M E D I A 2 0 3 Advanced Digital Photography
WEEK 3: Local Scenes and High Dynamic Range (HDR). Take six photographs of nature scenes in my region of the world that show no elements of humanity. Capture 'layers of subjects'. Bracket them for exposure, one up and one down, and then merge them using Photoshop's Merge to HDR Pro feature. HDR Pro merges the three exposures of normal, over and under, balancing out highlights and shadows. Finally, do a Photo Analysis, explaining feelings/mood, layers of meaning, choices regarding depth of field and subject placement, and what I would do to improve these images if I were to re-shoot them.
I was struck by the image of what looks like a grotesque donkey in the upper left corner. At first I thought it was ugly and cropped it out, but I think that leaving it partially out of frame results in an image with a hint of secrets. The over exposed background gives the brush an ethereal effect. Shallower depth of field keeps the background soft. The HDR did a great job at balancing the exposure, however, I prefer the luminous quality of the original.
Dark contrast in the foreground heightens the shimmer of the creek, which leads the eye to the beach. The eye also likes to look at the water and move with it to the beach and back to the creek. The greens have a nice sweep to draw the eye up to the tree where the low sun is aiming it's late afternoon light. That light is also reflected off the other side of the tree on the right, lending a nice highlight to what otherwise would've been just a dark outline. Soft clouds keep the sky interesting and add to the pastoral look.
I picked this photo specifically because the branches, simple and uncluttered, match the arc of the footprints in the sand, drawing the eye to them when they might otherwise be overlooked. Their curves add movement and design. Gentle waves in the ocean beckon rather than intimidate. This quintessential beach shot invites me to kick off my shoes and walk in sand and water warmed by sunlight.
A slow shutter speed enabled me to capture the mosaic of reflections which looks like water over rocks, but is really sunlight reflected in the ripples. I wanted to capture an example of all the wonderful designs made by the ebb and flow of waves. There is a hint of red, blue, yellow and green from the smaller rocks next to the big rock which gives the eye a place to go. I like the lengthening of the ripple off the big rock, affording a clearer view of the colorful rocks beneath.
The trees in the foreground stand vertically against the horizontal driftwood on the shore, which in the normal exposure also have a luminous quality against the dark vegetation. The HDR version loses this, my error probably as the one who makes the adjustments. A classic setting sun flares nicely through the trees, also reflected in the water. I get a sense that these trees could be at any point in time, standing sentinel like, from their world on land, towards a very different world beyond.
I chose this photo because of the contrast between highlights and shadows. These plants (Hostas ?) were abundant and extraordinarily green. They also were great reflectors of the harsh sunlight. The burls are hidden within dark recesses of the tree trunk. It was a challenge for the camera, which blows out highlights in these conditions, and I wanted to see what Merge to HDR could do to correct this. After manipulating the heck out of it, there was improvement, still some blown highlights. I purposefully kept the interior dark, another place of secrets, with the other burl in shadows, inviting the eye in. After Photoshop completes the Merge to HDR function there is plenty of room for further adjustments, so any and all mistakes are due to this operator's error.
H D R T O N I N G O N A S I N G L E I M A G E
P H O T O A N A L Y S I S
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The photo of the mountain is taken from my front porch. While doing this week's assignments I learned about HDR Toning which is done on a single image and is similar to but different from Merge to HDR which is done with multiple images. I used it on this picture, with dramatic results. Since I have already photographed my immediate neighborhood for previous assignments, the decision was made to go to a place I consider my second neighborhood. If you don't recognize it, I'll not tell you where it is, as part of it's magic is how few people go there. |
The scene with the seagulls is very simple, representing what draws me there, openness, minimal eye noise, calming browns and blues. A place where the spirit can roam free. The burls created a surreal atmosphere, accentuated by the late afternoon lighting, and have some elements that take a moment to find. These formations call up questions about what is beautiful and what is not.
The water ripples and flows to various effect, mostly over sand, sometimes rock, producing ever changing abstract designs of light. From it's protected shelter of dark ravine the creek loses itself in the bright, vastness of the ocean. A brilliant sunset contrasts with the darkening shoreline. It's nice to have a little surprise somewhere, something unexpected. The contrast from dark to light in some of the photos helps focus the attention on certain elements. I will re-visit the scenes of the burls to re-shoot. There were limited points of view that captured both the growths and the soft roundness of tree and brush in the background, also, the light was harsh afternoon sun. The 'donkey' lends a tension to what other wise was a boring pretty picture when I cropped it out. That right side foreground is chaotic, a juxtaposition of angular and round. There is a similarity of point of view in the shots of coastline, but this was dictated by terrain or the nature of the image I wanted to capture. Next time I'll capture an image that shows a wide expanse of coastline, while retaining some interest in the foreground, maybe with rock formations, but that is not the kind of beach I was at. It was back and forth on whether to crop tighter on the rock. I didn't want to lose the abstract effect of sunshine in the ripples, which when cropped, lost it's contrast to the water around it. |
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