[johnny--2k]

Well, after finally finishing the after-winter clean up on my Jeep, a buddy (and fellow iwsti member) and I went out for a quick, spur of the moment shoot. All HDR images shot with my D-Reb XT and the 18-55 kit lens which is finally starting to take a dump on me. Time for a new lens soon, and it will be a 18-250 for sure.

Anyways, enjoy the pics. Lot's of time spent processing, except for the damn lens flare in one. It really started to piss me off so I just left it. The last few images still need more processing as they looked fine on my laptop, but once seeing them on a real monitor, I see they have a lot of work left to do.....damn laptop!!!

[WESTI]

looks good!

[kessler89]

awesome pics, which one is faster

[johnny--2k]

well, considering what Mike has done to the STI, he walked me pretty good from a 40 roll the other day. I ran my Jeep bone stock at Great Lakes Dragaway in WI and pulled off a 13.2 @ 101 with a 1.8 60' time, not too shabby for a 4900LB curb weight!

[SirMattieP]

^^^ What rims are those? on the STI

[johnny--2k]

Rays Gram Lights powdercoated gloss black.

[vipervenom848]

Figures i find all these people with sweet vehicles when i move out of Wisconsin. I'm from the fox cities area. Ive always wanted a Jeep SRT-8 since i rode in one at the Chicago auto show a few years ago, those pull so hard for such a heavy vehicle. That STI looks nice with the black rims.

[UltimateLurker]

Nice EOS, nice vehicles, and nice shots.

[johnny--2k]

Thanks! The jeep is a monster off the line. I am coming from a past of Honda vehicles (read: lack of low end torque) being an S2000 followed by a 6-speed Acura TL. I will say, it's nice to have that low end torque, as all of you guys know as well!

[Parker]

HDR didn't appear to help you except in the rainbow colors from the overhead lights, the purple dots on the jeep and the greenish tint on a grey STI.

[tyler_sti]

Hybrid parking!!! what has this world come to. AHHHHH. Sorry for the rant. haha Nice pics!

[gprsti]

Sexy STi! I love the pics!

[johnny--2k]

Thanks guys!!

Originally Posted by Parker

HDR didn't appear to help you except in the rainbow colors from the overhead lights, the purple dots on the jeep and the greenish tint on a grey STI.

Parker, care to elaborate a bit? If you are talking about the cartoonish looking HDR images, I think they look too over-processed and fake. When I shoot with HDR, I'm going for as much detail and clarity as possible, with a bit of over-saturation in the colors to bring them out.

There are a lot of different ways to process HDR images for the desired final result, and I've seen a lot of discussions on this very topic. What is considered HDR vs not, and most people seem to come to the consensus that the beauty is in the eye of the beholder esp with the post-processing and desired result.

What would you have done to make them better? Got any examples?

For my example of over-processed, I give you the following: Now, this is not too bad, but the car looks like a video game while the rest of the image looks fairly realistic. Some I have seen are much worse.





Here is something that pretty much sums up what I am trying to achieve with HDR. Quoted from another site on HDR with tutorials and examples....

2. HDR programs, if used correctly, do NOT have to produce the cartoonish, over the top images we sometimes see. Instead, they can be used to show MUCH CLOSER to what our eye can see than any other type of photography. It has been successfully demonstrated to me that if used correctly in the right situation, it is THE MOST realistic shot you can obtain. As an example, point your camera at the rising sun and snap whatever exposure you want...you must either wash out the highlights or make everything around the sun shadows. This isn't at all what your eye sees. But, with HDR you can get much, much closer.
3. People like to argue over what is HDR and what is not. For me, I don't care but I want people to look at my photos and think they are realistic--that is all. I do NOT want a photo where someone glances and says "Oh, that's one of those HDR cartoon shots." Call it what you want: High Dynamic Range, Dynamic Range Increase, True Tone High Dynamic Range, Pseudo-High Dynamic Range, Faux High Dynamic Range, etc.--I've seen all of those titles but in the end, the only thing I'm concerned about is the end result. Is the image pleasing and does it appear realistic? (often even more realistic than any of image you could have created without HDR)

[johnny--2k]

another overdone one IMHO. Way overdone here.....

the shadow and the car on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[UltimateLurker]

HDR does not truly mean 3+ images processed into 1, it simply means High Dynamic Range, which can be achieved with 1 good photo and some processing skill. Having said that, 3+ images is the most common way to get a fuller range of color/light/shadow, but it's easy to overdo.

I love what you've done with these, and think the lighting is very nice, but I'm not a photo expert like Parker, I just go with what works, and your stuff works for me.