My Muse

[Doctor Atomo]

Off white dog;
Looks good. I had actually lightened the shadows to save the details, using Set Black Point, Up Luminance in Nikon NX2.
I had tried HDR, but the results just didn't look natural. There is a lot of range in the scene, especially when shot in full sun!

[Sterling]

I like the vertical comp the best. It has a Japanese print feel.

[pilgrim4now]

Hi Doc,
With regard to your attempt at HDR. I have experienced the same thing. Lately, I have been using blended exposures to effectively accomplish the same thing, but with much better results (assuming your desire is for a more natural look). You should be able to do a search for "photoshop blended exposure" for some tutorials on how to do this. It's more effort than pushing some buttons in your HDR software, but for photos that you really want to look nice it is well worth it (IMHO). Good luck.

[Doctor Atomo]

pilgrim4now;
Thanks for the ideas, I don't have Photoshop right now. Just the trial of Nikon NX2 that came with my camera. There are probably similar controls in NX2, I just need to read up...

Sterling;
Here is another vertical shot, composed differently and in B&W. The first one is how it came directly after conversion, the second one was me adjusting the Black, White and Neutral points. Did I do it right? Let me know what you think!



Nikon D90, Nikon 55-200vr @34mm, f/11, 1/100th ISO-200, Exposure bias -.03 step , Black & White Conversion



Nikon D90, Nikon 55-200vr @34mm, f/11, 1/100th ISO-200, Exposure bias -.03 step , Black & White Conversion Adjusted for Black, White and neutral points in Nikon NX2

[TerryMC]

Just for fun, there is my version: