HDR or Not: Below is a photo taken of Lapland Lake which is in the southern part of the Adirondack Mountains in NY. Photograph one is the photo posted on the thread "Lapland Lake." The...

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

Below is a photo taken of Lapland Lake which is in the southern part of the Adirondack Mountains in NY. Photograph one is the photo posted on the thread "Lapland Lake." The next two are renditions of the image in two different HDR versions. It was suggested I try an HDR version by a member of the forum, so my question is, does HDR work for the image or not? C&C welcomed.

Stats are: Nikon D80 with 18-135mm lens shot at ISO 400, 22mm F/16 at 1/100 sec.

JohnnyT789 Loc: Conyers,Georgia

For me I like the 2nd pic. Good job in my opinion. Sorry I don't know enough to c & c

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

JohnnyT789 wrote:

For me I like the 2nd pic. Good job in my opinion. Sorry I don't know enough to c & c

Thanks Johnny, I think I like photo 2 also. This particular image seems to lend itself well to an HDR presentation.

joe west Loc: Taylor, Michigan

that second one, reallys pops for me...

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

joe west wrote:

that second one, reallys pops for me...

Thanks Joe. 8-)

Lupine Loc: SF Bay Area

I like the original best and the last one second best. The middle looks like a video still with excessive edge enhancement, IMO.

I'm not a big fan of HDR and I haven't seen any HDR shots on UHH that I really liked. Most seem over done and blown out to my eye. As always, YMMV, IMO, etc.

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

Lupine wrote:

I like the original best and the last one second best. The middle looks like a video still with excessive edge enhancement, IMO.

I'm not a big fan of HDR and I haven't seen any HDR shots on UHH that I really liked. Most seem over done and blown out to my eye. As always, YMMV, IMO, etc.

Thank you for your feedback, Lupine. I'm not usually an adherent of HDR although I have seen several on UHH that I did like, and now I have one of them. :)

msrer Loc: West Central Illinois

Bmac wrote:

Below is a photo taken of Lapland Lake which is in the southern part of the Adirondack Mountains in NY. Photograph one is the photo posted on the thread "Lapland Lake." The next two are renditions of the image in two different HDR versions. It was suggested I try an HDR version by a member of the forum, so my question is, does HDR work for the image or not? C&C welcomed.

Stats are: Nikon D80 with 18-135mm lens shot at ISO 400, 22mm F/16 at 1/100 sec.

Don't know much about HDR, but I like the original best.

bbqpowerd

I've heard a bit about HDR and read a little... how did you create the two HDR images? I am guessing you did bracket exposure and then used some software.... am I on the right track? what software?

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

msrer wrote:

quote=Bmac Below is a photo taken of Lapland Lake... (show quote)

Thanks Msrer 8-)

SQUIRL033 Loc: Chehalis, WA

i don't care for either of the HDR versions. #2 looks way overdone, the color in the trees is off, the lake bottom in the foreground looks way oversharpened, and the clouds have too much contrast. #3 is better, but only a little.

HDR done right should bring out shadow details and mute excessive highlights, but shouldn't look like scenery from a video game. it should be natural, especially in a shot of a natural scene. i think for this one, rather than actual HDR, take the image that's closest to proper exposure and run it through the shadows/highlights tool in Photoshop. that'll let you brighten the shadow areas, and tone down the highlights, and you can apply selective contrast adjustment to the sky if you like.

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

SQUIRL033 wrote:

i don't care for either of the HDR versions. #2 lo... (show quote)

Thanks for your analysis Rocky. :)

SuKai Loc: California

Bmac wrote:

Below is a photo taken of Lapland Lake which is in the southern part of the Adirondack Mountains in NY. Photograph one is the photo posted on the thread "Lapland Lake." The next two are renditions of the image in two different HDR versions. It was suggested I try an HDR version by a member of the forum, so my question is, does HDR work for the image or not? C&C welcomed.

Stats are: Nikon D80 with 18-135mm lens shot at ISO 400, 22mm F/16 at 1/100 sec.

IMO... (and I am a newly found fan of HDR) both versions are nice. I like the 2nd HDR best of the two done in that format but the original image is stunning on it's own. I think anyway you present it you have a winner. :thumbup:

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

Biker_Chic wrote:

quote=Bmac Below is a photo taken of Lapland Lake... (show quote)

Thanks a bunch Bikerchic! :D

photogrl57 Loc: Tennessee

It's a really great photo ... but I have to agree it's too overdone.
It's sometimes better to kinda fake the HDR look to a degree in photoshop ...
The sky is great just how it is ... I'm thinking a tiny bit of levels adjustment will make a huge difference in the colors of the landscape .. and it's plenty sharp as it is but maybe a polarizing filter would look good .
I played with it to see if these things would do the trick .. I can show you if you like.