Waterfall

What happened here? That´s probably what you are thinking when you see this photo and I get so many different response, some negative and some positive. However you see it, this is it, this is the final product. This picture was taken on the edge of the bridge of the Devil´s Throat, Iguazu Falls, Misiones, Argentina. I was careless but it was also inevitable, there is no bargain with mother nature. It was a hot, cloudy and windy day, the storm was forming right above our heads and my lense got sprinkled by the waterfall caused by the strong wind right when i pressed the shutter release button. Each and every effort to retake the shot was useless, sprinkles all the time. Luckily though, my initial intention was to take HDR (High Dynamic Range) picture so I had to take at least 3 shots of the same frame but different level of light exposure. When I got home and saw the original RAW picture I was devastated, I knew HDR would do the magic but looking at its original quality hurts me. I then processed the three pictures to photomatix pro, a software I use to generate my HDR photos and this is the best I can do to save this picture. For me it would have been better without the water sprinkle effects but I guess mother nature also wanted to contribute her artistic talent.
What is important from this experience is not to persuade people to like this picture but to know that when you have your basic knowledge on photography whether it be a normal shot or HDR you can still save, recycle and be creative with it instead of deleting the photo no matter the obstacles. Without the proper knowledge maybe this photo would be too severe to save and my trip to Iguazu Falls would be pointless, waste of money and time.

If you want to find out more about generating HDR, please click on the link below:

Mom´s View
HDR Photography

HDR Photography

I have posted this picture before but in black and white. The reason why I am posting this same picture is because one of my followers wanted to see the original photo in color HDR (High Dynamic Range) quality. It turns out that a lot of people are still having problems with producing HDR and to be honest I had problems too in the beginning.
There are several ways to produce HDR. By editing a single photo to 3 photos with different exposures and processing in photoshop I believe that it can be done but I prefer relying on my camera to take the 3 different photos of the same angle with 3 different exposures. One of the most important equipment that you should use is the tripod to avoid movement as the camera will be taking 3 shots. The first frame the camera will snap fast making the picture dark, the second frame will be a normal shot which will make the picture looking like a normal shot and the third frame will be slow which will make the picture bright because the shutter is set low. That is I guess the easiest way I can explain about the 3 different kind of exposures I mentioned earlier. As long as you have your camera on the tripod that is the least problem you have. The main problem is always on the camera settings and people tend not to play around with their camera enough to familiarize with it. Below I will make a short cut of how I set my camera setting and hopefully you can find these symbols in your camera. For those using Nikon cameras this should be easier for you to locate.
1. Menu Settings
EV Steps : ●●● 1/3
BKT Set : AE (flash sign)
BKT Order: N
2. Function Settings
3F 2.0 ]
BKT ] BKT ] Select the multi shots ] +/- = 0.0
+◄ ]
Mode turn it to P

Set your picture quality to (NEF) RAW

It may look like a lot of formula going on but actually it´s very simple. All of the information above can be found in your camera manual. Once you have the 3 photos with 3 different exposures you now have to tone map the photos with a software called Photomatix Pro. What photomatix do is merging all 3 photos into 1. Usually you still have to edit the bright and contrast, I use Photoshop CS4 but it should work with any other photo editing software.
In case you still have doubts, I would be happy to help you out through chat or skype.
Happy HDR hunting!

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