OK, I guess I am starting to find this useful

[EOSThree]

I have been messing about with the Photomatix HDR program recently. I still haven't ponied up the money yet(as evidenced by the watermark), but I am starting to be impressed. I am also finding it hard not to over do it.

[mjs1973]

I have been checking them out myself, but haven't downloaded the trial version yet.

[another view]

Very interesting - link. Price isn't bad either but I would want to try it out for awhile too before buying it. I haven't looked into it much, but a couple of things I wonder about with multiple exposures in general are having things move while taking the shots. Their example of the boat in the canal (is it Venice?) is a very good example of this. It would be in three different places in three different shots. To a lesser extent, clouds will do this too but there's more room for error with that. I need to read more about it...

[mjs1973]

That's a very good point Steve. I haven't read into this either, but I wonder if that issue could be solved by shooting RAW, and post processing it multiple times. Just a thought, but like I said, I haven't looked into it much yet.

[another view]

shooting RAW, and post processing it multiple times

My initial thought too, but I'd be worried about having a bit of a noise issue with boosting the exposure. Again, I have to look into it a little more.

[Photo-John]

That's a very good point Steve. I haven't read into this either, but I wonder if that issue could be solved by shooting RAW, and post processing it multiple times. Just a thought, but like I said, I haven't looked into it much yet.

I do that pretty regularly with contrasty images. I don't use HDR software. But I've been using Photoshop layers to accomplish the same thing for years - without the new HDR aestehtic, though. Anyway, you can easily squeeze at least another stop in each direction out of a well-exposed RAW file. It's best to always shoot a little dark to hold the highlights, though. They're much harder to recover than shadows.

Since you have the trial version of the software, why don't you try it out on one of your images and see how it goes?

[poker]

Interesting subject. What's the name of the location so I can read up on it? I'm just curious.

Nice sample for HDR work. I think is needs a slight level adjustments but it might be my monitor.

[EOSThree]

Interesting subject. What's the name of the location so I can read up on it? I'm just curious.

Nice sample for HDR work. I think is needs a slight level adjustments but it might be my monitor.

The name of the location is the Kennicott copper mine it's in the Wrangell Saint Elias NP and Preserve in south central Alaska. There are actually 2 towns there, McCarthy, and Kennicott. McCarthy survives as a near ghost and has a few good lodging options, Kennicott, a complete ghost, has one rather fancy lodge. The two towns lie nearly 5 miles apart along an old railroad grade. The towns themselves lie in the National Park at the end of a 60 mile dirt(I mean dirt, dusty, rutted, pot holed, did I mention dusty?)road that most of which is the original railroad grade of the CR&NW railroad(Copper River and North Western). The McCarthy road takes at least 2 hours to travel each way. It's a great photo location, but difficult to get to, especially by ground transportation. McCarthy Air and Wrangell air offer different air packages into and out of McCarthy, in addition to park aerial tours. This is the second time I have visited here and the second time I said to myself I wasn't going to drive that awful road again!
The McCarthy road ends at a river bed. The Park has built a couple of foot bridges to help with the crossing, then it's about a mile to McCarthy, although the various lodges will pick you up. The five mile road between McCarthy and Kennicott is a pretty good hike not without it's share of bugs along the way. There is a shuttle available between the towns, but it costs $5 a round trip, and unfortunately only runs between 9am and 9pm(the sun goes behind the mountains at around 10pm). There are bicycle rentals near the end of the road and that was my mode of transportation on this trip. If I do this trip again I think I will fly out of Chitina(the town at the beginning of the McCarthy road) and take one of their glacier tours, landing in McCarthy. Then I will stay at the Kennicott Glacier Lodge because it gives the best access to the mine for morning and evening(relative terms, sunrise is around 4am and sunset about 11pm).

[EOSThree]

I went to my favorite spot here in Fairbanks and since the light was poor, I tried some more HDR with Photomatix. There is something surreal about these photos, yet appealing, don't you think?

[mjs1973]

Since you have the trial version of the software, why don't you try it out on one of your images and see how it goes?

I finally made the effort to install the trial version of the Photomatix software last night. I did a quick experiment with the HDR feature of PS, my own combined HDR image using layers and masks, and the Photomatix software. I must say, the Photomatix software was really impressive, and really easy to use. Even on the default settings, I was much happier with the Photomatix version of the image than I was with either of the other two. If I have time when I get home, I will post my results for comparison. I will have to do some more playing with it before I shell out the $$ for the registered version, but after the first image I did, it looks like it would be money well spent.

[Frog]

Missed these somehow, EOS.
They are a bit surreal. Maybe because the light is sooo even?
And yes they are appealing too.
Do all the photos come out with the photomatix thing on them...the one in the sky is quite disturbing.

[mjs1973]

Do all the photos come out with the photomatix thing on them...the one in the sky is quite disturbing.

No. The Photomatix watermark is placed on the photos if you use the free trial version of the software. The free trial version is the same as the full version, with the exception of the watermark. If you pay for the program, you don't get the watermark.

[DrZais]

I got my mits onPhotoshop CS3 a few days ago and thought I'd play around with the HDR feature, i wasn't overly impressed though, probably just because I haven't got the hang of it. The weathers been pretty awful so no nice clouds to shoot, just flat grey skies.

[Mr Yuck]

When shooting RAW with the intent of making an HDR out of the image, just *slightly* overexpose it, that way you dont have to bump up the exposure, but rather tone it down in spots.

Secondly, when you get it to the computer, turning a RAW into an HDR is very easy.

--Just go into Photomatix, and choose "Single File Conversion" under "Automate"
--Then check the box: "Convert RAW file or 16 bit linear TIFF file to Radiance RGBe"
--then select the RAWs you want to be HDR
--then click run, wait, and then open the new "*.hdr" files in Photmatix.

Of course, there are advantages to both RAW and Bracketed HDR source images.



RAW not only saves you the hassle of a tripod, but it allows you to shoot moving or live subjects.


Bracketing can maybe bring out a little more dynamic range, but you've gotta be quick about it


Bracketing also lets you combine elements of each moment.