I was heading to North and South Boulevard when I saw the gold dome on the Chapel of St. Basil at Saint Thomas University. I parked my car and started walking around trying to find the best angle for my photo. Nothing really appealed to me. I did not like the distortion that I was seeing from shooting up and using the 28-70mm lens.
I sat down and tried to figure out my problem. As I was looking around, I noticed that the classroom facing the chapel had a second floor open balcony from which place my tripod. I climbed-up to the balcony and took my shot.
There was probably a ten f-stop dynamic range in the shot, so I decided that I would have to use HDR to make my image. I shot five shots at 1 EV increments from -2 EV to +2 EV.
Enjoy.
Camera settings: Nikon D3, Nikon 28-70mm f/2.8 at with a polarizing filter attached, shot at ISO 200, f/16 and 5 shots at various shutter speeds on a tripod.
Post Processing:
Photomatix Pro—combined five shots into an HDR file and then tone mapped the file and imported it into Lightroom.
Lightroom—Set white and black points, added mid-tone contrast, clarity.
Photoshop—ran nik Color Efex Pro tonal contrast filter on the chapel to add contrast to shadows, mid-tones and highlights.
Nice shot Patrick!
ReplyDeleteI like the composition and post-processing work you did. There a lots of recognizable elements in the photo but to me it still has an overall abstract feel.
Well done!
Barry
I really like the color in the dome and on the bricks. Great detail and texture in the shot. Looks like you had to make a choice of cutting off part of the dome or the bells, and chose the dome. Good decision on your part; the bells add to the shot.
ReplyDeleteDHaass
Extremely controlled composition. When I look at this photo, I think of structure, simple colors and hard versus soft. This photo has a lot to comprehend.
ReplyDeleteThe Professor
Really fine use of HDR and controlling the tonemapping so it's not taken into a cartoon-like image. It has a really nice fine art architecture feel to it. I especially like the 3 bells and your cropping. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteSteve nailed it. You did not let the HDR get away from you. The composition is outstanding.
ReplyDeleteAnne
I like this a lot. It is so different than most of the stuff that you do. I do not understand HDR but if this is what it does, keep doing it.
ReplyDeleteCharles M