Photos: Wellington Waterfront Night-Time HDR
A while back I did a batch of high dynamic range photos of the Wellington waterfront at night – some involving up to 18 exposures blended into one shot.
As you may have already guessed, this is the set which I made my nifty new blog header from.
The green lights under the wharf near Circa Theatre and the Macs bar.
Circa Theatre looking towards Taranaki St
Click here to see the more of the whole set: (or ignore if you are already in the post)
Civic square from a ledge on the stairs.
The NZX building with Jervois Quay underneath.
Jervois Quay at night.
Overlooking Civic Square, the Majestic Centre and the RWC sculpture.
The bridge across the entrance to Frank Kitts lagoon.
Frank Kitts Lagoon reflects the shine of the city lights.
The bridge, Wharewaka and newly-placed festival signpost.
Looking along the waterfront towards the TSB Arena and the docks.
Frank Kitts lagoon as slight rain sets in.
The Wharewaka next to the lagoon and the NZX building.
Frank Kitts lagoon as the tide slips away.
Unfortunately, this was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing, so I didn’t have a tripod on me. Ledges and seats had to do.
I’m quite fond of the HDR technique, even though some criticise it for being too unrealistic. I agree it’s not really photography in the strictest sense of the word, more like digital art captured using a camera.
I love looking at HDR photos but unfortunately I slept through the HDR portion of my photo class (regretting it now). I’ve gone back and learned the basics of HDR (exposure stepping, autoHDR on photoshop) but do you have any tips on putting together HDR photos?
Thanks, and great photos.
I guess I would say that the software you use helps a lot. I use Photomatix HDR and it does a good job. Take as many exposure steps as you can, but realise that with modern cameras your computer might not be able to combine more than, say, 8-12 in one go, and you might have to reduce the resolution. Oh – and don’t do it on ledges and seats like I did – use that pod.