Uploads from farbspiel, tagged landschaft

Mountain Shed (HDR) - Source Photos Available!!!

nobody@flickr.com (farbspiel) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 09:40:00 -0700

farbspiel posted a photo:

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Explore the world of HDR with me at farbspiel-photo.com - View. Learn. Connect.
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About | HDR Cookbook | Before-and-After | Making-of | Pics to play with
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(Hit 'f' to fave this image)

Watch the Before-and-After Comparison to see where this photo comes from!

NEW: Download the source files and try your own processing style! Take a look here to see all versions.

The story of this photo:
This is the first image from my recent trip to the German Alps. Moreover, it is the first image I upload that was taken with my new Nikkor lens. I replaced my Sigma 10-20 lens with the Nikon 10-24 lens due to a lack of sharpness. This investment paid off. Go here to follow the discussion on this switch.

The news continue: For the first time, I am providing the original source files for everybody to download and work with. If you'd like to check how your processing style looks with this image, go ahead, download the source photo package (link given above), and have fun with them. I have started a thread in the HDR group where you can post your results.

I am looking forward to seeing them!

Enjoy!

Take a look at my "HDR Cookbook"! It contains some more information on my techniques.

How it was shot:
> Handheld [details]
> Four exposures (-4, -2, 0, +2 EV) semi-autobracketed and merged to get and HDR
> Camera: Nikon D7000
> Lens: Nikkor AF-S DX 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED
> Details can be found here

How it was tonemapped:
> Preparation: developed the raw files with ACR mainly in order to reduce the CA [details]
> Created additional exposures in ACR
> Applied noise reduction (Topaz Denoise) to each of the source images [details]
> Resulting TIFF images were then used as input to Photomatix
> Tone-mapping: Photomatix Pro 4.0 (Detail Enhancer)

How it was post-processed:
> Post-processing was done in Photoshop
> Topaz Adjust on the entire image to get back the colors and the details [details]
> Topaz Infocus on the entire image for sharpening
> Saturation layer on the shed (tone down the green cast on the side)
> Curves layer on the shed (more contrast)
> Saturation layer on the sky (master, lightness, hue)
> Levels layer on the sky (more contrast)
> Saturation layer on the clouds (desaturation)
> Levels layer on the clouds (contrast)
> Levels layer on the mountains in the back (more contrast)
> Photo filter layer on the mountains in the back (removing blue cast)
> Global saturation layer (master)
> Global levels layer (contrast - masked to preserve highlights)
> Watermarking

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Learn these techniques at farbspiel-photo.com - View. Learn. Connect.

- Thanks for viewing!

Autumn Reflections (HDR)

nobody@flickr.com (farbspiel) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 01:44:49 -0700

farbspiel posted a photo:

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Explore the world of HDR with me at farbspiel-photo.com - View. Learn. Connect.
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About | HDR Cookbook | Before-and-After | Making-of | Pics to play with
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(Hit 'f' to fave this image)

The story of this photo:
I took this shot at a little lake while I was on a walk. I don't really like to see the summer leaving. But I have to say that autumn does have its nice aspects. Above all, of course, those fantastic colors. On a sunny day it's wonderful!

Thanks to everybody for the continuing support and for the great comments. Have a great weekend!

Enjoy!

Take a look at my "HDR Cookbook"! It contains some more information on my techniques.

How it was shot:
> Taken handheld [details]
> Three exposures (0, -2, +2 ev) autobracketed and merged to get and HDR
> Camera: Nikon D90
> Lens: Sigma 10-20mm F3,5 EX DC HSM
> Details can be found here

How it was tonemapped:
> Preparation: developed the raw files with ACR mainly in order to reduce the CA [details]
> HDR creation and tonemapping using Photomatix version 3.1 (Detail Enhancer)
> Saved as 16bit TIF

