The shape of the Sun can just be seen but the strong Sunlight closed down the lens aperture leaving most of the scene dark and dull. Next I switched to the HDR (High Dynamic Range) setting where three pictures are taken in rapid succession and parts of each are used to make a composite photo. One photo is exposed as the above one. Another is slightly over exposed to bring out the darker areas. The final one being slightly under exposed to reduce the glare from the brightest sections of the scene. All this is done in the camera taking about five seconds. The final result being: (exactly as produced by the camera)
A much more realistic lighting effect. Normally I wouldn't point a camera at the Sun without a solar filter but this time the light from it was much weaker as it was low in the sky and shining through thin cloud.
It is amazing to think back ten or fifteen years and recall setting up an HDR in Photomatix or the other software about at the time, waiting ages then going through checking for ghosting, picking a bit of one of the suitable shots to replace the ghost then waiting again.
ReplyDeleteAdrian: Considering it was hand held the twigs seem remarkably in sharp focus. As my hands are far from being steady these days it must be a sign of how quickly it takes the three shots.
DeleteI wonder if it takes three or takes one, triplicates it and pushes one two stops and pulls the other two stops.
DeleteAdrian: Yes. It does take three shots.
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