Image Info

For this HDR “making of”, 5 exposures were taken with a Nikon D700 + Nikkor AF-S 16-35mm f/4 G ED VR with the following settings:

exposure time: 0.6s (0EV), 1/6s (-2EV), 0.3s (-1EV), 1.3s (+1EV), 2.5s (+2EV)
focal length: 16.0 mm
aperture: F10.0
ISO: 200

Before taking the shot (see location), I waited for a bus to come into the frame for the longest exposure. Fortunately, the Lexus was parked and wasn’t moving in any of the frames, making the contrast between the car/bus trails and the motionless car more striking.

RAW exposures

HDR Exposure (realistic version) processed in Oloneo PhotoEngine

HDR Exposure (extreme version) processed in Oloneo PhotoEngine

The Final Result (full HD wallpaper)

Workshop Announcement

There are still a few places available for Paris HDR workshop on May 21-22nd. If you wish to learn what you’ll see on this video, make sure to make your reservation now!

A workshop will take place on May 28-29 in Nice, France. Official announcement of the workshop in Montreal will be done in June 2011.

The Making Of

The Video

The steps

For this making of, the following steps were undertaken.

1. Image alignment: it so happens from time to time that the tripod is moved slightly in between exposures. To fix this, I used the “load files into stack” script in Photoshop and repasted the corrected TIF into its original file.
2. dual HDR processing in Oloneo PhotoEngine (if you haven’t checked the review, it’s here): The first tonemapping was fairly realistic and would be used as a basis for the image, then a second tonemapping was applied and would be used for certain parts of the image.
3. manual blending of the two HDR generated
4. semi-automatic blending of the sky of one of the exposures using selections composites.
5. manual blending of the bus/car trails and hot spots
6. local contrast adjustments using blending modes such as soft light and normal blending modes
7. sharpening and edge sharpening using low and high radius high pass sharpening
8. special effects

The mini PSD

Want to see how it’s done in Photoshop, email me and I will send you a mini PSD containing all the layers.

Full length video

This full length video of 35+ minutes will be available with text commentary and explanations on the DVD of the HDR workshop. It may be available for individuals, message me for more information and prices.

Agrandir le plan

As usual, pictures were taken with a Nikon D700 + Nikkor AF-S 16-35mm f/4 G ED VR and HDR were processed in Oloneo PhotoEngine and minor adjustments in Photoshop.

• beautiful sculpture and mural at the entrance of the Rockefeller Center, NYC

• Center alley and stores of Rockefeller building at dusk, NYC

• Teuscher Chocolatier, rockefeller center store, NYC

• the flags of Rockefeller center, NYC

• another view of the rock, rockefeller Center, NYC

• yellow cab in front of Rockefeller Center, NYC

Thanks for viewing!

This review will be updated when the final version is out and corrected (yes there are hidden spell-check errors, email me when you find them) if necessary.

A little history of HDR

HDR is nothing new to me as I’ve been using mostly Photomatix since 2006. My first HDR, a view of Montreal at dusk was published on Flickr in March 2006. Some of my HDRs have been published in magazines and other publications.

What I love about HDR is both its ability

1. to recover the dynamic range observed even in tough conditions and also
2. to make the scene more real and contrasted than what the camera captured through tonemapping. That ability to create stunning details through micro-contrast management can be replicated in Photoshop, however it takes far more time.

Since then I’ve tonemapped more than a thousand HDR using various techniques like:

1. semi-automatic blending of different layers using masks in Photoshop: one of my favorite techniques for blue hour HDRs.
2. Photomatix: Even though it was an good starting point, Photomatix never gave me results close to what I really wanted and I’ve always had to go through a series of adjustments in Photoshop to get the result that I wanted. Color accuracy and clipping was always an issue in Photomatix especially if you increased saturation to a value of more than 40.
3. Photoshop Merge to HDR: more realistic however it’s still not intuitive enough and certainly very slow.
4. 32-Float and HDR Expose: colors are accurate and results can be interesting and quite realistic however both applications are a bit challenging to understand and processing is a bit slow.
5. HDR Express: better than the previous ones from Unified Color but still a bit slow for a professionnal workflow.
6. HDR Efex Pro: good enough for enthusiasts, not really geared towards professionals. Color efex and Sharpener are much better applications from the Nik firm.

