A cloudy, rainy day in SE Texas, so I've been stuck at home this PM (hey the sun just came out as I wrote this). Anyway, I hadn't played with my DFA 100 macro for a while, so I shot a number of things including a small, green marble (?) pyrimid setting on a white plaster surface. I made five bracketed exposures (-2 to +2 EV), merged them in PSP X2 and applied a mild HDR treatment, the results of which are in the first shot. I then brightend that image until the surface details of the plaster essentially disappeared, thinking it might give the picture a "science fiction" look. Don't know whether I succeeded, but you can tell me what you think.

Jer

[daacon]

Nice work on a rainy Sunday Jer - the marble really comes out in the second one. Something out of Star Gate ...well done.

[roentarre]

The lighting is great. The image has a depth feel to it. I would prefer a better contrast to the image though. It is just a personal preference here

[Sailor]

The lighting is great. The image has a depth feel to it. I would prefer a better contrast to the image though. It is just a personal preference here

Thanks so much for the comment. HDR, by its very nature, "glosses over" contrast, so maybe it's not the best way to manage a shot like this. I went back and reprocessed the 0.0 EF photo before I applied HDR, manipulating contrast the way I usually do and then brightening the conventional image as I did before. Here are the results;





HDR is new and fun to use, but it's not for everything. Your reply reminded me that when people have a hammer they want to see everything as a nail - i.e. the hows become more important than the whats. A good lesson - between you and Peter Zack, I'll stay honest.

Jer