Whitewater in HDR
21 March 2014 -- 80/365
Lincoln, Rhode Island
I was in the mood for an HDR (High Dynamic Range) water scene today, so I went to the Blackstone River Bikeway in Lincoln for this photo. This image is a 6 photo composite that I processed and tonemapped in Photomatrix Pro. The stone bridge is the bike path crossing the Blackstone River. The path in that section follows an old rail line, although the section I'm standing on follows the old mule path of the Blackstone Canal.
Post processing started in Photomatrix Pro. I combined 6 images taken one f/stop apart, so a range from -3 to +3. I tonemapped the image and saved it as a 16-BIT TIF. From there the image was brought into PSE and converted down to 8-BIT. A neutral greyscale filter was applied in Topaz B&W FX. I then adjusted color sensitivity sliders, adaptive exposure, regions, contrast, and boost black. A levels adjustment was added back in PSE.
Wow! A lot of post processing has gone into this shot and it's absolutely stunning. The detail and the B&W tones are fantastic. I am seriously considering investing in Photomatix and giving HDR a go, especially if I can get results like this...excellent.
@davie Thanks, Davie! A lot of processing, but it's pretty quick. Photomatix handles Canon RAW, so once you're used to using the program, the actual processing is very fast. I believe they have a free trial, so you can always try before you buy. I do recommend the software.
@justaspark Thanks, Jule! Been a while since I played with this type of shot. Mainly, I didn't want to stand out there freezing while taking HDR photos all weekend. LOL
@daisyjuds Thanks, Judith!