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.

two musicians playing at sunset ...

playing within about 50 feet of each other, two musicians in the common as the sun was starting to set ...

lone sailboat ...

sunset shot (actually there are few variations i modified and posted two here, but the first one is most certainly an original, unmodified ...

a bit more of hawaii ...

i was going to process through all my pictures and then post some, but i realized that will take forever, so why not just post a bit at a time. it'll probably be better for my sanity as i'm cooped up inside these winter months as it's freezing and continuously snowing outside. seriously, it's snowed almost every week now. there's nothing but dirty snow everywhere. this is the hdr set.




























of course the obligatory this is what it looked like before i left ...

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

stop on the ride home ...

was riding home last night as the sun was setting. had to stop and snap two shots of the church steeple with the great cloud coloration in the background ...

here's the church ... f/3.2 @ 50mm, 1/40sec-exposure, iso200, 2/3ev


here's the steeple ... f/3.2 @ 50mm, 1/40sec-exposure, iso200, 2/3ev

sunset at epcot ...

when i pulled this photo up recently, i thought to myself, this looks like a photshopped image, placement of a sun setting in the background. it is in fact the actual image that was taken, i guess it was just the right place at the right time.

los angeles is always nice ...

there's always something to do in la, but this visit in particular we made it to the top of griffith park to the observatory just in time for a sunset.















click here to see full-sized images and other shots from the set.

back in the day buffet ...

well since it's now 2008, more than halfway through the year and i just started this blog, the next few entries will be back-tracking and catching up. have a ton of pictures to post about but here's a good start, utah 2004. 5 days, 6 parks including zion, bryce canyon, capitol reef, arches national, needles and canyonlands. a lot of driving, a lot of hiking, and a lot of fun. enjoy.

btw click here to view the below images in larger versions





































and three rough stitches ... see flickr for full sized.