Sunday morning HDR

[Rich Rohrich]

I got called out early on Sunday morning so I grabbed my gear and figured as long as I was up and out I'd try to practice HDR shooting as the sun was coming up.

I only got a couple of shots that were halfway decent so I tried a couple of different post processing approaches to each. I'd be interested what you think looks good, what you think doesn't and most of all WHY. :cool:

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[Rich Rohrich]

Same photo in this sequence but processed three different ways. I have my favorite but I'm curious what other people might think.

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[Rich Rohrich]

Two approaches to the same shot.

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[Rich Rohrich]

A framing angle, with slightly different processing and different crops on the Civil War Union Soldier graveyard. I shot these at Rosehill cemetery in Chicago. This is a 350 acre cemetery first chartered in 1859. It sits right in the middle of the Ravenswood neighborhood on the city's far Northside. It has some pretty amazing stuff on the grounds.
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[Bonehead]

Man that is so cool I just point and shoot and hope for the best. Kinda how I ride

 

[WaltCMoto]

I know nothing about photography, just know what I like
1st scene
I like the black and white better, it just has more artistic feel to it than the color one
2nd scene
I like the 3rd choice with the brightest red on the steel. It looks more like a painting than a photo
cemetary scene
to dark
to light
just right lighting on 3 & 4

 

[Rich Rohrich]

Thanks Walt. :cool:

While most days I think I know something about photography, I'll still base most of my decisions behind the camera on what I like too.

 

[oldguy]

As usual awesome shots and post prcessing
1st sequence I like #1 just think that the muted black and white gives it that lived in old time feeling
2nd sequence Torn between #2 and #3 Like Walt said the colors look like a painting but like the 1st sequence the BW just looks right for the scene
Cemetary sequence the last 2 are to close to pick. In them I like the sky giving an accent to the mood of a military cemetary. also to me in the 1st 2 that little flag in the foreground seems to get lost but stands out better in the final 2

All that from a guy that don't know jack about art but likes what he sees here

 

[Rich Rohrich]

All that from a guy that don't know jack about art but likes what he sees here

Thanks Dave :cool:

I'm with you, the only thing I know about art is the spelling of it :) I just shoot what I think will look good on my wall.

 

[Phil]

I like the first two a lot, but can't choose between the color and B&W. They each have their own mood.

This is probably my favorite of the bunch, which actually surprised me because it has the most "processed" look to it I think. That normally is something I don't care for, but in this case, it just draws my eye and it pops so much that I find my self staring at it to absorb every detail.

 

[Rich Rohrich]

Thanks for the feedback Phil. I'm of a like mind. Even with HDR the pics I like are the ones that look full but realistic, like the original HDR photos you posted a while back. I did the really over the top saturated one just to see what details I could dig out in the picture.

I originally did this image as a B&W conversion in a more standard fashion. It was an OK picture but nothing special that way. Then just for fun I tried converting the heavily processed and saturated HDR color version to B&W and really stumbled across an interesting picture (the pinnacle of dumb luck :) ).

With the color stripped away it seems like the texture and the detail of the various bits in the picture become more interesting.

The people who I've showed it to so far seem to spend more time looking hard at this one than any of the others.

When they look quick and move on I figure I missed the mark, but when they linger I know I tapped into something good.

I'm going to print this one at 12x18 and see what it looks like.

 

[Bonehead]

Rich I really like the second bridge but I don't like the first shot of it. Looking down the sidewalk takes me away from the structure itself. The B&W set close up draws me to every rivet ,the cracks in the grating and the pattern of the rivets. The best part for me is how the city in the for ground is framed and makes me return to the industrial age. I would hang this picture in the entry of my business. I run a sheet metal fabrication shop in Wa. and I enjoy this kind of art.

 

[Rich Rohrich]

There are so many places in Chicago that have that cool handbuilt by real craftsmen industrial feel to them, that I'll never run out of interesting things to point my camera at. I don't even have to drive very far to find the cool stuff.

We may not build as many things as we used to here, but the echos of our industrial past ring loud and clear in this city.

It's a great place to live and take pictures. :cool:

 

[whenfoxforks-ruled]

The 1st looks old and cold, the second looks like I know what time it was! I prefer the 2nd, realism and warmer? The 2nd of the 4 bridge pics, same thing, realism. The 3rd pic is way too much color! Then I get to the cemetery, not much difference overall. How does one like a cemetery pic? The cemetery, black and white, cold and dead, got to be the 1st one.

 

[Okiewan]

I choose the first of the three bridge shots. Nice stuff Rich.

 

[whenfoxforks-ruled]

In the bridge pics, it is really cool how the back ground clarity changes dramatically. The 4th is the worst in detail toward the back, the skyline and trees. The 3rd the richest. Or, my glasses are really dirty.

 

[Rich Rohrich]

Thanks for the feedback guys. It's always interesting to me to hear how people respond to various images.

 

[Chili]

Like the others my disclaimer is I'm a self taught moto shooter so these kind of shots are beyond my skill set for serious critique but I'll pass on what pleases my eye.

Out of the first two shots the first version in b+w works better for me, something about the color version that takes away from the desolate feel of the shot.

As far as the four versions of the Bridge my favorite is this one

The lights seem to draw me into the skyline and yet the rest of the image doesn't have that over processed feel like a few of the other versions.

Again not exactly sure why but the final version of the Civil War cemetery is my choice.

 

[Rich Rohrich]

One more combining black & white conversion with some HDR tweaks.

I caught this shot on my way home while sitting in traffic.

 

[whenfoxforks-ruled]

Other than the glass on the door, everything does come from star dust.

 

[Rich Rohrich]

One more from the cemetery that I shot using the regular (non-infrared) camera and converted to black and white. Not a great shot but I like the way the conversion came out. When the snow clears and the grass starts coming in I'm going to go back and shoot the Civil War memorial again. The infrared images will really pop when the grass comes in.