Woklife :: Comment :: Bang Tao Fishing Village, Phuket in HDR

It was inevitable; everyone's doing it and I was going to do it too sooner or later. HDR that is. I woke surprisingly early and decided today was the day. Tripod in hand I headed to my nearest beach, Bang Tao, and set about looking for a suitable scene to capture in HDR. I had a basic understanding of what was needed; multiple exposures bracketed of the same scene. I went about snapping away for an hour and then made my way back to the computer (via a breakfast stop). I wasn't sure which bit of software to use, and in the end I went for Dynamic Photo HDR by Media Chance. It's good. Simple. I had my first HDR image rendered in less than 15 minutes.

Well, here it is. My first HDR. It's a house I drive past everyday and always wanted to photograph. The result is really grainy though (even at this screen resolution), and I think I've found out why. Until 5 minutes ago I wasn't aware my camera had auto exposure bracketing; a real useful feature. So I'd been snapping away at second intervals and of course the wind blows and tree's and water move and when you put them all together there are discrepancies. So now I know for next time. I decided to post it anyway, and I'm positive I will be trying this some more.

+ Camera Settings

Comments:

Beautiful HDR and gorgeous composition.
So, you are back on Phuket?
Regarding the bracketing, I cannot tell what camera you are using based on your EXIF data, but I know on my Canon the auto bracketing does not take three images in one single click of the shutter. i.e. - with bracketing you have to press the shutter three separate times - so that would not alleviate the movement of waves/trees. Of course, your camera may be different (or I do not have the correct setting on mine! ;-)

Posted by Kevin from OrganicPIX.com on April 26, 2008 at 01:15 PM BST #

Wow...Absolutely gorgeous colors! Job well done!

Posted by Susan on April 26, 2008 at 08:57 PM BST #

Nice shot. Good work for your first go at HDR.

Posted by John on April 27, 2008 at 01:56 AM BST #

Thanks for all your comments! HDR is indeed a really cool technology. I'll definitely be playing around with it some more.

Kevin: yes, I'm in Phuket at the moment... the joys of the internet allow me to. I'm using a Canon 20D, and you're right; auto-exposure-bracketing (EAB) doesn't take 3 shots at once, but rather it takes 3 shots consecutively; which I imagine would be a significant improvement on what I did with these shots. When taking the shots to make-up this HDR I took a shot, went back to the camera and changed the bracketing, took another shot and went back to the camera again. The whole process took maybe 5-10 seconds with me touching the camera (on tripod) every time I took a shot. Now, with EAB I would guess the whole process would be over in less than a second and using my cable-release I wouldn't be touching the camera. Let me have a play this week, and hopefully will have a better quality HDR to post soon.

Thanks again.

Posted by rj on April 28, 2008 at 05:57 AM BST #

Excellent first attempt at HDR! I'm yet to try it myself...

Posted by Al Q on May 27, 2008 at 09:28 PM BST #

This is absolutely wonderful, first attempt or no! I do love the effect that HDR gives, and must learn how to do it someday. You've inspired me. :-)

Posted by Caryn on June 28, 2008 at 05:27 PM BST #