Two images used. 1600 ASA. Both with same EV (so this is really a faux sort of HDR) but with the Image Fusion and ToneMapping tool in PhotoMatix (I keep wanting to call it PhotoMatrix). But I was able to pull very specific areas from the RAW 40D file. I never saw those windows with their mosaic-like prints on them when looking at the image in Lightroom or Photoshop.
Can’t wait for the weather to warm up a bit so that I can do more night shots. In other words, if I knew ahead of time that this was going to be an HDR type shot I would have bracketed it. And frankly, these shots look better in color than b&w.
I was answering questions for an interview this morning, and remembered a phase I went through when I was 16, where I would take negatives and while they were on a lightbox, I would scratch lines in them with a needle, or sometimes just punch holes in them before printing. In other words, I’m still the same guy – but the tools have become more sophisticated.
There really is a sort of view camera quality to these. Is the tonal range essentially extended with this process?
Greg L'E
31 Jan 10 at 4:05 pm
Greg – that’s the major benefit, i.e. you can take three bracketed shots and expand your tonal range. In other words, if you know what you’re doing – and I’m only a few days into this – you will get as much detail in the shadows, and the same for the highlights, in very contrasty scenes, as you want. On top of that, you can get a smoother transition between tones. In that way, it is very much like a view camera, and that was the first feeling I had when I began to play around with HDR.
It can be overdone. But it can also be used for naturalistic stuff as well. In some cases, it’s almost like having a fill light with you.
dave
31 Jan 10 at 5:07 pm