Sacred Heart Cathedral

[Wasabi Bob]

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

 

[playak47]

wow that looks nice. what did the 7 shots consist of as far as variation?

 

[Vivalo]

Cool! So is this HDR photo also stitched panorama? And if so, how does the workflow go? I am a total newb to HDR photography but very keen to learn this technique.

 

[Krang]

I think you could have left some shadows/darker areas, without losing any detail, to make it look a bit more natural.

Now it looks like a CGI image. I just don't really like the über HDR look, so no offense intended

 

[Wasabi Bob]

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.

 

[sLorenzi]

For me it's just superb. Congratulations.

Sidinei

 

[Narnian]

Superb! This shows how HDR can be used well.

It would be interesting to see one (or all) of the 7 prints that made this up.

 

[Djarum]

I must say, not a huge fan of HDR, but this is done right and quite nice.

 

[Wasabi Bob]

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.

 

[Lili]

Beautiful, gorgeous without that obvious HDR look.
What HDR should be; invisible

 

[BillN]

impressive and skilfully done

 

[Krang]

Beautiful, gorgeous without that obvious HDR look.
What HDR should be; invisible

I have to disagree, for me it screams HDR. But admittedly I'm a fan of a lot of contrast.

To Bob: Could you please post the other versions if you still have them. Maybe I could find a level that would be nice to me

Did you do a final print? How does it look compared to the screen? Since maybe the back lit screen makes it look more computery…

I've always been interested in HDR but I always seem to stumble upon images that are too "processed" looking to me

 

[Wasabi Bob]

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.