HDR power unleashed

In the past, i wasn't too fond of HDR, cos i'm a complete idiot at the "merge to HDR" function in photoshop CS2, as well as photomatrix pro's tonemapping. Neither of them generated the results i wanted.

While trawling the net for pleasing HDR pics, i saw even more unnatural pics. Some even seemed like cartoons. Eventually, i chanced upon really impressive ones. HOW DID THEY DO THAT?

Finally decided to DIY my HDR, using layers and masks. It gave me full control of saturation, colour and contrast of the various regions. I've yet to master the right feathering pixels, hence the obvious halos around the bridge. Nevertheless, i was very satisfied with this pic.

This scene was an inspiration i got last night, when i was brainstorming for a nearby location, time and framing to test out HDR. Although i reached a little late (had to fastmarch 25mins), i managed to catch most of the colours.

This second picture is more natural. In fact it is so natural i couldn't tell it is HDR. (success!) However, comparing it with a normal exposure, one could easily identify the superior colour vibrance and contrast exclusive to a HDR image.






In case you dunno what's the difference, take a look at the comparison image.