When you work as full time photographer, having an efficient workflow is key to delivering your clients quickly (especially for those working in real estate photography) with predictable quality in the results.

Unfortunately,  none of these applications are really efficient enough for professionals and all of them lack the following qualities:

1. a halo-free image with accurate colors that is very close to the final result to be delivered to a client (e.g. realistic)
2. good ergonomy, quick and easy to navigate through
3. real time visualization (when modifying settings)
4. predictable results (for batch operations)
5. quick processing

Oloneo PhotoEngine and how I fell in love with an HDR application

One of my obsessions as a professional photographer is having the most efficient workflow and clients expect more and more to be delivered quickly in the digital age (especially in real estate photography). Having worked in test automation for 5 years, I had already started to create actions in Photoshop to improve my workflow. Then I started to model my workflow to make it more efficient.

I was also looking for an application that would give me the result I wanted straight out of HDR processing. This was never really the case with any of the applications that I’ve used. Photomatix is amazing for artistic stuff, not so much for professional use. Then, after browsing flickr forums, I ended up on the mention of Oloneo PhotoEngine.

I then installed the application and within 5 minutes, I was already playing with it. This was a revelation to say the least. The application, while still in beta, was impressive and the results were nothing less than spectacular and it took me barely 15 minutes to figure out MY base settings. Processing an HDR from start to finish took me less than 5 minutes (that was before it was possible to save presets).

Here is one of the first picture to come out of the application:

With the latest beta, it’s possible to create an HDR from start to finish in less than two minutes, as you will see later.

About Oloneo SAS and Oloneo PhotoEngine

Oloneo is a french firm established in Paris a few hundred meters from the Eiffel tower and founded in 2006. The team, led by Antoine Clappier, has been working on Oloneo PhotoEngine since its beginnings and after communicating with them, they’re clearly out there to help bring HDR to the next step using their previous experience in the Silicone Valley to the table and by listening to the needs of both enthusiasts and professionals.

A gimmick for a long time and the target of lots of hate from old school photographers, HDR is now getting increasingly used by professional photographers and with its efficiency and its consistent results, the application will certainly appeal to a lot of pros and enthusiasts who are looking for crisp, sharp and realistic HDR images.

High Dynamic re-exposure in real-time

Deeply re-expose pictures in a fully real time, 32-bit per channel (96-bit per pixel), ultra-wide gamut and full resolution high dynamic re-exposure module without compromising details and color appearance.

Main features (HDR Tonemap)

• Full real time controls.
• Four high-end tone mapping engines:
• Auto Tone Mapper
• Local Tone Mapper
• Advanced Local Tone Mapper
• Global Tone Mapper
• Natural HDR™ processing mode.
• Auto-exposure correction with fine-tuning.

• Auto-contrast.
• Detail size and threshold controls.
• Halo control.
• Ghost removal.

• Over 40 factory presets + user presets.
• Batch processing.
• EXIF preservation.
• Full color management with display calibration support.
• Edge sharpening.
• Auto-align and auto orientation, and more.

The test setup

As described below, the testing computer is a PC:

• Intel Core2Duo E6750@2.33GHz
• 8Gb RAM
• 750Gb system hard drive
• Windows 7 64 bits
• video card GeForce GTX275.

the interface

the browser

There is definitely some room for improvement here. The button to open the browser is a bit difficult to locate at first.

Once you get used to it, it’s easy to select your files and add them for processing with HDR ToneMap.

Right now the only application that manages alignment correctly is the load files into stack from Photoshop CS3-5. PhotoEngine gives weak results

Editing (HDR ToneMap)

This review focuses on the core of the application which is HDR ToneMap. HDR ReLight and HDR DeNoise will be discussed later. Also, no manual or documentation was used for this review. It reflects how I understood the settings based on my own experience of HDR software.