How it was post-processed:
> Post-processing was done in Photoshop
> Topaz Adjust on the entire image to get back the colors and the details [details]
> Topaz Denoise [details]
> Saturation layer on the sky (master and blues)
> Levels layer on the sky (contrast and brightening)
> Saturation layer on the clouds (slight desaturation)
> Levels layer on the clouds (increased contrast)
> Levels layer on the sky to even out uneven luminance resulting from the tonemapping (used red channel luminance as the mask) [details]
> Saturation layer on the water (master)
> Selective color layer on the water (more blacks in the blues)
> Levels layer on the water (more contrast)
> Levels layer on the construction (brightening)
> Saturation layer on the construction (slight desaturation)
> Saturation layer on the trees (yellows, reds, master)
> Levels layer on the trees (more contrast)
> Some retouch on the water to remove leafs
> Vignette effect on the lower half of the photo using a masked fill layer [details]
> Sharpening using the high-pass filter [details]

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Learn these techniques at farbspiel-photo.com - View. Learn. Connect.

- Thanks for viewing!

A Happy Little Tree (HDR Vertorama)

nobody@flickr.com (farbspiel) — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 03:19:34 -0700

farbspiel posted a photo:

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Explore the world of HDR with me at farbspiel-photo.com - View. Learn. Connect.
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About | HDR Cookbook | Before-and-After | Making-of | Pics to play with
______________________________________________________________________

(Hit 'f' to fave this image)

The story of this photo:
Does anyone of you still know who Bob Ross was? Bob who???

Ross, Bob Ross! He was a painter and host of the TV show "The Joy of Painting", a show where he demonstrated how to make stunning oil paintings with very simple techniques and little time. Many many years ago, I stumbled across one episode of this show and got stuck, fascinated by the way Bob talked about what he was painting. He had a very calm almost therapeutic charisma. He invented little mini stories about the things he painted. For example, he painted a particular tree because "the little birds needed some branches to sit on with their little feet". He made it sound logical and meaningful that this tree had to be there. And every tree he painted was "a happy little tree". In fact, if you type "happy little tree" in Google, the first hit will be the Wikipedia page about Bob. Try it right after you commented my photo! ;-)

Somehow, I found Bob and his show immensely relaxing. When I worked on this photo of a tree, the term "happy little tree" instinctively came to my mind and brought back this memory. So, I decided that this is a happy little tree.

As a matter of fact, this was never intended to be posted as it was only a practice shot. I messed up the camera settings so it's only bracketed by +-1ev. Hence some areas are a bit dark. But I liked the simplicity and the sky with those nice clouds. And as a tribute to the late Bob Ross, here is my happy little tree.

Enjoy!

Take a look at my "HDR Cookbook"! It contains some more information on my techniques.

How it was shot:
> Taken handheld: 3 series of 3 shots, each with 0, -1, +1 ev [details]
> Camera: Nikon D90
> Lens: Sigma 10-20mm F3,5 EX DC HSM
> Details can be found here

How it was stitched and tonemapped:
> Created 3 HDRs (32 bit) using Photomatix version 3.1
> Stitched the 3 HDRs using Photoshop saved in OpenEXR format
> Tonemapped resulting panorama HDR using Photomatix version 3.1 (Detail Enhancer)
> Saved as 16bit TIF
> Take a look here for a more detailed description.

How it was post-processed:
> Post-processing was done in Photoshop
> Topaz Adjust on the entire image to get back the colors and the details [details]
> Topaz Denoise [details]
> Saturation layer on the plants (yellows, greens)
> Saturation layer on the sky (blues)
> Saturation layer on the sky with a gradient mask to even out tones
> Saturation layer on the clouds (slight desaturation)
> Vignette effect using a masked fill layer (only on the lower half of the image to focus the attention on the tree and keep the sky intact) [details]
> Sharpening using the high-pass filter [details]

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Learn these techniques at farbspiel-photo.com - View. Learn. Connect.

- Thanks for viewing!

