Vase #3, Nik HDR Efex Test

Working along with an instructional Webinar about the new Nik HDR Efex 1.0 tool, I applied it to my first HDR subject.  The tutorial was filled with valuable getting started tips.  The range of control is astounding, but it is pretty easy to organize your preferences.  This is an amazing tool.  

Camera: Nikon D700 

Lens: AF NIKKOR 180mm f/2.8D IF-ED "Leni lens"

Exposure: ISO 200, f/11 @ 2.5s, tripod (Gitzo Basalt GT2830 and Gitzo GH2781QR ball head)

Lighting: Window light 

Location: My house

Processing: Lightroom 3, Nik HDR Efex 1.0, Nik Color Efex Pro

Dying Sunflower #5, Nik HDR Efex

I was able to purchase Nik Software's new Nik HDR Efex a few days ahead of the official release on October 11th.  To give it a shakedown, I turned it loose on my first HDR effort, a dying sunflower.  The picture above is processed from three brackets.  I'm very uncertain at this point about workflow.  Because I could not find a way to launch HDR Efex from Lightroom, I had to find the pictures in Bridge, and kick off the tool from here.  Above is more or less the a default, straight processing.  Compared to Adobe's HDR Pro, there are fewer artifacts and the color is very clean.  

The saturation was a bit more intense that I'd like, so I took the shot through Nik Color Efex Pro to apply the Bleach Bypass effect.  This flower feels more wilted and struggling.

For the monochrome treatment, I ran the top shot through the new 64-bit Silver Efex Pro to convert, then applied the blue/sepia split tone in Lightroom 3.  I love the stained edges - that was an accident, but a keeper.

So I'm baffled by the intended workflow, to the point that I shot an e-mail to Nik support.  However, the tool really opens up HDR with an output that can be more subtle and satisfying than tone mapping in Lightroom.

Camera: Nikon D700 

Lens: AF NIKKOR 180mm f/2.8D IF-ED "Leni lens"

Exposure: ISO 200, f/22 @ 1.3s, tripod

Lighting: Window light 

Location: Grand Center Artist Lofts

Processing: Photoshop CS5, Nik HDR Efex, Lightroom 3, Nik Silver Efex Pro

St. Louis in Silhouette, Single Image HDR

I was curious about how much shadow detail HDR Toning could pull out of the single RAW image from an earlier post, "St. Louis in Silhouette".  While I can't say that I really like the resulting picture better than the original post, the shadow detail here is pretty amazing.

The monochrome conversion is from the just release 64-bit version of Silver Efex Pro.  There are no new features, but processing is noticeably faster.

For comparison, here is the capture straight out of the camera.

Camera: Nikon D700 

Lens: Nikkor AF-S 50mm f1.4 G

Exposure: ISO 200, f/11 @ 1/800s, handheld

Lighting: Daylight 

Location: St. Louis Art Museum GPS

Processing: Lightroom 3, Photoshop CS5, Nik Silver Efex Pro

SLAM Crane, Single Image HDR Test

Single image HDR is interesting in that it frequently reveals extra detail.  For instance the reflection in the streetlight was a surprise.  

Camera: Nikon D700 

Lens: AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm f2.8 D

Exposure: ISO 200, f/11 @ 1/250s, handheld

Lighting: Daylight 

Location: St. Louis Art Museum GPS

Processing: Lightroom 3, Photoshop CS5, Nik Silver Efex Pro

Grid #14 C and D, Single Image HDR Tests

After a several failed attempts at single image HDR, I think some of the grids series might benefit. At least I like the effect here.  I'm finding that with single image HDR tone mapping, the detail can be enhanced, but the pictures do not have the benefit of higher resolution.  The aspect I like is how the concrete facade naturally went darker. 

The monochrome conversion is from the the color above, made in Silver Efex Pro applying a Wratten #25 red filter and Agfa Pan 100 film mapping.  The blue/sepia split tone comes from Lightroom 3.

The original color shot for comparison.

Camera: Nikon D700 

Lens: AF NIKKOR 180mm f/2.8D IF-ED

Exposure: ISO 200, f/4.0, 1/1000s, Auto WB, handheld

Lighting: Open Shade

Location: Clayton, MO GPS

Processing: Lightroom 3, Photoshop CS5 and Silver Efex Pro

Trees, Infrared HDR Test #1

While I had the camera out this morning, I thought to make a quick set of brackets to test infrared HDR.  This is the final shot, using Lightroom to make the monochrome conversion from last picture in this post, with an aqua/sepia split tone and film grain like Ilford HP5.

