It was day 62 from my 365 photo challenge project and I felt I'm out of good photography locations. For couple of the last days I have been doing nice landscape photography in close to me locations, and it seemed that I'm out of options. I asked a friend (photographer) and asked could he give me some advice. He advised me to make a list with items to photograph, like birds, macro's e.t.c.
Still I felt I need to continue improving my landscape photography. Then another person asked have I tried HDR Effect PRO (For HDR photography I have been using just Photomatix) - my answer was no.
And here did came the inspiration - I decided to head to the lovely Abanatobuani district in Tbilisi Old town and make some cool looking HDR's with public bath houses and hopefully some sun in the background.
I downloaded trial version of HDR Effect pro, took a tripod, fully charged battery and my Canon DSLR camera. Latter when doing post processing I was impressed of dramatic effect HDR Effect Pro created:
Abanotubani district in Tbilisi
That's a nice looking HDR actually. Make sure you are exposing property when doing bracketing. I did a few tests with over and under exposed images and latter found that any basic rules applies to HDR as well. Make sure you are exposing properly.
Public bath houses, colorful balconies and Narikala fortress on top
I have found that HDR's works good when shot in outdoor locations and includes a sky.
Abanotubani
One of my favorite shots - and here is why - I already knew what kind of result I'm looking for even before I left my apartment for this photography session. I feel it's important to plan your scene even before you have arrived on site.
Tbilisi Old Town
Wood carved balconies in Tbilisi
One of the reasons tourist fell in love with Tbilisi - the wooden balconies.
In overall this was a good photography session, I had a chance to apply my recently developed skills and I found a new inspiration for coming photo project days. Speaking of Digital Photography School project I'm planing to write some guides on how to: take a HDR image; Edit HDR in Photomatix; Edit in HDR Effects Pro.
Now, I will be glad if you will follow my 365 project on Flickr.
About HDR Effects Pro 2
- Powerful controls help you create exceptional natural and artistic HDR photos as HDR Efex Pro gives you a wide range of options for any image.
- Bring back lost highlights, open up shadows, and adjust tonality to achieve the perfectly natural and balanced image you’ve envisioned.
- A unique combination of one-click presets helps you start off on the right foot. Pick a style that excites you, then adjust the details to make the look your own.
Try Trial (15 days) or Buy here: HDR Efex Pro