The Photographers' Corner 2013-2020

[seraphim]

The Photographers' Corner

I wonder if I could overlay the two photos in Photoshop?

 

[seraphim]

Combined

 

[explanade]

There's a kind of opacity that looks like a computer graphics texture in HDR images.

 

[Jack_Pine]

I like combined, best of both worlds..................................I can see I need to develop (so to speak) some skills.......................

 

[Ronstar]

Went out in my kayak for a couple of hours. Not as easy shooting flying geese from a kayak as I hoped it would be.

 

[Walt34]

Playing with HDR to bring out textures using a single photo. Using photos about -1 EV seems to work more to my taste.

View attachment 18772

I'd be tempted to hang that on the wall. DW wouldn't like it though.

 

[Walt34]

Does anyone use the pen tool much in Photoshop? I've recently gotten somewhat ahead of the learning curve on it and once that's done it's pretty neat, although labor-intensive. But the results are worth it. This is an "afterthought" shot I took while at the roundhouse, of a light fixture on the train station.

I did the cutout of the fixture in about 45 minutes, more practice will cut that a lot. There are some places where the rust on the bottom of the fixture is almost the exact same color as the brick so using a color-based or contrast-based selection tool would be difficult at best. Plus, since the pen tool is based on lines, not pixels, so you get a much cleaner cut when the path is turned into a selection.

Anyway the image with the brick wall included has the path imbedded if anyone wants to play with it. I don't know if other software will read that or not. According to this article almost every image editing program has some variant of it:

One of the great things about the Pen Tool is that it’s not something that’s exclusive to Photoshop. Far from it! Virtually every popular photo editing, graphics and page layout program uses the Pen Tool in one form or another , so once you’ve learned how to use it in Photoshop, you’ll already have a good understanding of how to use it in lots of other programs as well!

 

[Jack_Pine]

So, yeah, I figured out how to do bracketing in my D60 and did a few. That's one step.

Download the Luminance HDR software and now have no clue what to do and am loving it. I really like have to figure this stuff out. If nothing else I know I will be able to keep myself busy when I FIRE.

 

[seraphim]

The Photographers' Corner

So, yeah, I figured out how to do bracketing in my D60 and did a few. That's one step.



Download the Luminance HDR software and now have no clue what to do and am loving it. I really like have to figure this stuff out. If nothing else I know I will be able to keep myself busy when I FIRE.

The basics are easy, but playing with all the possibilities is time consuming. But worth it. Open the HDR software, and add the three photos. If you didn't use a tripod, check the alignment box. Then click 'next'. Then 'finish' You get a selection of possibilities on the right - each made with a different algorithm. Mantuik06 is the one that pops up default. Play with the sliders for detail and contrast, then click 'tone map' for the results.

Have fun

Here's two examples from same image, one created with Drago and the other with Mantiuk06





Neither one saw PhotoShop yet. The original image was one shot, not three bracketed.

 

[seraphim]

Does anyone use the pen tool much in Photoshop? I've recently gotten somewhat ahead of the learning curve on it and once that's done it's pretty neat, although labor-intensive. But the results are worth it. This is an "afterthought" shot I took while at the roundhouse, of a light fixture on the train station.

I did the cutout of the fixture in about 45 minutes, more practice will cut that a lot. There are some places where the rust on the bottom of the fixture is almost the exact same color as the brick so using a color-based or contrast-based selection tool would be difficult at best. Plus, since the pen tool is based on lines, not pixels, so you get a much cleaner cut when the path is turned into a selection.

Anyway the image with the brick wall included has the path imbedded if anyone wants to play with it. I don't know if other software will read that or not. According to this article almost every image editing program has some variant of it:

Yea - it can be interesting. My son took a family photo - without himself - with a camera with no timer. Then everyone stayed in the same spot, Ben came into the group, and I went and took a second shot. I then cut myself from the first photo and stuck it in the empty space in the second. Viola! I mean, voila!

 

[Nodak]

If anyone is interested in playing around with bracketing and HDR from an Android smart phone checkout the "A Better Camera" app from the Play Store

 

[davemartin88]

Don't know the technical details behind my photos- I have a Sony Alpha which is set on Auto for 99.9% of the time. I liked the look of the sky in this one above my astronomy dome. I took about 6 or 8 shots and it was interesting how each one turned out so different in terms of the amount of color, contrast, etc. They were taken over about 10 seconds and only variable was the amount of zoom to frame the image? This red/orange sky is pretty common but still draws my eye when I see it.

 

[FIREd]

Riding a cable car down Nob Hill in San Francisco:

 

[Jack_Pine]

Are there any particular settings that are best for a decent HDR result?

For my first shot I am just attempting a shot of a small barn in the late afternoon. I am getting jagged edges on the straight edges after I combine the photos in the HDR software.

I realize I am clueless.........................

 

[Jack_Pine]

Tell me about the "hows" of the cable car photo. Love the colors.

 

[FIREd]

Tell me about the "hows" of the cable car photo. Love the colors.

The picture came out pretty good out of the camera (RAW format). In post processing, using Nik Color Efex, I used a neutral density filter to darken the sky and accentuate the clouds. I increased contrast and saturation a little bit, brought down the highlights in the white building on the left and developed some details in the foreground shadow. No HDR on this one.

