Random POTD Thread

Re: ColleenMarie's Random POTD Thread

Got the same avatar here...do you mean at the "other" place? Thanks, just the same!

 

Re: ColleenMarie's Random POTD Thread

No, no bad at all, just wanted to make sure.

It's the same bird; the love of my birdy life. She's one of the six that we live with and the only handicapped bird - although she is completely unaware of her "challenges."

 

Re: ColleenMarie's Random POTD Thread

 

Re: ColleenMarie's Random POTD Thread

 

Re: ColleenMarie's Random POTD Thread

Nice one, Joe!

 

Re: ColleenMarie's Random POTD Thread

Very Nice!!

 

Re: ColleenMarie's Random POTD Thread

 

Re: ColleenMarie's Random POTD Thread

 

Re: ColleenMarie's Random POTD Thread

Castle Dream Lights and "Partners".



I replaced this with the new edit...

 

Re: ColleenMarie's Random POTD Thread

You've done it again, Joe!

 

Re: ColleenMarie's Random POTD Thread

Just gorgeous.

 

Re: ColleenMarie's Random POTD Thread

Thanks guys... this is my first attempt at a multi-exposure HDR. @ Kiki, would you mind telling me how the sky looks on your calibrated monitor? It looks really good on my monitor at home, but at work it looks too light and actually grainy. I want to print this 13" x 19" and frame it, but I want to get it right the first time, so if I have to decrease the brightness before I print it I will.

I would appreciate the feedback (or anyone else that has a calibrated monitor!), thanks!

 

Re: ColleenMarie's Random POTD Thread

Took a look at the original at flickr, and it does appear to have a bit of grain in the sky, not unexpected for a night shot, though. The statue is slightly soft and that will be more pronounced at a larger size, but it should make a nice print.

 

Re: ColleenMarie's Random POTD Thread

So maybe use a layer mask and brush the sky a little darker, and perhaps sharpen just the castle? The weird thing is, at least on my monitor at home, the weird hatched shaped noise was not visible before I posted to Flickr. I don't know why the noise would be visible on one monitor but not the other... And then I wonder if the "noise" would even show up in a print at all?? I might just have to print it out and see. Thanks for your honest feedback!

 

Re: ColleenMarie's Random POTD Thread

on my calibrated 32 inch it looks a little soft and the sky looks a little grainy
a few questions
how many stops exposure difference each shot, photomatix that i use recommends +2, 0, -2
did you do any post process before blending
any tone mapping?
do you have a noise reduction plug in? tim and i both use imagineomics noise pro, i've been very satisfied, it's allowed me to really improve a lot of night motorsports shots, noise reduction is my first processing step after raw conversion
how much sharpening and of what type, i use unsharp mask lightly as my last processing before i add my copyright and save as jpeg
i do all my shooting in raw, convert through breezebrowser to tiff, do all my processing then convert to jpeg last
it sounds like a lot of workflow, but i have written a lot of photoshop actions this last year, i keep a cue sheet next to monitor, and batch process a lot of similar lighting shots
i'll take a little noise in a night sky if i've got my subject sharp, was this tripod or handheld

 

Re: ColleenMarie's Random POTD Thread

I wouldn't necessarily sharpen the castle because of all of the fussy detail of the lights. You may end up with some unpleasant artifacts. You can try it on a duplicate layer and see how it looks.

The lighter colors in the sky aren't really a problem. They are the same hue as the statue and the interior of the castle. If it were me, I would darken the sky slightly and darken the edges a bit more than that.

 

Re: ColleenMarie's Random POTD Thread

Thanks Gary... this was seven exposures, anywhere from around 1 sec to 20 sec. So -3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, +3. My work flow went something like this. Imported the 7 RAW files directly into Dynamic Photo HDR then tone mapped. Saved as jpeg 100%. Imported to PSPPX2. Adjusted levels and color saturation, saved as jpeg 100%. Opened with NoiseNinja and rid mostly color noise. Saved as jpeg 100%. Imported into PSPPX2 again for a high pass sharpening and saved, using PSPPX2's optimizer, which automatically chooses jpeg compression. Went from something like 8mb to 1.8mb. Even after all that, it looked really nice on my monitor at home before uploading to Flickr. I'm going to have to see, when I get home, if the noise is visible on the original. FYI, every time I save to jpeg no matter what program I'm using, I save at 100% quality...

I know my work flow sounds kind of unorthodox, but it doesn't bother me. I only edit one or two pictures a day, so to spend 1/2 hour - 1 hour on a picture isn't a big thing. I actually enjoy it, sort of a hobby. Probably don't need to say this after stating the longest was a 20 sec X, but it was on a tripod.

 

Re: ColleenMarie's Random POTD Thread

Hey guys, thanks again for the feedback. I gave it another shot - I'd love to know what you think! I converted each individual exposure to a jpeg before converting, which allowed me to adjust white balance, save highlights better, and sharpen. There is still a little grain visible in the sky, but I doubt it'll be visible on the print. I'll find out soon...

Here's the link to the full size original (warning, it's huge almost 10mb, so don't attempt to open unless you're on high speed LOL)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/expressmonorail/3042570240/sizes/o/