hdr image - first one.. C&C

[FSquares]

This is my first hdr try.. i really am an amateur when it comes to hdr.. and i am not sure about what time of the day hdr works well.. well this was taken at night (of course, as you can see) ... i shot quite a few shots with different exposure levels and made it hdr using PS.

I think it does look good now, but if you think of any tricks which could make it look better.. please feel free to mention it and also C&C.

Thanks in advance.

 

[LaFoto]

Wow. Yes. It DOES look good!
I like this one a lot!
It does not look like HDR to me, none of those colour-pencil-drawing traces to this one. Now all I do is wonder if not the same COULD have been achieved with one exposure only?
Or would one exposure only not have brought out as much detail in the fountain? I am genuinely asking those who really know about HDR, as I don't. I only ever PLAY with it for nothing but fun.

 

[Mike Jordan]

You did an excellent job on this. It does look great. The only thing that might help is to clone out that bright street light on the left... or tone it down a bit.

Nice job.

Mike

 

[FSquares]

Thanks Lafoto and Mike. I will take off the dark pixels on the bright spots.

Lafoto, you read my mind. I had the same question in mind coz I did take a pic of it in normal night mode.. and it kind looked the same.. but later i noticed it doesnt give so much details to the shadowed building like that hdr does.. and also the fountain looks smoother in the hdr.. here is the (non-hdr) single photo.

 

[LaFoto]

Oh - sure enough the difference is now quite noticeable and the detail in the yellow building in the background as well as in the fountain itself is much clearer in the HDR. That looks quite convincing, I should say!

 

[FSquares]

so anyone who can tell me how to get that "colour-pencil-drawing trace" effect to the hdr image? (thanks for the wording Lafoto. lol).. i have downloaded photomatix trial version.. any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in Advance.

 

[LaFoto]

I have heard others call it "cartoon effect" on here, as well.
And I thought I would find the answer in trying to create a tone mapping out of 1 RAW file saved at -3, - 1.5, 0, +1.5 and +3, to have them merged by Photomatix and then do the Tone Mapping there, and I thought it would be brought about by putting the "Strength" to max (100) etc., but I did not QUITE get where cracks like NJMAN or woodsac get with their marvellously cartoonish HDRs...