HDR photos from last week

[Sheiky]

Hey all,


I tried a few HDR photos last couple days and I really like your opinion on them!


These are the first "serious"HDRs I've ever done. Have done a few before, but without really knowing what HDR really was [A] I'm just a rookie and have to learn a lot, so your opinion is highly appreciated!


For specific shuttertimes of each photo, just ask!


1st shot: 5D2 with 24-105 @ 24mm iso100 f5.6 3-images





2nd shot: 5D2 with 24-105 @ 32mm f10 iso50 3-images





3rd shot: 5D2 with 24-105 @ 24mm f4 iso100 3-images of my girl





4th shot: 5D2 with 100mm f2.8 macro @ iso100 f2.8 3-images selfportrait of me and my girlfriend


5th shot: 5D2 with 24-105 @ 60mm f4 iso400 3-images from a Trabant (weddingcar of a friend of my sister)





6th shot: 5D2 with 24-105 @ 60mm f4 iso400 singleshot HDR from raw since colors weren't good I converted it (at least tried to, can't get black/white right)





7th shot: 5D2 with 24-105 @ 24mm f6.3 iso400 singleshot HDR from RAW, I believed I made 5 pictures out of an overexposed picture (that's causing the white gap )





Too bad the bracketing on the car didn't work. My brother took the shots, but before that we did do some macro shots and metering was still on centerpoint. The shots were made at a spot you may not stop, so it had to be done quick quick quick [:P]


Anyway any comments or critique is welcome!


Enjoy, Jan

[nimblybimbly85]

Great pictures! What is HDR?

[Sean Setters]

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range.


What I love about this series of HDR images is that, in general, the effect is not over-done (except formaybe the car shots). The shots are believable, yetslightly surreal, which makes them very pleasant to look at. Very well done, indeed...


Oh, and you've realized my secret to good photography--only take pictures of good-looking people (good looking gal...congrats!)

[piiooo]

Hey Jan, very nice pictures. Is that a Trabant? Ia have not seen one in ages!

[bob williams]

Nice shots Jan. Good Job. Are you using Photomatix or other software?


Bob

[greggf]

Great shots. Using people for HDR's is kinda different. I like it. Girlfriend behind the bush is my fav.


Kinda off the subject....20-21yrs ago, when I was in Germany in the Army, we did border patrol along the East-West border(not Berlin). After the border opened in 1989...what a trip,too, BTW!!....there were Trabbies everywhere!! MY buddies and I were hitchhiking(much safer in Europe) one night, when an East German dude pulls over to give us a lift. Guess what he was driving?? So we get in, and seriously, this car is like a cardboard box with wheels....and he takes off. Well then, he wants to show off for us American soldiers, and is trying to bury the needle!!!


Needless to say...a story I will never forget!!! I guess since I'm still here....

[Pieter]

I like the second one very much. The result does look natural, most people without knowledge of photography won't see that it's surreal picture.


One small suggestion though: I would have removed the plane out of the picture, it took my attention a bit away of the beautiful sun and reflection in the lake...

[Sheiky]

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Hey all! Thanks for replying! I will try to reply to each one of you [H]

Great pictures! What is HDR?

HDR is basically a technique that enables you to get more dynamic range in your photos. In my first 2 shots you can see straigth into the sun, but you can also see the surroundings perfectly. Normal photos would show only the sun or the surrounding exposed well. The way to do this is to make multiple photos (you can do with 1, but not the extremes) at different exposures. You make a photo which shows the highlights in good exposure, a normal one and a photo which exposes the shadows correctly. Then you combine them all and create a photo with the exposure that you want and use the other photos to get detail in your photo where the original photo lacked detail. Hope you understand it a little bit now. I tried to make a small explanation here (tread with the exact same question): http://community.the-digital-picture.com/forums/t/3132.aspx?PageIndex=1

What I love about this series of HDR images is that, in general, the effect is not over-done (except formaybe the car shots). The shots are believable, yetslightly surreal, which makes them very pleasant to look at. Very well done, indeed...


Oh, and you've realized my secret to good photography--only take pictures of good-looking people (good looking gal...congrats!)
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<div>Thank you very much Sean! Yeah I kinda like the "natural look +" as I like to call it. I try to keep my nature photos natural.</div>
<div>Haha thank you I will tell my girlfriend [] There is a specific reason why I put them in the mix. I wanted to see what people think of HDR photos of persons. Is it good or do you prefer a flashed in photo? I personally am a real rookie and flashing is something I cannot seem to learn very well. I personally like the more fluid difference in exposure in HDR more than with fill-flash. What do you think? Is it ethically correct? [A]</div>
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Hey Jan, very nice pictures. Is that a Trabant? Ia have not seen one in ages!

<div>Thanks Piiooo and yes it is a real Trabant! A friend of my sisters is going to marry in it tomorrow and we bumped onto them while touring in the same area. Immediately called them if they wanted photos and so the story began [] It is the most spontaneous photoshoot of all and it was at a spot where we couldn't pull over so we quickly made a few shots. That's also the reason there's still a pretty big piece missing(direct sun) due to overexposure in the car shot, but it came out pretty good.</div>
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Nice shots Jan. Good Job. Are you using Photomatix or other software?


Bob

Hey Bob! Thanks! Yes I used photomatix for stitching the photos and toning them to natural look. I also used Lightroom for the color and tonal adjustments. And I also used photoshop to make some more serious changes. But I couldn't have made them without photomatix, a great and pretty cheap program. But I think it has too much variables which I don't really understand so I use other programs to make further adjustments.



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Great shots. Using people for HDR's is kinda different. I like it. Girlfriend behind the bush is my fav.

Hey Gregg! Thanks, yes the people HDRs are some which I wanted to try out. It is VERY hard though! There is almost everytime slight to moderate movement which messes up the HDR instantly. It's not easy to do and if you view 100% theres almost always a slight ghosting effect at the edges, but some come out pretty ok []


By the way: I LOVE YOUR STORY!! I loved to read it, thanks for bringing it up!



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and seriously, this car is like a cardboard box with wheels....and he takes off

Yes it is! I believe the shell is made out of polyester haha so it weighs praktically nothing. Here in the Netherlands you don't see them anymore apart from the very few classic-owners. But further to the East, in East Germany, Tsjechia and Poland you can still see them. These countries aren't as wealthy and so people really use them still. It is changing though...unfortunately, I would love to see more classics on the road!

I like the second one very much. The result does look natural, most people without knowledge of photography won't see that it's surreal picture.


One small suggestion though: I would have removed the plane out of the picture, it took my attention a bit away of the beautiful sun and reflection in the lake...

Thank you Pieter! Hmmm your suggestion is not bad at all! The plane didn't really bother me, but now you mention it...I can get it and it is not that hard to remove, so I might give it a try!


Jan




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