Ranch Motel

woodsac · Jan 30, 2007

seemoo said:
thanks for ur comments on my thread. Glad u like the pics.

I use Photomatix as well, but wish it would give even more control. So that you can control only parts of the image and not the whole image at the same time... Maybe in the next version...

I agree 100%. Aside from just "black/white clip", I would like seperate shadow highlight adjustments. I would also like to see a "mask" option for very precise adjustments.

One thing I'm trying right now, is actually combining 2 or more tone mapped photos created by photomatix

It's really hard to control the noise!!! But, you layer the two together in PS, and then erase the unwanted parts. So, essentially, you can create an LDR and an HDR, and then combine them. I don't have anything worth sharing yet...yet

seemoo · Jan 30, 2007

haha... I tried the same thing.
Sometimes Photomatix blows out my shadows too much. So that I overlay the most overexposed image again in Photoshop, in order to get them back down...

It's not the cleanest of solutions, I'm sure, but kinda, sorta works for now...

I guess every method is ok, as long as it gets it closer to what you want it to be.

Hopefully the new Photoshop version will have a more detailed HDR tool.

woodsac · Jan 30, 2007

Ah...that's a thought?

I have PS CS3, but I haven't used it yet. I just didn't care for the layout

I'll check out the HDR in the new one when I get a chance and see if it's any better.

bnz506 · Jan 30, 2007

Dude this shot is soooo cool, I love pictures like this. I wish I could afford a fisheye or whatever type of lens that is.

scrutiny1 · Jan 30, 2007

Man, I wish I could do HDR. You truly do have an incredible eye, amazing shot! :drool:

cherrymoose · Jan 30, 2007

As usual, amazing. I love every part of it.
Could I possibly see the original, raw version, if you still have it?

woodsac · Jan 30, 2007

More thanks are in order...thanks

cherrymoose said:
As usual, amazing. I love every part of it.
Could I possibly see the original, raw version, if you still have it?

Actually, there are 3 originals. I don't normally post originals, but maybe this will help some visualize what was done with the different exposures.

cherrymoose · Jan 31, 2007

Thanks!
I'm amazed at what you can do with Photoshop. I might have to invest in it myself. Which version do you have?

Mohain · Jan 31, 2007

Excellent as usual. As you said Bates Motel springs to mind! Cool

Antarctican · Jan 31, 2007

Excellent image! Love the mood you created. And thanks for posting the 3 shots that went into it...very instructive.

woodsac · Jan 31, 2007

Mo and Anti, thanks.

Cherry, I'm using PS CS2.

Olympus8MP · Jan 31, 2007

You've inspired me to experiment with HDR lately and I have a few questions. Maybe you could point me in the right direction. How many EV do you vary your sequences by? I've been using +/- 1 EV and it doesn't seem like a whole lot. But then again, I'm limited to indoor shots during these NE Ohio winter storms. And also do you prefer to vary aperture or shutter speed, or a combination of the two. I've read articles on both practices and was wondering what the advantages of each are.

woodsac · Jan 31, 2007

Olympus8MP said:
You've inspired me to experiment with HDR lately and I have a few questions. Maybe you could point me in the right direction. How many EV do you vary your sequences by? I've been using +/- 1 EV and it doesn't seem like a whole lot. But then again, I'm limited to indoor shots during these NE Ohio winter storms. And also do you prefer to vary aperture or shutter speed, or a combination of the two. I've read articles on both practices and was wondering what the advantages of each are.

I'm a "shoot from the hip" guy :lmao:
I just do what feels right. For these types of shots, I almost always shoot in manual, but sometimes in aperture. The brighter it is (or of course darker), the more shots I take. I think +/- 1 EV is good. The closer together your exposures are, the less noise you'll get.

This HDR was done with 11 photos in 1/3 EV increments.

seemoo · Jan 31, 2007

very nice.

I have never tried HDR with more then 3 pics. I have to try it now.
So are you manually changing the settings and not use the Auto Bracketing function of the camera?

woodsac · Jan 31, 2007

seemoo said:
very nice.

I have never tried HDR with more then 3 pics. I have to try it now.
So are you manually changing the settings and not use the Auto Bracketing function of the camera?

Sorry, I misunderstood. I am using the auto bracket in manual. Then, I'm adjusting shutter speed to control the exposure. Basically the same in AV mode. If you adjust the aperture, you'll just wind up with a blurry looking photo

There were originally 15 photos from this set, but a couple I wound up duplicating exposures. If you are in manual, start at one extreme end, bright or dark, then slowly bracket upwards, till you reach the other end. When doing more than 3 photos, you have to have your camera on a tripod.