Spirit Island

This is really nice.....one of the most natural looking HDR blends I've seen. The comp is a little static but I think it works well for this scene. Beautiful work.
Which HDR program did you use? I just picked up the NIK version but haven't used it too much yet.

Thanks for your kind comment, Bruce. I use Photomatix Pro. Ferrell McCullough gives really good tips on how to use all of the sliders in the Details Enhancer version, which I use. See his book and his website. Photomatix also seems to be the most well developed HDR program.

Hi Jay

Nice scene here. I would look at trying to get a bit more color into this, as well as BG contrast and detail in the mountains and sky (particularly more blues and greens) I think it has good potential to be a more impactful image. It also looks like it needs to be tilted CCW about 1-2°.

Excellent HDR work to be sure.
I do agree the image could stand for a little contrast/color. Feels like a bit of dodging/burning, selective color etc to draw the eye to the wonderful center stand of trees is in order.

But again , wonderful, subtle, HDR work.

The foreground is maybe a little flat, but I would have never guessed this to be HDR. This is about as good as it gets considering the time of day. Impressive work.

Michael

Excellent HDR work and extremely pleasant image. While certainly the picture could accept a bit more color,
personally I do like the grey, overcast and moist feeling which make this scene very natural.

This image has a lot of potential Jay. Straighten the horizon and add a little more saturation and you have a winner!

I love the scene, the moment captured and the composition...

but as far as the HDR conversion...

Sorry, but I think it looks very greyish, and wonder why the use of HDR here? This is not a wide Dynamic Range image (with the clouds diffusing the light). I think the use of HDR has flattened the image considerably and it could be much better approached in ACR as one shot likely even single processed. I hope this does not tweak a nerve but I think the image has a lot more potential than the method used and would encourage you maybe to try a ACR version too.

Again, I don't at all mean to be discouraging (we are all in the process of learning) I just think the method chosen is not necessarily the best for the results in this case. Now having said that, I do think this image taken into Photoshop with careful color correction could get you to, or near its ideal.

Hi Mark, many thanks for the time invested in your comment. I first examined a single RAW image with the red channel of the RGB histogram having a very small gap on the right hand side, indicating that the highlights were almost perfectly exposed. However, the blue channel was blocked on the left hand side, and there was no detail in the trees on the island and the trees on the right hand side. I don't believe processing a single RAW image would have had any chance of working. On the other hand, the strong contrast caused by the lack of detail in the shadows suggested an HDR to me. As suggested by some comments here, I have added some saturation since the post, and a large version appears on my website here:
http://www.pbase.com/drjaysel/image/138427846

By the way, as for the suggestion by some to straighten the image, the trees on the island are vertical.

I completely agree with Mark here. Its a relatively low contrast subject. A little added contrast here (especially in the fg) will make this pop. I really like the arrangement of this comp though--great way to present the scene!

OK--i just read your comment and have to add something: lack of detail in shadows is not necessarily a bad thing. If your histogram goes well off the left edge--its not necessarily a bad thing! Embrace the shadows, Jay--shadows are your friend!

Jay,

Beautiful scene, wonderfully captured. Excellent composition. I haven't read the comments yet, but my suggestion would be boosting the contrast in general. HDR processing and how folks are using it is certainly getting better, but sometimes still, maintaining some shadow area, as minute as it might be, is still needed; at least for this scene it is. A little tweak with that and you'll have a fine image suitable for hanging on a wall somewhere.

Lon

Nice composition, although I would agree with others that this needs some more contrast, there's just to much detail in the shadows here.