Today I awoke with an inner drive to shoot. I knew I needed to photograph and challenge myself in new ways. I set out on a drive with no destination, ..a photoventure.. and came across this property off of a long country back road.

This piece combines several techniques and practices that can only be masterd over time with multiple attempts. I am far from mastering, but learning is the fun part.

This is an example of what photographers call a high dynamic range image (HDR). The term HDR refers to an image retaining full detail in shdows and highlights. The process involves bracketing 3 or more exposures in at least 1 stop intervals via shutter speed with a constant aperature. In this case I was shooting at f/14 with EV stops consisting of -1.36, 0.0 and +1.36. The images were merged into a 32 bit high dynamic range image with the HDR dialoge box in Photoshop CS2. The image was then converted to a normal 16 bit image file by highlight compression and a curves layer adjustment.


The fun doesn't stop here...


Once I had the 16 bit HDR image looking fairly nice I decided it might be fun to introduce an infared (IR) feel to the shot while maintaining RGB color in the forground. With the use of a monochrome channel mixer layer adjustment and black and white gradient mask I was able to achive this affect quite nicely.

Feel free to note me with any questions pertaining to techniques I use in my postprocessing or photography in general for that matter. I'm always happy to help out a fellow photog'
Hope you Enjoy.

Tools

Canon EOS 5D | 24mmL TS-E | Remote Release | Manfrotto Tripod |iso 50 | Natural sunflare