January's Photo Contest topic was Sunset. We had nine entries. Great work this month everyone.

Photo 1


Photo 2


Photo 3


Photo 4


Photo 5


Photo 6


Photo 7


Photo 8


Photo 9

 

Would you like us to wait for the poll before "voting?"

 

6, 7 and 9 are sweet... although I think the original antenna would represent better... again, good job and love this month's pics . BTW, what is the technique behind #6?

 

YES please wait to vote for the poll. Only votes cast in the poll once it goes up will be counted.

 

High Dynamic Range, or HDR is the most likely culprit.

HDR software
HDR pool on Flickr

 

awesome... thanks

 

Not HDR Juan...
Think DRI (dynamic range increase). Info here and here. One exposure for the car, another for the mid-ground, then another for the sky; all taken with the camera on a tripod. This allows for you to have customized Graduated ND filters that match your exact photo situation applied in the digital darkroom. FWIW, no plugins or extra software is needed to do this, just your favorite image editor that supports layers and masks (photoshop, PaintShop Pro, GIMP, etc). IMHO, HDR processing is unable to come anywhere close to the quality you get with DRI processing. However HDR processing requires learning almost nothing about processing your images and is typically kiddie scripted, so it's more popular.

 

MotorOn, you tease. I was hoping to see another cool rig motion shot from you. You did a good job making lemonade though. Nice detail retention in the lamp buckets.

It sure is tough to compete with an Arizona sunset!

 

#6 is an eye-catcher and professional quality, for sure.

But #7... that lighting and the water... and the fact the MINI is pretty damn clean for one that was just driven on dirt.

There are a couple others I'm considering for my vote, too. Good show, all. Tough choice this month !

 

The poll is now active

 

Thanks for that info Dave.
I'll be reading up on it as time allows.

 

That was a tough vote, 3 of them are top sunset with MINI images.

Very good entries, most excellent work. I might have to join in with a few of my own the next few months.

Don

 

Photo 6, wow, just wow. That is really good.

 

 

Good to see more than 3 this month. I'm glad y'all snapped some shots.

I do like the extra lighting on #7, the angel-eyes and KITT red-eye scoop LED add to your shot.

#8 deserves mention, that moment lasted only a minute, and it was well captured.

I want to thank Arizona, for giving me at least one spectacular sunset. I know how frustrating it is waiting for just the right conditions.

 

It varies, HDR requires a lot of skill to pull off just right. Having done both many times in a few different programs, I like to think of it as comparison between a telephoto and a wide angle lens, different tools different results for what would be the same scene, but it is the vision of the photographer and their ability to match it that makes the difference.
That would be the advantage of HDR in this case. (actually pulled it off handheld in the cold and was able to get a dead on match) With all the dust dug into the sensor (covering IR filter) I'm limited to f/3.5-5.0 right now, and hadn't brought the ND filter with me and just couldn't get enough movement otherwise. if you want I'll PM you the fullsize image so you can understand just how bad a shape the sensor is in AFTER cleanings.

 

This is good, all this talk of HDR has shown me a way to get good pictures with in areas that i have been having trouble with. Now I just need to replace my 50 year old Excelsior kick folding tripod.

#8 looks cool to, the colors on the sky are nice and the shadows cast on the MINI help add to the picture nicely.

#9 is neat, has a sort of otherworldly feel to it (kinda like those picture of sunrise you see from the ISS and such).

#1 is nice with the way the MINI's repeat and draw your eye back (or forward), unfortunately the sky looks overexposed. The composition of the photo is really nice looking though, better then a lot of ones I have taken

Believe it or not the setup for my photo wasn't totally my idea. I do not have any external flashes of my own, rather those were the flashes of someone I had met at the beach that nigh who was out shooting with his Canon 5D! Needless to say I was quite impressed (I've only been using SLR's for close to 4 months with my $360 E-500). That whole night I had been fighting with trying to get the exposure level correct (burnt highlights, underexposed foreground), so when I saw what his 5D was able to do with a pair of flash pods I was like "damn that is sweet". He let me hook up his command module to my camera and I snapped that. My only beefs with it are the hood is a little dark and that there is that big ol' white spot on the rear most panel. It was about 15 degrees out that night, so the flashes were taking forever to charge adding another layer to the shot.

 

One question... why is this over before the end of the month?

 

9...easy

 

The monthly photo contest always ends on the 25th of the month.

 

I miss AZ sunsets so much, especially during monsoon season. Contrary to popular belief, AZ has more nice sunsets on a regular basis that CA.

 

Wow! Excellent choice this time around.

I had to look them all over a few times before casting my vote. I'm sort of into red with white Minis. Dare I say more.

 

Wow, how could anyone possibly vote for any pic other than #6???

Simply beautiful 89AKurt! Your pics never cease to amaze me.

 

So is Kurt just getting votes because sunsets are his favorite thing to photograph? . Lots of great photos this month.

 

Well, you have to admit that he's had an absurd amount of practice! :impatient It's no wonder he is unquestionably "da man" of the twilight hours.

Ditto on the great pics this month...lots of talented folk out there in MINI land.