Hey all,
Heres another shot from when I went out earlier today. Its a nine shot HDR via photomatix. I tried to not go too over the top with the processing.
_DSC2916And8more_tonemapped by rhoads238, on Flickr
CC welcome,
Jason
Hey all,
Heres another shot from when I went out earlier today. Its a nine shot HDR via photomatix. I tried to not go too over the top with the processing.
_DSC2916And8more_tonemapped by rhoads238, on Flickr
CC welcome,
Jason
I love these into-the-sun shots that feature roadways and/or rivers, when you get the reflection of the light coming up at you. I always think it infuses an image with mood and atmosphere, as, I feel, this one shows us. I like it.
I do wonder about having the sun in view at the top of the frame and that's clearly a decision that's been made. But if it was cropped to just at the bottom of the disc of the sun, does it throw more attention onto the street scene by taking out the distraction of that very bright spot?
Thank you Donald. I was wondering how to manage the sun in the photo when I took it. I ended up cropping it to the half way mark in post. I do see what you are saying though, so here is the crop you have suggested.
_DSC2916And8more_tonemappedcrop by rhoads238, on Flickr
Jason, congratulations on finding a situation where HDR is very appropriate. I have to admit that I'm skeptical of HDR work, mainly because so many photographers stroll into my hometown to make post-apocalyptic HDR ruin porn. But this really works. I especially like the quality of the lights on the buildings, and as Donald said, the reflected sunlight in the street turns a normally-dull feature into a golden river.
Thank you. A lot of people do HDR just for the sake of doing HDR. I don't see the point. I usually don't like that super tone mapped look that a lot of people go for either although there are some situations where it does work.
Mike, Thanks. There are some situations that call for HDR. It needs to be a tool in the bag, if you will, but not an every shot trick. Balance is key.
I wanted to take a look at what the shot would have been like without HDR so i went back and processed one of the raw files, then cropped to remove the sky.
_DSC2895 as Smart Object-1new by rhoads238, on Flickr
Quite the difference Jason - thank you for posting a reference shot. I have not tried HDR yet and like many folks I find it intimidating and often overdone. Your shot is a nice reminder that when done well it is a great tool.
The non HDR shot sure gets dark in a hurry and I wonder if taking more off the top (to the top of the last visible building on the left) and possibly some of the bottom would improve the compostion...
That is somewhat true. It is one of the last areas of the city I'm living in to develop into high-end residential properties. The building in the back left, is one of the best and largest bars in town, Biergarten. Bottom left was a building that was just demolished to put in luxury condos and bottom right is in the process of demolition just not shown in the photo. The white building up from there is part of the bus depot as their service center.