The Cloud - Castle Hohenneuffen, Germany (HDR)

nobody@flickr.com (farbspiel) — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 08:04:36 -0700

farbspiel posted a photo:

Via Krupp - Capri, Italy (HDR Vertorama)

nobody@flickr.com (farbspiel) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 00:30:02 -0700

farbspiel posted a photo:

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Explore the world of HDR with me at farbspiel-photo.com - View. Learn. Connect.
______________________________________________________________________

About | HDR Cookbook | Before-and-After | Making-of | Pics to play with
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(Hit 'f' to fave this image)

The story of this photo:
This HDR Vertorama shows the view from August´s Garden on Capri (island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, Italy). The winding path in the lower part of the picture is the Via Krupp. This path was commissioned by the German industrialist, Friedrich Alfred Krupp in the early 1900's. In the middle of the picture you see the bay of Marina Piccola.

The view from this spot is breathtaking. I tried my best to recreate the impression I had in that very moment. But I guess I had to fail. The landscape and the Mediterranean Sea have incredible shapes and colors there. Another spot, that I can only recommend visiting when you ever get to this area.

Enjoy!

Take a look at my "HDR Cookbook"! It contains some more information on my techniques.

How it was shot:
> Taken handheld [details]
> 3x3 autobracketed shots (three exposures each with 0, -2, +2 ev)
> Camera: Nikon D90
> Lens: Sigma 10-20mm F3,5 EX DC HSM
> Details can be found here

How it was stitched and tonemapped:
> Created 3 HDRs (32 bit) using Photomatix version 3.1
> Stitched the 3 HDRs using Photoshop saved in OpenEXR format
> Tonemapped resulting panorama HDR using Photomatix version 3.1 (Detail Enhancer)
> Saved as 16bit TIF
> Take a look here for a more detailed description.

How it was post-processed:
> Post-processing was done in Photoshop
> Distortion correction and cropping
> Topaz Adjust on the entire image to get back the colors and the details [details]
> Saturation layer on the rocks (slight desaturation)
> Levels layer on the rocks (increasing the contrast in different areas)
> Saturation layer on the vegetation (yellows and reds)
> Saturation layer on the water (cyans)
> Levels layer on the sky (slight darkening)
> Levels layer on the sky to even out uneven luminance resulting from the tonemapping (used inverted green channel luminance as the mask)
> Sharpening using the high-pass filter [details]

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Learn these techniques at farbspiel-photo.com - View. Learn. Connect.

- Thanks for viewing!

Charlottenburg Palace - Berlin, Germany (HDR)

nobody@flickr.com (farbspiel) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 10:31:12 -0700

farbspiel posted a photo:

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Explore the world of HDR with me at farbspiel-photo.com - View. Learn. Connect.
______________________________________________________________________

About | HDR Cookbook | Before-and-After | Making-of | Pics to play with
______________________________________________________________________

(Hit 'f' to fave this image)

The story of this photo:
Charlottenburg Palace (German: Schloss Charlottenburg) is the largest palace in Berlin. It was built at the end of the 17th century.

I lived in Berlin for 5 years not far from this place. The palace and the gardens surrounding it are a great place for recreation. For quite some time, I was doing my training runs there. When I went there this year, I took the time to go back and take some pictures.

Take a look at my "HDR Cookbook"! It contains some more information on my techniques.

Success story:
> This photo was featured in the Explore D90 Content from September 8th to September 12th 2010.
> It is an Editor's Pick at "HDR Spotting".

How it was shot:
> Camera supported by a balustrade
> Three exposures (0, -2, +2 ev) autobracketed and merged to get and HDR
> Camera: Nikon D90
> Lens: Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3,5-5,6G ED VR
> Filter: Circular Polarizer
> Details can be found here

How it was tonemapped:
> Photomatix version 3.1 (Detail Enhancer)

How it was post-processed:
> Post-processing was done in Photoshop
> Topaz Adjust on the entire image to get back the colors and the details [details]
> Replaced the sky with the sky of the -2ev exposure to remove halos
> Topaz Denoise [details]
> Saturation layer on the trees (yellows, greens)
> Saturation layer on the palace and its reflection (yellows)
> Halo reduction on the water using a levels adjustment layer (gamma ~ 0.8) and delicate masking to blend this darker layer into those halo spots [details]
> Photo filter on the water (cooling filter to enhance the blues)
> Curves layer on the water to tune the contrast and he reflection look
> Saturation layer on the sky (master)
> Selective color layer on the sky (increased in theblack component in the blues and cyans)
> Vignette effect using a masked fill layer [details]
> Sharpening using the high-pass filter [details]

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Learn these techniques at farbspiel-photo.com - View. Learn. Connect.