The HDR ToneMap is very intuitive and is reminiscent of Photoshop. The placement of the different panels is (pretty much) based on the sequence you’ll be using them.

The histogram is always visible and is the best indicator for feedback  to show you if you’ve clipped highlights or colors and if your exposure is correct.

The terminology in the interface is rather easy to understand and here is my understanding of some of the main terms used for the local and advanced local tonemapping.

It’s also possible to enter a numeric value manually, which is very useful if you want to use presets.

High Dynamic Tone Mapping box

TM Strength: strength of HDR. it’s pretty much the main slider for the tone mapping.

Detail Strength: increase edge contrast (value between 0 and 20 recommended for realistic images).

Exposure: pretty self explanatory, the fine exposure comes in handy for minor adjustments between -1 and 1 ev.

Contrast: pretty self explanatory

ADVANCED OPTIONS

Detail Size: adjusting this setting changes the way micro-contrast is handled

Detail Threshold: adjusting this setting changes the way micro-contrast is handled. When close to zero, it removes halos altogether, when pushed to maximum, it participates to create the grunge effect. it works a bit like high radius high pass sharpening in Photoshop.

Edge Sharpen: adjust edge contrast (very subtle adjustments)

natural HDR mode

enable: this checkbox is VERY useful to retain original hue and saturation values of colors.

Low Dynamic range: those are adjustments to be used if you’re not using the High Dynamic Tone Mapping box

Exposure: pretty self explanatory

Brightness: pretty self explanatory

Contrast: pretty self explanatory

White balanced adjustments (temperature and tint): very useful and easy to use for ajusting color balance in the image.

Photographic print toning: useful and interesting for toning and split toning (highlights and shadows)

Advanced: those are adjustments are useful for finetuning the final image, especially brightness and saturation curves adjustments.

Brightness/Brightness: Curves adjustments to increase or decrease luminosity without increasing saturation. This adjustment works a bit like the curves adjustments in luminosity mode in Photoshop.

Saturation/Saturation: Curves adjustments to increase or decrease saturation based on original saturation value.

Hue/Saturation: Adjusts saturation based on hue

Hue/Luminance: Adjusts Luminance based on hue.

Hue/Hue: Adjusts Hue based on hue.

Time Machine: works like a history and it’s possible to save versions and compare different tone mapping settings instantly. VERY useful!

Presets: this is a lifesaver. Makes it easy to create and visualize different tonemappings instantly.

ghost removal

I’ve tested the settings a few times with images containing car light trails and moving people and both Photomatix and PhotoEngine failed to create a passable image.

real time tonemapping

The first thing that you will notice when you start working with PhotoEngine is that the image (and histogram) is updated in real time while you adjust your settings. Most software display the results once you’ve released your mouse button (it takes 3-4 seconds for photomatix to update a 1/4th size preview) and all HDR applications and it makes more difficult to compare two tonemapping results. It’s also possible to view at 100% the final result for one simple reason, the tonemapping is REAL TIME. Click save and you’re done.

That alone is great, however Oloneo PhotoEngine doesn’t stop there; the “time machine”  also allows you to create several versions of tonemapping and make it easy on you to compare them real time (without any lag).

One major difference, compared to Photomatix is that the preview IS the final result. It was a bit of a surprise to see that there was a difference between the Photomatix Preview and the final result like shown below:

Let’s be clear, for tonemapping, the local tone mapper is what you want to use

For experienced HDR users, the local tone mapper and advanced local tone mapper are the tone mapping options you’ll use the most. The advanced tone mapper allows for complete halo control for scenes with very high dynamic range.

For a good workflow, I would suggest using the settings in that order:

1. TM Strength: makes the HDR more or less pronounced. A value of 40-60 gives a natural feel to the image. The HDR becomes “inverted” between 80-100.
2. Detail strength: controls general micro contrast. A value between 0-20 works well for creating subtle edge contrast.
3. fine exposure: corrects exposure with small increments. When you push the TM strength, it’s advised to lower this value.
4. Detail threshold: manages tonal contrast and lowering the value will remove halos altogether.  A value between 80-120 usually works well
5. enable natural HDR mode: keeps colors looking natural and avoid strong color shifts. Disable it for artistic HDRs.
6. white balance: with HDR processing, color casts become more apparent, use the temperature slider to make the image more blue or orange and tint to make it more green or purple.
7. Brightness/Brightness: if you wish to add a bit more contrast, create a S curve.
8. create preset: once all is done, save a preset and use it for future images.

