The Hill Of Life
A third of a mile of quad and lung burning goodness at the end of the Barton Creek Greenbelt. Austin, TX.
These vertical format photos are typically a stitch of 2 to 6 seperate photos. This allows different exposures, and tweaks to the saturation/contrast/levels for each seperately, giving a much greater range of values than would be possible otherwise. I try to get significant overlap between photos, allowing a smooth blend between each. Done using layers w/ gradient fill masks, and occasionally some hand work. Nothing too groundbreaking, but does help some. Not true HDR of course, but does allow incorporation of a broader range, and retains some value focal points, which often seem to get lost in HDR images.
I also like the format, since it allows me to shoot almost straight down at the ground, getting the cool little foreground details like gravel/grass/ripples in rich detail, and almost straight up into the sky. To me it results in kind of a story, with allot of interesting different things going on as your eye moves from the bottom to top, like a tapestry. The trick is to keep this range of focal points prioritized, (by acentuating some area towards center w/ value, composition, or color usually), so that the image as a whole can be enjoyed, as well as in parts. Depth or layers revealed upon closer examination, so to speak. This is something I'm obviously still working on. Often there is just to much going on of equal interest, so there is no priority of focal point, making the image less appealing.
The Hill Of Life
A third of a mile of quad and lung burning goodness at the end of the Barton Creek Greenbelt. Austin, TX.
These vertical format photos are typically a stitch of 2 to 6 seperate photos. This allows different exposures, and tweaks to the saturation/contrast/levels for each seperately, giving a much greater range of values than would be possible otherwise. I try to get significant overlap between photos, allowing a smooth blend between each. Done using layers w/ gradient fill masks, and occasionally some hand work. Nothing too groundbreaking, but does help some. Not true HDR of course, but does allow incorporation of a broader range, and retains some value focal points, which often seem to get lost in HDR images.
I also like the format, since it allows me to shoot almost straight down at the ground, getting the cool little foreground details like gravel/grass/ripples in rich detail, and almost straight up into the sky. To me it results in kind of a story, with allot of interesting different things going on as your eye moves from the bottom to top, like a tapestry. The trick is to keep this range of focal points prioritized, (by acentuating some area towards center w/ value, composition, or color usually), so that the image as a whole can be enjoyed, as well as in parts. Depth or layers revealed upon closer examination, so to speak. This is something I'm obviously still working on. Often there is just to much going on of equal interest, so there is no priority of focal point, making the image less appealing.