HDR on the Merlion at night

[hermes129]

Hi all,

I recently did a HDR image of the Merlion at night. However, I am not sure which image is more representive of a HDR. The first image is just a normal HDR with the shadows/lighting. The 2nd image is with additional gaussian blur overlayed on it.

For your comments pls.

1.

2.

Thanks in advance!

Regards,

[2nd-Hamsterlord]

The 1st picture is good. =)

I`m also trying HDR. It look fun. Looking forward your next HDR picture

[hermes129]

Originally Posted by 2nd-Hamsterlord The 1st picture is good. =) I`m also trying HDR. It look fun. Looking forward your next HDR picture

Hi Hamsterlord,

Thanks for your comments! I thought the HDR looks rather unnatural for the 1st pic or maybe its rather subjective for different ppl.


I intend to shoot more HDR soon. Quite like to do HDR. I quite sucks at moving subjects.

Cheers,

[hermes129]

Forgot to add,

Hamsterlord, I love your pics in your webpage.

[dOlBy]

I like #1 also, sharper nice attempt but you got a drop of water on your lens.

I'm also learning HDR.

[hermes129]

Originally Posted by dOlBy I like #1 also, sharper nice attempt but you got a drop of water on your lens. I'm also learning HDR.

Hi Dolby, thanks! Now I know what's that 'blob' on the photo. Tried removing it but unsuccessful.

I am a beginner in HDR too. Glad to know other budding HDR photo-takers.

Cheers,

[dOlBy]

Originally Posted by hermes129 Hi Dolby, thanks! Now I know what's that 'blob' on the photo. Tried removing it but unsuccessful. I am a beginner in HDR too. Glad to know other budding HDR photo-takers. Cheers,

2 links for you.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/hdr/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/audunba...en/1623320388/

Cheers!

[night86mare]

i will take a look at this thread when i get to use my proper laptop tonight..

but for now, what i see looks alright, is a tad surreal but not too overdone, hard to say for sure though, due to calibration issues.

the problem here lies with the composition. personally i do feel that it is nothing wrong to have the merlion placed centrally here, but it is everything other than the merlion, the buildings are awkwardly chopped, and haphazardly framed, and that spoils the otherwise rather well executed shot for me.

[hermes129]

Originally Posted by dOlBy 2 links for you. http://www.flickr.com/groups/hdr/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/audunba...en/1623320388/ Cheers!

Thanks for the links, Dolby! Will check them out!

Cheers,

Originally Posted by night86mare i will take a look at this thread when i get to use my proper laptop tonight.. but for now, what i see looks alright, is a tad surreal but not too overdone, hard to say for sure though, due to calibration issues. the problem here lies with the composition. personally i do feel that it is nothing wrong to have the merlion placed centrally here, but it is everything other than the merlion, the buildings are awkwardly chopped, and haphazardly framed, and that spoils the otherwise rather well executed shot for me.

Hi Night86mare, thks for your comments! Yes I absolutely agree with you on the composition of the shot. I noticed it when I happily try to do the editing at home that I realise I should spend more time on the proper framing. I will go back there again and try out a few shots of that area again.

I normally used my laptop for photoeditng and work purposes. Is there a way to calibrate the laptop display correctly via software for editing purposes? Or I need another equipment to assist in it? I am not too sure regarding this. Thanks!

Cheers,

[night86mare]

Originally Posted by hermes129 Hi Night86mare, thks for your comments! Yes I absolutely agree with you on the composition of the shot. I noticed it when I happily try to do the editing at home that I realise I should spend more time on the proper framing. I will go back there again and try out a few shots of that area again. I normally used my laptop for photoeditng and work purposes. Is there a way to calibrate the laptop display correctly via software for editing purposes? Or I need another equipment to assist in it? I am not too sure regarding this. Thanks! Cheers,

hrm, i do not calibrate mine properly, i just refer to the whites and blacks on dpreview and adjust from there using the apple gamma thingy.

so far no one has been commenting on weird colors so i guess it is not too bad. hurhur.

if you really, really want very proper calibration, you will need a lot of technical knowledge.. you can ask these from various people here.. do a search, i'm sure you'll turn some useful threads up. paiseh cannot help you in this aspect.

