Photos A few HDR shots

Taken (hand held) on an overcast day on London's Southbank - testing out my newest purchace, a Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 on my D80.

1. I really like the idea of black and white HDR shots.



2. Not to sure about this one, althought it was the only one i didnt crop!



3. One of my favourite logo's in London



4. So urban!





Does anyone have any tips for framing shots - i always seem to need to crop my shots to improve them.

Cyp.

 

I like the point of view in #3, and the image almost has a film noir feel to it; the light around the sign helps it standout against the dark image. However, I think the image overall is too dark. I think it could use a stop or two more exposure overall.

#4 is very dark, but in this case it almost works. Perhaps it could use a touch more light, but too much and you'll lose that dark, urban feel. I like how the vertical lines in the background buildings reflect the vertical, 'smeared' lines in the foreground building, while the semi-circles created by the domes in the foreground building reflect the semi-circles created by the tables in the immediate foreground. My only complaint would be that the table on the right is cut off. Other than that I really like this photo.

As far as framing your photos, I like to recommend doing as much work in camera as possible. Take your time in the viewfinder, and try to determine your key subject. What are you trying to shoot, and what are you trying to convey in your image? Once you figure that out, look around the image and take in the various objects surrounding your subject, both in the foreground and background; try to imagine the scene as both 3-dimensional and 2-dimensional (consider how, in #4 above, the vertical lines connect the background to the middle ground, and how the semi-circles connect the middle ground to the foreground). When you think you have the scene framed, try the following exercise: Say to yourself, "I see ____." Fill in the blank with random aspects of the scene, and you might pick up on something that you previously missed. For example: "I see a building." "I see the windows." "I see a table." "Oh, that table is only half in the frame. Does this work?"

The human eye is very tricky, and many times what you think you're seeing is actually your mind filling in the blanks with what it thinks is there. By saying, "I see____," you're forcing your brain to 'look' around the scene.

Having said that, I honestly believe that there's nothing wrong with cropping. In my opinion, cropping is just another step in the image making process. Nature is rarely concrete, and it almost never creates a scene that fits perfectly within a standard viewfinder. Heck, even Ansel Adams, after having spent a lot of time staring at the ground glass screen on his 8x10 view camera, was known to crop an image during the printing stage.

Sorry for the long post. I hope you can find at least one little nugget of wisdom in there.

-monkey

 

Love them all, namely #2 though

 

They are pretty sick.

There is something strange about the 2nd one. I can't say what it is, I think it might be because it looks like it should be black and white, but with bits of colour. If that makes sence.

I am not a photographer so I have no idea how to explain it .

Do you have that last one any bigger, ie 1680x1050 +? I really love it.

Just thought, #4, the middle building looks like it would have been in bioshock, if bioshock had been above ground...in London...

 

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I really like this little nugget. Actually talking to yourself in your head about what is in the picture.

Sure - will have to wait till i get home though.

Cyp.

 

most of the time I just lurk in this subforum and dont' post.

I'm an amateur photographer and I like to see other peoples results. Now I feel compelled to post.

The fourth picture is -imho- absolutely brilliant. It's dark, but this adds a lot of drama to lead to the final look. It makes it stand out. If it had been lighter ('well-lit'), it would look totally different and -again imho- not nearly as good. The picture gives me a very strong Gotham-city feeling, and I found myself looking for bat-signs in it. Great job.

As for the third one, that one is a bit too dark. I would try to make it somewhat (1/3 of a stop maybe?) lighter.

The HDR in the second one is ver nicely done and it makes it very interesting to look at. Especially the graffiti stands out, it is actually a bit of a shame that there is a lighter haze above the trees on the left, I find my eye is always drawn to it.

The first isn't really my thing, but that's personal taste. So I'm not commenting on that one.

Hope this helps with some insights.

 

Of all of these, I'm the biggest fan of #1 - in fact, I'd have it as a background actually. I like the black and white HDR, I feel like it's a bit how B&W CAN be improved on with a modern feel to it. The scene draws me in, and compositionally I think it's framed VERY well - certainly better than any of the others. It's very vibrant, which honestly is an odd way to compliment a B&W shot normally (that should tell you why I find it so fascinating).