This is how the base exposure looks.  The Nikon D700 is not very sensitive to IR light, so I use a +1 stop exposure adjustment for the two over, two under brackets.  The first step is to combine the brackets using Photoshop HDR Pro.   

The next step is to apply a custom white balance and adjust tone of the HDR image, both of which I did in Lightroom 3.  The new Lightroom 3 develop preset "General - Auto Tone" works very well for the tone adjustment.

Then it is back into Photoshop CS5 to swap the red and blue color channels.  This picture now looks very much like it was shot with KODAK AEROCHROME III Infrared Film 1443.  

Camera: Nikon D700 

Lens: AF NIKKOR 180mm f/2.8D IF-ED "Leni" lens with Cokin P007 filter

Exposure: ISO 200, f/5.6 @ 0.6s, auto WB, RAW, tripod

Lighting: Filtered daylight

Location: Home GPS

Processing: Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS5

First Fall Colors, Morning Light HDR

Because I prefer back lit landscapes, I was not entirely happy with the first "First Fall Colors" post because the sun was behind the camera position.  Here is close to the same shot in morning light.  The Nikkor 180mm has an angle of view on an FX sensor of 9° and here the sun was about 12° off the optical center, just out of the frame.  Even with the lens hood fully extended, there was considerable lens flare and degraded contrast.  I moved the camera so that a post on the deck from which I was shooting blocked the sun, bringing back the contrast.  This is an HDR version from five shots bracketed 1 stop, processed in HDR Pro using Photorealistic as the starting point.  It was very windy, so I used "remove ghosts".

  
While I'm learning HDR, I've decided to always try a monochrome version, created here in Silver Efex Pro from the finished color, with Wratten #25 red filter and titanium paper toner.

Camera: Nikon D700 

Lens: AF NIKKOR 180mm f/2.8D IF-ED "Leni" lens w/B+W UV filter

Exposure: ISO 200, five one stop brackets around f/5.6 @ 1/320s, auto WB, RAW, tripod

Lighting: Filtered daylight

Location: Home GPS

Processing: Lightroom 3, Photoshop CS5 HDR Pro and Nik Silver Efex Pro 

Backyard Foliage - D700 Infrared Test

I've had the Nikon D700 for more than two years, but until today had not tried shooting infrared with it.  I was not expecting much because reviews say that the D700 has significantly reduced IR sensitivity compared to earlier models, like the D100.  I actually got a nice surprise.  This is the same setup as my previous post, "First Fall Colors", so I won't show the color version here.  I thought I'd share the processing steps for anyone interested.

This is the image as it came from the camera.  I used the Cokin P007 filter, which is deep ruby red and nearly opaque.  It is equivalent to the KODAK 89B written filter with a spectrum transmission of 50% at 720 nm.

The first processing step is to adjust the white balance and tone mapping.  I have a IR daylight custom white balance that I applied, the used the new Lightroom 3 develop preset "General - Auto Tone".

IR captures tend to be very flat, so a levels adjustment is always needed.  I pulled the shot into Photoshop CS5 and used the auto level button.

The grainy sepia version is a close runner-up for the final version.

The Nikon D700 is, in fact, less sensitive to IR than the D100 by about three stops.

Camera: Nikon D700 

Lens: AF NIKKOR 180mm f/2.8D IF-ED "Leni" lens

Exposure: ISO 200, f/4 @ 1/13s, Cokin P007 filter, auto WB, RAW, tripod

Lighting: Filtered daylight

Location: Home GPS

Processing: Lightroom 3, Photoshop CS5 and Nik Silver Efex Pro 

First Fall Colors HDR

The first hint of fall red arrived in our back yard this week.  The wind is pretty fierce today, so there is quite a bit of ghosting in the leaves which is further enhanced by the HDR glow.  I can't decide whether the smearing looks painterly or just smeared.  

The monochrome version was created in Nik Silver Efex Pro, with the sepia/blue split tone applied in Lightroom.

Camera: Nikon D700 

Lens: AF NIKKOR 180mm f/2.8D IF-ED "Leni" lens

Exposure: ISO 200, five one stop brackets around f/4 @ 1/250s, auto WB, RAW, tripod

Lighting: Filtered daylight

Location: Home GPS

Processing: Lightroom 3, Photoshop CS5 HDR Pro and Nik Silver Efex Pro