- Thanks for viewing!

Torra di a Parata - Ajaccio, Corsica (HDR)

nobody@flickr.com (farbspiel) — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 06:08:02 -0700

farbspiel posted a photo:

Sunrise Cruise - Naples, Italy [Explored]

nobody@flickr.com (farbspiel) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:22:36 -0700

farbspiel posted a photo:

Light and Shadow - Castle Hohenneuffen, Germany (HDR Panorama)

nobody@flickr.com (farbspiel) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:43:01 -0700

farbspiel posted a photo:

______________________________________________________________________

Explore the world of HDR with me at farbspiel-photo.com - View. Learn. Connect.
______________________________________________________________________

About | HDR Cookbook | Before-and-After | Making-of | Pics to play with
______________________________________________________________________

(Hit 'f' to fave this image)

The story of this photo:
This is a panorama shot from Hohenneuffen Castle, one of the many ancient castles on the Swabian Alb (Schwäbische Alb), Baden-Württemberg, Germany. We went there last weekend, not really knowing if the weather would hold up. As it turned out, the clouds were just perfect which opened a majestic view over the valley with light and shadows painting structures on the ground. So I got out my minimalist panorama gear (a monopod, a macro rail as a pano head and my Sigma 10-20mm) and shot a few panoramas. This is the first one I processed.

Enjoy!

Take a look at my "HDR Cookbook"! It contains some more information on my techniques.

How it was shot:
> Taken with a monopod using a Kirk macro rail as a panorama head
> 4 autobracketed shots, three exposures (0, -2, +2 ev) each autobracketed
> Camera: Nikon D90
> Lens: Sigma 10-20mm F3,5 EX DC HSM
> Details can be found here

How it was stitched and tonemapped:
> Created 4 HDRs (32 bit) using Photomatix version 3.1
> Stitched the 4 HDRs using Photoshop saved in OpenEXR format
> Tonemapped resulting panorama HDR using Photomatix version 3.1 (Detail Enhancer)
> Saved as 16bit TIF
> Take a look here for a more detailed description.

How it was post-processed:
> Post-processing was done in Photoshop
> Topaz Adjust on the entire image to get back the colors and the details [details]
> Topaz Denoise [details]
> Saturation layer on the clouds to desaturate them a bit
> Saturation layer on the blue sky to enhance the blue tones
> Saturation layer on the ground (yellows and greens)
> Levels layer on the ground to increase the contrast and brighten it a bit
> Photo filter layer (Warming filter (85)) on the ground to make the tones a little bit warmer
> Vignette effect using a masked fill layer [details]
> Sharpening using the high-pass filter [details]

______________________________________________________________________
Learn these techniques at farbspiel-photo.com - View. Learn. Connect.

- Thanks for viewing!

Call it a Day! [Explored]

nobody@flickr.com (farbspiel) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:50:18 -0700

farbspiel posted a photo:

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Explore the world of HDR with me at farbspiel-photo.com - View. Learn. Connect.
______________________________________________________________________

About | HDR Cookbook | Before-and-After | Making-of | Pics to play with
______________________________________________________________________

(Hit 'f' to fave this image)

Explored! Highest position #30 on July 24, 2010

The story of this photo:
Today, I am doing something very unusual - a truly daring experiment. I am breaking new ground. I am... hold on to your seats ...posting an image that is almost straight out of the camera. Tadaaa!

No HDR, no hours of intensive post-processing (to compensate for my mediocre shooting talent). Just a tiny bit of very straight-forward, basic, boring you-do-not-need-any-of-this-photoshop-crap processing. Free of any masking!!!

