It's Alive! It's ALIVE!!!

[SandeeWig]

My second attempt at HDR. I think this one went a little better, but I'm hoping to get some feedback. This was shot looking out my office window. I took 3 shots w/ varying exposure from -2/0/+2 and combined the three together.

There are some definite weak spots around the outline of the aloe, as the shots were not perfectly aligned (hand held). I wanted the background to look real, but the plant turned out looking almost 3D (to me anyway) after I screened the layer and played with the color.

Does it work? Any suggestions for improvement? What about the composition? I know it's not the most interesting photograph, but I love the colors I see when I look outside, and the tint of the window gives the sky such a deep blue color.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.



Best viewed large.

Exif:
Camera: Canon PowerShot S3 IS
Exposure: 0.3 sec (3/10)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 6 mm
Exposure Bias: 2 EV
Flash: 80 == Again, with the Flash: 80 () no flash fired
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS2 Windows
Date and Time: 2008:11:02 01:04:07
YCbCr Positioning: Centered
Date and Time (Original): 2008:10:30 00:25:09
Compressed Bits per Pixel: 5 bits
Shutter Speed: 56/32
Maximum Lens Aperture: 92/32
Color Space: sRGB
Exposure Mode: Auto bracket

[jdepould]

I dunno, to me this is one of those photos that says "why HDR?" I don't think it really needed it. Just because you can, doesn't necessarily mean you should. The plant looks like a photoshop.

[SandeeWig]

Originally Posted by jdepould

I dunno, to me this is one of those photos that says "why HDR?" I don't think it really needed it. Just because you can, doesn't necessarily mean you should. The plant looks like a photoshop.

Well, the plant was silhouetted by exposing for outside the window, but I like the way it was highlighted by the light coming through the window, so I shot the multiple exp.

The HDR was more about seeing if I was doing it right than for any other reason. I've just started playing with the multiple exposure abilities on my P&S, and I'm really new to PS, so I was hoping to see if I was doing it correctly. This is only my 2nd attempt.

I do appreciate your feedback and comments though jdepould. Thanks.