HDR help requested...

OK, I admit I don't quite get HDR...this does not look better to me...? Any tips on HDR? This was a first try with Photomatix and it looks nothing like the great HDR shots I've seen elsewhere.

Maybe there are certain kinds of subjects that work better than others? Maybe a cloudy sky is cool?

Any thoughts or tips would be greatly appriciated. Thanks!

Shane

the question is what do you intent by using Photomatix for that shot; to me, it looks like there's not enough contrast in the scene to require HDR, but it's a guess only, as I don't see the bracket, untweaked shots.

BTW: Did you know, that you took a shot from a monument, done after a photo by Joe Rosenthal'? Image from wiki:



There's a ongoing controvery about the photo's authenticity; as this one was remade after the first flag-rising.
A interesting image; forgotten to add, that the artist, E. Kienholz used that iconography in 1968, too:

Thanks Michael! Yes, it seems that this was not a good candidate for HDR. Will look at others I like and study what made those work so well.

I knew the story of the Iwo statue and I thought the controversy ended years ago. the Life reporter that started the rhumor admitted he was wrong. I guess these things take on a life of there own...the urban myth. Too bad really, the photo is amazing. Thanks for chiming it.

Oh, and I've not seen the second photo before. Not quite sure what to think about that so I'll hold my thoughts. Thanks for sharing it tho, always good to see the larger story.

Shane Canfield said:

Thanks Michael! Yes, it seems that this was not a good candidate for HDR. Will look at others I like and study what made those work so well.

Click to expand...

Hi Shane,

PhotoMatix is a dedicated tool, dedicated to fitting huge dynamic range into smaller dynamic range. This assumes your image has huge dynamic range to begin with.

This will, for starters, require a selection between the Tone Compressor (for moderate DR) or the Details Enhancer (for more extreme DR) modes.

For more realistic renderings in the "Details Enhancer" mode, I suggest using the "Smoothing" control to be set at "Very High", which will reduce halo generation. Then you'll need to play with the "Strength" settings to get things in the ball-park, and subsequently you'll need to tweak the other settings (White clipping makes quite a difference). There is no single setting that suits all images, since each individual setting will influence all others.

It's hard to give more specific guidance, since it's all very image and personal preference dependent.

Bart

Bart_van_der_Wolf said:

Hi Shane,

PhotoMatix is a dedicated tool, dedicated to fitting huge dynamic range into smaller dynamic range. This assumes your image has huge dynamic range to begin with.

This will, for starters, require a selection between the Tone Compressor (for moderate DR) or the Details Enhancer (for more extreme DR) modes.

For more realistic renderings in the "Details Enhancer" mode, I suggest using the "Smoothing" control to be set at "Very High", which will reduce halo generation. Then you'll need to play with the "Strength" settings to get things in the ball-park, and subsequently you'll need to tweak the other settings (White clipping makes quite a difference). There is no single setting that suits all images, since each individual setting will influence all others.

It's hard to give more specific guidance, since it's all very image and personal preference dependent.

Bart

Click to expand...

Hi Bart...OK, makes sense. Reading the instuctions, did not get these guidance details. This was made with 3 images, 1 1/2 stops in between and with the default settings under Details Enhancer. will play with the settings as you describe...thanks much.

Shane

did you used the HDR-plugin?
I have been running your picture through it as well, but I didn't went better.
The shadows can be opend a bit more with it; but at the end, I liked your darker version better.

My comments about the photo and art piece weren't political, but a occasion to think about photography; a reality becomes a photo, - or two - then a monument, a piece of art; and now you are adding another photography to the story.

I find your cam's position interesting, more active than the Rosenthal shot, as the men and flag are moving towards the cam.

And as Bart statet; reducing the strengh might help a lot. Here, sometimes, it' s at 10 of 100 only, and rarely higher than 60....

Michael Fontana said:

Shane

did you used the HDR-plugin?
I have been running your picture through it as well, but I didn't went better.
The shadows can be opend a bit more with it; but at the end, I liked your darker version better.

My comments about the photo and art piece weren't political, but a occasion to think about photography; a reality becomes a photo, - or two - then a monument, a piece of art; and now you are adding another photography to the story.

I find your cam's position interesting, more active than the Rosenthal shot, as the men and flag are moving towards the cam.

And as Bart statet; reducing the strengh might help a lot. Here, sometimes, it' s at 10 of 100 only, and rarely higher than 60....

Click to expand...

Hi Michael, I got the stand alone version. Assume it is roughly the same. It added a few features that were good, but they related to workflow rather than processing (or so it seemed anyway).

You are right about the photograph...in this case, it is an evolution! On the camera position, yes, the side-on was not as interesting IMO...that has been done too much. This angle gets a little of the motion you are talking about, gets some faces in the shot, as well as flag. A slight WA adds to that as well. I waited till the sun was mostly gone for the deep blue and the spots are turned on. The spots are not fully powered up at this time of the night so it is a compromise.

If interested and changing the subject from HDR to composition for a second, here a few non-HDR shots from a couple of months ago where the intent was to work on interesting angles. It is hard to photograph something that sooooo many have seen and photographed before. Feel free to citique these, always looking for others' opinions!

1.


2.


3.

>IMO...that has been done too much.<

That makes your effort very interesting and demanding in the same time!
I agree, just coping Rosenthal's cam's position not beeing very interesting, unless, you add a new dimension to it.

Dealing with a national monument, shooting a icon, makes it - in the first step - not easier for you, too. Though - in a second approach, it might get easier, as you get familiar with it!

This monument is a bit special, as it mixes some °abstract° elements - the soldier and ground with some °real° ones - the flag and inscription. (I wasn't aware the flag beeing real, before you did post your image.)

So cutting of the inscription brings it towards the abstracte side, like the °crops° that you showed in the last post.

Talking about more abstract: did you thought about a b&w-version?
That one below is just a quick and dirt, only; rather taking about the soldier's pain - making the air °plumby° - than the glory. Follwing your intention, you can fill up that image with both, resulting in two different images - starting from your original RAWs it'll come better.



©: Shane Canfield



Making it b&w would eliminate the problem you have with the two light sources; the very cold sky and the warm spots.

If I look at your crops I'm wondering if the soldier's face have own personality, or if they were anonymised. So beside the hands, I' d try to make portraits of them; that might be interesting, with the monument shots together.

To much of disrespect?
Ah well, I have a 25 x times grandfather in bronze...




© of monumentshot: www.photoglobal.ch

Cool on your granddad!!! Where is that? Who?

Great idea on the individual studies...will do!

Well Benedict Fontana has another face than me, living some 500 years ago ;-)
The statue is in the State capital, in Chur; while States are significantly smaller here...

Beside the personal story, it makes handling monuments with a unbearable lightness:
I never took a photo of the monument...