rainngirl Loc: Everett, WA

I just got back from vacation in Hawaii and found that I had a heck of a time with trying to expose several shots. One of a beautiful canyon full of palm trees and other gorgeous jungly things, with a super light sky. Another was a silhouette of a shoreline with a colorful sunset behind it. If I exposed for the land, the sky was completely washed out. If I exposed for the sky, the land was completely dark. I could not figure out how to arrange the settings--not manual or auto or program--to achieve a balance. I have a Nikon D90. Can anyone enlighten me?

rainngirl Loc: Everett, WA

P.S. I would have taken out the power line in the corner. :)

chapjohn Loc: Tigard, Oregon

I would suggest using a graduated neutral density filter. Allows less light from the sky and all the light from the land. Also may help the clouds be more defined.

Pandabob Loc: Dallas, TX

1. Graduated filter (as mentioned above)
2. Bracket 3-5 photos to create an HDR
3. Try a polarizer, they help some
4. Shoot B&W film and spend some time in the darkroom with some chemicals.

Adirondack Hiker Loc: Southern Adirondacks

I agree with steps 1 and 2. CP filter will remove glare but not help with the exposure issue, as it will darken the overall image. Step 4???? No way. The dark ages are over. This is an easy HDR fix, just need to shoot with a tripod.

GTinSoCal Loc: Palmdale, CA

There is FAR too much difference in contrast to expose both correctly, in one exposure, w/o of course using a grad filter.
With digital and a tripod, HDR has become second nature to lots of peeps.

As far as #4 - how does the memory card fare in those chemicals?! :-D

GT

RMM Loc: Suburban New York

This is what bracketing and HDR are all about. Best bet, if possible, is to shoot with a tripod to eliminate (well, minimize) camera shake. Not that you probably want to lug a tripod around on vacation, or necessarily have the time to set one up. I'm assuming your camera can bracket, which will take several shots (3/5/9) at different exposures. Photoshop or other HDR-capable software will blend the different images to even out the lighting. Search for HDR and bracketing on here, lots has already been said on the subject.

rainngirl Loc: Everett, WA

Thanks, all! Tripod was not an option. Not a fan of HDR, because I feel it has been done to death, but am willing to look into it. Sounds like bracketing and filter are the best options for me. I sort of suspected there wasn't much I could do with what I had standing on a small bridge high above this magical canyon--but if only I had remembered about bracketing, I might have had a chance! The beauty of this place seemed unable to be captured on a sensor anyway. Will hunt down HDR and see if I can figure that out.

kstan Loc: Utah

I think the bracketing and a polarizer would have helped you out like Aderondack Hiker mentioned. This would have been a hard shot for me also..don't feel bad!

Pandabob Loc: Dallas, TX

I'm not a fan of poorly done HDRs either. People hear "HDR" and they think of the bloomy/cartoony messes that seem to be all over the place. BUT, here's the thing. It's like burning and dodging... If you can tell that it's been done, then it's been done wrong... A well done HDR or tone mapped image shouldn't look like it's been "processed" at all.

Ansel Adams and other great darkroom types did "HDR" all the time. They jut did it with chemistry and called it the "Zone System."

Narrowing the range of light from what the human eye sees down to what your final medium (screen, paper, whatever) is capable of is one of the key aspects of the "art" of photography.

Brucej67 Loc: Cary, NC

In my understanding of HDR and HDR software there is nothing magical about it, it is bracketing the same shot 3 or more times and letting the software put it together so that detail is not lost in the shadows and the highlights are not overexposed. If someone has a better explanation I would be happy to hear it.

senad55verizon.net Loc: Milford, NJ

The place to start is in the image adjustment "Highlights/Shadows" in Photoshop. You may be able to improve your image quite a bit, but perhaps not enough for a really satisfactory result. Don't forget to work the powerful Radius sliders.

If the original file is an 8 bit jpg, you're probably not goiing to do much better. This is perhaps the best single argument for shooting RAW files instead of jpg.

If you have a tif or a raw file of any description in 16 bit color, take it into camera raw and save derivative raw or tif files with greater or less exposure settings. Three is usually enough, but five will work: -1, +1 and the original, and perhaps +2 and -2 if necessary, Exposure Value changes can be whatever is necessary to get the detail you need. To keep everything straight, include the Exposure Value change in the name of each derivative file (i.e., name+2. dng). That's all very easy in Camera Raw or Lightroom.

In Photoshop, merge the files to HDR. Play with the adjustments to improve the image.

If you have glorious Photomatix and know how to use it, you'll like the end result. HDR tone mapping or compression does not have to look garish or phony.

As you have shown so clearly, there is far more detail in a digital photo file than we can put on screen or inkjet print with conventional input /output mapping. HDR accomplishes that, but sure can look awful if it's not well done.

docrob Loc: Durango, Colorado

good thinking here

docrob Loc: Durango, Colorado

Sometimes it is what it is - meaning sometimes you just have to settle for just looking and enjoying what is. Minor White, and old guy long dead once said: "Sometimes we arrive too late to expose our film and can only expose the heart."

drobbia Loc: Near Middletown, CA

Photomatix has a free trial that you can play with the hawaii pics (and other pics for that matter) it solves most of my problems easier than photoshop - also you might try LayerCake for clouds and foreground help. Buona fortuna - TG