Comparing Photomatix and PhotoEngine HDR ToneMap

Workflow

Here are two videos comparing my workflow to obtain a similar result.

To keep the test fair, Photomatix settings were at default and a preset was loaded. For Oloneo PhotoEngine, the browser was opened and the previews preloaded before the test was started.

Photomatix speed test from David Giral on Vimeo.

Oloneo PhotoEngine speed test from David Giral on Vimeo.

Speed test results

For this test, I used 7 RAW files from a Nikon D700, 7 TIF 16 bits and 7 jpegs high quality as input.

Auto align and ghost removal settings were disabled in Oloneo PhotoEngine.

Reduced ghosting artefacts, reduce noise, align images and reduce chromatic aberrations settings were disabled in Photomatix 4 64Bits.

a few comments:

1. Tonemapping in PhotoEngine is real time. I rounded the time for loading the preset at 1s for PhotoEngine, however it’s much closer to 0s than 1s.
2. Photomatix takes 2-4s to display the tonemapping result once the processing is over. This time is included in the 15s.
3. Tonemapping time in Photomatix is the time that Photomatix takes to display the final image in the application before saving step.

As we can see in the results, the only part where PhotoEngine struggles is with RAW conversion of the compressed Nikon files.

In a professional workflow, it’s highly suggested to correct distortion and vignetting and chromatic aberrations using a dedicated RAW developer and use jpegs and TIFF without curves being applied in camera.

In those situations, using JPEGs and TIFs, PhotoEngine is miles away from Photomatix.

PhotoEngine is a clear winner here.

Image quality

For this example, because the two applications work differently, I did my best to get a the best image I would use and histogram using the two applications, however Photomatix doesn’t allow general contrast management without having to clip the highlights adjusting the white point so results are a bit different.

Images are straight of Photomatix and Oloneo PhotoEngine WITH the same input files and WITHOUT any adjustments in Photoshop.

Please check both slideshows to see which one you like better.

Paris Sunset HDR

Click icon to the lower right to view in full screen.

Night NYC HDR

Click icon to the lower right to view in full screen.

Overall quality: as you can see in the examples, Photomatix seems to apply a blur on the image and lacks local contrast compared to the PhotoEngine image. Honestly, I like the Photomatix version for artistic work, the gaussian blur gives a bit of a dreamy look to the image. PhotoEngine image is much more detailed and sharp. It stands out in term of precision of the adjustments and normal processing is pretty much halo-free. The resulting image is looks much more appealing to professionals and barely needs more adjustments in Photoshop.

Conclusion: Oloneo PhotoEngine vs Photomatix

I like Photomatix for artistic HDR when I’m looking for a dreamy and artistic look. I will always tend to heavily post-process this image in Photoshop.

I like PhotoEngine for my realistic HDR and when I have to deliver my clients quickly. The resulting image seldom needs more adjustments in Photoshop, except if you wish to do heavy post-processing anyway.

If you have the budget for both, you’ll get the best of both world by buying both. If you own a PC and look to invest in THE most efficient solution for a good price, I would strongly suggest PhotoEngine.

Workshop announcement

Although the workshop in Paris is in french (check the HDR workshop FAQ), if some of you who speak only English are interested to attend, then the workshop will be done in both English and French.  A free copy of PhotoEngine (value of 150$) will be handed at the workshop for the first 8 attendees. Book now as only a few places are available today.

Please check 2011 schedule regularly as firm dates will be announced soon for Montreal and Sidney (Australia) workshops. If you wish to host a workshop, contact me to see how it works.

