At the eleventh hour II

This one of those shots that I wish I had taken. WOW

 

Bob

A very good mood shot. Nice & deep DOF

I second Marc G. This example of HDR is better than most, but still not good enough. Marc's improvement takes it a step closer to good enough, but still falls short.

 

What bothers me most about this image - and other HDR images of purportedly good quality - is a lack of focus. They replicate the wide dynamic range of human vision, but fail to replicate the tendency of human vision to look for an attractor, a focal point. The more every detail becomes visible, the less any one detail draws attention. The eye's search for a place to rest is diffused, sublimated into nothingness.

 

The practice of HDR right now seems to be in its infancy, a period characterized by a naive fascination with assigning equal importance to every part of the image, with floating the whole ship above the waterline even though it would look much more seaworthy if it were partially submerged.

 

This image, to me, is one of the more noble HDR failures I've seen, but I have yet to see a notable success. I commend the photographer for improving the state of the art, but I'm still waiting for the first time an HDR image truly wows me.

 

Right now, they still all make me feel diffuse and restless, and lingering over them only increases that feeling. But I've lingered on this one longer than most, which is a worthy achievement.

 

Excellent choice, Elves. I'll be curious to see what your idea of HDR "done well" is in another year or so.

I concur with Marc G., and I think his edits have provided a more realistic and improved

HDR image. I'm puzzled by another comment about "lack of focus." This image conveys a

feeling and perhaps a message, and that feeling is imparted by all of the elements taken

together in this single composition: the expanse of stones, the weathered buildings, a

fading sun and abundance of gray clouds, and a single remnant of green vegetation that

contrasts with the otherwise lifeless scene. To me, this entire image, particularly with the

low point of view that was chosen, is the point of focus. I can't single out any element that

is the central part of the image; removing any one (as was suggested far above) would

greatly detract if not ruin the feeling and/or the message conveyed by the photograph. In

this sense, it's a different kind of photograph than one of a single tree in dense fog with

the sun dimly visible, or a bighorn ram surveying its badlands habitat, or waves crashing

against a coastal rock, or (to leave the landscape forum for a moment) a nude with a

canvas bag over her head in a grungy, run-down basement. Some ideas consist of an

element in a given context, and other ideas consist of a scene of multiple and

interdependent elements. Clearly one is not "better" than the other; they're just different

with different purposes.

I have to concur with the comments about HDR. I see more and more extreme examples of the Photomatix art. I tried Photomatix for some time and eventually gave it up as unsatisfactory. I do use an HDR technique in Photoshop using Layers and widening the exposure beyond the result possible with a single exposure.

Jonathan, I'm very curious about what do you consider a well done HDR. How should that HDR look like? I'm not pleading for this image, nor I'm being ironic. I would just be happy if we all together will be able to define a good HRD.

 

Starting hypothesis: A HDR image should look as natural as a "normal" image, perhaps like a gradual ND filtered one.

The elves also mentioned the underlying photographic art behind this or any technically augmented photo. I think that is also a valid point of discussion. Stephen Penland replied in this vein very astutely, I think.

 

It's good to critique what an image carries to you from beneath the surface, regardless of how that surface was rendered. And this image exhibits a forebearance and austerity that quite translates into life experiences. "At The Eleventh Hour", far from being a cheezy title, underscores the kind of heroic temperance those facing life with grace exhibit right down to the last moment...or rise to when driven to the challenge.

It is interesting how cropping can produce vastly different photographs. Some photos cannot be cropped without affecting the impact. Here I thought I could crop this drastically, totally changing the impact, and also change the color quite dramatically, but the resulting picture does not seem to be that different from the original in its esthetics. Or perhaps I am blind.

Marc is right. The HDR fix cannot be a shotgun blast to the entire photo. (See "HDR" on Wikipedia for some ghastly examples of what can happen when it is used to light up an entire photo.) It has to be used judiciously, just like any other powerful tool.

 

Yet, though the picture can [always] be improved, it is a good picture. Congratulations, Roger, on having it named Photo of the Week.

 

--Lannie

Oh I love the way the texture of the rocks stands out. Great photo.

Very nice picture but I agree with Will Keats and others: so many manipulated pictures on this

site... So, a suggestion: It would be very interesting to make a clear category distinction

between manipulated and unmanipulated. But I have to congratulate Roger Sandgren for his

photo of course but also to be honest in recognizing the postproduction of his picture. Only

few do the same...

