Jul 10 2008

Blue on Blue

Published by Peter at 4:19 pm under HDRI, Light Houses, NAPP, Oregon, Photomatix

The color of water in Crater lake ( Crater Lake NP ) is hard to describe in words and taking a picture at high noon doesn’t make it any easier to capture the way it really felt in person.

I have been following various blog writings about the advantages of HDR Imaging. One of the possible advantages mentioned was the ability to allow a greater range in the time of day for shooting.

Based on the comments made on various blogs, recommendations from NAPP members and after using a trial version, I purchased a copy of Photomatix Pro 3.0.

This image was bracketed as 0, 1, -1. I did not have a tripod so there was some misalignment.

(click on image for larger view)

I processed the image using the tone mapping option and as suggested in several readings on the subject of HDR Imaging, I did some further refinements in Photoshop.

Those who have been to Crater Lake will realize that the lake color is a very deep blue, much as in image.

3 Responses to “Blue on Blue”

  1. # Photo News Today » Blog Archive » Blue on Blueon 11 Jul 2008 at 9:02 am

    [...] Source and Read More: camerasview.com [...]

  2. # Lee Froston 17 Jul 2008 at 7:27 pm

    You’ve got some elements of a pretty picture but your composition kills any chance it might have had. Lose 2/3rds of the sky - yes, it’s got some blue but the vapour trails are visually distracting and spoil the natural beuty of the scene. Never hear of teh rule of thirds? Get your horizon line 2/3rds of the way up the scene and you’ll create some visual interest. Right now, the eye is not lead anywhere in the picture so the viewer will pause on the picture briefly, lose interest quickly and move on.

    I’m also not sure if the HDR has done you any favours here either. The picture is obvious taken in strong sunlight but somehow you’ve lost contract and the hard blacks that should be there have turned muddy and you’ve lost the highlights that should be there on the upper surfaces from the strong sunlight.

    The pictur just doesn’t look right to me. Just my 2 cents.

    Lee Frost

  3. # Peteron 17 Jul 2008 at 7:57 pm

    Lee,

    Thanks for the two pence worth. Yes I have heard of the rule of thirds, however I chose not to apply here. Was that the wrong decision ? Maybe ?

    The image may be better cropped more panoramic as you suggest and I will revisit.

    As for the lost of contrast and the hard blacks - in the printed output these are much more pronounce than on the monitor.

    My goal is continued improvement and I appreciate the critique and suggestions.

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