Bellagio Entrance [Canon 5D, HDR Image]
Las Vegas, March 26, 2007
(click in the image for a larger version)
While in Las Vegas last week, I took the opportunity to create some HDR (high dynamic range) night exposures. The main reason I was doing this was for some example images in a new book project (The Creative Digital Darkroom, due out in the fall) and I needed to show how movement in an HDR composite, normally an undesirable situation for this process (usually you want a super still, still life), is not necessarily a bad thing and can sometimes create interesting effects. This shot is from the end of my evening walk and while it does not have any movement in it, I liked the way it turned out (one with motion will be posted in the next day or so). It is the entrance portico over the driveway of the mind-bogglingly massive Bellagio Hotel and Casino.
Here's a view of the six source exposures (all made on a tripod, a mandatory condition for HDR compositing). The aperture is a constant f/11 (a constant aperture is also mandatory) and the shutter speeds range from 0.5 seconds to 15 seconds, in 1-stop increments.
(click the image to see a larger version)
The initial HDR blend created the basic image that contained a much wider dynamic range of tonal values than could have been captured in a single exposure. But it was a little flat and needed some extra work. This is the case with all HDR images in my experience; the basic 16-bit HDR merge is just one step in the process, not the end result. Fine-tuning can always make it better.
The initial merged result (click in the image for a larger version)
The first thing I did was turn the image into a Smart Object and used the Warp command to correct the perspective distortion. The I added four adjustment layers with layer masks, to address the overall contrast and enhance the tonal quality of specific areas in the image. All of this was done in Photoshop CS3.
The Layers palette for the finished photo (click in the image to see a larger version)
Coming in the next post...an HDR image with visible motion. And coming after that, a downloadable PDF of one of my Photoshop tutorials for Layers magazine.
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Featured Workshop
The Creative Digital Darkroom: July 29 – August 4, 2007
Santa Fe Workshops
This week's featured workshop is still a ways off, but if you're interested in a week of creative Photoshop and digital photography, then consider joining me in Santa Fe, New Mexico this summer for my Creative Digital Darkroom workshop.The workshop is based on concepts, philosophies and techniques that are covered the book I am currently finishing up with Katrin Eismann, The Creative Digital Darkroom, due out this fall from O'Reilly Media, Inc. The digital darkroom lab at the Santa Fe Workshops is one of the best I have ever taught in. Each student has a G5 Mac with a cinema display with access to an Epson Stylus Photo 2400 printer. And, although I can't guarantee it at this time, my guess is that Photoshop CS3 will be installed on the computers for this class. We'll have two photo excursions during the week for practicing creative camera and exposure techniques at interesting nearby locations.
By the way, if you live in Hawaii, I'll be teaching two short classes there on the 13th, 14th & 15th of April at the Outreach College at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu:
Selections and Masking in Adobe Photoshop CS2, April 13
Photoshop for Photographers: Mastering the Digital Image, April 14-15