Verdict

Whether you’re a professional photographer looking to cut down on his editing time and improve his workflow dramatically or an enthusiast photographer looking to create natural looking HDR images effortlessly then stop looking. PhotoEngine is clearly miles ahead of the competition and manages to create stunningly sharp and incredibly detailed images efficiently in just a couple of minutes.

+ : incredibly efficient

+ : easy to use

+ : real time tone mapping

+ : natural looking and halo-free images with accurate colors

+: stable (tested on Win 7 64 Bits)

- : not available on MAC yet

- : subpar image alignment in current beta

 

Now what do YOU think? How’s your personal experience with both Photomatix and PhotoEngine? Feel free to comment and put links to your pictures below!!!!!

sample images

All pictures are allrights reserved David Giral 2011, contact me for licensing or any use.

I just had time for a quick series of pictures.

All pictures were taken with a Nikon D700 + Nikkor 16-35MM VR F/4.0 and edited in Oloneo PhotoEngine Beta version (standalone HDR application available on PC) with the following settings:

Lors de mon dernier séjour dans la ville de Québec pour un workshop Photoshop, nous avions planifié une session à l’heure bleue avec le club photo dimension et la soirée était parfaite.

J’en ai profité pour faire une petite séries de photos  entre la rue Saint-Louis et la Rue des Jardins.

Tous les photos ont été prises avec un Nikon D700 + Nikkor 16-35MM VR F/4.0 et éditées dans Oloneo PhotoEngine (application HDR disponible en version beta sur PC) avec les réglages suivants:

• Quebec City, Epicerie fine Richard et Edifice price, rue des Jardins

• Quebec City, Epicerie fine Richard et Edifice price, rue des Jardins

Quebec City, Restaurant Café de la Paix et Epicerie fine Richard et Edifice price, rue des Jardins

• Quebec City, Restaurant “aux Anciens Canadiens”, Rue Saint-Louis

• Quebec City, Restaurant “aux Anciens Canadiens”, Rue Saint-Louis

Curious about creating great pîctures at the blue hour? I would strongly suggest to check this post too!

Before we start, if you’d like to get the chance to win a print of those photos of Paris, I would highly suggest to sign-up on the website before it’s too late. There is a monthly print giveaway!

Now back to Paris, let’s start the countdown to the top 10 postcard views of Paris and of the reasons to love them:

Number 10: The golden fountain of Place de la Concorde (check google map location of where the picture was taken)

This picture shows what happens when the sun is hidden behind the Place de La Concorde Fountain , it’s a golden moment.

Number 09: A Magical fall Afternoon over Paris (google maps location)

The clouds on this photos are truly spectacular and the light of the end of the afternoon makes for amazing contrasts.

Number 08: Rush Hour on Rue Royale (google maps location)

This picture was taken from Place de la Concorde and show an interesting perspective of Rue Royale towards Place de la Madeleine. A 13 seconds exposure was enough to capture the car trails.

Number 07: Dreamy Afternoon at the Square René Viviani (google maps location)

This one is one of the most romantic place and has seen a lot of lovers announcing their engagement their, just a few hundreds meters from Notre Dame De Paris.

Number 06: The Grand Boulevards of Paris City (google maps location)

This is an unusual view of Paris, taken with a wide angle lens from the last floor of the Printemps store. The beautiful cloudy sky makes for a really interesting shot!

Number 05: Stormy Sunset over Paris (google maps location)

Taken at the same moment as photo number 02, this is what happens when the sun sets after a storm in Paris. The mix of dark grey and the golden roofs of Paris make for a wonderful contrast!

Oh, I almost forgot: First time buyers receive an automatic 15% discount (use FIRSTBUY11) on their first prints so sign up (minimum of 70$)!

Number 04: A Painter’s Perfect Afternoon (google maps location)

This one is particular because of the human dimension to this photo. The lighting of this beautiful afternoon of October was both soft and dramatic, perfect for a postcard of Paris.

Number 03: Traffic on La Défense Skyline (google maps location)

This is one of my most recent pictures of Paris, it was taken a clear and crisp evening of March at rush hour. My favorite details about this photo are the rays of lights and the reflections between buildings.

