Windmill

This shot was taken at Armand Bayou Nature Center this past weekend.

I intended this to be an HDR from three handheld exposures but the exposures were to far off (due to my not holding the camera steady enough) to work out. This photo was processed form the underexposed (-2) photo from what was intended to be one of the photos in my HDR set. If you want to try HDRs I highly recommend that you take your bracketed exposures from a tripod or other flat stable surface where you can avoid having to handhold it. Use the timer to fire the shutter to further reduce camera shake. When I use the term "handheld" I use it to mean "not on a tripod". In other words I will use "handheld" even if I used a table or bench or fencepost on location to avoid actually holding my camera in my hands while I take the three required exposures for a High Dynamic Range (HDR) set of photos. It is possible to take the three required exposures while holding the camera in you hands but it requires a very steady hand and therefore your odds of success are decreased.

Title: "Armand Bayou Windmill"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > Curves Adjustment Layer for overall contast enhancement > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust pludin "Simplify" preset > Curves Adjustment Layer to brighten the highlights in the image > Levels Adjustment Layer to set a black point > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust "Dramatic" plugin to darken the sky and provide overall pop > Nik Viveza plugin to locally brighten the red areas > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust plugin "Simplify" preset to reduce grain > Merge Visible to New Layer > Distort Lens Correction Vignette