Subtlety in HDR

As I learn the process of HDR in a more pure form, I am learning that keeping it simple works much better for me than going over the top.  There is a time and place for going over the top in HDR and I have really attacked it to some massive extremes in the past – where the image does not resemble the original in the least.  But like I said in my last post, I am now headed down a road of realism in HDR – something new for me this week.  So, as I grow with this, I will continue to share my experiences with you.

Like I explained in my previous post, controlling the light is a very important part of getting three good exposures of one scene.    You really need to choose a time of day with soft light.  Yes, you know the magic times of dusk and dawn.  But the rule of thumb is there for a reason.

Having the sun low in the horizon is the trick for me right now.  Like my friend D_A_N told me, you don’t need filters to get a perfect sunset.  Just patience and the right lighting.  The shot was taken at 4:21pm, just 6 minutes past sunset.  So I wouldn’t have to worry about exposure times, I set the camera to AP and I went with a -1 1/3, 0 and +1 1/3 exposures at f/11 to grab some different shades in my blend.  Also, I chose an angle nice and close to the ground having the wind-swept snow taking the lower 2/3 of the frame while the pastel sky took the remaining real estate.

I also was striving to have the wind-swept snow take up a wide swath (that’s a word, right?) of the lower frame – leading your eyes into the sunset.  I feel it came out pretty balanced!  There wasn’t much I needed to do to the three exposures.  Did the blending in Photomatix Pro, then a touch of sharpening to crisp up the lines in Photoshop CS4.

With that touch of work, I was quite pleased with the light in this shot – and I feel it isn’t an obvious HDR image.  The light was magical – unlike tonights…

I went down to the lake tonight with a much different sky – hoping to get some dramatically different shots with the moody hanging clouds.  Granted, they were puffy, but not exciting.  The sunset yielded no pinks and the sky gave off a dull gray.  Even with the HDR, it’s not sexy.  Like they say, you can put lipstick on a pig… ugh.  I may post them later on so you can see what I mean.  But it wasn’t the right lighting conditions – even though I loved the reflections off the lake ice.