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Forums Lobby MASTER YOUR VISION - BY SPECIALTY Landscape (Open) topic #64336
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Subject: "Desert Stone Henge" Previous topic | Next topic
DeanAZ Moderator Expert nature photographer Nikonian since 28th Apr 2007Wed 01-Feb-12 04:07 PM
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"Desert Stone Henge"


Phoenix, US
          

The rocks stood as if columns from a cultic place of worship. I decided to skip the natural looking HDR processing I generally prefer and go for drama this time. Comments welcome...

D7000 F/9 ISO 100 Nikkor 18-105 @50mm
HDR in Photomatix and processed in CaptureNX2


Dean
Phoenix, Arizona USA
Nikonians Team Member
Website: The Splendid Silence of Light

Recent Trips: Grand Canyon 2012 Glen Canyon 2012 West Clear Creek

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Attachment #1, (jpg file)

  
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Replies to this topic
Subject Author Message Date ID
Reply message RE: Desert Stone Henge
russg Silver Member
01st Feb 2012
1
Reply message RE: Desert Stone Henge
cchoc Moderator
01st Feb 2012
2
Reply message RE: Desert Stone Henge
cb4cb2
01st Feb 2012
3
Reply message RE: Desert Stone Henge
MJJacob Silver Member
01st Feb 2012
4
     Reply message RE: Desert Stone Henge
landism
02nd Feb 2012
5
     Reply message RE: Desert Stone Henge
DeanAZ Moderator
03rd Feb 2012
9
Reply message RE: Desert Stone Henge
JasonB
02nd Feb 2012
6
Reply message RE: Desert Stone Henge
Valentino Administrator
02nd Feb 2012
7
Reply message RE: Desert Stone Henge
avm247 Moderator
02nd Feb 2012
8
Reply message RE: Desert Stone Henge
DeanAZ Moderator
03rd Feb 2012
10

russg Silver Member Nikonian since 03rd Nov 2007Wed 01-Feb-12 04:24 PM
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#1. "RE: Desert Stone Henge"
In response to Reply # 0

Phoenix, US
          

Nice, Dean. I like this one much better than the Troon Mountain shot. Just the right amount of "drama". Not over the top by any means, but it does have a nice ethereal glow to it.

Russ

  
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cchoc Moderator Awarded for his in-depth knowledge and high level skills in various areas, most notably in Landscape Photography Charter MemberWed 01-Feb-12 07:53 PM
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#2. "RE: Desert Stone Henge"
In response to Reply # 0

Marietta, US
          

Beautiful image Dean.

Charlie...
stalking light

Nikonians Team Member

  
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cb4cb2 Registered since 23rd Jan 2012Wed 01-Feb-12 07:58 PM
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#3. "RE: Desert Stone Henge"
In response to Reply # 0

AU
          

Nice composition - well done

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

  
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MJJacob Silver Member Nikonian since 21st Jan 2010Wed 01-Feb-12 08:10 PM
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#4. "RE: Desert Stone Henge"
In response to Reply # 3

Victor, US
          

Hi Dean, first off, what a great capture! I do have a question about it. Do you use a Grad ND filter to keep the foreground so nice and bright or is it from the multiple exposures with the HDR treatment. I don't own any Grad ND's but am about to purchase a couple to enhance my OOC captures as I see my landscapes lacking dynamic range. Your work is fantastic. Thanks MJ

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

  
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landism Registered since 22nd Oct 2011Thu 02-Feb-12 12:48 AM
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#5. "RE: Desert Stone Henge"
In response to Reply # 4

CA
          

I like this picture very much

  
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DeanAZ Moderator Expert nature photographer Nikonian since 28th Apr 2007Fri 03-Feb-12 12:40 AM
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#9. "RE: Desert Stone Henge"
In response to Reply # 4

Phoenix, US
          

Thanks, MJ. This is captured without any filters but is just a series of exposures that I blended in Photomatix. I don't like the way the images come out directly but it is a good starting point for further processing.

Dean
Phoenix, Arizona USA
Nikonians Team Member
Website: The Splendid Silence of Light

Recent Trips: Grand Canyon 2012 Glen Canyon 2012 West Clear Creek

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

  
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JasonB Registered since 02nd Feb 2007Thu 02-Feb-12 06:39 PM
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#6. "RE: Desert Stone Henge"
In response to Reply # 0

Tauranga, NZ
          

Works for me Dean - Nice capture

  
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Valentino Administrator Awarded for high level skills in landscape and wildlife photography Nikonian since 04th Dec 2004Thu 02-Feb-12 10:18 PM
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#7. "RE: Desert Stone Henge"
In response to Reply # 0

US
          

More than just a great capture as your post work adds a certain dreamlike feel.

Albert J Valentino
Nikonian Team Member
Vantage Point Images
Mastery of Composition is the Key to Great Photography

  
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avm247 Moderator Awarded for high skills in documentary architecture and aviation photography Charter MemberThu 02-Feb-12 10:29 PM
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#8. "RE: Desert Stone Henge"
In response to Reply # 0

Rancho Cordova, US
          

Great shot, Dean. Very well done.


Anthony

The Moderator Page and My Gallery
The important things in life are simple; the simple things are hard.

  
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DeanAZ Moderator Expert nature photographer Nikonian since 28th Apr 2007Fri 03-Feb-12 01:00 AM
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#10. "RE: Desert Stone Henge"
In response to Reply # 8
 Fri 03-Feb-12 01:02 AM by DeanAZ

Phoenix, US
          

Thanks for all the kind remarks and positive reactions. I showed my wife the original series of exposures and then I said in an understated way, "I worked on it a little." She laughed. When you have a low ISO image series I think Photomatix does a great job.

I'll show how the sausage is made.

Here are the original images that I changed to the Neutral picture control and converted to 16 bit tiffs. You can see that the sun had already set and the light was diffuse with very few strong shadows.


Here is the Photomatix output using custom detail enhancement settings. I just play around until it looks as close as I can get. I did not want to overdo the saturation as I was close to clipping in the red channel.


Next I brought the tiff into CNX2 and cropped to 8x10 and darkened and added contrast to the sky. I also used control points to bring back the green color in the grass and shrubs. I warmed up the tones in the rocks and I was amazed at how much information was in the file.




Dean
Phoenix, Arizona USA
Nikonians Team Member
Website: The Splendid Silence of Light

Recent Trips: Grand Canyon 2012 Glen Canyon 2012 West Clear Creek

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Attachment #1, (jpg file)
Attachment #2, (jpg file)

  
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