[hermes129]

Originally Posted by night86mare hrm, i do not calibrate mine properly, i just refer to the whites and blacks on dpreview and adjust from there using the apple gamma thingy. so far no one has been commenting on weird colors so i guess it is not too bad. hurhur. if you really, really want very proper calibration, you will need a lot of technical knowledge.. you can ask these from various people here.. do a search, i'm sure you'll turn some useful threads up. paiseh cannot help you in this aspect.

Hi night86mare,

I see I see... Its ok I will just use dpreview also for a simple adjustment of the laptop screen. Thanks for the input!

Cheers,

[lastboltnut]

Hi,

The 1st pic has too much details, so much that even naked eyes don't see them when you are there, that makes it surreals....if you are after the surreal feel, then 1st pic is better, if you are after natural feel, the 2nd pic is better. But the sky in the 1st pic is definitely too bright, the darker version in #2 is better. The contrast and colour saturation in #2 makes it better. However, the Merlion has better details in #1.

For composition, I find that placing the Merlion outside the water mist should be better, now its "hidden" by its own mist. Zoom in more if the Merlion is your main subject, don't need to care about the high rise builds at the back....now they are chop halfway, which is not very attactive and doesn't contribute to the title.

These are my personal feel and opinion.

[hermes129]

Originally Posted by lastboltnut Hi, The 1st pic has too much details, so much that even naked eyes don't see them when you are there, that makes it surreals....if you are after the surreal feel, then 1st pic is better, if you are after natural feel, the 2nd pic is better. But the sky in the 1st pic is definitely too bright, the darker version in #2 is better. The contrast and colour saturation in #2 makes it better. However, the Merlion has better details in #1. For composition, I find that placing the Merlion outside the water mist should be better, now its "hidden" by its own mist. Zoom in more if the Merlion is your main subject, don't need to care about the high rise builds at the back....now they are chop halfway, which is not very attactive and doesn't contribute to the title. These are my personal feel and opinion.

Hi lastboltnut,

Thanks very much for your comments! I will take note of the composition. I am deciding whether should my HDR have the surreal feel or a more natural look...your comments will make me think more about what I want..

Thanks again!

Cheers,

[lastboltnut]

If you go and browse the HDR works in flickr, those surreal ones get all the "WOW"s....but surreal HDR is relatively easy to achieve. Its a real challenge to get natural HDR......some can be so natural that most viewers think that it just another pic and therefore, no "wow"s from the them.

But you can learn to use both and apply according to how you want your photo to feel like. If you visit my flickr site, I have a set on HDRi, some are surreal (all from the airshow and some others are in this category) while others are natural (or I am trying to make them natural, still learning)...still experimenting with it.

Originally Posted by hermes129 Hi lastboltnut, Thanks very much for your comments! I will take note of the composition. I am deciding whether should my HDR have the surreal feel or a more natural look...your comments will make me think more about what I want.. Thanks again! Cheers,

[royal]

btw what does HDR stand for??
newbie here

[icebox]

gooooooogle :P

[mrchua]

i like the first pic better without the gaussian blur. i was at the merlion last night but it was covered up for maintenance! bleah.

[Francis247]

Originally Posted by royal btw what does HDR stand for?? newbie here

HDR means High Dynamic Range.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_dynamic_range_imaging

[hermes129]

Originally Posted by mrchua i like the first pic better without the gaussian blur. i was at the merlion last night but it was covered up for maintenance! bleah.

Hi mrchua, thanks for the comments. I am experimenting with HDR. Hope to exchange some pointers with fellow forum members to improve.

Thanks!

[iamryansaw]

hi guys may i ask. How to convert HDR pictures to Jpeg? I tried HDR for the first time last week. With photoshot, can convert to TIFF but not Jpeg. When i conver to TIff, cant seem to see image with imageviewer. i use InfranView.