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Photomatix HDR

Glen Avon Falls No. 2 – Beaver River, North Shore of Lake Superior

 Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Lightroom Workflow, Black and White, High Dynamic Range, Lake Superior, Lake Superior Photography, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Minnesota, Nikon D3x, North Shore of Lake Superior, Photography Technique, Photography Tools, Photography Trips, Photomatix HDR, Photoshop Technique, Photoshop Workflow, River, Water, Waterfalls, Wide Angle Photography  6 Responses »
Sep 102011
 

Glen Avon Falls, Beaver River, North Shore of Lake Superior. Shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikkor 17-35mm lens at 17mm. See story for capture details.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. Today I am returning to Glen Avon Falls on the Beaver River. This is the companion shot to the composition I posted on August 22 and was taken the following morning from the top of the rock chute and just below the upper falls. On this day a light morning mist filled the river below the lower part of the falls and diffused the sunlight rising just behind the large rock on the left. I want to talk about this image in regards to some recent discussions I have heard concerning HDR photography. So if you don’t want to hear me get on my soap box then please stop reading here.

As a former 4 x 5 shooter I used to compose my shots and expose for one take. I had to use whatever means necessary ranging from composition to use of filters to get the shot in one take. Even today, as I have professed in this blog, I am still kind of a one shot guy. Get it right in camera can save hours of time in post production. But I have found that digital offers me a far greater opportunity to “craft” a shot that quite honestly would be nigh on impossible to do in one take. The above image is a prime example. I am shooting almost into the sun with a misty, shrouded fog, dark rocks, and rolling water. In terms of exposure I could get close but not where I needed to be to hold detail in the rocks, water and the mist. The solution is to expose for each and combine the files. My argument is that this shot is an example of HDR-high dynamic range photography. I am extending the capture range of the shot, which could not be covered by the sensor, through multiple exposure brackets.

HDR photography in its broadest terms is generally exhibited through what I might refer to as “wacked-out, over-processed, haloed, grunge” shots where multiple exposures are cooked in an HDR software. If it sounds like I don’t like this style then the answer is yes. I do enjoy looking at those that are well crafted but for the most part much of what I see is akin to velvet paintings. And before anyone jumps on me for that statement please understand that I do not begrudge anyone their art or practice thereof. If it makes you happy then I am all for it. There is plenty of room at the table for all of us to share what we do and love.

But the recent argument I heard, and I won’t say where to protect the innocent, suggested that the concepts behind HDR are not legitimate, partly because it is associated with the over-cooked look” or the “I did not capture it in one take argument” is puzzling to me. Is the fact that I shot and combined three exposures to craft the above image mean it is not a legitimate photograph? In my honest opinion it is legit. This photograph is not over-cooked, or wacked-out through over processing in an HDR program. It is true to my vision for this image and represents what I saw and experienced that morning. It is in fact a high dynamic range shot crafted through multiple exposures. HDR software such as Photomatix, Oloneo, and even Photoshop HDR are excellent programs to help you extend the dynamic range of a shot. All of them allow you, the photographer, to make processing decisions based on your perceived vision of the image. Wack it out if you want or keep it natural. Its your decision. The Glen Avon shot I posted on August 22 was processed in Photomatix. That shot, processed in Photomatix’s Fusion engine, is not over-cooked, in my opinion, but rendered in a natural look to create an image based on my vision. Today’s image was created through layer blends in Photoshop. Both images have a similar look but were achieved using different tools from my toolbox.

The argument that goes along with this that I, or anyone else who shoots in this way, and does not get it right in camera, is either lazy or not skilled just floors me. This might be true for a percentage of shooters but I just don’t think it holds water. If I was lazy and not skilled I would take one shot in .jpg, let the camera make the decisions, and move on. The image above took planning. It was scouted and included test shots for compositional decisions. Then on the day of the shot I had to deal with the light, the water, compose the final composition, think about the foreground, the corners, how I envisioned the final image, processing decisions, color or black and white, and the list can go on. It is the same for all of the other skilled photographers I know who use these techniques. HDR capture and processing is but one tool in our kit. I don’t shoot everything this way but its there when I need it for difficult situations. But to say it is not legitimate because it was not captured in one take or is practiced by lazy, un-skilled photographers is just bunk. I will now stand down from my soapbox.

