architecture Natural History Museum, London 2013

Another panoramic interior, this time from the Natural History Museum

in London. Any comments very welcome.

nice combination between wide angle an Hdr, great impact!

Thanks Sergio! Not an HDR this one as it's based on single photos, but there was just about enough dynamic range to capture the scene. I'd have liked a bit more detail out the windows and a little less noise in the shadows, but it's enough work already compositing the individual frames to make these.

For anyone interested in seeing a colour version, I've included it below. I prefer the monochrome version personally, but I'd appreciate your thoughts on comparing the two. Click the image to see a larger version.

http://www.skylight3d.com/images/photoNet/NHM_colour_tiny.jpg

Thanks for looking!

I prefer the monochrome version too.  It's a difficult task balancing the light from the windows whilst trying to reveal detail in the shadows, but you have done very well here!  The perspective and symmetry are great and I have enjoyed viewing the detail also. 

I wonder what software you used to process this?

I have used Nik Silver Efex Pro - 2 which can produce a similar result, is that what you used?

Sincere Compliments! 

Alf 

Great symmetry, very sharp and clear, superb use of light, excellent post procesing. Really good job here! Congrats!

Hi Alf, thanks for stopping by! Agreed about the challenge of exposure; if I'd been able to use a tripod things would have been easier as I'd have been able to bracket or use a lower ISO, but I'm quite happy with how it's turned out given it was handheld. There was probably a bit more detail in the highlights originally; I've used a bit of glow to really show off the light pouring in from the windows, but at the cost of some detail.

The original raw files were processed to matched 16 bit tifs in photoshop before importing into PTGui to assemble the panorama. It's using a cylindrical projection so vertical lines are preserved while horizontal lines away from the horizon appear curved. As well as allowing for a much wider view than a 15mm fisheye would normally provide, PTGui also allows me to mask out individual areas, meaning by combining multiple photos from different times I could remove any people who were in view (it was fairly busy and there was a constant stream of people heading up the stairs as I was taking photos).

It's actually a crop of a larger image; the wider shot showed a lot more of the beautiful ceiling pictures, but I felt this made for a much more relaxed and leading composition. On export it was taken into photoshop again for processing. You're bang on about Nik's Silver Efex; it's a wonderful bit of software and responsible for all my recent black and white photos. Topaz Adjust and Nik's Color Efex also got a look in before taking it to Silver Efex for the final conversion.

Hope you're well. Best wishes, Mark.

Glad you liked it! BW Mark

Wonderful result, especially considering you shot this handheld! And now...you've done it! I have to buy PTGui!

Great work

Regards, Line

Many thanks Line, it's always a pleasure to hear from you. I'm a little disappointed you've been inspired to buy PTGui; I was hoping that with your recent foray into portraiture that I'd be spared from having to compete with your gorgeous architectural shots!

PTGui is a very decent bit of software and worth having access to if you like panoramas. There's plenty of other similarly capable software such as Hugin (which is free), but I've been very pleased with PTGui's masking and other advanced features. It's also rather good for Brenizer-style bokehramas, although I've a lot more practice to do before I get any good at those.

As an aside, this is the first version of the photo that I mentioned which includes a much wider view (well over 180 degrees in horizontal view). It's one interesting consequence of shooting in this way that you are able to reframe and tweak images to a great extent in post; there are many possible interpretations of any selected vantage point. I really like the emphasis on the ceiling in this version, but I think the distortion at the top of the roof becomes a bit too distracting for it to be my favourite. Your opinions would be appreciated of course. Once again, a larger version is available by clicking the image.

http://www.skylight3d.com/images/photoNet/NHM_bw_wide_tiny.jpg

Thanks for stopping by, M

And one last attachment, this is one of the original files to show how the original fisheye images were combined to form the final image. You'll also notice the central railing was a little off in this version; as it was handheld there was an inevitable bit of shifting from shot to shot. I was careful to make sure that I had at least one version of the railing that was more central while this photo was more to emphasise the ceiling so I was less worried about movement. By selecting appropriate regions of each photo I could get a good overall composition. Some small parallax errors remain due to movement, but they're mostly hidden in low contrast areas between important parts of the photo.

http://www.skylight3d.com/images/photoNet/NHM_orig.jpg

Notice the frustrated looking photographer at the bottom of the stairs; I think he was waiting for me to finish :/

For composition, I prefer the cropped version. I really like the details and light in the ceiling though. I think the cropping is good compromise and you are right, the flattened shape of the first arch is taking away from the overall harmony. Seeing one of the original shot sure gives more perspective into the post processing work that went into this creation...you certainly don't have to fear competition as you have proven to be a very talented artist. I look at it as inspiration as I only compete with myself... Once again, this is really nicely accomplished!

All the best, Line

A very sensible attitude Line, I was of course teasing about fearing you as competition! With the high quality of photos on this site I'm not sure I'd ever submit anything if that was a genuine concern, instead I'm happy to use them as encouragement to get shooting. As for your photos, for someone who has only been doing photography for 3 years, they show a level of assurance and maturity in vision that is astonishing.

Posting the last photo did make me wonder if more could be made of it; I've used liquify to lift the nearest arch into something more subjectively pleasing; it's no longer geometrically accurate but it feels much better to me now and may be justification enough to save this version. My preference is still to the first edit as the stairs and far areas of the room are to me the most interesting areas with a more satisfying composition, but I'm just in love with that ceiling! Any other opinions would be appreciated as to which people think works best.

http://www.skylight3d.com/images/photoNet/NHM_bw_wide2_tiny.jpg

BW, Mark.

It is an impressive shot. I was surprised that you did this hand held. I prefer the black and white version too. I can't add anything to what has already been said. A fine shot for sure.

I was impressed by the b&w version but when I clicked on the enlarged color version I was astounded.  I think it is the color that evens-out the contrast and unifies the image.

David and Wayne, thank you for stopping by and commenting. David, I suppose I could have made things easier for myself with a more stable platform, but it's a busy spot and I suspect a tripod would be prohibited. A monopod could be useful if the light was too dark for handheld shutter speeds, but it wouldn't necessarily reduce the chance of parallax errors as there would be some movement between shots. I've found that with practice I am able to get reasonable results hand held, and I'd rather get the shot and move on in such a public space; as you can see from the posted original above, there was a constant stream of visitors, and other photographers waiting to take photos. I'd be interested to see their results!

Wayne, thanks for the compliment. I'm rather undecided myself as to which version I prefer. Although I personally prefer the black and white photo, I've sold two large prints of the colour version which rather endears it to me. ;)

Best wishes, Mark