Some HDR fun

[Jason Mintzer]

So, I recently downloaded the trial version of photomatix, and I am impressed. I will definitely be buying the full version. A few months ago I got the idea from Chrish to try HDR with herps ( I think it was from the thread hyla hdr fun). Today I went out and found a subject. Keep in mind, these pictures were taken at noon, in harsh sunlight. In RAW, I saved three versions of each photo, one a the normal exposure, one at one stop below, and one at one stop above. I then merged the photos in photomatix and processed. I didn't do any tone mapping, I just put the photos in photomatix and processed. While these aren't amazing pictures, I am excited to try this technique more this herp season. Just thought I would share it.

Here are the original photos and then the HDR ones...

[bgorum]

Your post inspired me to try something new today!

I had not used HDR for herps, but I decided to give it a try today. I found this atrox under a bush in bright sunlight, so I had all the contrast problems one often gets with herps. For the first picture I went old school and broke out my 32" diffuser to tame the shadows, (but unfortunately I still got a bright highlight on the dead sticks in the foreground).


For the second picture I took three exposures, (one at the metered setting, one that was one stop under, and another that was one stop over). I them used photomatix to combine them and get detail in both the highlights and the shadows.


I'm not sure which I prefer. The second is closer to what the original scene looked like since it still has the highlights and shadows from the dappled sunlight.

[Jason Mintzer]

Nice picture . I like the one with the diffuser better. The blown out stick in the foreground doesn't bother me at all. One question, what do you use to hold the diffuser?

[bgorum]

Nice picture . I like the one with the diffuser better. The blown out stick in the foreground doesn't bother me at all. One question, what do you use to hold the diffuser?

In this case I just rested it against the bush that the snake was under. Often I'll just hold it with one hand while reaching for the shutter release with my other hand, (only works when it is not windy), or I'll hold it with two hands and use the self timer or a 30" remote cord to trip the shutter.

[Jason Mintzer]

Thanks bgorum. I haven't tried using diffusers yet, but probably should start.

[Asnyder]

These are great and really makes me want to try some HDR work with some of my own pics. None of these look overdone at all

[Jason Mintzer]

Thanks Andrew. By the way, great article in HerpNation. Top notch photography.