Number 02:  The Last breath of a Fading Sun Over Paris (google maps location)

This photo features one of the most beautiful golden sunsets. It was taken an evening of December, during a stormy afternoon from the top of Arc de Triomphe!

Number 01: Sunset on The Seine River (google maps location)

Some may prefer the previous one however this photo is still my favourite photo and postcard view of Paris. It shows an amazing sunset light over La Seine and beautiful purple tones throughout the picture.

Thanks for viewing!

The Location

Located at the end of Colorado Street, Santa Monica Pier is the city’s most prized and one of the oldest landmarks of the City.

Agrandir le plan

In the city for a business trip in November 2010 and staying in Santa Monica, I had to capture the beauty of this place at the best time of day: the blue hour! I was surprised and lucky because it was a quiet night and contrary to my last trip in the summer, it was not overly crowded. After parking at the entrance, the first building to photograph was the Bubba Gimp Shrimp Co Restaurant.

Then going up on the Pier, I was fascinated by the scene of the Surf View Cafe  and for a more dynamic scene, I let a few people walk into the frame. The result is amazing!

The view towards the end of the pier shows beautiful colours against the blue sky.

Then you get to the amazing entrance of Pacific Park where you’ll see a big octopus dominating the scene.

A few dozen meters further, on the left part of the Pier, you get this wonderful view.

And walking a bit further you get these two amazing scenes. I especially  love how the HDR brings out the texture of the weathered wooden floor of the pier and how the 2 shops light up the scene against the blue skyline. The colours balance is nearly perfect.

Order an exclusive limited edition print!

Thanks for viewing!

Equipment used for the shoot

Nikon D700

Nikon Nikkor AF-S 16-35mm f/4 G ED VR

Gitzo Leveling 6X tripod GT2540LVL

Default ISO settings : 200

Using the 16-35mm was the best way to capture the place “landscape” style and shoot for HDR. What’s really important when shooting for HDR at night it’s to capture all the details of the highlights and have a base exposure with sufficient shadow details. When choosing focal lengths, staying away from 16-20mm helps avoiding distortion and stretching. Contrary to the 14-24mm from Nikon, this lens allows for the use of filters (77mm diameter).

hardware used for the editing

Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bits

Core 2 Duo E6750 + 4GB memory

Samsung 275T 27″ monitor + Samsung 244T 24″ monitor

Wacom Intuos 3 tablet

The Wacom tablet is always a must have tool for editing. It allows for pressure sensitive adjustments and it will speed up your workflow once you get used to using it.

Software used for the editing

Photoshop Cs5

32-Float Plugin from Unified Colours – HDR Experts

This was my first series of tests done using this new application from Unified Colours | The HDR Experts. Contrary to other tools like Photomatix, it’s much more easier to set the black point and once you find the right “recipe”, it’s pretty straighforward to use. Colour rendition is way superior to Photomatix and overall result is more realistic. Check for yourself and use coupon code “dgphotohdr” for a get 20% off any of the products.

Contact me for questions or if you’d like to see some topics discussed in more details here!

Thanks for viewing.

Located in the 6th district of Paris, close to Odeon Metro station in the Saint-Germain-Des-Prés neighbourhood, the passage “cours du commerce Saint-André” (Saint-Andre’s Trade Courtyard in english) was opened in 1735. The reason behind this name is the fact that many picturesque boutiques are present alongside the passage.

This passage features several interesting places to visit:
- Bistrot 1900: This place is also called Relais Odeon. It is a great restaurant with a beautiful facade and an amazing decor and ambiance from the start of 1900s.

- Restaurant Procope: founded in 1686 by Francesco Procopio del Coltelli, this prestigious place is the most ancient restaurant of Paris and was one of the first places to offer coffee to his customers. It was a very popular place among intellectuals and personalities such as Voltaire, Danton, Robespierre, Marat or Benjamin Franklin used to frequent the café. Nowadays, it’s a great place to be surprised by some of the culinary delights offered here such as the “coq au vin ivre de Juliénas” or the “Colbert” whiting in a tartare sauce in a beautiful wooden decor.

