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Thread: HDR, Exposure Fusion or . . just wait?

  1. #1

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    HDR, Exposure Fusion or . . just wait?

    Here in Texas there's a saying "if you don't like the weather, wait a minute and it'll be different". So today I went out to record progress in clearing my over-grown yard. As I stood there, deciding settings, the noonday sun came out at full strength - not good news for a Sigma DSLR. But I took a shot anyway:

    HDR, Exposure Fusion or . . just wait?


    Then, just as I was contemplating fetching the tripod, taking a 5-shot exposure bracket and trying my new fusion software, the sun went in:

    HDR, Exposure Fusion or . . just wait?

    What a difference! I like that shed: now you don't see it, now you do

  2. #2

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    Re: HDR, Exposure Fusion or . . just wait?

    Better without those harsh shadows as well.

  3. #3
    Shadowman's Avatar
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    Re: HDR, Exposure Fusion or . . just wait?

    Weather conditions sound like a gag on Portlandia about chasing a few rays of sun in Portland. The characters would pounce on any area where the sun shined through the overcast sky. Nice capture.

  4. #4

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    Re: HDR, Exposure Fusion or . . just wait?

    Just for fun, I have tried to combine both exposures. Gives a rather surreal effect:

    HDR, Exposure Fusion or . . just wait?

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    IzzieK's Avatar
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    Re: HDR, Exposure Fusion or . . just wait?

    Your shed has a window...is it air conditioned too? Will there be a dead body in the woods there? I always check mine once a week just in case...

  6. #6

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    Re: HDR, Exposure Fusion or . . just wait?

    Quote Originally Posted by IzzieK View Post
    Your shed has a window...is it air conditioned too?
    Yes, Izzie, I used it for working on watches before my my hands got shaky. A trusty 25-yr old GE unit out of a camper, still going strong.

    Will there be a dead body in the woods there? I always check mine once a week just in case...

  7. #7

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    Re: HDR, Exposure Fusion or . . just wait?

    A great example of HDR done well. I do a lot of HDR and your subject matter suits the method very well. You might like to play with some of the other presets like Painterly with the Strength slider pushed quite a bit to the left to reduce the otherwise overblown result. Oh, please shift that car and the chair!
    Barry from Down Under

  8. #8

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    Re: HDR, Exposure Fusion or . . just wait?

    Quote Originally Posted by barrydoig View Post
    A great example of HDR done well. I do a lot of HDR and your subject matter suits the method very well. You might like to play with some of the other presets like Painterly with the Strength slider pushed quite a bit to the left to reduce the otherwise overblown result. Oh, please shift that car and the chair!
    Barry from Down Under
    Hello Barry,

    Are you responding to Timar's post or mine?

    If mine, I don't have anything with "other presets like Painterly with the Strength slider", in fact none of my apps have HDR processing options.

    Sorry but the shot was just for record purposes i.e. capturing work in progress, so the truck and chair will be staying right where they're at
    Last edited by xpatUSA; 21st September 2015 at 01:51 PM.

  9. #9
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    Re: HDR, Exposure Fusion or . . just wait?

    What fusion software are you using? I use Lightroom Enfuse. It generally works well, although fusion can change tonality in ways that require some cleanup afterwards.

  10. #10

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    Re: HDR, Exposure Fusion or . . just wait?

    Quote Originally Posted by DanK View Post
    What fusion software are you using? I use Lightroom Enfuse. It generally works well, although fusion can change tonality in ways that require some cleanup afterwards.
    Hi Dan,

    I don't have Lightroom, so I googled and found TuFuse Pro.

    Haven't done much with it yet, been busy with other things.

  11. #11

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    Re: HDR, Exposure Fusion or . . just wait?

    Thanks Ted, I was assuming you are using Photomatix, almost the 'standard' HDR program. But as they say, there are always at least five ways of doing things in digital photography.
    Barry

  12. #12
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    Re: HDR, Exposure Fusion or . . just wait?

    Barry,

    Exposure fusion isn't HDR, although it is used for the same purpose--to combine images to span a dynamic range greater than the camera can handle. Fusion simply combines well-exposed regions from each image, without tone mapping. In some cases, the differences can be quite dramatic. Fusion doesn't produce the "grunge" look that HDR can sometimes create, and it doesn't distort colors. For an explanation, see this link.

    Dan

  13. #13

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    Re: HDR, Exposure Fusion or . . just wait?

    Just in case the question was directed at me: I don't use any HDR fusion software other than direct fusion of RAW files with DCRAW/Zero Noise and, since Lightroom 6, the HDR merge utility in Lightroom, which made my life much easier and actually encouraged me to do more HDR shots. I neither like the results I get with Photomatix, nor with Photoshop's HDR merge utility: they all mess up tonality, as they don't work with the original RAW files. I don't like Photomatix' tonemapping effects either.

    I just had the crazy idea to tax Lightroom's HDR merge function with Ted's photos, because they were shot from somewhat different angles and under completely different lightning condititions and I was curious what would come out of it. The result shows how good Adobe's alignment algorithms work. Of course using JPEGs instead of RAW files come with the problems mentioned, even more so as they are saved for web use. Anyway, I thought the resulting image looks funny, so I posted it here.

    There's another topic where I posted an example of what I would consider a well-made HDR image.

  14. #14

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    Re: HDR, Exposure Fusion or . . just wait?

    Quote Originally Posted by Timar View Post
    I just had the crazy idea to tax Lightroom's HDR merge function with Ted's photos, because they were shot from somewhat different angles and under completely different lightning condititions and I was curious what would come out of it. The result shows how good Adobe's alignment algorithms work. Of course using JPEGs instead of RAW files come with the problems mentioned, even more so as they are saved for web use. Anyway, I thought the resulting image looks funny, so I posted it here.
    Thanks for the background about your shot. I did wonder about that when it was posted. Your explanation now makes the image that much more interesting!

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