1st Post:...New Camera/Lens & "HDR" Processing

[z06-jim]

Here are a couple shots I took this weekend with my new Canon 5DII & Sigma 12~24 Lens
I got the 5DII w/ 24~105L for Christmas and received the Sigma 12~24 a couple weeks ago for my birthday.
This is my first DSLR with my previous camera being a Canon S5IS, and only my second attempt at HDR processing...
Loving the new equipment so far but have a lot to learn....
C&C welcome...

http://jlss.smugmug.com/photos/490824857_rKN32-L.jpg

http://jlss.smugmug.com/photos/490824385_49Arn-L.jpg

http://jlss.smugmug.com/photos/490824624_Z5uKR-L.jpg

http://jlss.smugmug.com/photos/490825082_z8QXa-L.jpg

[casil403]

Welcome to the forum! :)
Very, very neat shots there ... love the last one...makes me want to turn my head when I look at it!

[Mad Aussie]

Sensational start to your DSLR fun then Jim.

The vignetting in the first shot is a bit harsh I think.

The colour saturation in shot 2 is a bit too much.

The last shot has a distracting cloud spot just above the peak of the house.

Aside from those few things ... I wish I'd taken them!!!

And welcome to Ph.ca!

[kat]

Really good! Only thing to watch out for is that halo effect! If this is just the beginning can't wait to see what time will do for yah :)

[jjeling]

Yes, nice work. Care to share you HDR processing technique? I have tried this before and failed miserably. Not even sure how to take the correct images for it. 1, 2, 3 stops apart?

[kiley9806]

great shots - i know nothing of HDR, so i cant comment on that, but the only thing i'd suggest is a slight straightening of the 1st shot, and the funny cloud MA mentioned in the last shot. very nice composition on all, and a great start to your dslr! cant wait to see you improve, wow! :)

[EJC]

I like the surreal look of all of them. To me the distortion and saturation is fitting. I agree with the others about the drop on the lens and would also love to see the process you used. Great work jim!

cheers
EJC

[JAS_Photo]

Great work!

[Barefoot]

You're off to a great start. are you using Photomatix?

[z06-jim]

Yes, nice work. Care to share you HDR processing technique? I have tried this before and failed miserably. Not even sure how to take the correct images for it. 1, 2, 3 stops apart?
Thanks everybody for all the comments...:)
I took 3 bracketed exposures at -2, 0, +2 and processed them using the 'Photomatix' software program.
Camera in 'Av' mode @ F8, .. ISO 100, .. shot in 'Raw' format.

[MoinMoin]

Wow - I really like this technique and my special picture here is the third one.

[GregL]

Thanks everybody for all the comments...:)
I took 3 bracketed exposures at -2, 0, +2 and processed them using the 'Photomatix' software program.
Camera in 'Av' mode @ F8, .. ISO 100, .. shot in 'Raw' format.

Thanks for the tips z06-jim. I'm very new to PP and I love some of the HDR shots I've seen, including yours. I'll have to give it a go soon. Thanks, and keep up the great work.

[z06-jim]

great shots - i know nothing of HDR, so i cant comment on that, but the only thing i'd suggest is a slight straightening of the 1st shot, and the funny cloud MA mentioned in the last shot. very nice composition on all, and a great start to your dslr! cant wait to see you improve, wow! :)

Sensational start to your DSLR fun then Jim.
The vignetting in the first shot is a bit harsh I think.
The colour saturation in shot 2 is a bit too much.
The last shot has a distracting cloud spot just above the peak of the house.
Aside from those few things ... I wish I'd taken them!!!
And welcome to Ph.ca!
Thanks for suggestions guys...I'm new at Photoshop, still trying to learn the basics, so here is my novice attempt at correcting some of the things you listed.
I cloned out the cloud spots and straightened/slightly cropped #1 & #2, and
reduced the saturation in #2.
Haven't figured out how to reduce vignetting just yet...
There sure seems to be quite a learning curve involved with using Photoshop...
Thanks again...Do these edited ones look any better?...

http://jlss.smugmug.com/photos/491450818_GKt3p-XL.jpg

http://jlss.smugmug.com/photos/491464148_Uj6Ye-XL.jpg

http://jlss.smugmug.com/photos/491450837_RVsLg-XL.jpg

[Mad Aussie]

They look better to me! Nice job for a 'learner' ;)

[Marko]

Welcome to the forum and what a great start!
These images are very striking and i like them all.
My main nit would be the leaning quality of shot 1. IMO it should either lean big time like in shot 4, or be corrected.
Still, even the way it currently is, it's making my eyes happy.
Hope that helps - Marko

[AntZ]

Much better. I aggreed with the original comments that #1 needed to be straightened and the spot in the last one was distracting. Well done.

[tomorrowstreasures]

Thanks everybody for all the comments...:)
I took 3 bracketed exposures at -2, 0, +2 and processed them using the 'Photomatix' software program.
Camera in 'Av' mode @ F8, .. ISO 100, .. shot in 'Raw' format.

Lovely!! I love architecture too! and you did a great job -- can't wait to see what a bit of practice brings you! :)

question - are you following stuckincustoms on flickr? if not - he uses the same program and does some pretty wickedly cool things with hdr.

[z06-jim]

You're off to a great start. are you using Photomatix?
Yes, I used 'Photomatix' to process the images....:)