- Secret courtyards:  When you visit this passage, make sure to look for any opened door, it could very well be the entrance to a private courtyard, an oasis of silence in the middle of one the busiest cities of the world. Here are a few of them.

Thanks for viewing!

As you have read in my previous post, this type of location is perfect to shoot at the blue hour, because you have more than enough to shoot before the night falls.

Because it’s the tallest building and it looks a bit like a monolith, the “tour de la Bourse” skyscraper is definitively the most important landmark there:

At its feet and near the metro entrance, you will find a cute little flower shop:

If you venture a little to the north near the Hotel W, you will find beautiful water fountains and a Statue of the Queen Victoria (from 1872) and a classic Parisian Metro Entrance by Henri Guimard, offered by the city of Paris in the 1970s.

Then at the north end of the square, you will find a sculpture from Ju Ming called “Taichi Single Whip”. The two buildings at the background are the Bell and Banque Nationale towers and were built in the 1970s.

Thanks for viewing!

• Snowy backyard somewhere on the Plateau Mont-Royal

• Snowy alley of the Plateau Mont-Royal

I’ve always loved those lonely photo walks, listening to audio books, while trying to find secret places and different angles to what everybody has already photographed. I’ve had already come by that book store and taken a photo but never published it. On that night, it was really different, when I saw the bookstore again, with the yellow light coming from inside the store against the white snow and the blue sky, it really made an impression. It was the right moment to take a photo. After figuring out the perspective I wanted, I then set up my tripod in the middle of the road, took a look left and right to make sure no one would run me over and then took 3 different exposures (from 1.6 to 6s) with my Nikon D300 and a Sigma 10-20mm zoomed at 16mm and F/10.0.

I knew that this photo had something more than the others I took that night. When I get that feeling,  I usually like to wait a few days or months to process the photos, because I want it to reflect exactly the impressions I had that night. Like I say to my friends, it’s not about the technique, it’s about using the technique to reflect what your feelings were and just go with your intuition. Like demonstrated below, I don’t see HDR as a technique, my photomatix processing is really basic and the core of what I do is micro-contrast management using curves until I get the result that I want, without any second thoughts. This particular example mixed HDR and DRI and a bit of Photoshop. Enjoy!

• Final result:

• Baseline exposure:

• Making Of:

Book me for:

• a portrait session or a portfolio, or
  
• an assignment (architecture/urban landscape), or
  
• a Photoshop training lesson (english and french)

View my portfolio and contact me now!

Photos and videos are all rights reserved – David Giral 2010.

It was a beautiful day of fall in California with no clouds in the sky  and the sun was starting to go down. I was driving on a beautiful scenic rout towards Klamath, Ca, meditating on the power of visualization as a way to get what I want from my life. As I was going through my memories, I realized that most of the photos that I love were the result of that (mostly) unconscious (at the time) process. I was also thinking I had never taken a photo of golden rays of light coming through the trees. I had seen these photos a few times and I had a clear image in my mind. I then decided to hold that thought and keep feeling how it would feel to take that particular photo.

As I was going through the curves of Highway 1, I was going uphill when this vision became reality, I was amazed by the beauty of the scenery, it was pure perfection, a moment of pure blissfulness, I hit the brakes immediately and did a u-turn to park so that my car would not be part of the image. I then took my time to put the camera on a tripod, select the right lens and position myself in the middle of the road and snap the 7 exposures necessary to capture the scene with as many details as possible.

The final image involved manual blending between a DRI (also manually blended) of -2,+1 and +3 exposures and an HDR of 7 exposures (-3 to +3ev) from Photomatix.

Here is the result (Nikon D300 – Tamron 17-50mm – ISO 200 – 17mm – 1/160 to 0.4s exposures):

Each time I look at this photo, I feel blissful and happy, hence the reason I named this photo  “The Blissful Road to Happiness“.

Book me for:

• a portrait session or a portfolio, or
  
• an assignment (architecture/urban landscape), or
  
• a Photoshop training lesson (english and french)

View my portfolio and contact me now!

Photos and videos are all rights reserved – David Giral 2010.