R.G. Loc: Scotland

Trying out Aurora's HDR. I did this with two sets of bracketed exposures (6 in total) and decided it was excessive. I don't think there was much if anything to be gained from the extra exposures but the chance of unwanted ghosting goes up with the number of exposures that have to be aligned. The anti-ghosting software can detect and deal with big differences between exposures, but small differences - from misalignment or camera shake or small subject movements - can go undetected and can appear in the final merge as double edges or tight haloing.

Another problem (not software related) was that in the process of editing, sensor spots became very visible in the sky. Rather than compromising the editing I decided to clone over them (lots of them ). Rather than using the clone tool in Clone mode I changed to Heal mode, which helps the patches to blend in with their surroundings. In Heal mode you have to watch out for bleeding (light or dark areas in the surroundings can bleed into the patch), but in the case of a soft, cloudy sky, bleeding is not going to be a problem - in fact it would help the patch to blend in.

This boat near Corpach on the west coast of Scotland has been there for so long it's becoming a well known landmark.
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luvmypets Loc: Born & raised Texan living in Fayetteville NC

Very nice, R.G.!! I think you did a great job of not over-cooking it like so many do.

I may be wrong but I think I see some ghosting along the left side of the front of the hull, the triangular poles, whatever it is that is hanging down on the very back and around the pole/rope that is at the back.

It is a very nice photo of that derelict vessel. This was a good choice to try the HDR since so much detail would be lost in so many areas if you hadn't.

Dodie

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Thank you Dodie. Yes, I see ghosting and also diffuse haloing (both bright and dark). I tried to mitigate those effects but it's difficult to impossible and I had to settle for a slight improvement on what came out of the merge. I would normally associate the diffuse haloing with too much Clarity but I was careful to avoid making that mistake so it's definitely from the merging process. I've seen the same problems with Lightroom's HDR merging.

It was a crop sensor camera that was used so it needs all the help it can get in those circumstances, but 6 exposures was probably excessive and I suspect it contributed to the problems. A better, less noise-prone camera would have given me more leeway.

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

Impressive ⭐🏆⭐

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Thank you Joe.

luvmypets Loc: Born & raised Texan living in Fayetteville NC

If you were to use just 3 images (1 overexposed, middle and 1 underexposed) do you think you would have the same ghosting?

I have never tried HDR shooting and merging but would consider it if the situation were right. I would like to learn the best techniques for obtaining the best results.
What area of the photo did you meter off of? Was your camera on a tripod or did you shoot these handheld? Any advice or tricks that you have found helpful?

Dodie

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Nice composition and you have created a great mood with the photo.

srt101fan

I know nothing about HDR. But I thing it's a terrific photograph - subject, mood, colors. A rust bucket that has clearly seen better days but somehow still projects an "attitude" of "don't count me out yet"....

R.G. Loc: Scotland

I think the more images you merge the more chance there is of misalignment. Not only that, they came in groups of three (as you rightly surmised) so there could easily have been movement between the two groups. Exposure bracketing can be done hand-held because the merging software will have an alignment function built in, but I suspect that the use of a tripod excludes the possibility of misalignment (except maybe on a very windy day). I usually use a tripod for bracketing but not always and I can't remember if I used it for these shots. Plus with a tripod you can make the individual exposures relatively long. Remember that the bright exposure will use a significantly longer shutter speed than the neutral exposure (which will use the settings you put in).

I've found that very often the bright exposure takes away at least as much as it adds, especially if there's bright glare or haze in the scene that's being captured, and since it has the longest shutter speed it's the one most likely to be soft (even with a tripod, any subject movement can cause softness). Usually I just merge the neutral and the dark exposures and exclude the bright exposure, but in this case the scene was literally quite dark and the shadows were quite deep so I included the bright exposures to avoid excessive shadow lifting.

The good thing about exposure bracketing is that it gives you quite a lot of latitude exposure-wise. I use simple matrix metering plus I keep an eye out for extreme situations that need exposure compensation, even with bracketing. The usual rules for EC apply - if there are small bright highlights that you want to save (e.g. bright spots in the sky) combined with large dark areas (shadow or whatever), you'll need EC, and the more extreme the situation, the more EC you'll need.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Thank you John. I didn't have to try too hard to get the mood. The weather took care of that .

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Thanks. Glad you found it evocative. You got the rust bucket bit right, but attitude or not, I doubt it'll be doing much sailing in the future. Now it's just a play area for kids to exercise their imaginations in..... (and a subject for passing photographers ).

luvmypets Loc: Born & raised Texan living in Fayetteville NC

Thank you for all the information, R.G. I am printing this so I can add it to my notebook for reference.

Dodie

R.G. Loc: Scotland

You're welcome.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Nicely done!

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Thank you Bill.