Narrow Gauge Steam - Realistic HDRs

All shots are 3 exposure HDRs processed with Dynamic Photo HDR Software. Shot with a 40D and EFs 17-55 lens, some shots with a circular polarizer on the lens. The equipment belongs to the Cumbres and Toltec scenic railroad which runs between Chama New Mexico and Antonito Colorado. Shots were made handheld

Could we see some non-HDR shots? They look so realistic I have trouble believing you actually did HDR

When the title said "narrow gauge" i thought these were the N scale model trains.

Anyway, great photos! Very good colors.

Hi Bill;

Nice series... but... only surprise really is in #1. For a 3 exposure HDR I would have expected to see much better definition in the sky - specially with great cloud around!

Cheers;

Lee

Very nice. IMO that's what a working engine should look like.

A darker sky in #1 would make the engine look better. Keep in mind that our eyes are drawn to the brighter parts of the shot. And those bright areas tend to make the dark engine look even darker. Take a look at POST #30 near the bottom: The gray bar at the center is the same density all the way across.
A few Car Lighting Tips

Nice shots, not too much blur for being handheld.

They are HDR's. Here's some of the original shots that made one up...

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And the third component.

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They definitely make a world of difference!

lkb-28 wrote in post #5973836
Hi Bill;

Nice series... but... only surprise really is in #1. For a 3 exposure HDR I would have expected to see much better definition in the sky - specially with great cloud around!

Cheers;

Lee

I agree. In hindsite, I should have used a bigger spread on the exposure bracketing, or used 5 shots instead of the three I used. I just did not capture enough dynamic range to bring out all the cloud detail as my least exposed shot still has the clouds somewhat blown out. Since I have RAWs for the three source images, I'll think I'll play around with them and see if I build some more detail in the sky with the clouds.