Help....

[mymindcastadrift]

So here is the problem:
1. Long exposures clips out the blue that is present due to cloud covers.
2. Short exposures cause the grass to be too dark and unresolved.
3. HDR just gets the bird a phantom partner.

I chose between 1 and 2, but bird is now blurred....

[mymindcastadrift]

Ops I forgot:

[MGH]

The answer is graduated neutral density filters. I have the ones by Lee which are very good, for this shot you need a soft edge NDgrad.

[mymindcastadrift]

The answer is graduated neutral density filters. I have the ones by Lee which are very good, for this shot you need a soft edge NDgrad.

Thanks, but is there another way to do this? I am a beginner working on a Nikon D5100 with the kit lens, and I don't think I am well-budgeted to invest in expensive filters yet X(

[Tringa]

Without a ND grad filter or HDR this is going to be very difficult. As HDR combines a number of shots it can only work with static (or fairly static) objects and I think a flying bird is going to an impossible element.

I don't know how you do your HDR shots but, if you have not got it, you can download a trial copy of Photomatix. Photomatix can cope with a certain amount of movement, but I'm not sure it could manage a flying bird - but worth a try for free.

Alternatively, can you use your photo editor to create three images at, say, 0, -1 and +1 from one photo and then combine them in some way. I've heard it can be done, but I don't know how to do it. However, I'm sure others will.

Dave

[mymindcastadrift]

Oh, I see... Thanks a lot! I tried with the in-camera HDR, but yea, HDR hurts the resolution of the grass quite a fair bit (Wind) I tried to work away the bird by using long-exposure images without the bird to stack, but it ended up looking like a see-through. Guess I would have to deal with the equipment limitations for the time being!

[Bobobird]

It is either filters or HDR, there is really no way around this without one or the other.

What you can do is make the HDR, then clone out the bird. After you are done, open a pic in which the bird is properly exposed, overlay that with the hdr image and then with a soft brush mask in only the bird.