Join ePHOTOzine, the web's friendliest photography community.
Upload photos, chat with photographers, win prizes and much more for free!
MLK Falls HDR
|
MLK Falls HDR by PatrickSmith
My computer spontaineously rebooted itself once again today so I may not have much EPZ time today. I am getting a new computer. I'm getting shaky already...
This memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. in San Francisco features text from some of his speeches along with roaring falls and misty spray. You can go to the right behind the falls to read text in several different languages. My ears were ringing after standing here for about 15 minutes. There was a dramatic red sunset behind the camera, which helped warm up the light in this scene. And warm spotlights added good tones to the falls.
Martin Luther King Jr. made a major contribution to race relations in the US that can not be understated. Before his time, racial segregation was common in schools, transportation, drinking fountians, etc. This is no longer the case, though much work needs to be done before everyone is truly colour-blind.
I am now convinced that HDR is the way to go when it comes to indoor and city photography. Grads are useless here with the jagged 'horizon', and the contrast is extreme. Any single exposure viewed alone is quite unattractive.
You still need to wait for those few minutes at dusk where the natural light and artificial light are even for the best results. It is amazing how close this is to what I saw with my eyes. The sun set behind me and there was a walkway overhead, making the foreground granite darker than the brighter buildings and sky.
Make sure that the brightest areas of the shortest exposure look good, and that the darkest areas of the longest exposure look good.
5 exposures ranging from 20-210 seconds HDR tone mapped
| Date Added: | 5 Feb 2007 - 15:16 |
| Camera: | Canon 5D |
| Lens: | Canon 17-40 @18 |
| Film: | RAW ISO 50 |
| Categories: | Architecture General |
| Geo Data: | Show Map Position |
| Tags: | martin luther king hdr san francisco |
| Readers' Votes: | 167 |

![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() |

Patrick
Ade


Mike

Antonio


You still need to wait for those few minutes at duck
... this is where I am probably going wrong, I keep waiting for DUSK ... LOL
Another fine piece of HDR Patrick, definitely comes into its own in this type of environment.
Paul

Now I know the clan will pounce on me - but it's the truth as I see it.
CLIX

I have this one HDR thingy on my machine...It´s a shot of world´s BIGGEST WOODEN CHURCH, BUT for my eyes only! LOL......
Jouko
superb work !!
beautiful
Nikki
Jennnn and Ade, I don't know if I can live up to that one.....
Mike I know what you mean. This was a little earlier than the last one so the sky was a brighter blue here. As it got darker, the contrast was going up because the lights were starting to overpower the scene. So a darker sky could not be had here.
Yes, Tony. And it does work well with longer exposures. Sometimes the water is not quite as smooth as in one exposure though.
LOL - Paul. Oops, I let out one of my little secrets of long expoasure shooting. But I've made the correction so that nobody else will know!
Yes Keith, the text is supposed to be the focal point. You can see it it the full sized version but not here. And the text is totally blown out in all but the shorest exposure. So HDR really did the job. 'the clan?' Oh, the irony!
Thanks Tony.
Patrick

Fantastic tonal range that totally justifies the use of HDR. I'm trying to achieve a similar effect manually in PS with multiple exposures but this image really makes you realise what can be achieved.
Love it.
Mark
Valid point,like the quality of the image---if not the composition.

I love the tones,reflections,motion,timing and the hdr thingy.I like how you can see what must be the MLK information behind the waterfall,ok i can't make it out,but it lets me see what you are telling us about in your description,i'll never be over to see it,so thankyou.Excellent image.
Take care.Ann

Simon.
Mark, sometimes the 'multiple exposures from one original' technique works. Especially on shots where there is just a little too much contrast. I'll show a perfect example of that next time.
Glad you agree Kim.
C'mon out Ann. You must see this place!
Yes Simon. I have noticed extra noise on some of my attempts. It usually goes away when I desaturate the original RAW files and create TIFF's from them before I bring them into PhotoMatix.
Patrick

Mo.

Lisa

Compositionally, perhaps this is not your best (I would still be over the moon if it was mine!), but you have set such high standards. Not sure about the waterfall just coming in from space.
But as a vehicle for HDR - perfect.
Martin

Ron


Martin

One day soon I think Maddie at the rate you're going!
It is not too difficult Mo, though it does take practise.
Thanks Lisa. I like the lighting too.
Martinl, there really was not a 'best single shot' They ranged from 'almost all parts black' to 'almost all parts blown out.' The middle one shows blown out buildings, falls and sky and very dark rock in front. Even that one has only small bits properly exposed.
(both Martins - lol) I will be searching for city compositions with more open space if I can find them. It is very dense in there.
Patrick

P.S. HDR and snow is tricky on the other side is snow always tricky
Peter
alex
Still, at least you're having a crack at HDR, I'm still plugging away with grads...
...for the moment anyway.

You're lucky to have such a great city to practice on though

Cheers, Paul


Kris and Paul, too bad you could not see the full sized version. Then the text would jump out at you.
Paul, it is a great 3D city with lots of angles, but packed with people. And no 700 year old Cathedrals either!
LOL Terry, show me some decent clouds and I'll shoot them! We may get a little rain later this week though. I'm hoping for the best.
Patrick

I remember, when that d¤%¤ worm settled to my computer! Rebooted many times a day...
Jouko

Mark.

Mark.


You are obviously getting the hang of this technique.
Excellent image.
Simon

I hope you are right Jouko!
Sandy (cameragirl), It has been good for the past 2 hours. So far so good...
Try it out Mark. You won't go back, in these sorts of circumstances.
Slowly but surely Angela, Gill and Simon...
Patrick

Nigel
Chris



I often read your comments in regards to the lifeless skies you have in California. I feel your pain with living here in Pennsylvania. What I wouldnt give for the skies they get on the other side of the pond.
Eric


A
John

Charlotte
I know what you mean Nigel. Give it a try though.
Thanks Eric, but at least you get rain and clouds year round!
Thanks Dennis. That is the idea I suppose. To make it look like what you see. In a way it is unremarkable because it just looks realistic.
Try it out Charlotte. Don't forget your studies though!
Patrick

Mark
Chris
Mark, the nice thing about this is very little work went into it. The tricky part was getting the full exposure range right. I'll probably add some contrast to part of the scene, since others have noticed what you just did. That should remove the flatness. I deliberately chose a difficult scene to see what HDR could do. The lights and other bright areas were very bright and were blown out on all but the darkest image.
Definitely look into it Chris, you won't go back under certain circumstances.
Patrick


The warm light and glow of the falls you've produced is remarkable, you sure are mastering this HDR....Well Done!
Have a nice Wednesday.......Suze
Yes Dennis. You could be right. I am used to seeing more contrast in a shot that what I see with my eye. It may take a while to get used to this. I'll keep workign on it. I have moer planned.
Suzeee, still a long way to go I think, but thanks!
Patrick
it's hard to say in a new way how good this is when 100+ people have said it before you. Your photos are always a pleasure to view!!!
Thomas
Very nice info will keep that in mind, thanks. Very nice smoke effect on the water and everything looks so clear and lovelly. Well done again.
denka

Tracy
LOL Thomas, You said it in a new way!
Tracy? Me? Maybe you got onto the wrong page - LOL!
Patrick


I like the clarity here,lots to see.
Janet

Sean


Greg
MikeA.

All the very best
Dougie
Hawk
Jan


Annette































Way much better, than your first HDR, Patrick, if I dare to say so...???
....though I know nothing about HDR thingy!
Jouko