HDR work

I am experimenting with High Dynamic Range (HDR). I am getting assistance from two former students, Anne Paine in the UK, and Don Simpson in Raleigh , NC. They also suggested software by Photomatix. That is the software we are using for this work unless otherwise noted.

For this first test I decided to shoot the distant downtown area from across the river. The fog had just lifted and the lighting although not harsh, was certainly not the magic light one sometimes encounters in the early morning hours in this area.

I shot using a bracketing 3 shot exposure and using a command of +1 and -1 EV setting even though Photomatix suggest for 3 shots one should use +2 and -2. When using only +1 , one should bracket a 5 shot series. Contrast, saturation, and sharpness are all set at "normal" values. Pentax K10d with a Sigma lens. No polarizer was used. By bracketing the shots, in a high contrast scene, the exposures will cover the dynamic range of the scene, especially in the shadows. I will use "EV" and "exposure compensation" interchangeably here. Just remember it is the same thing , with a different name.

The images were shot RAW in DNG format. These three raw images were then brought into Photomatix Pro 3.1 to combine into one image. No adjustments were made to the various level settings.

Here is the resulting image without adjusting the histograms.

I've elected to adjust the histogram using Photoshop Elements 7.0

+1EV

here is a 700 pixel size of this image, normal exposure. Pay attention to the grass area in the lower right hand corner.

Same image but Elements was allowed to do an AUTO adjust to the histogram. The grassy area is still a bit on the dark side.

This adjustment tends to blow out the sky details.

This is the HDR image and adjustments were made to the various level settings in Photomatix Pro. The details are now viewable

in the lower right hand grassy areas. This result also gives excellent results to the sky and clouds.