Photomatix Pro Vs Nik HDR Efex Pro

High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography is gaining in popularity. I have access to both Photomatix Pro and NIK Softwares's HDR Efex Pro.

I have taken three exposures of a scene, metering one stop over and under to capture detail in both foreground and sky.

The location is Coniston Water in the Lake District. All three shots were taken with the camera mounted on a Tripod to help alignment in the HDR software.

These three shots were exported to Photomatix Pro and an HDR image generated with default settings see below

+1 EV

 

0 EV

-1 EV

Photomatix Pro (default Settings) NIK HDR Efex Pro

Let it Snow! - Tips on Photographing Snow

The forecast is for another severe winter this year (UK) so get ready to grab your camera and head out into the cold :-)

Playing in the snowTips

Set your exposure compensation to +1 or even +2 stops of exposure. The reason for this is that your camera will try and expose the scene 'correctly' and average the picture to grey. Snow is white and therefore the camera must be told to over expose the scene. This is counter intuitive but necessary.

When moving between the cold outside and warm home or from a warm home to the cold. It is an idea to seal the camera in a zip-lock bag or similar and allow it to acclimatise. This will prevent fogging of the lens or worse fogging of the sensor itself.

Snow is wet. Protect your camera unless you have a fancy weather sealed model such as a Canon 1ds or Nikon D700 or D3

Watch out for snow balls!

Guide to Photographing Loch Ard

Following on from my recent guide to photographing Coniston Water in the Lake District, I thought I'd wander through my back catalogue of photographs and add some brief guides to other photogenic locations that I have visited recently.

A brief photographic guide to Loch Ard in Scotland.

Thanks to David Mould who put together a detailed and informative 'Photographers Guide to Loch Ard' - I discovered this excellent guide in time to make one more early morning trip over to this location.

The shot here was taken looking East down the lock to the 'Sunrise' (sadly hidden by cloud on this September Morning) It is possible to park in the handy carpark next to the village hall. There is easy access to the edge of the loch.

A photographers Guide to Loch Ard

Loch Ard at dawn

Guide to Photographing Coniston Water - Location B

There is a photogenic wooden Jetty located approximately half way up the road on the East Side of Coniston Water. A woodland car park adjacent to this spot which makes it easy to stop for a while and enjoy the view.

The Photographs shown here were both taken at dawn but this location can work well at either dusk or dawn. The Jetty faces West, if the sunset is interesting this can make for a spectacular scene.

I chose to shoot from this spot at dawn as the forecast was for clear skies. I figured that the dawn light on the distant mountains might help to create an interesting scene. Location A is an alternative location for dawn but works better if the forecast is for a more interesting (cloudier) sky

Coniston Water at dawn

A Guide to Photographing Coniston Water - Location A

Location A: South West Jetty

The Photo below was taken from the banks of the Lake near to a wooden Jetty located to the South-West of the lake. The road (A5084) to the West of the Lake passes over a cattle grid as you drive North from the Southern end of the lake/ Just after this spot the land on the right opens up and a view of the Lake and some boats can be seen appx. 200 yards in the distance. There is a parking area just a few yards further on on the right. If you park here there is a short path to a gate into the field that you just passed. This field allows access to the edge of the lake and some stunning views North. There are always boats here to provide foreground interest.

Along the bank from the path there is a gate providing access to the Jetty. It is meant for use by passengers only but I was not challenged on any of the occasions that I accessed the Jetty.

Double Rainbow over Coniston Water, Cumbria

This location has views East over Coniston Water and is a good option for dawn if the forecast is for interesting weather (broken cloud) It is not usually at it's best on clear mornings.

These photos were taken just after dawn and benefit from releatively calm conditions and broken cloud to catch the morning light. The 30 minutes prior to sunrise are often when the wind is at it's calmest. A breeze can pick up quickly shortly after sunrise and ruin calm water reflections.

The other advantage of dawn is that this location is easier to access when it is quiet. Technically the jetty is for passenger use only.