***DSLR/Photography MegaThread***

So I took everything I learned the other day from my first attempt at HDR (btw, thanks for the feedback everybody), and went out today with my newfound knowledge and, well, I'm pretty happy with my progress...

hdr8.jpg


Still much to learn here, but I am definitely getting more comfortable with it.


hdr9.jpg



Don't want to bog down the page, so there are more

here (1)


here (2)


here (3)


here (4)


and here (5).

I am learning that subject matter is key for this stuff.
 
  • Like
Reactions: FBJ
Alright. That's the kinds of results I've been trying to get, but can't seem to home in on.

Mind posting the step-by-steps?
 
I pretty much followed the Stuck in Customs tutorial, though his quick pass over the tonemapping didn't do justice to the importance of it. That was where I found the good stuff that made the images work. Getting used to the controls is key. He is correct when he says there is no "right way" of doing the tonemapping, but I would add to that that there is also no easy way. But finally getting comfortable with the obscure control-set and the very minimal reference that came with it was a big help.

But I can not stress what I think is the most important part of HDR (he says in his all knowing "I've been doing this for two whole days" voice.)... Subject matter. I started thinking in terms of the Zone System, and when I did the results were almost always more favorable. When I saw this shot, I was able to identify with my eye almost every step in the Zone, even though the camera could only get 3 or 4 at a time regardless of exposure. But knowing the whole gamut was represented, I felt good about what my HRD results would be.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: FBJ
Some from today's trip to the Arboretum. I was there from 9am until almost 2pm, and I still didn't see the whole thing! The place is awesome! Crappy drizzly weather this morning, but it was really surprisingly good for picture-taking. No people/diffused sunlight, etc.

Some macro stuff first. These were made really fun by all the water.

2375007693_f44c0962e1.jpg


2375841778_07855a88c0.jpg


2375838716_312090c93b.jpg


2375840746_ac44207a2b.jpg


Some other stuff...

2375051891_eee7465238.jpg


2375048615_2cc2e1981d.jpg


2375052425_92ac70339f.jpg


2375888922_4f36239b67.jpg


The rest here.
 
Last edited:
Nice stuff FBJ, especially the macro shots. I like the water droplets with the soft lighting. Makes me think of a spring rain.
 
DeaderFan said:
I like the water droplets with the soft lighting. Makes me think of a spring rain.
Click to expand...

That's pretty much what it was all morning long, yesterday.

BTW, the D3 is just like that Canada goose. It literally just sheds the water. I'd brought towels with me just-in-case, and the only reason I even used them was to dry things off before a lens change. It is definitely an all-weather tool. It's just sealed that well.
 
Is it:

A) As-shot
B) HDR
C) Just Plain Ugly

2375061133_d9d8664d7d_o.jpg
 
Last edited:
FlyBoeingJets said:
That's pretty much what it was all morning long, yesterday.

BTW, the D3 is just like that Canada goose. It literally just sheds the water. I'd brought towels with me just-in-case, and the only reason I even used them was to dry things off before a lens change. It is definitely an all-weather tool. It's just sealed that well.
Click to expand...

well... don't go pouring applesauce on it or anything.
 
HeShootsNScores said:
well... don't go pouring applesauce on it or anything.
Click to expand...

Heh. That dude is NUTS!! Did you see his drop test?? I just about crapped a purple Twinkie when i saw that!

Even though this thing is sealed up tighter than a duck's arse, I'm not going to do anything crazy with it. If it had gotten any wetter out there yesterday, I would have packed it in. As it was, it was just a light pfzptpfztping of rain.
 
I thought I'd attempt to steal back my own thread from PuckMonkey.




This photo has been replaced by some words. The photo was too ugly.

Here is a snake with two heads instead.

snakeAP_468x351.jpg




Anyhow, I'm certainly learning quite a bit playing around and from everyone's input here. Let's keep 'em coming.
 
Last edited:
FlyBoeingJets said:
Heh. That dude is NUTS!! Did you see his drop test?? I just about crapped a purple Twinkie when i saw that!

Even though this thing is sealed up tighter than a duck's arse, I'm not going to do anything crazy with it. If it had gotten any wetter out there yesterday, I would have packed it in. As it was, it was just a light pfzptpfztping of rain.
Click to expand...

heck... go swimming with it... it wont hurt it! ;)

that being said... are you sore? Rumor has it those things are HEAVY! A couple of months shooting with it and your max benchpress should go up..........
 
The 15% coupon code still works at the HDR Soft website. The code is VPG15.


PuckMonkey said:
Shot today

hdr16.jpg
Click to expand...

I like it a lot, PM. Objects in some HDRs have an illustrated look to them. So I like, some distract. This is one of those processed images that I DO like. Mostly I think it's due to a virtually solid background color. (I'm sure that's why I find HDRs like those shown below appeal to me on some level.

479096944_eb7f878412_o.jpg


2375335575_431888c025.jpg


107387482_3188be804e.jpg


2147973290_bcf6a8bc75.jpg


2356064558_38664ea50a.jpg
 
Last edited:
I probably got lucky with this one, but with enough tweaking and sliding of sliders...

2380127047_965acc4786_b.jpg


I think I'm getting closer. Friggin' work keeps getting in the way of my tinkering.
 
PuckMonkey said:
Adobe Lightroom 2.0 BETA just released.

Adobe Labs - Adobe Lightroom 2.0 Beta
Click to expand...

Great. If it gives me more control over watermarks, I'm all over it. I want control of pixel % rather than a maximum number of pixels high the watermark is allowed to be. That way, when I export near-original sized images, my watermark won't be so freakin' small you can't see it. I'd also like to be able to change the font, the location on the image, and the opacity of the watermark.

EDIT: I just DL'ed it and tried it. Gotta say it isn't that big an upgrade over the current version. NO control over watermarks that's different than the current version.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Now Chirping

  • No one is chatting at the moment.

Share this page

Back
Top