kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

Thought you folks might be interested in this. First is a "before" frame of a grave in the historic graveyard. This is a jpg made straight from the raw file, with no adjustments.

Second is the best I can do with simple PP in Photoshop and ACR. It's not bad, but don't forget that this is with a Nikon D800 with over 14 EV of DR. You won't get near this with most cameras.

Last is HDR done in Photomatix and then PP'ed in Photoshop. No question about which I like the best.

That being said, I do want to point out that even in this extreme lighting situation, HDR is only a click above single-frame processed. I notice that a lot of people waste time and energy making a multiple-frame HDR, when actually with a bit of processing knowledge they would achieve as good or better results (no ghosting! moving subjects!) with a properly exposed single frame.

Jpg from raw, SOOC

(Download)

Raw with PP, single frame

(Download)

HDR, 7 EV with PP

(Download)

MT native Loc: Big Sky Country — Montana

Virginia City is not far from where I live. A good place for HDR images as you know. I am into simplicity when it comes to HDR. That is why I luse NIK Collection. I like your #3 photo. Nice work. And thanks for sharing.

waltchilds Loc: Central Florida

You make a very good point here. I always try to process the photo from a single raw file and have been able to come up with the HDR effect most of the time.

MWojton Loc: Yardley, PA

Thanks for posting. There is very little difference between 2 and 3- with a lot less work!

SoHillGuy Loc: Washington

I like the contents of the photo. RE: #3 adjust the white balance and increase the contrast.

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

The point is really in the clouds. Even with 14+ EV of DR, you lose the last three or so EV of highlights. Had I underexposed another couple of stops I would have had detail in the clouds, but at the expense of horrible noise in the darks and a lack of contrast down there. But if you are shooting a normal day scene, not backlit, as a lot of folks do--bracketing for HDR--it's just a waste of time and energy, as the same results can be had from a single frame.

I think that many people use HDR programs incorrectly, or at least superfluously, in order to oversaturate and increase shadow detail, and they think that is HDR. But the fact is that in at least 50% of the cases I've seen with people doing HDR processing, the same result--or in some cases a better result--could be had with a single frame processed in ACR or Lightroom. Topaz makes a plugin called "Clarity" that has a "microcontrast" slider that pretty perfectly mimics the tonal impact that many people associate with HDR.

DickC Loc: NE Washington state

Nice photos, like #3!
:thumbup: :thumbup:

donolea Loc: Nashville, TN

Love the shots! I spent 10 years in Reno and this cemetery was my favorite places to shoot when I was down in Virginia City. BTW, completely agree with your take on HDR.

joe west Loc: Taylor, Michigan

last one is :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: