Here is one of my latest images from a hike on the Fiery Gizzard Trail in Tennessee. I was with my kids so I went super light on gear. Basically a tripod and a circular polarizer. I shot at f22 for 2 sec. I blended 4 exposures to get the photo.
Here is one of my latest images from a hike on the Fiery Gizzard Trail in Tennessee. I was with my kids so I went super light on gear. Basically a tripod and a circular polarizer. I shot at f22 for 2 sec. I blended 4 exposures to get the photo.
While I can appreciate the difficulty of exposing this scene correctly, with the dappled shadows and bright water highlights, I tend to dislike the results of most HDR techniques. In this case, the image feels flat with too little contrast. It's a beautiful scene, but the combination of exposures has left it devoid of impact.
I made a few small tweaks to regain some of the general and local contrast (and subdue the nuclear greens of the pool), but it would obviously be better to start with the original image(s).
Nice! I struggle with the different pathways to the final image treatment. I do agree that the image needs more contrast. I'm not a fan at all of HDR. That was definitely not my intention but certainly looks very HDR now that I take another look.