Wagner falls

[Mike Landwehr]

This is an HDR of Wagner Falls in the Michigan U. P. It was a dreary fall day, and pretty dark around the falls. I only took two images from this spot (in the middle of the stream), at 1 and 2 seconds, so I had fewer images to feed the HDR process than usual. I'm still pretty new to HDR, so any suggestions will be appreciated.

1D Mark II N
Sigma 12-24 mm at 14 mm
ISO 50
1 and 2 seconds @ f/22
Tripod

[Jason Kinsey]

Mike, I'm no good whatsoever with HDR so I can't comment on the process. Having said that, maybe another exposure or two to the right would have provided more detail in the shadow areas??? Overall I like the image, thanks for sharing.

[Jay Gould]

To start with and finish with - it is a lovely image! I might run a 10% burn over the left side green foliage once or twice. On the that foliage; the rest is spot on.

[Chris Korman]

Nicely composed, with the water crawling over the rocks and under fallen trees. The sky in the top middle is a bit blown out in a harsh way and there is some strange blue coloring in the foliage to the right of the sky.

[Morkel Erasmus]

I like the compositional flow in the image, Mike.
What time of day was this taken at?
Which HDR software did you use for rendering?

I used to love this kind of look when blending multiple exposures, yet though I still enjoy some shots processed this way I much prefer the "look" one gets with manual exposure blending. It's a tedious process and a steep learning curve but I feel it achieves the purpose of "high dynamic range" imaging much better. I have found that, for times when I am 'lazy', the new "Fusion" algorithm on Photomatix 4 achieves results much more akin to natural blending than traditional "HDR".

[Mike Landwehr]

Thanks to each of you for your feedback. Jay, I agree with you that a little burn on the left side will balance the lighting a bit. I'm going to make the adjustment. Chris, the little patch of blue is on the original images, and I think its a bit of blue sky. Morkel, this image was taken late in the morning. As I remember, it was a cloudy day (I made the image two years ago). I know that the falls in a very wooded setting, and it's pretty dark around the falls. With the two images I provided to Photomatix being only one stop apart in exposure, its not surprising that the resulting HDR still had some pretty dark shadows. I realize the HDR version has a very unnatural lighting effect (sort of like an artist might interpret the scene). But, I'm still new enough to HDR that i'm still a bit facinated by the look. With experience, I'm sure that I'll migrate toward more realistic lighting outcomes from Photomatix. I've used the manual blending approach on a few photos, and often like the results. This scene had so many highlights, and so many deep shadows, and so much detail, I wouldn't even attempt a blend (not enough experience). I'm using Photomatix 3.2, so am not familiar with the Fusion algorithm. Thanks for mentioning it. I'll read up on it. It may be time to upgrade. Thanks for all your comments.

Mike

[Morkel Erasmus]

Actually I don't mind the depth of the shadows in your image, Mike. Lightening them too much might just seem more 'unnatural' IMHO. If you want a great tutorial on using software like Photomatix, check out Trey Ratcliffe's site at www.stuckincustoms.com - he's got a downloadable PDF tutorial which is a great help. His images are also top notch and he is certainly getting the best results using these kinds of software that I have ever seen. For manual blending tutorials and info, check out Tony Kuyper (www.goodlight.us) and Hougaard Malan (www.hougaardmalan.com), they also have some tutorials and actions on their sites.

Here is a recent image I posted using the manual blending technique:
http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...7-Sunset-Rocks

[Jay Gould]

As long as were are speaking about HDR - Nik's HDR Efex Pro is excellent!!

[Morkel Erasmus]

As long as were are speaking about HDR - Nik's HDR Efex Pro is excellent!!

I've heard good things about that one Jay...if Nik's other excellent plug-ins are anything to go by I would not doubt it. I still need to test it myself...

[Jay Gould]

Easy, download a trial copy. My brother, a professional like yourself specializing in landscape and UW, used to use Photomatix - no more! Only Nik.

[Rachel Hollander]

Mike - good suggestions above. I like the way you positioned the waterfall and the flow of the stream in the image.

TFS,
Rachel

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Mike, very nice composition. I love the fallen logs scattered about. If it is available at this site, I might seek a little higher ground to minimize the sky above the falls. There is one section of the cascade, beside the fallen log, that looks almost blown to me, perhaps occurred during HDR processing. I have recently ventured into some HDR imagery and am using Oloneo PhotoEngine which I like quite a bit, but do find the ghost removal feature will do strange things to flowing water at times. Nice work!

[Robert Amoruso]

Andrew has a good observation on moving to eliminate sky. On the blue patch, I would select that area and desaturate it - it's presence is a telltale processing sign.

I don't necessarily feel the left side needs to be brought down to the same luminance as the right side - depending upon light direction, one side will be more brightly lite then the other.

Shadow detail AOK witih me - you don't want to remove the shades as the image becomes flat looking. Nice detail all around. Get rid of that blue in the sky and your done.

[Roger Clark]

Mike,

I agree with Robert. Too often HDR removes too much shading, and you have not (well done). The shading and shadows are wonderful. Some dark shadows here are nice, adding mystery to what lay in the shadows. The one vertical log looks unnatural, and the water on each side of it seem saturated, so you might work on that. I would also select the region with the sky and darken it. Wonderful image!

Roger

[Morkel Erasmus]

I agree with Andrew and Robert on the patch of sky, Mike...

Easy, download a trial copy. My brother, a professional like yourself specializing in landscape and UW, used to use Photomatix - no more! Only Nik.

Thanks Jay, will do that...
If by "professional" you mean "make a living from it" - I don't really .
If you mean "know my stuff", you flatter me, as I have too much to learn still and not enough time to do so .

[Santanu Banik]

Loved the motion blur of the water... wish there was more greenery around :)
The brown patch right under the rock (at the bottom of the pic) looks a bit distracting to me.

[Brendan Dozier]

Very nicely done, Mike!