in my life in respect to HDR and I can not please everyone nor should I try to. Not trying to knock anybody down at all please understand this. I just feel that if I am editing an image for everyone I will go insane because not everyone likes each style or HDR for that matter.

I think you will find that different scenes lend themselves more naturally to more artistic processing. A lot of beautiful scenes look just fine captured in their natural beauty. There is certainly artistic license on the processing end of HDR, just bear in mind that those of us that do a lot of HDR are going to see some forms of your artistic interpretations as an "easy fix" in photomatix (e.g. highlight smoothing to get rid of grunginess).

I think when you shoot different scenes and different places you will find there is a lot of artistic latitude with HDR, it's just about finding the right balance with what is natural and what enhances the image.

Hope this helps,

cheers.

[Bynx]

Looking at your 3 shots the problem is evident. Your middle shot (0EV) should be the ideal shot of the 3. Not thinking HDR the 0EV shot should be the best you can get of the overall scene. Its just too dark. So your underexposed is too dark and your overexposed is also too dark. I think your overexposed shot should be the 0EV and the over and under shots relative to that one. Anyway, using your 3 shots this is what I came up with. There was some real bad chromatic aberration in both magenta and green.

[vipgraphx]

Ok I did another one and took me a long time tweaking the image adding layers and using different parts of different results like Rotanimod suggested. I am really happy with the results in this one. All though the clouds in the sky are not as white as the last image I posted, It looks more like it looked with the eye. There was dark grey tones on the lower parts of the clouds and I also brought the left color of the sky down. Its not over done in my opinion. I think I was able to capture a great moment in time and one that I am satisfied with.


smallmt5 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr

EDIT here is the other image of just the one Rock

onerock by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


BYNX - I here what you are saying about the middle bracket. maybe I needed to do a few more exposures instead of 3 could maybe bump it to 5. I never have done 5 in the day but also shooting in the snow is also a little different do to metering and what not. Thanks for giving it a try and not only that but trying to see the source of the issue.


Cheers!