Sacred Heart Cathedral

For your viewing, a shot of the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark, NJ. Took this shot using the DMC-GH1, 7 RAW shots HDR processed using Photomatix

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Additional photos of the cathedral can be viewed here: Sacred Heart Cathedral Basilica - Newark, NJ

 

Actually, the entire shot consisted of 21 RAW photos (3 images x 7 bracketed) than stitched together. The finished shot was than cropped to print a 12x36.

The photo was processed with Photomatix, with some minimal "structure" adjustment using Nik's Viveza.

The cathedral is very evenly lit, though the lights themselves and the stained glass windows really stand out too much, hence my decision to use HDR. I printed several versions at varying levels of HDR processing and showed them to several people both with and without photographic experience. Hands down, this was the winner.

I was invited back to shoot their holiday candlelight concert which was much more difficult to photograph. Several more photos are on my page. This year's concert (free) is scheduled for Dec 16-17.

 

Many thanks!

I do appreciate all the comments. I approached HDR in the same way a cook would use spices. They should enhance, but not dominate (unless it's garlic and Italian cooking!) I posted some other HDR work, so hopefully we can create some interest and learn from each other.

 

Monitor Calibration

I'll see if I can find the other versions. Regarding the print, my system is calibrated so the print looks very very close to the screen image. My own observations are that most monitors are too bright and the color temperature is set too high (too blue).

If you saw the print and how it's displayed on a calibrated monitor, I think your opinion might change. I also have the printer profile installed in Photoshop, so the "proof" screen image is pretty accurate to the printed image.

The caliberation process is not that difficult, nor is the hardware that expensive. My printer (Costco) uses Noritsu printers which only cost about $100,000 each so their quality is very consistent. They charge $5.99 for a 12 x 36 print so the entire process is very affordable.