HDRs at Arches National Park

[RussHeath]

I recently got my new D80 and took it to Arches National Park in Utah to play. The following HDRs were each made with 3 different JPGs at different exposure compensation values put together with a freeware program called qtpfsgui (weird name, I know). They definitely have a fake look to them, but at the same time I love the intense detail I can show in the rock.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1016/1101080664_9b3e49f107_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1272/1106160592_91cc965b5a_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1406/1108845406_8c9adf5c84_b.jpg

Please let me know what you think, and if anyone has suggestions on how to get the definition from this process while maintaining some realism I would appreciate it.

[shazzt]

They look really nice to me - but I am only a snapper What a beautiful place to visit!

[jiminyClickit]

newbie, Welcome

HDR done well is an excellent process, and especially emphasizes the shadow areas often lost in bright sunlit outdoor photos. Photos are good, made better.

[rdaw]

They look great - I find the really over-tone-mapped HDRs get tiresome in a hurry after the original WOW factor. This is restrained, and a job very well done. Congrats

[kunaldaswani]

they are awesome! Awesome picture, especially like the second one! tone mapped perfectly. Great job!

[Neil]

Nice pics.
I like them a lot.I never get tired of looking at HDR pics.
Can you tell us more about the qtpfsgui freeware you used.
Where we can get this and whats it like to use.
Thanks,Neil.

[snapdragon]

, all you have to do is take it into PS or what ever editing you use and tone it down a bit , or do what ever you want with it there to get the results you want ,you have already done the hard part and it looks good to me ,it only needs a little toneing down that is easier done in PS unless you are a pro at HDR & I am not . I took your image into Picasa added a little light and lessened the sat to a more real looking level , hope this helps with your HDRs they are fun & you can get some amazing results with pratice .

[jhpope]

Stunning shots. The color is amazing. I never new what HDR was...but now I'll learn!

[RussHeath]

Thank you all for the words of encouragement. It's been a long time since I've posted anything here, and I've missed the feedback.

Snapdragon -- I like what you did. I tried using less saturation in the original conversion, but I tended to lose some of the detail. Perhaps further processing in another program after the HDR is complete will help with the realism factor.

Neil -- you can find qtpfsgui and fairly good information about how to use it at:

http://qtpfsgui.sourceforge.net/

Make sure you download the program and the DLL package and follow directions in the readme file. Using the program is fairly straightforward. You can use one RAW file or a collection of multiple JPGs (must be shot at different exposure compensation values with identical framing). If you don't use a tripod (not recommended but I got away with it in these shots) there is an option to let the software line up the shots. Once you have the HDR file the real magic is in the tonemapping. Qtpfsgui has about 7 different tonemapping algorithms, the one I like best is called Manituk. Have fun.

Thanks again to all for the kind words and suggestions.

[arcusx]

Very nice shots! Too bad you have some people in that third shot... you should have told them to move

Seriously - I like them a lot!

Can somebody tell me what HDR is? High Density-Something-or-other? Is it a filter or post production?