Weathered and Leaning

[dbevisjr]

Seeking critique on the HDR processing. Still not sure if I am getting this done properly. I know the white trailer is distracting and I may try to remove it at a later time. But for now I would like to know if I am getting the HDR effect or if I am spinning my wheels. Thanks for your c&c.



Camera Nikon D60
Exposure (multiple)
Aperture f/16.0
Focal Length 18 mm
ISO Speed 100

[NgaiHill]

Personally I think its hard to tell that the HDR has been done which IMHO is a good thing. So nicely done

[Stryker]

Agree with Lisa. It is hard to say that this is a HDR image, it looks more like a well exposed image with a GND filter for the sky. Placing the horizon line at the middle does take away a bit, but that is only if you want to stick to the rule of thirds. Well done, dbevisjr.

[dbevisjr]

Originally Posted by NgaiHill

Personally I think its hard to tell that the HDR has been done which IMHO is a good thing. So nicely done

Thank you Lisa.

Originally Posted by Stryker

Agree with Lisa. It is hard to say that this is a HDR image, it looks more like a well exposed image with a GND filter for the sky. Placing the horizon line at the middle does take away a bit, but that is only if you want to stick to the rule of thirds. Well done, dbevisjr.

Thank you Stryker.


Well, looks like I'm back to the tutorials.

[EOBeav]

Compositionally, I think you could get closer, shoot lower and a little wider to get more of that leaning effect. It's a nice subject to shoot.

HDR: I think you could have got much of this same feel with one exposure since you were shooting with the sun high in the sky. HDR works best when you have a wide range of tones to work from. For landscape photography like this, that means shooting with the sun low on the horizon, either early in the morning or late in the day. Some nice colors can be had at those two times. Also, some clouds in the sky help out, but we're not in charge of that part. :-)

[dbevisjr]

Originally Posted by EOBeav

Compositionally, I think you could get closer, shoot lower and a little wider to get more of that leaning effect. It's a nice subject to shoot.

HDR: I think you could have got much of this same feel with one exposure since you were shooting with the sun high in the sky. HDR works best when you have a wide range of tones to work from. For landscape photography like this, that means shooting with the sun low on the horizon, either early in the morning or late in the day. Some nice colors can be had at those two times. Also, some clouds in the sky help out, but we're not in charge of that part. :-)

Thanks for the critique. Yes, the clouds are always a nice part of HDR landscape images. I have another image of the same building taken from a different angle. I was standing on the other side of the road that you see in the right of this one. The front side of the building is shaded in that image. The HDR is bringing out the detail in the front but I'm still not happy enough with the result to post it. Hopefully I will have time to finish it up this weekend. Thanks again for the critique and tips.

[Sterling]

I agree that I don't see any HDR effect, which could be good or bad depending on your intent. If I had to guess, I would've said that it looks like a normal photo that has had the saturation cranked up.

My other comment would be that based on your post title, I'm not sure if your treatment really suits the subject. The bright, highly saturated colors sort of oppose the weathered and worn idea, if that's what you wanted to portray.

[lerabu]

I am one who loves strong colours which make you wear sunglasses when looking at photos but I can agree with the above poster, depending on what it is that you wanted to shoot.

I thought you made a nice storytelling composition with a good choice of aperture.

The bottom part of the picture works great in leading the eye towards the barn through the triangular field.

I don't know If you had shot this on a tripod or not but perhaps going to a slightly wider angle of view and the horizon being on the top line of the "Third of Rules" the eye might have wondered a bit longer towards the barn.

Overall I love the photograph! Above are just some preferences that are really of personal nature but I think the photograph in itself is great!

HDR-wise, it doesn't look it is an HDR. It depends on what you want to portray I really like HDR that doesn0t look like it is HDR!

[dbevisjr]

Originally Posted by Sterling

I agree that I don't see any HDR effect, which could be good or bad depending on your intent. If I had to guess, I would've said that it looks like a normal photo that has had the saturation cranked up.

My other comment would be that based on your post title, I'm not sure if your treatment really suits the subject. The bright, highly saturated colors sort of oppose the weathered and worn idea, if that's what you wanted to portray.

Thank you Sterling. I've only done 5 or 6 HDRs and try not to over process them. But I am having a difficult time finding the desired effect. This is the first that I've put up on DPS. The title I put on it was more in reference to the building than its surroundings. This angle didn't really show how severely the building is leaning though. Also after looking at the image I see that it isn't really a good candidate for HDR the way I was intending to use it. The other set that I took from the front is a better candidate. I couldn't get the colors to where I was happy with them so for now it is posted in the SYS Processed section.

[dbevisjr]

Originally Posted by lerabu

I am one who loves strong colours which make you wear sunglasses when looking at photos but I can agree with the above poster, depending on what it is that you wanted to shoot.

I thought you made a nice storytelling composition with a good choice of aperture.

The bottom part of the picture works great in leading the eye towards the barn through the triangular field.

I don't know If you had shot this on a tripod or not but perhaps going to a slightly wider angle of view and the horizon being on the top line of the "Third of Rules" the eye might have wondered a bit longer towards the barn.

Overall I love the photograph! Above are just some preferences that are really of personal nature but I think the photograph in itself is great!

HDR-wise, it doesn't look it is an HDR. It depends on what you want to portray I really like HDR that doesn0t look like it is HDR!

Thank you lerabu. I see what you mean about the edge of the cotton field leading to the building. I have to start looking at things like that when I compose. It was on a tripod since I shot either 5 or 7 shots. Thanks again.