The Solemn Cascade- Augmented HDR

[fx101]

I guess I tried a new technique on saturday-- using a graduated ND filter while using bracketing to generate HDR. This allowed me to get a darker sky (I also used a polariser) while getting a nice blurred waterfall. Unfortunately these where shot at f/22 so there's a bit of diffraction softness. Nonetheless, I love this shot.

[Frog]

Personally I like the softness. Can't even find a nit-pik.
Its my new favorite shot!

[snoid]

Good stuff .....reminds me of old postcards in a way. I haven't the foggiest of what an ND filter is, but keep working with it.

[Lori11]

Nice shot! It looks more like water spray to me than softness, beautiful warmth to it.

[yairh20]

Great shot, but it's tilted to the right ( the bridge is not parallel to the edge of the frame)!

[susaan]

I get the tilt comment,but look at the bridge below- would not change a thing..Very Impressive.

[Addies Granddaddy]

Boy, oh boy, this is goooooood.

[fx101]

Great shot, but it's tilted to the right ( the bridge is not parallel to the edge of the frame)!

I thought that too at first, but it turns out (upon reaching the bridge) that the bridge actually drops in elevation a bit and it is slightly angled toward me (as the photographer).

Good stuff .....reminds me of old postcards in a way. I haven't the foggiest of what an ND filter is, but keep working with it.

Thanks. An ND filter, or Neutral Density filter, is basically like sunglasses for your camera-- it limits light going in to the lens but is not coloured in any way. A graduated ND filter, like I used in this shot, is a gradient from dark to clear and allows me to darken the sky while retaining a light waterfall.

[jkriminger]

I cant get past the blown out area below the bridge in the sky. The dark sky you filtered and the blown out area you left untouched are a wide range of contrast IMO. You should try an unfiiltered version too using regular bracketing. Nice Composition.

[GB1]

I think the HDR effect works here. I like the scene, but the actual bridge may be the weakest part. The greenery is wonderful. The softness of the water is OK.

What program did you use to do the HDR?

G

[danic]

I quite like this shot. The dark sky balances the water at the bottom. The greem looks quite vivid. I saw a similar HDR shot, and it seemed quite fake. This IMO, looks quite nice.

[fx101]

I think the HDR effect works here. I like the scene, but the actual bridge may be the weakest part. The greenery is wonderful. The softness of the water is OK.

What program did you use to do the HDR?

G

I used Photoshop CS3 to generate a 32bit radiance file (HDR) which I edited a bit, and then it was tone-mapped to 16 bits in Photomatix Pro. The final sharpening and slight cloning stuff was done in Photoshop CS3.

[gahspidy]

I think the shot is wonderful, first off. The HDR treatment works great in the greens and water. composition is good as well. I do feel the dark area of the sky is too dark, especially the way it stops at the top of the bridge and then below the bridge is super highlighted. I think this is what Rod was touching on and I have to agree that it does look odd to me. Other than that aspect, I think this is a fine looking image with striking lighting and color