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Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: HDR (Advanced Editing V*)
Camera: Canon EOS-20D
Lens: Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Location: Hamilton Pool, Austin, Texas
Date: Nov 12, 2006
Aperture: 16
ISO: 400
Shutter: Various
Galleries: Landscape, Nature
Date Uploaded: Nov 12, 2006

 When I saw the HDR challenge I immediately thought of Hamilton Pool, views of which usually include a very dark cave and a very bright sky.

I used a tripod and timer to minimize the camera shaking, but the clouds were moving fast enough that you can see some ghosting in the sky. In retrospect I don't know that I need the 5-7 captures I took of each scene, it probably would have been better to just set up the camera to autobracket +/- 2 EV.

I used Photoshop for the HDR conversion and tone mapping (Local Adaptation). I could probably use a few more weeks of practice, but this challenge was a good excuse to get started.

After HDR conversion I adjusted the color curves, shadow/highlight, sharpened, resized, and sharpened again.



Statistics
Place: 56 out of 84
Avg (all users): 5.3562
Avg (commenters): 5.8500
Avg (participants): 5.2222
Avg (non-participants): 5.3806
Views since voting: 883
Views during voting: 553
Votes: 292
Comments: 22
Favorites: 1 (view)

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AuthorThread
 Comments Made During the Challenge
11/19/2006 04:32:10 PM
This image seems kind of washed out and low-contrast to me. Perhaps the tone mapping could use a little work?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/18/2006 06:38:11 PM
Very interesting shot, great location
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/17/2006 11:20:00 AM
the detail in the foof of the cave is realy good, the sky is also realy good, however, the green is a bit dull, and the rocks in the botem right seem a bit bleached, and are lacking detail, these are minor nit pics realy, the composition is excelent, the overal shot, I think is one of the best here. well done
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/15/2006 12:15:07 PM
this scene looks amazing! great job!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/14/2006 07:00:18 PM
very nice...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/14/2006 03:50:44 PM
Very cool place but I'm afraid this pic doesn't seem to do it justice. I'm no HDR expert but this doesn't look to have enhanced the photo as much as it should. It has a flatness that HDR techniques should make quite a difference with. I like the photo but feel it could be better defined.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/14/2006 02:45:13 PM
Lovely composition and detail.
A little more contrast would have added a punch to this. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/14/2006 07:07:04 AM
colors seem to need better saturation.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/14/2006 06:08:56 AM
Excellent use of HDR!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/14/2006 01:13:03 AM
lacks contrast
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/13/2006 07:56:48 PM
Interesting scenic with a nice curve on the overhang. The image lacks a central point of interest though IMO. 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/13/2006 06:55:21 PM
Oooh, now this is an interesting subject! I like the perspective here a whole lot. The white circle (tire swing?) near the bottom left is unfortunately quite distracting to me. But overall I think you did a good job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/13/2006 09:15:23 AM
Use of Light:1
Focus:1
Composition:1
Creativity:1
Achieves Challenge:1

Nice effort on this one. The rock formation appears washed out a bit, but the HDR does allow you to see the pretty partly sunny sky.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/13/2006 08:18:40 AM
The white circle in the distance is very distracting.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/13/2006 07:04:51 AM
Wow...that is such a cool place....of course, I would NOT want to be there when it collapses.... *lol*
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/13/2006 05:22:23 AM
Hamilton's Pool! I LOVE this! Last time I tried to photograph it, I was hard pressed not to get a million people in it! I think I need to make a trip back there. You've inspired me :) Nice job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/13/2006 04:31:36 AM
Nicely done photo. I wish you had saturated it a bit more to bring out the colors though. Great perspective and composition though. 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/13/2006 02:31:46 AM
From an HDR point of view this scores marks because I can clearly see that areas that would normally be in deep shadow have detail here. That said, I find the phot itself somewhat uninspiring and lacking in impact.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/13/2006 01:07:26 AM
Are those people sitting on the rocks?

Fascinating place, but the photo looks a bit flat; I think you've lost a bit much detail in the trees. Good try, though (better than I could do...)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/13/2006 12:18:44 AM
Light inside, clouds with texture everything here, it lacks this shocking hdr effect though maybe it's the lack of color...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/12/2006 08:00:32 PM
A beautiful place to experiment with HDR and no swimmers
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/12/2006 07:51:37 PM
I love this shot, but the low saturation doesn't feel intentional. I think the saturation should either go up or down from where it is, either could work.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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