Photoclubalpha

Well I guess I'm not to old to learn something. Ha! Ha! I got out out my Elite Video DVD to figure out this bracketing thing. I wish I would of done this before we went south. I was trying to do the bracketing by hand instead of letting the camera do it. I was taking a photo then changing settings and taking the same photo again . I did this three times to get the photos to stitch. I just figured it out with the drive mode. Wow, the camera is much faster and better at it then I am, that's for sure. I guess I'll have to make another trip back down there sometime this summer.

sury wrote:Sury, I downloaded your program but I'm having a little trouble figuring it out. I know I'm slow but with some practice I should figure it out. I was wondering if my a700 has the HDR capability you were talking about that your camera does?

Kenneth,
Let me PM you my work flow tonight when I go home.

Sury[/quote]

Kenneth,
On the drive menu you should look for DRO bracketing. Dynamic Range Optimization is Sony's term for HDR.
My apologies for the mistake. DRO takes 3 images. You can set low, mid and high. Please see page 59 of your
user manual. You can find the manual here: https://docs.sony.com/release/DSLRA700.pdf

Thank you for the info. The manual doesn't explain the DRO very much. The last sentence in the DRO info says " Correction with DRO advanced bracket has no effect on RAW files." Now for the dumb question... does this mean I have to shoot in Jpeg instead of RAW in order to use the DRO bracketing?

Last night I was playing with EV bracketing. What is the difference between EV and DRO bracketing? I take it that DRO is the way to go when I want to bracket. Is this correct? Sorry for the basic questions.

How did I do on this one?

Kenneth,
It is a nice shot but I do not know how to answer the question since I do not know the context.
Is it exposure, composition or post processing?
From a composition point of view, in my subjective opinion (what else is there? ).
a wider shot would have been better . Since I am not looking out of the window,
the window on its own is not that interesting, IMHO. The post processing has given it a
painting like effect. My $0.02 worth.

Sury

Sorry for the poor question. I guess I was just wondering what you folks thought of the photo in general, good or bad. I was going for the higher HDR look. I've seen some photos that have the HDR work done to them that look almost cartoonish and that it waht I was shooting for. Do you guys think it's OK or bad? I'm trying to learn what it acceptable and what isn't when it comes to HDR.

My apologies Kenneth. My questions were by the way of seeking clarification.
Didn't mean sound ill mannered. I see the image as a water colored photo. If
that interior is indeed looking like that (possibly due to water damage), then it
is a very realistic capture. If did not look like that originally, to me the affect
achieved is a water color treatment.

Sury

Oh please no apologies are necessary. I have taken no offence of anything. Your opinion means a great deal to me. I cannot thank you enough for the help!

I'm posting the window photo just as it came out of the camera as in RAW form. The only thing I did was convert it to Jpeg. This way you can see what it looked like before I ran it through Photomatix. This way you will know what I started with. I was looking for it to give a more cartoonish look in the finished photo. I agree it does have a watercolor type of feel to it.

Kenneth,
Thank you. Photomatix did a good job of bringing out the details. Could you elaborate
what you mean by "cartoonish look"? Obviously you have some idea what it should like
since you mentioned that phrase more than once.

Sury

I think there are a couple of ways to look at HDR. The first is just trying to cope with images where there is a big contrast between the lightest and the darkest parts. The window image above is an example of this. When you use DRO or similar effects in the camera then this is what you are doing.

The second is to have a really extreme effect, perhaps what Kenneth means my cartoonish. For this you need post processing and typically 3 or more versions of the same image taken to give different exposures. Most Sony cameras will allow you to auto bracket three shots at normal exposure, -2ev, and +2ev. Put the three images into photomatix or something similar and then crank up the slider .

Google "Trey Ratcliffe free HDR" and watch his free tutorial.

The second is to have a really extreme effect, perhaps what Kenneth means my cartoonish. For this you need post processing and typically 3 or more versions of the same image taken to give different exposures. Most Sony cameras will allow you to auto bracket three shots at normal exposure, -2ev, and +2ev. Put the three images into photomatix or something similar and then crank up the slider .


This is what I was doing but I took the photos manually changing the settings. I took 3 shots of it changing the setting myself in between shots to get the under and overexposed frames. I just realized how to have the camera do it, but that was when I was already home. I may have to make another trip down to South Dakota again with my new found knowledge. I never said I was a fast learner!


Sury I think I like your description better of it being a watercolor look. I used Cartoon because I couldn't put my finger on the right word to describe the look of it.

Thanks again guys for the insight....lord knows I need it!

Kenneth,
Oh, ok. That clarifies it for me. Talking about effects, I don't know if it is still open,
but OnOne has Photoeffects Pro 8 available without any strings attached for free.
If you can get that SW, it might give you some more options. It may help you with
achieving different effects more easily.

I was bemoaning the fact that I did not have access to forests (like Andy has),
and wild flowers etc, and someone on this forum (name escapes me at the moment)
suggested that there are plenty opportunities for me to practice my technique without
ever leaving the house. That's how I ended up with a good number of my photos and
drove my wife crazy. Your slightly bright kitchen is a good subject for understanding
HDR technique. My point is don't have to wait for the trip. Let's see something sooner.


I can never overestimate the generosity, kindness, and patience of the folks especially
on this forum who helped me tremendously. We may see days go by without any one
adding a photo, but when you ask for something, you can be rest assured, you will be
helped.

With best regards,
Sury

Ararat by Dr. Harout, on Flickr

Fabulous, Doc.

Sury

I agree, magnificent view Doc!