Jakebrake Loc: Broomfield, Colorado

Thanks Linda, and I agree the first one was OK. And my next attempt will be toned down considerably.

fantom Loc: Colorado

I am almost positive that you can remove the halo with Photomatix and it will be a good exercise to try to do. Fixing the halo will help you to learn Photomatix but as far as the picture itself is concerned I would touch up the original by lowering highlights and lightening the shadows (trees) in Light Room. There might be a few other small tweaks that would help also but the LR solution would defeat the purpose of practicing HDR. Photomatix is a powerful tool and is certainly worth exploring and learning fully.

Jakebrake Loc: Broomfield, Colorado

Thanks again fantom. Unfortunately I don't have LR, only PSE12 & Photomatix Pro. I may have to look into LR as I have heard so many positive comments on that program.

Agreed Photomatix is powerful, and each day I learn a little more about it. Too bad there isn't a 'Dummy's' book for it. I would buy in a heart beat.

Abo

I like the first picture best too. I reckon all it
needs Jake, is a tad more contrast and/or a tad more saturation.

Apart from the levels... Nice composition.

And having said all that if an image needs more contrast
as this image could do with; HDR is not needed.

When an image has too much contrast or more
accurately, the scene has too much contrast, like
brightly lit areas and other areas that are dark or
in very deep shadow that is when HDR can be put to
good use; however the lighting of your scene is even enough
that you camera has the dynamic range to expose it all quite well.

I took the liberty of adjusting the light levels of the "thumbnail" in ACDSee;
substantially bringing up the darkness and bringing up the lightness... that's more
or less adding contrast.

I left the saturation alone as the extra contrast make the colours pop more anyway.

I added the dark frame to give your nice composition more depth.

The large file would give an even better result if you want to add some contrast to
your first image.

One last thing: Your great composition would be sensational shot 1/2 an hour
after sunrise or 1/2 an hour before sunset.

Cheers Jake, thanks for posting your question with your nice photo.

After


Before

bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.

a good HDR image is one where you dont know HDR was used. This is a bit over cooked, the Halo is a real give away. Try it again and post it here. I think if u just cranked the values down a bit it would be a lot better. For some reason ( and I did it too) when starting out people seem to love the over cooked look then after a few pix they learn to tone it back.
good effort

Jakebrake Loc: Broomfield, Colorado

Thank you for making my image awesome! I'm still pretty new at this PP thing and your advice helps me greatly!

Jakebrake Loc: Broomfield, Colorado

I can see exactly what you are saying. I'll play around with it after the Denver Bronco game today. I will see what I can do with it in PSE, and leave HDR for something with shadows.

Abo

My pleasure to work with a good image.

And I've got a stack to learn about PP too.

RixPix Loc: Miami, Florida

Over cooked and details are non existent. I feel that anytime you're getting halos around trees against the sky you've gone overboard.

RixPix Loc: Miami, Florida

The devil is in the details...it is a matter of preference...here I balanced color saturation in green, orange and yellow which can make the details pop. Also I adjusted opacity with the +0 image to reduce the darkness in the shadows giving a more even appearance to the image.

(Download)

10MPlayer Loc: California

Overcooked. If you can tell it HDR it's too much. I'd suggest you back off on it until you can't tell it's anything more than a correctly exposed normal photograph. Just my opinion but when you can see the halos around the vegetation/sky interface it's just not appealing. Don't mean to hurt your feelings. So please don't take it that way. It's just one man's opinion and if you don't like then take it for what it's worth.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

This is a classic result of using Photomatix, which is why I haven't used in in over a year. Do you have Lightroom CC? The integral HDR merge feature has a balanced approach in blending exposures into a unified image.

10MPlayer Loc: California

My first thought was "woof", too much of everything. Ties in nicely to your handle. If the OP sincerely wants advice I'd say back off on the HDR until you reach a point that it looks like a realistic, nicely exposed photo. If the viewer can tell you ran it through Photomatix or some other HDR software then you've taken it too far. Just my opinion. Some folks like a highly saturated look, it's not my cup of tea. Same goes for using effects like vignetting. If you can tell it was done you overdid it.

papa Loc: Rio Dell, CA

Here's one HDR I did.

(Download)

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

You're right. It's like a neon landscape. However, I have never even attempted one, so who knows what I would spew forth...