Numbers 3 and 4 are also both good shots (Particularly #4) but neither is really "my thing". I see a scene in #4. It's a very deep scene. But it does not draw me in - I have to look at it a couple times. I think that it's because there is no sign of life in a place so obviously designed around having life. That's part of the appreciation after I see it a couple times, that empty feeling, but on the other hand I think it detracts a bit from the photo. It looks almost like a recreation, and it would be much stronger with a lone silhouette somewhere in the image. Right now, it just feels lifeless and cold.

 

Really great to see something a little different being shown.

These are only my views, and I see subjectively opinions vary already . . . that's the good thing about art

No 1, is great, but in part the subject which is surreal looking, and your photograph captures and highlights that beautifully. Love your overall style of processing.

In No2 the sky distracts, and the bright highlights on top of the blue bin. The graffiti and stairs, along with texture, make it for me.

Framing of both 1 and 2 is fine for me.

No3 is weakest for me, too dark and lacking interest. Maybe if the logo/signs were selectively lightened/brightened. Overall too dark and moody to the point of needing a floodlight

No4 - maybe slighty less on top (crop the top), and lighten for clarity . . . the middle table top is particularly light, yet the detail overall on tables is particularly dark, the contrast between isn't my cup of tea too much distraction, and the definition between the concrete wall and the oval arches (shapes) behind is lost due to similar tones. Not sure if No4 needs a different conversion method (focussing more on another of the RGB channels) or if it's the scene, or needs heavy dodging and burning on selected parts . . . much like ansel adams would do.

 

Wow guys, thanks for this constructive feedback. You've got me wanting to rush home and spend more time on these!

When i processed the first i really wanted to try and capture the B&W grainy feel of film shots and i think HDR has the capacity to do this. I must confess that it's cropped though.

I wasnt very happy with how #2 turned out personally and will look at that one again.

It's interesting what Brett said about #4, in terms of there being no sign of life - if you look closely you can actually see the pigeon on the wall above the middle table. I 'tone mapped' twice to get this image as dark as it stands and in the process you can hardly see the pigeon! Some more processing awaits these this weekend.

Im just discovering dodging and burning so will use these to experiment on. All the effects you see in these pics were done in Photmatix and Lightroom. No PS.

Why do modding and photgraphy happen to be a couple of THE most time consuming hobbies that exist!



Cyp.

 

1) I don't think a pigeon is really enough. I would honestly want someone standing up and maybe looking over the rail on the right side of the image. I think that would bring some better balance and a sign of activity.


2) They're not only time consuming, they're both incredibly expensive!

 

So true, so true.

It just made me think of combining them though - look out for a HDR shot of a completed AppleCoreDuo!

ETA is 1 month and counting.

Cyp.

 

Extremely well done stuff - it doesn't have that over-done look that gives the surreal effect, just that "I know how light works" style. I don't think I've ever seen a B+W tone-mapped shot before, and it works surprisingly well. Maybe because I learned on film and if you know how to work the darkroom well, you can do some amazing things since film captures such a ridiculous range of detail compared digital. It's got an "I've got mad dodge and burn skills" look rather than "I went nuts with HDR", which is a Good Thing IMO.

 

Thanks. When i first discovered HDR i loved the "over the top" stuff. More recently i have started to use it more subtley. For this shot i tone mapped it and then converted to greyscale in LR. I might try doing the reverse and see what results i get.

By the way, when you (and others above) refer to dodging and burning are you referring to using the dodge and burn tools in PS or generally manipulating the image to selectively lighten/darken some areas over others?

Cyp

 

1, 2, and 4 are amazing. I would frame and hang up 2 and 4 if I could, they just say so much to me. Really great work man, really.

 

I meant dodge and burn as in what you do in a darkroom, but photoshop does effectively the same thing. Which is exactly what you describe- "manipulating the image to selectively lighten/darken some areas over the others"

 

Absolutely love it. Worth exhibiting.

 

3 is needs the dark areas hdr'd up, but 1 & 3 don't really do it for me.

2 & 4 however, are very cool 4 kinda looks like a render!

 

I don't know why but I completely love number four. It would be really cool to see it in bigger rez.

I am just amazed of all the pictures you took, black and white is just so beautiful.

 

I like number one a lot...

 

Very nice. I like the color/saturations, not to strong and not to bland. A nice blend of B/W & color.