Technical Details: Three images were combined to make the final shot. Exposures were at 1/4, 1/2, and 1 second. The RAW files were processed in Lightroom and moved to Photoshop where I used layer masks to paint in the parts of the shot I wanted. Once I had the file components to my general satisfaction I made the conversion to black and white. Just so you know I envisioned the shot at capture as a black and white. From there it followed a typical path with curve layers for various parts of the image, dodging and burning, and a mid-tone contrast layer.

Walk in beauty.

Bob

 

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Glen Avon Falls – Beaver River, North Shore of Lake Superior

 Lake Superior, Lake Superior Photography, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Lightroom, Nikon D3x, North Shore of Lake Superior, Photography Composition, Photography Technique, Photography Trips, Photomatix HDR, sunset, Twilight Photography, Water, Waterfalls, Wide Angle Photography  2 Responses »
Aug 222011
 

Glen Avon Waterfall, Beaver River, North Shore of Lake Superior. Shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikkor 15mm Rectilinear Lens. See the post for technical details on the shot capture.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. I am preparing once again to leave town for another trip, this time out to Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. After this one I will be able to stay home for a while and rest a bit. So in this brief respite between trips I am getting the cameras ready, cleaning sensors, lenses, and other packing chores. And of course I am trying to process out a few more images from the Lake Superior shoot. Today’s post may be my last until I return so I thought I would show you one I am very proud of.

For me this image represents the constant struggle we face when trying to craft an image. This is a shot of the upper falls on Glen Avon Falls on the Beaver River which empties into Lake Superior. I made two scouting trips to the falls and came away simply befuddled. I just could not get a handle on a worth while shot. The problem I faced is common and many of our workshop participants faced the same dilemma. Glen Avon is not what I might call a singular waterfall. It is instead made up of many cascades rolling through different levels. The problem was one of isolating the shot to achieve a uniform and cohesive composition. Alec and I scouted the falls before the workshop and I knew right away it was going to be a challenge.

When we brought out the workshop folks for the scouting session I once again just struggled to understand the place. When scouting waterfalls it is generally best to start at the bottom and work your way up. It is often difficult to see the cascades and features when approaching from the top. So for most the afternoon I mingled in with our students and made my way down stream. Again not much was revealed to me that gave me a meaningful composition to capture. We would all return that evening for the “formal” shoot and I was resigned to leaving the camera in the bag.

On the way out after the scouting exercise I finally saw what I was looking for. Or that is to say what I had missed. Making my way along the edge I came back to a long rocky chute that connected the upper falls with the lower. This was the isolation of forms I was looking for. The shot angle possessed a strong diagonal leading line and prominent foreground features that jutted into the scene providing a beautiful counter-balance to the strong line of flowing water. I saw the shot in my mind as late evening and in black and white. When we returned for the evening shoot I studied the angles once again from the top and bottom of the chute. The bottom was the best for the evening and the top position would actually be good for a morning shot. Around 8:30 pm  I began to frame up the shot. I positioned myself, rather precariously, on a slippery ledge of rock, and put my tripod into a series of contortions to get the right camera angle. To get it all I had to shoot ultra wide with the 15mm rectilinear lens. I shot two test exposures to get a lock on the histogram and then made three sets of three exposure brackets, each bracket two stops apart, to merge in Photomatix. I shot the three sets in order to make sure I had the flowing water captured in a form I liked.

Technical Processing: The RAW files were brought into Adobe Lightroom and I choose the three image brackets that gave me a consistent look to the water flow that could be merged. Each exposure was approximately two stops apart and included a dark file at 8 seconds, a midtone at 30 seconds, and a lights at 2:00 minutes. Each file was processed and corrected in Lightroom and saved out as TIFFs for Photomatix. After import I processed the file twice-once in Exposure Fusion and once in Photomatix Tone Mapping. This was simply to compare the files and see which one I like better. In the end I went with the Tone Mapped version and let Photomatix convert to black and white. The final Photoshop work included some minor curves adjustments for the falls and dodging and burning layers.

