hdr versus non-hdr with d700

while leisurely talking to george today at work, i noticed the sun quickly fading and the lights of the genzyme building lighting up, quick chance to grab camera and grab an experimental shot with d700. to hdr or not to hdr - that's what i was wondering and how the camera would process colors.

stock image straight out of the camera (iso200, f/7.1 1/6sec shutter, 0ev)



same image run through photoshop, +40% saturation, +2.5% contrast, +2.5% brightness, +10% gamma



now here's the same image, same settings, bracketed +2/3ev and -2/3ev into hdr:



i actually happen to like the non-hdr version better (processed, not sooc) ... might need to go a little lower iso, testing will continue, this was a 5-min test.

catching the light ...

i have my camera almost every day, but a lot of the times, the clouds aren't that interesting, or the lighting is off, or frankly i miss that block of time during sunset where the moment can be caught with just the right lighting as the sky teeters between early evening and night. i got lucky tonight and as i was leaving the building, i caught the last glimpses of light, a great orange, pink, then blue sky. very happy with the results as i composed eight, yes eight, actual usable hdr shots.

also note, none of these images were processed in photoshop. these images were shot directly from the camera raw, exported onto my mac and then run through photomatix hdr processing (to combine). no tweaking, no changes in ps. click on image for larger version.

first four shots were from the top floor of the parking garage of my building. the second four are from memorial drive looking across the charles river into boston.

f/22 @ 32mm, 1/80sec-exposure, iso200, -2/3ev :: 0/6ev :: -2/3ev


f/22 @ 32mm, 5/8sec-exposure, iso200, -2/3ev :: 0/6ev :: -2/3ev


f/22 @ 18mm, 5/8sec-exposure, iso200, -2/3ev :: 0/6ev :: -2/3ev


f/22 @ 18mm, 5/8sec-exposure, iso200, -2/3ev :: 0/6ev :: -2/3ev


f/22 @ 38mm, 2sec-exposure, iso400, -2/3ev :: 0/6ev :: -2/3ev


f/22 @ 38mm, 6sec-exposure, iso400, -2/3ev :: 0/6ev :: -2/3ev


f/22 @ 38mm, 6sec-exposure, iso400, -2/3ev :: 0/6ev :: -2/3ev


f/22 @ 18mm, 8sec-exposure, iso400, -2/3ev :: 0/6ev :: -2/3ev