High Falls of Rochester

Happened to be back in Rochester this week and had the day to
enjoy some R&R photography. My coworker and me visited
High Falls since she had never seen it and I wasn't happy in '10 when I
was last here and failed to capture a half decent photo.

Feedback welcomed as always as this is also my first HDR photo...
(Click on photo for larger version)

IMAGE LINK: http://jwsquire.com …012_potn/IMG_06​38_lrg.jpg

The HDR processing seems very much overdone....sorry.

No that is quiet fine.. I am here to learn. I'm finding Photomatrix Pro a little difficult
so I just used a default setting and only made minor tweaks. I'll need to figure out a way
to dial back the surreal effect and retry if it is overdone

It is pretty saturated, but that may have been the look you were going for. If you are looking for a more 'natural' look, start with the included preset that you like best. There are several controls that you can use to make it look more natural. I find that dialing the Strength back is the most effective. I tend not to do much proceessing in Photmatix - import back to Lightroom and do most PP there. There are also several places that you can download free presets that might give you a closer (or more distant) starting point. Just google 'Photomatix preset' and see what you can find. Another suggestion is to post in the HDR subforum of the Post Processing forum. It's pretty active and you can get a lot of good feedback there - not that this forum is shy. BTW, I live in the Rochester area - nice shot, and I think could be good for HDR - I'll have to get down there sometime. Good luck

Colin

If you are trying to do a "grunge" effect, you've done it well. That's my perception and I kind of like it. KUDOS.

colinm85 wrote in post #13718494
It is pretty saturated, but that may have been the look you were going for. If you are looking for a more 'natural' look, start with the included preset that you like best. There are several controls that you can use to make it look more natural. I find that dialing the Strength back is the most effective. I tend not to do much proceessing in Photmatix - import back to Lightroom and do most PP there. There are also several places that you can download free presets that might give you a closer (or more distant) starting point. Just google 'Photomatix preset' and see what you can find. Another suggestion is to post in the HDR subforum of the Post Processing forum. It's pretty active and you can get a lot of good feedback there - not that this forum is shy. BTW, I live in the Rochester area - nice shot, and I think could be good for HDR - I'll have to get down there sometime. Good luck

Colin

Hi Colin,
I was sort of trying to go in between a "grunge" and "natural" look. Slightly more
towards grunge. I will most definitely try the HDR forum and also google presets.
I did not realize that Photomatix had presets you could download like Lightroom.
(PS: Pittsford is a nice area, I went exploring out that way the week before Christmas)

Cucamonga Al wrote in post #13721387
If you are trying to do a "grunge" effect, you've done it well. That's my perception and I kind of like it. KUDOS.

Thanks Cucamonga!

I think I am going to try and re-process this weekend when I go home to see
if I can find a better mixture between grunge and natural look.