The final image is born from the struggle that exists for all photographers. We can all point a camera at something and press the shutter. But the crafting of a memorable image takes time, patience, vision, and a little help from the muses. Sometimes our vision is clouded and what we seek will only be revealed by letting go. Easier said than done I can assure you. But working through this is, and always will be, part of the process. Basically some days are diamonds and some days are rust. Enjoy and embrace the struggle for inside lies the genesis of something beautiful.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

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Split Rock Lighthouse – North Shore of Lake Superior

 Lake Superior, Lake Superior Photography, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Lee Big Stopper, Minnesota, Nikon D3x, North Shore, North Shore of Lake Superior, Photography Composition, Photography Technique, Photography Trips, Photomatix HDR, Robert H Clark Photography, Singh-Ray Filters, Split Neutral Density Filters, sunset, Workshops  2 Responses »
Aug 132011
 

Split Rock Lighthouse and Lake Superior. Shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikkor 17-35mm lens at 17mm. (See article for capture details)

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. I have just returned from assisting Alec Johnson on the North Shore of Lake Superior Workshop. What an incredible week with a fantastic group of photographers. It was hectic to say the least and none of us got much sleep as we chased the light in several beautiful locations. In my last post from the workshop I talked about the need for scouting a location. Very few photographers can come into a location cold and expect to come away with a quality image. It takes time to understand the intrinsic rhythms of a place necessary to making a photograph. In our workshop we focused on the concept of scouting. During the week we shot in three locations. For each location we did an afternoon scout then shot sunset followed by a sunrise shoot. During the afternoon scouting sessions we had each participant perform some basic exercises including digital sketching and a 10 Step/10 Shots routine. In each case we asked everyone to dispense with their tripods. We wanted them to explore untethered to the rigidity of a camera support. Exploring this way does several things. First it puts you in a shooting rhythm. The more you shoot the more you will see and the more you see the more you shoot. Second it allows you to move your camera in all directions and from different heights and angles. We gave everyone a sense of how the light would change over the course of the day and that they should use this information to consider and imagine the possibilities as they played with their compositions. This exercise was very successful for each of our photographers and everyone made inspiring images. And as you might guess the best work came on the second shooting session as each one began to unravel the intrinsic rhythms of the place. Alec will be posting some of these beautiful images over on his blog site at http://www.acjphotoblog.com/.

Today’s image was a direct result of a pre-workshop scout I did at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. The shot was made from Ellingson Island. The back side of the island is quite rocky and consists of a series of granite rock shelves that eventually meet the lake. The lower shelves contain pools and slick rock from the ebb and flow of the lake. From this vantage point, given the chance arrival of some great clouds, I pre-visualized a dramatic leading line pointing to the distant lighthouse. On the day the class shot here we had some beautiful clouds and the opportunity presented itself to achieve the shot I had envisioned. I wanted to emphasize the idea of motion into the shot to complement the leading line. To so this I needed to slow down the shutter speed to impart motion in the clouds and “liquify” the water. To do this I used a Lee 10 Stop “Big Stopper” Neutral Density Filter coupled with a Singh-Ray 3-Stop Hard Split Neutral Density. The final image consisted of three separate exposures of 1:00 minute, and 2:00 minutes, and 4:00 minutes and processed in Photomatix HDR Software. The file was blended using the Fusion engine. The exposure sets I used along with the filters created the motion effect in the clouds and gave the water an icy, flat look. Final finishing was performed in Abobe Photoshop.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

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Lower Antelope Canyon – Portal Beyond

 Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Lightroom Workflow, Antelope Canyon Photography, Arizona, Colorado Plateau, Desert, HDR Photography, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Lower Antelope Canyon, Navajo Lands, Nikon D3x, Photography Technique, Photomatix HDR, Photoshop Technique, Photoshop Workflow, Slot Canyon, Slot Canyon Photography  4 Responses »
Jul 312011
 

Portal Beyond, Lower Antelope Canyon, Navajo Lands, Arizona. Shot with a Nikkor 24mm PC lens. Image shot at f13 in five bracketed exposures then combined in Photomatix Pro.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. I thought I would slip in a quick post today that I prepared for practice for next weeks workshop at Lake Superior. We will be teaching some HDR techniques using Photomatix Pro and I worked up this image shot in Lower Antelope Canyon in the spring. The image was shot in five bracketed exposures, each 1-stop apart, using the bracket controls on the Nikon D3x. After import into Adobe Lightroom the 5 exposures were selected and exported to Photomatix using the LR Plug-In. I processed the file using the Photomatix Fusion controls which gives you a more realistic rendering. Finishing was done in Adobe Photoshop and included a series of steps to bring out details in the shot. This included a Multiply Blend Layer to add tone and contrast to the highlights, a Midtone Contrast Mask, and some extensive dodging and burning on an Overlay Layer set to 66% and filled with 50% Black.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

 

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