It's not that I did not try, though! I did! But that image resisted all attempts to improve it. Increasing the saturation even slightly would bring out very ugly artefacts. It was like the photo was looking at me with a bored look on its face saying "Ahhh, forget it!" So, I eventually gave up, decided that you will have to live with the ugly truth and called it a day. LOL

I hope you enjoy it nevertheless! :-)

By the way, this sunset shot was taken at the beach of Khao Lak, Thailand!

Take a look at my "HDR Cookbook"! It contains some more information on my techniques.

Success story:
Ok, made it! This is my first photo that made it to explore. Thanks to everybody for the comments and faves.

This photo has obviously been featured in explore before but there is no record of it. Now I have put that behind me! Strange how you strive to get there even if your mind tells you that it is not all that important.

How it was shot:
> Taken with a tripod
> Camera: Nikon D90
> Lens: Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3,5-5,6G ED VR
> Details can be found here

How it was post-processed:
> Post-processing was done in Photoshop
> Slight rotation to get the horizon dead straight (the least I could do!)
> Slight cropping
> Topaz Denoise [details]
> Levels layer to brighten the photo a bit
> Vibrance layer to anhance the colors
> Vignette effect using a masked fill layer [details]
> Sharpening using the high-pass filter [details]

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Learn these techniques at farbspiel-photo.com - View. Learn. Connect.

- Thanks for viewing!

San Pietro - South Tyrol, Italy (HDR)

nobody@flickr.com (farbspiel) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 01:27:07 -0700

farbspiel posted a photo:

A Walk in the Park (HDR)

nobody@flickr.com (farbspiel) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 10:12:26 -0700

farbspiel posted a photo:

James Bond Rock - Panorama - Phang Nga, Thailand (HDR)

nobody@flickr.com (farbspiel) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 23:01:35 -0700

farbspiel posted a photo:

______________________________________________________________________

Explore the world of HDR with me at farbspiel-photo.com - View. Learn. Connect.
______________________________________________________________________

About | HDR Cookbook | Before-and-After | Making-of | Pics to play with
______________________________________________________________________

(Hit 'f' to fave this image)

Watch the Before and After - Comparison to see where this photo comes from!

The story of this photo:
This is a 9-shot pseudo HDR panorama of the famous "James Bond" rock in the bay of Phang Nga, Thailand. You can find another (real) HDR shot of this rock here. The rock appeared in the 1974 James Bond movie "The Man With the Golden Gun" and has been a major tourist attraction every since. The shot was taken from a different position with a better view over the whole bay than the previous shot I uploaded. This place is awesome and mystical in a way.

It is the first time I have tried to do a proper HDR panorama and it was quite interesting to discover the corresponding workflow. Thank god, I have a fast 64bit PC with a 64bit operating system and lots of memory. During post processing, the document got more than 3 GB big at times. I have done panorama shots before with different gear, some of which was self-made. This was the first time I traveled with a monopod fitted with a simple but flexible and effective macro rail that I use as a panorama head. I have been searching and experimenting for some time to find the ideal solution to shoot panoramas quickly, reliably (avoiding problems in stitching) and at a reasonable price. And this is the perfect combination.

Take a look at my "HDR Cookbook"! It contains some more information on my techniques.

How it was shot:
> Taken with a monopod (using a Kirk macro rail as panorama head)
> 9 Exposures (stitched later)
> Camera: Nikon D90
> Lens: Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3,5-5,6G ED VR
> Details can be found here

How it was stitched and tonemapped:
> Developed three TIFs from each of the 9 RAW files using Adobe Camera Raw (+2, 0, -2 ev)
> Created 9 HDRs (32 bit) using Photomatix version 3.1
> Stitched the 9 HDRs using Photoshop and saved in OpenEXR format
> Tonemapped resulting panorama HDR using Photomatix version 3.1 (Detail Enhancer)
> Saved as 16bit TIF
> Take a look here for a more detailed description.

