I had planned to shoot proper HDR images today but the weather well and truly put pay to any such plans. Instead I delved into my archives and experimented with Dynamic Photo HDRi on a few shots that had previously been consigned to the recycle bin.

I was surprised by the success with some of them, including this one of Finstral Beach in Newquay on the south west coast of England (click the image to see a larger version):

Here is my submission to topic 38 of Jason Moore’s Geographic Composition. The theme for this week is “Orange”.

The subject is oranges, rather than tulips, from Amsterdam…

Oranges from Amsterdam

This shot was taken at Day 2 of the Beijing Olympics Rowing Finals and it has a real geographic angle.  The crowd included a contingent of Dutch supporters all wearing suits in the orange of the Netherlands. Throughout the event they were high spirited and raucous, but here one supporter is consoling himself with a beer while watching a replay of the Dutch rowing team missing out on a medal place.

Taken with the Pentax compact, this image has received more post-processing than I like to do.  An experiment in LR2 included light treatment with the bleach preset, but the suit is the colour it was on the day.

Check out the other entries for this theme here.

The comments on my HDR landscape prompted me to look closer into the best camera settings for capturing HDR images. I was searching for advice on EV settings and whether to use 1EV or 2EV steps etc., but instead came across something more fundamental regarding the camera itself.

It appears that the Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) part of the camera’s performance specification is a key component in determining the quality of the final HDR work. Factors include the number of frames that can be taken with AEB and size of EV increments that can be used. One information source I found provides a useful table that lists the AEB settings for a wide range of cameras, along with some general advice on capturing HDR images.

The article accompanying the table, and others I have now seen, states that 5 frames are needed to generate a high quality HDR photo, as Mike Palmer commented he uses. My Canon 350D can only take 3 AEB frames at a time, which I already knew. This won’t deter me from working with HDR though as I prefer a more subtle effect, particularly from Tone Mapping, which means 3 frames might be enough. But this could be a consideration if and when I upgrade my camera. Looking at the table, the Canon 40D (my upgrade choice) performs no better in this respect to my 350D. In fact only the pro Canon DSLRs match the specification of mid range Nikons. So, if camera AEB settings do become important, I might need to do the unthinkable and go for a something like a N…. a N…. a Nikon D300.

The link to the AEB reference table is here.

Just to confirm my undying love of coastal landscapes, here is a larger version of the image in the feature post that relaunched the site. This scene is the village of Firostefani on the Greek volcanic island of Santorini, which I visited in May.

Firostefani

The image was converted as a RAW file in Lightroom and then given a HDR tweak in Dynamic Photo HDRi using the pseudo HDR function.

Some “proper” HDR images are coming shortly, but when working with single files, I do like the subtle effect that Dynamic Photo HDRi can have on the right subject.

That is the question… Actually the answer is “not”.

My subscription to JPG magazine is up and I’ve decided not to renew it. The magazine has been my favourite read over the past 12 months, when it arrived that is. Unfortunately, JPG’s service to international subscribers is poor. Of the 6 issues that should have come with my subscription, only 4 arrived. Those that did reach me came 10 to 12 weeks after JPG released the magazine on its website, by which time I’d seem most of the material anyway.

I contacted JPG to bring this to their attention and eventually I got a reply acknowledging there were problems but not giving any assurance about putting them right. Nor were they willing to provide the missing 2 issues, even when I subsequently asked. JPG claim their delivery system for international subscribers is intended to keep costs down. Well I’d pay more for postage if it meant getting my hands on all of the magazines and sooner. A far better solution though would be to adopt the digital subscription approach used to great success by NAPP. I did suggest this to JPG but they really didn’t seem that bothered about the problem in the first place.

So I’ve voted with my cash and defected to 12 months subscription to LFI - Leica Fotografie International. Now I don’t have a Leica and LFI is more expensive than JPG, in fact it’s twice the price. But there are 8 issues rather than 6 and from excerpts I’ve seen of the magazine, it will be an inspiring read. Leica cameras have always intrigued me so this is also a chance to understand more about them.

The JPG subscription only covers the magazine, so I will still probably contribute to the themes on the JPG website. Four of my pictures posted there are currently rated Hot, one being the M40 night shot, plus these three oldies but apparently goodies:

Click on the thumbnail to see the full image.
(This gallery may not display properly in a reader such as Bloglines.  Click here to come to the site.)

OK, rant over. If you want to visit the LFI site click here, or to view the Leica galleries click here.

