Helix Bridge HDR - My take

[pauicardeno]

Hello!

Went to Helix Bridge last Thursday after work. Finalized 3 shots converted to HDR, for me this one is the best.

1. in what area is critique to be sought?
- The whole image.

2. what one hopes to achieve with the piece of work?
- To learn HDR techniques on night photography.

3. under what circumstance is the picture taken? (physical conditions/emotions)
- Taken on a hot night and a bit less crowd. The moon was shining and help brighten the night.

4. what the critique seeker personally thinks of the picture
- I believe the Helix Bridge is good candidate for HDR. The bridge is made of stainless steel wrapped with colored lights, to show all that detail would be a cool image. I added a bit more glow for this shot.

Thanks and Best Regards,
Paui

 

[pauicardeno]

Hi Guys!

I'm just a beginner, need C&C to help my skills grow

Thanks!

 

[ovaltinemilo]

I think this is pretty good...

 

[phazed1]

Hi, what apertures did you use for your three shots?

 

[ahkok]

Nice. You have captured the details of the bridge. :thumbsup:

IMHO, i would like to see more detail in the sky too.

 

[sfoto100]

hi

since u asked for c n c, i will offer my own non-pro c n c... u can ignore them bcos it can be nonsense actually...

i find the blue figure down there distracting.. and the building at the end is not framed properly... seems too tight..


but i like the way u frame the bridge.... :thumbsup:

your hdr looks natural too...


so here is the end of my rubbish... ;p

 

[SnapSniper]

haha looks nice, cannot find anything wrong with the picture. I like the sparkly star shape lights on the bridge. I could not tell its HDR as it is very natural too!

 

[denniskee]

i dont think there is a need for a HDR in this case right? I shot before something like this but sigle shot get similar result as what you have here.:think:

 

[Draken413o]

Mmmmm.. Well.. to you the truth.. this isn't a true HDR image.. How Do I know? You can see much blown highlights everywhere from the building at the back to the ground on the bridge as well as the viewing points.

You must get images with as much detail as possible by using a fixed aperture (such as f11 to f16) and varying the shutter speed. Usage of a tripod is essential if you are doing night hdrs

To get highlight details: a fast shutter speed is needed. This would make the lights less bright and more pleasant to the eyes.

Shadow details require a long exposure. Mainly for the trees and the dark shadows in the water.

Putting the exposures together via photomatix or photoshop should give you a hdr but a really good hdr needs further adjustment with photoshop using the curves and levels tools to solve some problematic areas that may have become to bright.

Hdr is normally used for scenes with ranges of light where the camera is unable to capture everything as what the eye sees. Examples are when the sky is too bright making the foreground dark and such. For the helix bridge, you could just blend in the slightly underexposed image of the building and lights to get an excellent image.

Overall this isn't a very good hdr in the aspect that these factors were not taken into account for. (I'm sorry if this puts you down but I'm trying to be constructive but be positive I'm sure you will be a master in no time!)

If you are fairly proficient with photoshop you could try this, http://www.davidclapp.co.uk/blog/articles/8-exposure-blending-basics.html
Since I take it you're not a fan of the illustrative hdr that some people do (admittedly me)

I hope this has been informative for you. =)

 

[night86mare]

i really don't see how hdr helped this one.

this could be performed with a single shot.

 

[anxilign]

To be true, I can't tell that this is a HDR. Looks like shot with long shutter speed