Spring Melt

[casil403]

Took this stream shot yesterday while out in driving in the mountains.
C&C's appreciated as always....

[jjeling]

I really want to say something. However, before I continue, it would be nice to hear what you have to say about this. It is difficult to critique your own image sometimes, but its necessary. Now that we have seen you dramatically improve your work, lets hear what you have to say about it.....

[casil403]

Hmmmm...well JJ, here's my :twocents: on my photo..

I think the snow on the left is slightly blown out which means yet again, I probably overexposed the shot...still having trouble with over/under exposing. and picking the correct exposure. I think I took this in shutter priority though.
I think I like it better in B&W personally but I thought I would show the coloured version. it's got a bit of a yellowish tinge to it...not sure why that happened, but it bugs me a little hence the B&W. i also might want to crop the bottom of it a little to get rid of that grass in the left corner. however in the BW shot it blends in so not sure if a crop is necessary in that photo..
I like the softness of the water and the composition of the rocks at the bottom of the stream and the way my eye moves down the falls of the creek....I think I did okay in that area this time.
That's about it.... feel free to add anything else.

[casil403]

Here's the B&W version of the same shot for comparison.

[jjeling]

Very good summary IMO.
You did extremely well in a very difficult situation. Here is why...
Snow reflects a LOT of light. It makes for very fast shutter speeds. To achieve soft water, you must slow down the shutter speed. When you combine the two, it turns into a volatile mix. A slow shutter speed will always blow the detail in the snow, in turn, properly exposed snow will always produce sharp details water.

For the story you are trying to tell, this is about as good as your going to get in one image. However, with a little more time and patience at this site, you could have taken several different exposures, and worked them together in an HDR image to really turn this scene into a colorful wonder. If you can go back soon, I would definitly give it a try. I think your composition is pefect for this story. There are probably a million different ways to capture this scene, but for your purpose this is good.

The second one is the winner for me. It looks to be the best Ive seen from you so far from what I can remember is yours. Not quite a wall hanger/poster yet. But it is awefully close. If you like it that is all that matters anyways. These are just my thoughts, hope they helped.

[Gem]

The image looks tilted to me. Plus I find the snow distracting since it's only in one corner...maybe if there had been any in the bottom corner, it might have been okay.

On the plus side, looovveee the movement of the water! And the colour of the rocks :)

[casil403]

I took a ton of shots of this little creek in all different kinds of exposures and settings...however I do not know anything about HDR...not even what the acronym stands for....

[jjeling]

High Dynamic Range - it is a fun little process to get familiar with. Ive only tried it a few times. Havent really given it much effort. Some people focus solely on these types of images. A few have been posted here. You would recognize one if you saw one, probably just didnt know the term for it. Do yourself a favor and do a quick search on the internet for "HDR Photograph" You will get some good results.
Basically, its a number of photographs merged into one. It can be done numerous ways, but it is done to prevent loss of detail due too much or not enough exposure. Sorry, kind of hard to explain, your better off hearing that one from someone else.

Search "High Dynamic Range" for a better explanation

[Mad Aussie]

What a cool little cascade you found there Casil.

As JJ said, it's actually a difficult little shot to take.

If you used Shutter Priority then the camera will be fooled for sure by the brightness of the snow IF you used evaluative or even partial metering. If you used centre or spot you might have had a better result ... perhaps.

The best thing to do here in my opinion if you wanted to get this in single shot would have been to use Manual and set the shutter speed for the water appearance you wanted and then set the aperture to get that snow about right and accept the falls being a bit dark in spots. You could lighten them later in PP. I'd probably use use Aperture Bracketing function just to get a wider choice.

It does a yellow cast that could be lowered a bit in PP. Shooting it with different White Balance options might have been a good idea also at the time. If you shot it in RAW you could now select those and see which you like best. In RAW you could also maybe recover some of that lost snow detail too.

Another option aside from B&W might be to use a slight blue hue. You may have seen Dwayne's waterfall recently where he put a fair bit of blue into it and I asked him to back it off a bit and the opinions seem to favour that. The slight blue kind of enhances the coldness in the scene whereas the yellow tends to go against what we are seeing here.

[kat]

Well..seems everyone summed it up pretty good. Really like the water flow!

[Marko]

yes fabulous comments everyone and I like how you made casil answer the question JJ!

I have nothing to add here except do you have a histogram feature on your camera? We talk about histograms and HDR in the following 2 podcasts.
Hope that helps

Marko

Histograms - http://www.photography.ca/blog/?p=85
HDR - http://www.photography.ca/blog/?p=198

[casil403]

I have an HDR setting in my camera...is this what you are talking about JJ?
I also threw in a bit of a blue tint in #2.

Thanks for all your comments everyone...I'm learning that snow is a bit of a bugger to work with for newbies! :)

[jjeling]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/artiephotography/2811988021/

Check this link out. It will explain to you what HDR is in an extreme way.
There are two things I think you might be understanding as HDR.
The first is the Multi-exposure. This is not HDR. Im glad you have a Pentax so I can help out here. Multi-exposure allows you to take between 2-9 shots, then melts them all into one picture. The parallel to tricking old 35mm into allowing two pictures on one exposure. This can be done in post production as well. But if you are far away from a computer, and really are going for a desired effect, it will work. It is important to play around with this setting to get a good understanding of how it works. Below where you choose the number of exposures you want, make sure the Auto EV is checked. It will make sure the combination of all the pictures are properly exposed instead of blowing out the whole picture.

Now, what I really think you are looking at is the auto bracketing. You can choose between 3 and 5 shots in your chosen succession at 1/3 all he way up to 2 stops apart. This is the beginning of HDR. You need to take these shots in order to combine them all. What happens in PP is all of the perfectly exposed areas of several images are merged into one image creating an exaggerated color scheme and a very dramatic image. Bracketing can also be used if you are in a situation where you need a shot really fast. Generally people prefer certain settings for bracketing and once turned on will just shoot away. If a subject is not going to be around long, turn your bracketing on. It will almost always result in one keeper if you are pressed for time and cant fiddle with other settings.
No camera can produce an "HDR" image. Bracketing allows you to take differently exposed images that can later be merged in post production as an HDR image. When you get around to trying it, always make sure you are using a tripod, otherwise, images will not line up properly, and will pretty much ruin your attempt at it.

Hope that helps. There has to be someone here that can explain this better than I can.

[JAS_Photo]

Photomatrix will create your HDR photo for you once you plug in your images. The program is about $99 U.S. to buy but you can download it for a free trial to see if it something you would like to try. Search HDR in flickr and you will find some amazing examples.

Here is another thread that touches on the subject.

Click for HDR ( http://www.hdrsoft.com/download/win.html)


Check out Z06-jim's photos here for some impressive HDR (http://www.photography.ca/Forums/showthread.php?t=2556)

[Barefoot]

I have an HDR setting in my camera...is this what you are talking about JJ?

“No camera can produce an "HDR" image.” Don’t let “Mr. Pentax” steer you in the wrong direction.:D:D

If your camera has an HDR mode, then you must have either the K20D or the K200D either of which does indeed have the ability to create HDR images in camera. Please read your manual as how it’s used, and then post some results for us to see. Just remember, still life/landscape only and use a tripod with your image stabilization mode turned off.

The intention of HDRI is to accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes ranging from direct sunlight to shadows, however many photographers now take images that could otherwise be properly exposed for the sole purpose of using the tone mapping functions available in most HDR programs. Tone mapping is what gives those images their “otherworld” appearance.

Without tone mapping, the typical HDR image can appear a little flat and de-saturated. It is the tone mapping function that provides the saturated, almost un-real looking colors that people really love, or hate, in HDR imaging. In other words, simply bracketing 3 or more images and combining those in software will not give you the type of image most now associated with HDRI.

If you would like to try a fine piece of HDRI software that is very easy to use and doesn’t cost a penny, look at this:

http://www.hdrlabs.com/picturenaut/

[jjeling]

I was not aware that either camera had HDR. From my knowledge there is an expanded dynamic range, it does not seem like it would be the same HDR image as you would get with photomatix.

I do understand that images are captured in a standard 8 bit color scheme. With the expanded dynamic range, it doubles this to 16 bit color. However, even with a perfect exposure with the expanded dynamic range turned on, a true hdr picture does not seem likely. Colors may be much more accurate and contain better detail but it does not seem likely to be a true HDR image. If that is the case however, consider me corrected. If it is, then chalk one more point up for Pentax. One more option Pentax offers that Nikon and Canon have yet to address.

[jjeling]

Im a member over at the Pentax Forums, and just placed the question over there. I really hope I am wrong here. It really would be another great option from Pentax.

[Barefoot]

http://forums.prophecy.co.za/f72/pentax-adds-hdr-capabilities-their-latest-dslrs-44098/

[jjeling]

Thanks for that Barefoot. Im am glad to stand corrected. Now Im wondering if I should have held off and bought a K20 instead of the K10. Hmm, maybe Ill have to just buy a used one in the future.

[Barefoot]

One more option Pentax offers that Nikon and Canon have yet to address.

I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that Nikon and Canon haven’t investigated their options of including this function is their cameras. HDR is controversial among photographers. If, and when, it gains more widespread acceptance, I feel sure that you will see it offered in models from all the major manufactures.

It was rumored that Pentax made the jump in an effort to sway uncommitted first time buyers in their direction and to make the process easier for those that are not prone to developing the skills necessary to create HDR images in third party software.

[jjeling]

I can entertain that thought.

[casil403]

Thanks to all...I am going to investigate HDR online and with my K200.
Thanks too for the links and suggestions of where/how to use it...much appreciated!
You guys are great!
Btw, the more I look at the blue tinge in shot 3, the more I dislike it!

[Barefoot]

You guys are great!

I’m sorry, casil. I should have mentioned that I find your image beautiful. It’s nice to see you progress. At a much faster rate than myself, I’d add.

[Mad Aussie]

I have an HDR setting in my camera...is this what you are talking about JJ?
I also threw in a bit of a blue tint in #2.

Thanks for all your comments everyone...I'm learning that snow is a bit of a bugger to work with for newbies! :)
I like the B&W now ... looks great.
The blue tint is wrong I think. Needs to be a much darker blue. that's getting too close to aqua ... and the tint should be just the slightest hint of blue. Enough to tell it's definitely there but that's all.

[jjeling]

I hate to drag this out any longer than it has to, but here are what the guys over at the Pentax Forums had to say.

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/55085-camera-hdr.html

[casil403]

Thanks JJ...I am going to bookmark this forum for when I need help.

[jjeling]

Its an excellent source for anything you need to know about Pentax. There is also a place on the site where you can read a review for just about any lens you could ever use for Pentax as well. I would highly suggest taking a poke at those when deciding to purchase another one.