Another shot of an entrance from a building in Palma, this time the hallway of a contemporary art gallery. The Museu d’Art Espanyol Contemporani gallery houses 70 works by 52 of Spain’s most important artists of the 20th century, including Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Juan Gris and Salvador Dalí.  The building itself originates from the 18th century but was renovated in 2003.

It wasn’t exactly the composition I was aiming for, ideally I’d have got more of the stairs in, but the layout of the area and other architectural features made framing the shot difficult.

The image was taken with my usual set up - Canon 350D and Sigma 17-70mm lens - with the lens at its widest.  Due to the light, I used ISO400 in order to get a decent shutter speed for hand holding.  The really great thing about this image is that the RAW file required very little post processing in Lightroom.

As this is a new subject area, I’m interesting in critique of this shot - critique being “to discuss or comment on something, such as a creative work, giving an assessment of its good and bad qualities“.

Despite my best efforts at introducing new material and genres into my portfolio, there’s a part of me that just can’t resist a landscape, especially a dramatic coastline.  I’m consciously trying to avoid images like the one below, but when I came upon this view of the north eastern Majorcan coast, I couldn’t get the “shoot, shoot!” and “HDR!” voices out of my head, so take it I did.

Cap de Formentor

Actually, this image is a first.  It’s my first proper HDR image - proper as in being composed from three frames each exposed differently - in this case -1EV, -2/3EV and -1/3EV.

The shot was taken with my “standard kit” of a Canon 350D and Sigma 17-70mm lens, plus a “Pod” beanbag for support with the camera resting on a wall.  For processing I used the full HDR and tone mapping functions of Dynamic Photo HDRi on the RAW file, then some final tweaking of contrast and cropping in Lightroom 2.

Back from a short break in the sun on the island of Majorca, or Mallorca.  It’s an island that has a mixed reputation from 24/7 party destination to island of beauty.  The fact is it is both.  If you want the bars and round the clock parties, yes you can find them.  But for the most part the island offers beauty, history and culture - and its capital Palma is no exception.

The historic quarter of Palma has many baronial mansions featuring wonderfully ornate patios.  Sadly none are open to be public, but some are still visible through gated entrances.  Below is one of the best examples - Can Olesa.

Taken with a Canon 350D and Sigma 17-70mm, with post processing of the RAW file in Adobe Lightroom 2. Although this was shot at 8.50am on a bright sunny day, the lighting was flat due to the location of the building.  Work done in the Lightroom Develop module included global adjustments to Fill Light, Blacks and Tone Curve, plus local adjustments to saturation, exposure and clarity.  Camera calibration was left at ACR 4.4, as this looked more faithful than the 350D profiles.

Another Beijing image as a filler while new material comes to fruition, this time inside the Bird’s Nest.

This timing of this shot was pure chance. I intended to take the shot featuring the Olympic torch in the stadium but by the time the shutter clicked, the Union flag had appeared on the video screen…

Another capture with the Pentax processed in Dynamic Photo HDRi using the single file pseudo HDR function.

Another image from my visit to Beijing (I don’t have many as I was on work duty and most of the photos I brought back are work related). This is the National Aquatics Centre, otherwise known as The Water Cube, taken from a different perspective to other shots I’ve seen. A certain Mr Phelps and Ms Adlington won the odd medal here…

I’ve posted two versions - the original with very light HDR treatment to give it more pop and a black & white conversion in Lightroom 2.0. Given how striking this building is in real life, especially at night, I think the black & white version gives it a dramatic, almost ironic feel. For the HDR tweak I used the stand alone version of Dynamic Photo HDRi.

Again shot with the Pentax Optio P&S… I’m impressed with the quality of the images that come out of this little camera.

Any preferences between the colour and black & white versions?

I marked my return to all things photography and blogging with a submission into Jason Moore’s Geographic Composition feature.

The theme for Week 36 is “black & white in real life” and this shot is of the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing from my recent work trip there.

This image is a bit of a cheat because the principle behind Geographic Composition is “our own vision and view of the world when coupled with the geographic and cultural environment in which we live” - meaning you are supposed to take the shot wherever in the world you call home. Although it doesn’t strictly fit the location criteria, the grey metal structure of Bird’s Nest stadium set against that grey smog filled sky of Beijing made such a good subject for the theme.  Below is another shot of the stadium showing the Olympic flame.

These were taken with my wife’s point and shoot Pentax Optio as I decided to leave my Canon DSLR back in the UK.