Abandoned hydroelectic facility HDR

[EOBeav]

This is the inside of an abandoned hydroelectric facility in North-Central Oregon. It was in use from 1900 to some time in the 1960's. Just for perspective, these turbines are about 9 feet (2.5m) or so in diameter.

I was looking for some critique of HDR technique, which was done in Qtpfsgui, a couple of times through, and then further processed in GIMP. Any other thoughts are also appreciated. Thanks in advance for taking a look at it.

[dcclark]

First... cool location. I'd love to go there.

Second... I think that things are overall too bright in this photo. Especially the background (roof) is unnaturally bright -- I would expect it to be a bit dimmer, at least. That makes my sense of depth all screwy, so that I'm not sure where the roof really is.

But, on the upside, I can't see any of the classic hallmarks of badly done HDR, so your blending came through very well.

[harrypalmer044]

Hi there,
I have to say the composition is great but the lighting is a little bright and does take away from the over all abandoned feeling for me, if you were to tone it down a wee bit I think it would add atmosphere to an already cracking image. Love the effects, look forward to seeing more.
Thanks for sharing it.

[EOBeav]

Thanks to both of you for taking a look at it and commenting. I'm getting overall feedback that my HDR work in general is coming out too bright, so I need to adjust some settings and see if I can come up with something a little darker. Qtpfsgui has some great features, and I'm still finding my way around in the software.

The roof is about half gone in this building, so on a bright, sunny afternoon, it's actually fairly bright in there. Those were the conditions that were present when I took the pictures. That said, I can come up with some different settings to compensate for that brightness. I've got some other pics from here that I will process and upload later on in the week.

[dcclark]

EOBeav -- so, I don't know a whole lot about the details of HDR, but it sounds like you've got the right idea.

However, what I do know a lot about are ruins. We have a ton of similar buildings around here, and one thing I do know is that there are always dark, dusty corners, even if the roof is mostly gone. There are deep shadows from the walls or remaining roof, while other bits are brightly hilighted by the sun. I love that effect, and it is what I feel is missing in this photo -- everything is very uniformly lit -- which is a bit boring, honestly.

[EOBeav]

Originally Posted by dcclark

...there are always dark, dusty corners, even if the roof is mostly gone. There are deep shadows from the walls or remaining roof, while other bits are brightly hilighted by the sun. I love that effect, and it is what I feel is missing in this photo -- everything is very uniformly lit -- which is a bit boring, honestly.

Very well said.

[EOBeav]

On second thought, when I was working on this photo, I wasn't necessarily thinking of showing a somber mood, I was just trying to put together as good of an HDR shot as I could. The nature of HDR is that it brings out details from shadows, so perhaps it's not ideal for creating that type of effect. That said, I am pleased with the details that it did bring out.

Just another thought I would throw in there.