Unfortunately is is obvious that you have used hdr here as looks very unnatural. As with using filters if it is possible to see the usage or manipulation then in my opinion the photograph has failed. I think you have to be extremely careful when doing hdr and to me you can produce a far more realalistic creative natural looking photograph without using it at all. Modern technology will not help the true learning photographer i.e Hdr distracts the the photographer from learning the basics and improving on them.

Sorry, too unnatural for my liking. HDR or selective burning can be effective in some scenes but I just don't think it works here. Thanks for sharing, good luck.

I feel that we are leaning towards a "pure photography" discussion and we fail to talk about the... photograph/image itself.

"As with using filters if it is possible to see the usage or manipulation then in my opinion the photograph has failed."

Well, in this case, photography is a very narrowed concept: making an image using light, that reflects perfectly the reality. In this case, the photographer's impression must be 0. And I can't agree with that. Photography is not something made by a camera, but with a camera, by the photographer. The photographer is not a light capturing engineer, but an artist, and as long as his image is based on a "pure photograph" and it doesn't contain graphic designed elements, his image is still a photograph. Even if the so-called purists won't agree.

Maybe it's an average photograph in terms of composition and subject matter but makes you look twice because of the intense colors? For me it looks over-processed and devoid of any mood that may have been registered by natural light.

Nice shot and interesting discussion.

And a POW shot doesn't have to be a masterpiece.

 

IMO, on my screen I would consider lower saturation and contrast. Otherwise I like the atmosphere and depth.

 

And Roger has some other talent work in his portfolio.

Thanks for all your comments what so ever you have for opinion about manipulation and HDR in particular.

It?s interesting to follow all yours opinions but it sad that that?s type of comments not show up in critique forums.

This was one of my first try for HDR and I very well aware of the artificial colour look the HDR process given me.

Now I know that PS can cure the colour back to original if you have the original as layer under the HDR and choosing blending mood and luminosity. Practice makes progress

The caption ?At the eleventh hour? have connection to that we in north of Sweden have the mid night sun.

This region are close to that and the time are 11pm and still quite light.

Kind regards Roger

Roger, this is what I have been longing to do for the longest time: perfect DOF!!! Perfect HDR technique!

Could you share with us how you used your camera/lens aperture, focus, etc ... ?

... if not a secret, of course!

Once again we have an image that attracts the usual negative collection of opinions on HDR in general. A little history, the camera is a device for producing an image of 'the real world.' The camera does not and never has produced an image that duplicates 'the real world.' The image produced is simply a camera-produced image. It looks similar to the 'real world' but it certainly does not look anything like what my eyes see. Why the constant griping about HDR imagery then? When HDR software and camera are simply tools attempting to do the same thing?.....My opinion of the image above: on first look it appeared as any other image. Until I read that it was indeed an "HDR image... one done well" I did not know that Roger had used this technique. Upon closer examination I may have figured it out, but then again, so many images now, layered in a huge assortment of techniques in Photoshop, have similarities to HDR. So, regardless, this image to me is quite well done, has captured a fabulous mood, and holds my interest.... Roger pointed out also that it is a good option to blend in one of the original RAWS to keep the image from getting as artificial as HDR images can become. I agree completely with the statement because HDR and Photomatix in particular can run along a huge spectrum of artificial (chalky, bubblegum images) to 'real' - and many who work heavily with HDR today are working very hard toward achieving imagery closer and closer to the 'real' side of things.... and some of these images do as good (and better) a job achieving that as the old 'camera' has ever done.

Well, aside from all the HDR bantering (I'm definitely not a big 'fan' of photomatix-style-hdr-images)...

 

It's really a nice shot. Calming and quiet. Marc was right regarding the light in the center of the photo on the rocks, it is distracting/unrealistic. Also, for my taste, it's a little over-saturated.

 

But all that aside once again, i do like this photo and think it's a great choice for POTW, as it's definitely brought up some interesting conversation.

Here's my own take, with a tighter crop, a little burning of the foreground and left end of the building, and a tiny bit of desaturation. (Sorry, Roger, but this sort of thing is what we do on this forum: your original version might well be better.)

 

--Lannie

Nice, but too much vignetting on the lower corners? Could be cropped out , though.

Herein I'll focus on a mood. This surrealistic HDR performance need to be adjusted in another commercial content. I'll put that kind of scene in a movie which could be based on some of the Stephen King's novels. Because the places which are described in his novels provokes the unpleasant feelings. And to me this image is telling that something unexpected will start to happen.

 

Lets enliven it!

Very succesfull HDR, striking atmosphere!!

I think this image is emblematic of overuse of a new technique, just as we saw a couple of years ago with those endless images featuring Photoshop reflection fantasy effects.

 

That's not to say it isn't a good capture or composition. I'd just turn down the effects knob.