How it was post-processed:
> Post-processing was done in Photoshop
> Topaz Adjust on the foreground (everything except the sky) to enhance the details and the colors [details]
> Curves layer on the water to enhance the reflections and the contrast
> Photo filter layer with a gradient mask on the water to enhance the orange tones in the foreground
> Saturation layer on the water for overall color enhancement
> Saturation and Levels layers on he sky to enhance the blue tones and the contrast
> Saturation layer on the rocks to tone down the reds and increase the yellows
> Curves layer on the rocks to tune the contrast
> Halo reduction in the sky using a levels adjustment layer (gamma ~ 0.8) and delicate masking to blend this darker layer into those halo spots [details]
> Topaz Denoise [details]
> Sharpening on the foreground using the high-pass filter [details]

______________________________________________________________________
Learn these techniques at farbspiel-photo.com - View. Learn. Connect.

- Thanks for viewing!

Lichtenstein Castle - Honau, Germany (HDR)

nobody@flickr.com (farbspiel) — Sat, 22 May 2010 01:42:27 -0700

farbspiel posted a photo:

______________________________________________________________________

Explore the world of HDR with me at farbspiel-photo.com - View. Learn. Connect.
______________________________________________________________________

About | HDR Cookbook | Before-and-After | Making-of | Pics to play with
______________________________________________________________________

(Hit 'f' to fave this image)

The story of this photo:
Lichtenstein Castle is one of the many romantic castels on the Swabian Alb, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. If you ever happen to be here, go and visit this part of Germany. It is really beautiful with a lot of historic castels in it.

This is one of the older shots that I am processing bit by bit now. In the next few weeks, you will probably see a wild mix of newly shot and old images. I hope you find them enterteining nevertheless.

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about this place:
Lichtenstein Castle is a fairy-tale styled castle located near Honau in the Swabian Alb, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Its self-descriptive name in English means "light (colored) stone." Historically there has been a castle on the site since around 1200. It was twice destroyed, once in the Reichskriegs war of 1311 and again by the city-state of Reutlingen in 1381. The castle was not reconstructed and subsequently fell to ruin. In 1802 the land came into the hands of King Frederick I of Württemberg, who built a hunting lodge there. By 1837 the land had passed to his nephew Duke Wilhelm of Urach, Count of Württemberg, who, inspired by Wilhelm Hauff's novel Lichtenstein, added the current castle in 1840–42. The romantic Neo-Gothic design of the castle was created by the architect Carl Alexander Heideloff. [Wikipedia, May 2010]

Take a look at my "HDR Cookbook"! It contains some more information on my techniques.

How it was shot:
> Handheld
> Three exposures (0, -2, +2 ev) autobracketed
> Camera: Nikon D90
> Lens: Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3,5-5,6G ED VR
> Details can be found here

How it was tonemapped:
> HDR created from JPEG files (wasn't shooting raw at that time)
> Photomatix version 3.1 (Detail Enhancer)

How it was post-processed:
> Post-processing was done in Photoshop
> Topaz Adjust on the entire image to get back the colors and the details [details]
> Topaz Denoise [details]
> Levels layer with a gradient mask on the castel to compensate uneven lighting produced by Photomatix
> Saturation and levels layers on the castel to tune the colors, contrast and brightness
> Saturation and levels layers on the sky to desaturate it a bit and to tune the contrast
> Saturation layer on the flora to tone down the greens and yellow a bit
> Global saturation and levels layers to fine-tune the overall colors, contrast and brightness
> Sharpening using the high-pass filter [details]

______________________________________________________________________
Learn these techniques at farbspiel-photo.com - View. Learn. Connect.

- Thanks for viewing!

Vesuvius Sunrise - Naples, Italy

nobody@flickr.com (farbspiel) — Thu, 13 May 2010 23:55:29 -0700

farbspiel posted a photo:

Andaman Sunset - Khao Lak, Thailand (HDR)

nobody@flickr.com (farbspiel) — Sun, 09 May 2010 03:35:07 -0700

farbspiel posted a photo:

Driftwood (HDR)

nobody@flickr.com (farbspiel) — Sun, 02 May 2010 07:44:00 -0700

farbspiel posted a photo:

Bärenschlössle - Stuttgart, Germany (HDR)

nobody@flickr.com (farbspiel) — Sat, 01 May 2010 08:14:05 -0700

farbspiel posted a photo: