San Francisco City Hall - HDR

[anvilimage]

With all of the moto racing photos I've been processing lately, it's been a while since I've posted any landscapes, especially HDRs.

I grabbed this 3 shot HDR late on night in SF before they turned the lights off outside. I think that happens around midnight just like other landmarks around there (Coit Tower, Transamerica Pyramid building, etc...).

I was shot on a tripod (of course) with my Sigma 10-20mm lens.

http://anvilimage.smugmug.com/photos/603590770_kwm4c-XL.jpg

Thanks for looking!

-joe

[Trainboy]

Hot damn, a well done HDR. Too bad it's unlevel.

[anvilimage]

Unlevel how? I've put a grid on it several times and the roof will appear to be sloped since I'm not centered on the building and I'm looking slightly to my right with a super wide angle lens. The columns in the center are pretty darn near vertical...

[fly my pretties]

It's a great shot, but he's talking about the pavement, it's at an angle and it's throwing off the composition..

[Scottes]

Fantastic shot.

But it isn't level. And I find the buildings on the sides to be distracting, since the real art (IMHO) is the building in the center. Some Photoshop Transformations would do a lot of good.

[MikeFairbanks]

The sidewalk and street make the scene appear unlevel.

But it's an amazing photo.

[mattograph]

I like this ALOT.

I do think Scottes is right about the horizontal alignment -- feels tilted left. But I really like the leading lines of the builds on the sides. It adds to the drama of this photo, which to me feels alot like a still from "the dark knight".

[azpix]

nice shot . nice work

[anvilimage]

I can see what you're saying about the curb and maybe I should crop that out. It's hard to tell, but the curb is not straight across. It's actually a curve at the end of a cul de sac in between the two buildings on either side. I think because I wasn't centered in the cul de sac, the curve doesn't fall off equally on both sides and looks really slanted. Maybe I'll crop and repost ...

Thanks for your replies everybody!

[Picture North Carolina]

It's a great shot, but he's talking about the pavement, it's at an angle and it's throwing off the composition..

Agree. It's not unlevel. It was shot a tad off line-of-site center which caused a little paralax. The top of the building is level, the ground is not. It's a brilliant image but I will have to agree the ground is a tiny disorienting.

[Trainboy]

Looking at it again, I see everyone's right. First time I looked at it, I could have sworn it was unlevel, not just shot off-centre!

[mattograph]

Maybe you could throw a little gradient on it to knock down the foreground a bit.

Maybe its not necessary -- I didn't notice it at first.

[alt4852]

if we all had TS-E 17mm f/4L's, we wouldn't have this problem. ;)

[MikeFairbanks]

I would rotate it 1.5 degrees (maybe 1) clockwise and then crop so that the hedge is in the photo, along with everything else.

[Picture North Carolina]

I think that rotating to correct the ground will only make the rest of the pic appear off-level, specifically the subject - the building - which currently looks ok (level).

[troypiggo]

Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout. Awesome.

[Clog]

Great shot, well done.

[Goggs]

Great shot

[witharebelyell]

Sometimes the best solution is the easiest.... crop out the street?? and one click down on the right cause of all the action on the left... and would look sweet in my eyes...

[EvanRocksTheCanon]

great job love how beautiful this shot is.

[Gordeez]

Gotham City!!
I really like this shot alot.

[shutr]

One of the best done HDR's i've seen, nice job!

[1cowboys]

Beautiful, I love the sky!

[big8oy]

Incredible pic, really like how it comes out. So surreal looking, especially the sky. great job!

[anvilimage]

Thanks! I appreciate all of your comments...

witharebelyell: Thanks for the suggestion. I think in the future when shooting with an ultra wide angle lens, I need to continue to move closer to my subjects and get my tripod closer to the ground

[witharebelyell]

In checking out your other pics Joe... I think I'm the last person to tell you how to take photos... I enjoyed looking at your other pics on flickr too...
I recently shot our capital (primarily because of your shot and wanted to see if it was something I could duplicate) and with my limitations (lack of options with lenses) it was tricky to find my exact spot to shoot too... Thank goodness for PP programs...

[Scottes]

I think in the future when shooting with an ultra wide angle lens, I need to continue to move closer to my subjects and get my tripod closer to the ground
Another thing to try is to keep the camera completely level. Do not aim up at something. You'll avoid converging lines of buildings.

Generally this means going to portrait mode - so you lose a lot of width - and you lose the bottom third or even the bottom half due to cropping the generally-uninteresting foreground.

It helps to have something like a Hama Double Bubble, which is a two-axis bubble level which pops into the hot-shoe. For $10 it's a handy little accessory to have around.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005QFAF/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=304485901&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00006JA1W&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0P4RQ3S7B1TMQHSYSACE

[eviltech]

Love it , very nice shot

[eviltech]

any filters.?

[anvilimage]

nope... Canon 40d shot through a Sigma 10-20mm (10mm) on a tripod. Three exposures at 0,-2,+2. Thanks!

[NeoTokyo]

My wife and I got married there, you should go inside and take a HDR of the Rotunda.

Great shot, makes me homesick and ready to break out of Missouri :)

[anvilimage]

I keep meaning to make it up there to shoot the inside and the building from the plaza on the other side. Maybe this weekend!

[dellplain]

This is one of the strongest nighttime HDR shots that I can recall looking at. It is very well done.

[anvilimage]

Brian,

Thank you! I looked at your Flickr... you would definitely know what well done looks like. Nice work!

-joe

[dellplain]

Brian,

Thank you! I looked at your Flickr... you would definitely know what well done looks like. Nice work!

-joe

Joe,

My pleasure, and thank you! The way I see it, the most rewarding thing next to take an awesome shot yourself is being able to see a fellow photographer's awesome shot that is shared. Keep 'em coming!

[ryaaannnn]

very cool shot!

[CameraBuff]

Real cool; nicely processed. One of the best night HDR shots I ever saw.

[moeronn]

Great composition and processing. Very well done.