PDA

View Full Version : My first HDR - Hochglück mountain in Karwendel, Austria



Markus Jais
08-10-2012, 12:13 PM
This is an image composed of three about 1 stop apart with a demo of Nik HDR EFex Pro 2.
In one image I darkened the clouds in LR4 before exporting all 3 to tiffs.
I used the Detailed 1 preset in Efex Pro 2 and liked it. I did a little increase in saturation and USM in Photoshop.

So far I like HDR Efex Pro 2 but it does only show a white preview. Maybe because they don't support my graphic card. I hope there is a fix
for this, otherwise I won't buy it.

I was hoping to get the full mountain and the clouds but unfortunately they covered it partially. It was starting to rain and there was lot's of thunder and I was not comfortable staying there so I left after taking a few shots.

I liked the spruces in the foreground so I included them.

EOS 7D, EF-S 10-22, Tripod.

Markus

116920

Robert Amoruso
08-14-2012, 07:09 PM
Markus,

Good looking HDR. You have a nice distribution of tones and no grunge HDR look. As is typical with many HDR images, the final result is low in contrast.

I reposted with the following changes in PSCS5.

1) Levels Correction - White point (right slider) set to just before first white pixels clipped.
2) Curves Adjustment - Add medium aggressive s-curve.
3) Local Contrast Enhancement - see link below for my tutorial.

I got some color shift in the contrast changes. Use Luminosity Blending Mode to not affect color - or desaturate greens some.

In am image like this always tough to decide where to cut the trees. My only recommendation on that are the small branch ends intruding on the left side of the image - I suggest cropping those out.


Image Contrast and Tonal Range Tweaks
By Robert Amoruso
http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=20434

Reverse S-Curve

Selective Color (Photoshop)

Shadows/Highlights Adjustment (Photoshop)

Local Contrast Enhancement (LCE) (Photoshop)

Blending Modes (Photoshop)

Grady Weed
08-15-2012, 12:16 PM
Markus,

The darker blues in Robert's re-post, especially the darker lines of blue in the mountain range, really gives it more "pop". The darker blues in the clouds help to give a more higher elevation feel to the image composition. I like the clouds blowing across the tops of the mountains as well. Thanks for sharing.

Morkel Erasmus
08-21-2012, 09:39 AM
Robert's repost is spot on here Markus.
As a composition on the whole it doesn't do much for me, despite having nice gloomy weather on the mountain, I would have liked a bit more of a foreground leading in.

Mark Wiseman
08-27-2012, 02:44 PM
Hi Markus,
I like Robert's repost, as to the lack of foreground interest, I am undecided. A beautiful mountain and moody clouds all add to the image.
TFS, best wishes and the best of light,
Mark.