With and Without HDR

[CNelson]

I'm up in northern CA for a bit and took a couple of shots yesterday that aren't barn burners but serve to illustrate differences/advantages of HDR in some situations.

The first shot was a single hand held shot where I exposed for the snow and sky because that's where the interest was for me then recomposed and took the shot. As anticipated the sky and clouds, are OK but foreground trees are quite dark. I like the contrast but decided to do an HDR of the same general scene to bring in more detail.

The second image is a 3 shot HDR...I lost some of the contrast but picked up much more detail in the foreground. I didn't have my tripod so I pressed the camera against a fencepost for stability.

I played with masking and curves to lighten up the foreground on the first shot but couldn't get it to look nearly as good as the HDR. I also tried to add contrast to the HDR but wasn't happy with that so each shot, such as they are, have their own merits.

The mountain is Mount Shasta

Chuck

FIRST SHOT - NO HDR, EXPOSED FOR SNOW/SKY



SECOND IMAGE - 3 SHOT HDR

[jiro]

nice detail on the clouds and snow caps, Chuck. The HDR shot still has a lot of leeway to edit in lightroom or photoshop to make it pop. Just a suggestion.

[CNelson]

Thanks Jiro....I think I may go back to it again. I did a painterly version of the HDR that I like and it has more "pop."

[jiro]

Thanks Jiro....I think I may go back to it again. I did a painterly version of the HDR that I like and it has more "pop."

The bright areas are nicely controlled on your exposure. The only parts that needs adjustments would be the midtones and the dark areas. It would also look nice if you put a border to it.