Rocketman returns! Crabtree Falls Va, a short photo essay...

[rocketman]

These are shots taken at Crabtree Falls in Va near the Blue Ridge Parkway on a morning ride while attending the Sherando Lake Rally on the IT. These shots, except for the last one as noted, were taken using exposure bracketing of one f-stop stop up and one down then processed with HDR, or High Dynamic Range to get a greater range of tones than normal Digital Imaging can produce. Some consider this ?cheating? I simply consider it another way to enhance digital images to bring out more of what my eye actually saw and enhance the Mood of the imagery. Photography for me, is about more than simply capturing a static image and or exact rendition of the scene; it is a form of art and therefore the use of various techniques to help capture a mood or a feeling which the scene invoked in me, the ?live? viewer, and thus rendered in the final image, is perfectly appropriate.

Note that some of the shots are of the same scene simply rendered both in landscape and portrait format.

looking up the path from the lower falls to the upper falls

I was intrigued by the holes in the rock face, don't ask why, just was

liked the way the diffused lighting worked out in this one

Looking back down the path along the falls from the lower falls to the upper falls. 2 miles one way an about 500 feet elevation change. Nice little walk!

a little detour needed here, or clamber thru the opening between roots and rocks.. I took the route thru the root&rock.

last shot, not HDR

RM

 

[Phil Tarman]

Glad to see these and hear about exposure bracketing and High Dynamic Range. What do you use to process your pix?

 

[Chucksklrst]

Cool Pictures.

 

[karl]

Sweet, good to have you back

 

[rocketman]

Glad to see these and hear about exposure bracketing and High Dynamic Range. What do you use to process your pix?

Thanks for the kodos !

I do most of my work with a Linux Ubuntu based system cause I can script (i.e. automate) the various steps of the process using Hugin HDR and Gimp photo software. Both are GNU freeware and do have Windoz versions, though I have found these versions not quite as stable. There are a number of windoz based programs as well, but they mostly don't allow for the same level of customization as the Linux tools.
With gimp I create three layers, one base layer and two overlays using different HDR processes, one layer for adding color depth and one for adding detail and then adjust the opacity of each for the intended effect. The real trick with HDR is not getting carried away and making the scene look artificial, unless that is your intent, but it shouldn't be the rule or it just gets boring due to overkill.

RM

 

[vc_slim]

Really enjoyed the shots and process info. Thanks.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Thanks for the explanation. You can learn so much on this forum beyond all the knowledge that we share about the NT.

 

[Bear]

Rocketman,
You are an artist for sure. Thank you for sharing.