HDR bracket set of five exposures merged in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2. I then used the Dark preset which I tweaked for contrast, shadows and highlights. I then returned it to Aperture 3 where I adjusted the clarity and vibrance before a final sharpening.
Today I decided to give this image from an HDR bracket set a quick processing with Topaz Adjust 5. I started with the Spicify preset which I then tweaked slightly before sharpening and exporting the image. What I hope I demonstrated is that a dramatic image is possible with minimal processing provided your original photo is an interesting composition.
This image is along the Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky. The building on the left is the Muhammad Ali Center which serves as a multicultural center with exhibits, classrooms, distance learning facilities, an archival library, exhibit galleries, a retail space and a café. The mural on the side of the building is made up of individual tiles that really pop when shot with the HDR technique. Here’s a link http://alicenter.org/site/ for more information about the Ali Center and it’s mission. I shot the panorama from the Louisville Belvedere in downtown Louisville using exposure values of +2, +1, 0, -1, -2 inorder to capture the full range of tones in the scene.
I created this image from twenty exposures of the scene which I stitched together in Photoshop CS5 after first merging each section of five exposures in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2. I used five exposures for each section of the panorama which I first brought into NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 from Aperture 3. Once in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 I applied the Realistic Deep preset which I then adjusted to suit my concept for the overall image. After merging and adjusting the first set of exposures in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 I created a custom preset that I then applied to each of the other sections of the image after merging them in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 in order to create a consistent tonal range in the final panorama.
After completing the HDR merges in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 I took the four resulting images into Photoshop CS5 where I used the Automate Photo Merge setting to create my panorama. I then cropped the Photoshop image to clean up the edges before returning it to Aperture 3 where I made some final adjustments to the vibrancy and sharpening before saving the final image.
NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 did a fantastic job of anti-ghosting in the HDR processing which kept the texture of the water and definition in the clouds. I had it set for 100% anti-ghosting which seem to work very well in these types of situations. I hope this helps you the viewer see the possibilities that using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 along with Photoshop CS5 and Aperture 3 offer when making panoramas.
This image is another pseudo HDR I created a couple of years ago using Topaz Adjust. The advantage of using these plug-ins is that they can often salvage an otherwise flat image and allow me to create something rich and dynamic. The ability to extract information and enhance the colors and details within the original file is the main reason I started using them. I don’t think they are an answer for every situation, if the image is poorly composed they won’t help it, but if the exposure range is too extreme they can be invaluable and allow me to rescue my original idea for the photo.
This image works because of the composition which adheres to the rule of thirds. By giving the car the bottom two thirds of the frame and placing the hood ornament at the intersection of the of the upper right third of the frame the viewer’s eye is directed there. The colors of the sky reflect in the chrome and tie the blue of the sky into the dark browns and oranges of the rust on the car. The yellowish orange of the clouds further emphasizes the complimentary color scheme of the photo too.
I took a trip down to Lexington, Kentucky this past weekend to the Keeneland Concours de’Elegance auto show. I have always been interested in automotive design and an event such as this one allows me to see firsthand the craftsmanship and beauty of our automotive heritage.
This Packard caught my eye with it’s massive headlights and brilliant grillwork. I decided to shoot this image as a bracketed series of images in order to overcome the wide range of light that the dark car and the brilliant chrome created. I knew that I was going to finish this image as an HDR image when I shot it. I monitored my histogram which showed me that I had the full range of tones in four exposures which would result in a good HDR image once merged and tone mapped.
Back home in the studio I merged the four exposures in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and applied the Structurized 2 preset as my base image. I adjusted the structure, black point and white point sliders very slightly before saving the image back into Aperture 3. I had to place a control point on the building in the lower right side of the frame and increase the exposure on the stonework to keep it from being a dark distraction in the composition. Once the image was back in Aperture 3 I cleaned up some sensor spots that had been emphasized by the tone mapping and hdr conversion before adjusting the vibrancy and sharpening the image for final output.
The composition is a pretty straight forward rule of thirds and uses the repetition of form to unify it. That along with the complimentary color scheme of blue and gold makes this image work for me.
