Asia in HDR

With all the computer problems I've had lately it has taken longer than usual for me to finish up processing on the HDR images I took in Asia last November. However, here they are, in all their altered glory. I've got a few new tools, and a few new techniques that I've made use of on some of these. The photo above is a good example. I processed it in photomatix, my HDR program of choice, then I made to copies and turned one of them black and white. I then blended the color and the black and white version in photoshop using blending modes. I'm pretty happy with the result, and I think I'll try that technique again in the future.



As always, a lot of these will benefit from clicking on the picture to enlarge it. These first few were all shot from the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Towers in west Shinjuku. It really is one of the best views in Tokyo, and admission is free!





As this posts, I'm flying through the air on Japan Airlines, headed back to Narita. I should have internet at the hotel, so hopefully I'll be able to get some updates posted throughout the week. I'm quite excited to be working again, and to be starting a new and interesting phase of my life. Expect plenty more photographic excursions in Tokyo, and the surrounding region. I also plan to hike Mt. Fuji this summer, and that should be a cornucopia of amazing photographs.



This picture of the Ebisu Bridge in Osaka is another of my experiments. I processed the HDR image two different ways, one very dark and one very light, then I combined both of those with blending modes, going through the list until I found one that I liked. Things like this require a lot of experimentation, and each image will benefit from a different approach.





Shanghai was a city that would really benefit from a concerted HDR effort, sadly this day I didn't have my tripod with me so I had to make do with the edge of the dock.



The Forbidden City came out quite well in this picture, I think it really captured the detail of the carvings, and the unique color of the sky that day.





I had to shoot the bracket frames of this picture of the interior of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing twice, because someone jostled me and the camera on the first go around. Of course, I was so busy trying to get the shot, I wasn't really paying enough attention to the substance of what I was looking at, which is why sometimes it is nice to just put down the camera and enjoy yourself.