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Andreas Freund
10-12-2009, 09:07 PM
Hi,
today I would like to show you my second picture taken on Desert Island (Acadia Nationalpark), Maine. It is the lighthouse of Bass Harbor. I took three different pictures with -2EV, 0EV, +2EV. I am looking forward to hear what you think about it. :) The next days I will upload a second version which I took at sunset.

Here are the Exif data of the original picture:
Sony Alpha 700
Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6
f/11
1/160s
focal length 20mm
ISO 200
picture was taken without a tripod



Thanks to you all for this wonderful (and inspiring) forum :)

Andreas

Robert Amoruso
10-13-2009, 07:52 AM
Andreas,

I know this scene well having been there many times. Overall I like the HDR work. I noticed in the trees just right of the building a weird sort of hazy look, like the saturation of green is less then the surrounding trees.

I think the composition works well here and the large clouds over the water help the balance the shore, cliff and lighthouse. I would suggest that next time us a slower shutter speed to get a silky smooth look onthe water. Problem with that is any wind will move the foliage and with the HDR multiple exposures creates additional problems. To get around that I will make a set of exposures for the water only at the slower shutter speeds, and then another set for the land elements at a higher shutter speed. Do the HDR on each set and then merge the water with the land set. A lot of work but interesting results.

I think you could use a bit more sharpening too.

Overall, I like the high range of contrast compressed in the scene - a lot of drama for the eye to enjoy. Nice work.

Fabs Forns
10-13-2009, 05:28 PM
Very dramatic view of the lighthouse and the cliffs. I wonder if this would look better with one straight exposure?
The HDR processing is not quite right, since your whites turned gray (very common) and the greens look kind of cloudy next to the house. In medium contrast situations, I find 4 sops to be too much and prefer -1, 0 +1 for a more natural rendition.

Michael Pancier
10-13-2009, 05:51 PM
agree with fabs that it's a bit flat. It's one of my favorite lights. I look forward to the sunset shot. Sunset/Sunrise only real time to shoot out there...

Dennis "Curly" Buchner
10-14-2009, 05:18 AM
Very nice Andreas, looks like a painting, a little soft and looks like you had some fog in the trees.

Roman Kurywczak
10-14-2009, 02:18 PM
Hi Andreas,
Nicely composed but I do see the halo around the trees and other artifacts that were mentioned. I have photographed this many times....just 1 frame and it does work fine.....although I would probably use the split to tame the sky and clouds. Don't forget to next time wait and time the light!

Andreas Freund
10-14-2009, 09:24 PM
Thanks to you all for your advices. I really apprecitate it! I decided to improve my base picture (0EV) in PS without creating a HDR. Overall the contrast wasn't so huge that I have to create a HDR to get all details well captured. The next time I will also remember your suggestion with the water. But then I should let my son stay at home ;)

Andreas Freund
10-14-2009, 10:46 PM
This is the PS CS4 version. I think it is colorwise really better than the HDR version.