 

[Major Tom]

Nice shot of Nob Hill FIREd. I was convinced that it had been given a spot of the HDR treatment until you indicated otherwise. I have read the the X100S sensor handles dynamic range very well, and it would appear so from this image.

 

[FIREd]

Nice shot of Nob Hill FIREd. I was convinced that it had been given a spot of the HDR treatment until you indicated otherwise. I have read the the X100S sensor handles dynamic range very well, and it would appear so from this image.

I will let you be the judge. Here is the shot as it came out of the camera:

I used 100% for the dynamic range as opposed to auto.

 

[Major Tom]

Well, I'm not as smart as I like to think I am about these things, but you've got a scene with bright sunshine as well as what must be some pretty deep shadow on the street. I cannot photograph such scenes on my old DSLR without blowing highlights or losing shadow detail.

It's looking good to me - thanks for posting that SOOC image.

 

[FIREd]

Last weekend I was able to compare the dynamic range of the X100S with that of my Canon's. With the X100S, I can get really good highlight and shadow details in one shot, except in the most extreme conditions. With my Canon, I have to use bracketed shots and HDR to get the same level of detail. Also the X100S allows you to further fine tune highlights and shadows right from the quick menu.

 

[seraphim]

The Photographers' Corner

Don't know the technical details behind my photos- I have a Sony Alpha which is set on Auto for 99.9% of the time. I liked the look of the sky in this one above my astronomy dome. I took about 6 or 8 shots and it was interesting how each one turned out so different in terms of the amount of color, contrast, etc. They were taken over about 10 seconds and only variable was the amount of zoom to frame the image? This red/orange sky is pretty common but still draws my eye when I see it.

When you zoom, you change the exposure because the ratio of aperture size to focal length changes. If you look on a zoom lens, it shows 2 max apertures: one for each extreme of the lens' focal length.

And the meter probably changed the exposure as you zoomed in, because the ratio of highlights to shadows changed. The more dark areas in the image, the more the camera opened up the exposure. And vice versa.

Light color also changes rapidly at suns rise/sunset. Maybe that made a difference as well.

 

[Major Tom]

Last weekend I was able to compare the dynamic range of the X100S with that of my Canon's. With the X100S, I can get really good highlight and shadow details in one shot, except in the most extreme conditions. With my Canon, I have to use bracketed shots and HDR to get the same level of detail. Also the X100S allows you to further fine tune highlights and shadows right from the quick menu.

Don't do this. Please don't do this to me. So far I have managed to hold off from purchasing it

But seriously, this is a very useful comparison and result. I have read many raves about the excellent quality of images from the X-Trans sensor, but many of these general evaluations are hard for me to judge by looking at images posted on websites. If I see a scene with beautiful tones and smooth transitions from light to shade, how do I know how much of this is due to the camera's rendition of the scene, and how much to the photographer actually picking and framing it? Your shot of Nob Hill makes the way this camera handles dynamic range very obvious to me. For all I know, other modern cameras would do a similar job. What I do know is that my 9 year-old Canon 20D would not.

The funny thing is when I first saw that shot, the wide dynamic range actually gave me pause. I wasn't even sure I liked it, because I am so used to what you might call a more traditional photographic aesthetic in this regard i.e. loss of highlight or shadow detail (or both). However, I think I can get used to it , and I certainly appreciate the ability to capture all this information so that the decision as to what to do with it all can be made in post. Don't misunderstand me though. It's a neat shot, and I like it.

Then there's that leaf shutter which can even flash sync at 1/1000th second and f/2.

Now whether to get the silver and chrome model, or the all-black one.......

 

[FIREd]

Don't do this. Please don't do this to me. So far I have managed to hold off from purchasing it

My plan is working...

If you are interested in street photography stealth, go for the all-black model. The silver model will get you noticed. I have the latter and I have never had so many people stop me on the street to ask about my camera.

 

[Major Tom]

My plan is working...

If you are interested in street photography stealth, go for the all-black model. The silver model will get you noticed. I have the latter and I have never had so many people stop me on the street to ask about my camera.

I was thinking the same thing but then, to my eyes, the silver and chrome model has such a classic look.

My current line of thought is to get the silver and chrome one and if I need to make it more stealthy, to cover the chrome in gaffer tape, like David Hobby has done with his in the photo in this post. It also has the advantage of making the camera look shabby and perhaps not worth stealing, which could be an advantage to street photographers.

I am not normally prone to any type of group-thinking at all, but knowing that you have one and really like it is pushing me ever so slightly closer........

 

[FIREd]

I was thinking the same thing but then, to my eyes, the silver and chrome model has such a classic look.

My current line of thought is to get the silver and chrome one and if I need to make it more stealthy, to cover the chrome in gaffer tape, like David Hobby has done with his in the photo in this post. It also has the advantage of making the camera look shabby and perhaps not worth stealing, which could be an advantage to street photographers.

Cartier-Bresson too used to wrap his Leica in black tape to be stealthier. I also like the classic look of the silver model, and I think that's why people notice it. They see me shoot using the viewfinder and using manual focus and they assume it is a vintage film camera.