Beautiful sunsets
- Thread starter Pitbullo
- Start date
Now that's a very nice shot Jon, but there is something about it that just doesn't seem to really do it for me, almost as if I'd like more contrast. Can you explain what you perceive to be the major gain of the merge. Admittedly, I don't really qualify to be a judge of such things but I'm always trying to learn from these exchanges. 
Jack
Jack
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Jack Douglas said:Now that's a very nice shot Jon, but there is something about it that just doesn't seem to really do it for me, almost as if I'd like more contrast. Can you explain what you perceive to be the major gain of the merge. Admittedly, I don't really qualify to be a judge of such things but I'm always trying to learn from these exchanges.
As we've been debating in the 7D II thread, Canon sensors are indeed severely DR limited in situations like this. To get detail around the sun, and get detail in the foreground, I had to use a 5-frame bracketed exposure. This is the first (-4 stop) frame (and pulled):
This is the last (+4 stop) frame:
This is the middle frame, and a version of it that's been processed to maximize shadow and highlights:
However this is the sun from the processed middle frame, with posterization:
And the shadow noise from the processed middle frame:
To me, the posterization and shadow noise is completely unacceptable. Hence, the reason for the HDR. I think there is actually a lot of contrast in the HDR image I've shared...tonal range goes from near complete black to pure white, there is a lot of contrast in the clouds. There is some flare right over the sunflower field, which is probably where your seeing a loss of contrast most. I could probably try to deepen the tones in the foreground more, I haven't actually finished processing this shot yet.
Anyway, this is a GIF that shows the differences in foreground detail between the first, third, and fifth exposures:
To me, the processed middle image from the bracket is just not good enough. I wanted more, I wanted better detail throughout the entire image, right into the sun. Hence the reason for the HDR. I'm the first to admit, I am not nearly as skilled with landscapes as I am with birds and wildlife. I've always had problems with shadow noise when processing landscapes. It was actually not quite as bad on the 7D at ISO 100 (ironically)...it's really bad with the 5D III. Completely unacceptable, in my opinion.
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Wow, Jon you always go the extra mile. Thanks 
That is very helpful in understanding what you're doing and why. I'm still debating in my mind how I should interpret the photo. Maybe sometimes I'm really not feeling I want that much detail in the shadows - could it be visual overload for me?? Again, I'm not qulaified to judge so don't mind me.
Jack
That is very helpful in understanding what you're doing and why. I'm still debating in my mind how I should interpret the photo. Maybe sometimes I'm really not feeling I want that much detail in the shadows - could it be visual overload for me?? Again, I'm not qulaified to judge so don't mind me.Jack
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Jack Douglas said:Wow, Jon you always go the extra mile. Thanks
Ah, I understand your question now. I think it's just that your not seeing the benefits of the HDR at full size. Here is a comparison of the HDR in the "shadows" (not really shadows, it's definitely midtones, since it's the sunflowers, which are the primary subject of the image), and a single-frame shadow pull:
If I wanted to print this (I do, actually), the single-frame shadow pull is entirely unacceptable for that purpose. I already have people who want prints of this, family and friends, and I'm sure others will as well. At 13x19, the size I usually print at home, the difference in detail and detail clarity between the HDR and the shadow pull is totally obvious. There is a huge difference in detail, the HDR version has TONS more, and it's crisper and sharper and has more color fidelity. For larger prints, even gallery wraps up to 48x36", the better detail of the HDR is that much more important, because of the need to upsample.
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tron said:
The HDR result was pretty simple. I imported to Lightroom, then selected all five for this set, right-clicked and chose to "Merge to HDR Pro in Photoshop..." When that was done, I chose 32-bit, and "Tone in ACR". I then tweaked things a bit in ACR, mainly exposure, a little bit of curves, applied a gradient (like a digital GND) to the top to bring out the blues more, did some brushing around the sun (just to deal with some posterization), and that was pretty much it.
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WOW!jrista said:
HDR merge, 5-frame, 2-stop separation.
Canon 5D III + EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II @ 32mm
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Thanks, guys. Glad you like. I'm still not entirely satisfied with it, but I think the warmer tone of the second version is better...things were too cold and almost lifeless feeling in the first.
Glad you like. I'm still not entirely satisfied with it, but I think the warmer tone of the second version is better...things were too cold and almost lifeless feeling in the first.
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jrista said:
HDR merge, 5-frame, 2-stop separation.
Canon 5D III + EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II @ 32mm
I know you're getting a lot of praise for this, but to me, it looks totally unnatural. It looks as if it's been shot on an alien planet with two suns, one in the frame, and one behind the viewer. Or it's a composite.
The root cause is that the foreground is just way, way too bright. As a result, overall scene contrast is way too low. Humans are very sensitive to light that isn't right, which makes real composites really hard - you have to get the light to match in the two frames you're combining.
My suggestion would be to start with just one image, probably the zero or the +2 (the +2 if you can hold the sky okay with -highlights) and just boost shadows enough to be able to see the sunflowers. Then make sure you have plenty of contrast on the flowers so the pedals seem to be illuminated from behind and the edges and/or pedals themselves are "glowing" from the light passing through them (could be some +whites and +clarity).
By the way, the horizon is sloping down on the right.
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