Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L

The Ghost of FM wrote in post #11643704
One more from today's frosty outing...

Cheers!

Hi FM,

I know I'm a newbee to this site, so I apologise for any miss interrupted insensitivity.

But can I politely suggest that you try toning down your HDR's a touch. I can spot your images as HDRs a mile away. You have a lot of great compositions etc, but the excessive PP I believe tends to pull away from the images other great attributes.

The idea of HDR is to counteract the inabilities of small digital formats dynamic range. When done, it should resemble a single unaltered shot. But you are losing a lot of detail with the heavy blends creating an obviously unrealistic look.

Just a suggestion, please take with a grain of salt.

f I do say so myself he is not really an offender of the usual HDR, which is an assault on the senses and an affront to good taste

Wow. You find that overly HDR? I disagree with that criticism completely. For the record I am not a fan of HDR.

I think it's short-sighted to say "I'm not a fan of HDR" because there are so many gradations of it. There are definitely plenty of examples of tastefully done HDR. Back when I used shoot HDR, I would try to be as subtle as possible, aiming to impart the photo with something "extra" without giving it that overdone, radioactive look.

flynnyfalcon wrote in post #11865844
Hi FM,

I know I'm a newbee to this site, so I apologise for any miss interrupted insensitivity.

But can I politely suggest that you try toning down your HDR's a touch. I can spot your images as HDRs a mile away. You have a lot of great compositions etc, but the excessive PP I believe tends to pull away from the images other great attributes.

The idea of HDR is to counteract the inabilities of small digital formats dynamic range. When done, it should resemble a single unaltered shot. But you are losing a lot of detail with the heavy blends creating an obviously unrealistic look.

Just a suggestion, please take with a grain of salt.

Thanks for your feedback on the shot.

This picture was in fact not an HDR nor even a pseudo HDR, so you may want to reconsider what you think you're spotting from a mile away!

About my post processing, I do purposely try for a bit of a surreal look in my pictures as I find straight shots kind of boring and lacking in personal expression.

Otherwise, I agree with you that many people do have problems getting their head around doing HDR's properly.

Cheers!

Here's a 7 shot HDR taken earlier today...

^Nice table Jeff.

jdizzle wrote in post #11868126
^Nice table Jeff.

Thanks Julian!

It's an old family hand me down item from the late 50's!

Cheers!

flynnyfalcon wrote in post #11865844
I can spot your images as HDRs a mile away.

The Ghost of FM wrote in post #11865844
This picture was in fact not an HDR nor even a pseudo HDR...

LOL

flynnyfalcon wrote in post #11865844
The idea of HDR is to counteract the inabilities of small digital formats dynamic range. .

Well a screwdriver is intended to turn screws, but I find it rather well suited for opening paint tins as well... people can like or not like HDR, but to suggest it has just one specific use as above is a fairly narrow interpretation.

robonrome wrote in post #11870454
Well a screwdriver is intended to turn screws, but I find it rather well suited for opening paint tins as well... people can like or not like HDR, but to suggest it has just one specific use as above is a fairly narrow interpretation.

You can open bottles of beer with your teeth but I wouldn't recommend it.

^Excellent work Kevin!!

I read the thread from start to finish, and with you being such an active partaker in it, I suppose I noticed your work quite a bit. Their were quite a few examples that had me thinking, a little less here or there would make it a lot better. I apologise for pointing out an example which wasn't a HDR but there were a few others I should have used instead.

As I said, please take my comments with a grain of salt. You mentioned you often go for a surreal look, so my thoughts are probably ill directed.

...

I never said "I'm not a fan of HDR" It's a very helpful tool, and when used appropriately can extend the possibilities/vision of your camera/photography. Though, personally I prefer the results you can get from dodging and burning blends. That said, the table above does look fantastic!

<start rant>
I suppose it is the photographers which tend to go completely over the top (which you are absolutely not) and claim it's a professional result which does my head in. Someone with a camera in his hand, and a program on his computer claiming he's a pro. It typifies that attitude that anyone can be a pro photog, all you need is a camera
<end rant>

:o Sorry... Been haggling with a new client about prices and it's very frustrating justifying my rates

flynnyfalcon wrote in post #11871109
I read the thread from start to finish, and with you being such an active partaker in it, I suppose I noticed your work quite a bit. Their were quite a few examples that had me thinking, a little less here or there would make it a lot better. I apologise for pointing out an example which wasn't a HDR but there were a few others I should have used instead.

As I said, please take my comments with a grain of salt. You mentioned you often go for a surreal look, so my thoughts are probably ill directed.

...

I never said "I'm not a fan of HDR" It's a very helpful tool, and when used appropriately can extend the possibilities/vision of your camera/photography. Though, personally I prefer the results you can get from dodging and burning blends. That said, the table above does look fantastic!

<start rant>
I suppose it is the photographers which tend to go completely over the top (which you are absolutely not) and claim it's a professional result which does my head in. Someone with a camera in his hand, and a program on his computer claiming he's a pro. It typifies that attitude that anyone can be a pro photog, all you need is a camera
<end rant>

:o Sorry... Been haggling with a new client about prices and it's very frustrating justifying my rates

Not a problem and don't worry about it.

I am grateful that you liked some of my work and felt moved enough to comment on it. So thank you very much!

I am not a full time pro photographer. I only land the occasional paying gig and the rest of it I do for fun and as an artistic outlet. Sometimes I do go over the top with my post processing though I find the more I keep at it, the less way out there it tends to look.

Anyway, I hope this thread has inspired you to get this amazing lens and share some of your pictures with us!

Cheers!