Nice vintage photos folks. Keep'em coming! Long live the '70's, Ok the '80's and 60's too. I'd rather forget the 90's though.....
Scan and post cool stuff, and a lot of us still had hair too!
Thanks for the compliments folks. On the infared front, there are a couple of ways to do it. A filter over CERTAIN digital cameras ( I can get a list of qualifying ones ) or a complete dedicated modded camera. I did the latter because it works better for what I need,
The filter approach allows you to keep your normal camera AND shoot infared too, but with constraints, like slow shutter speed of sometimes up to two seconds. Your camera must have aperture and shutter speed controls to even think of using it for IR work.
The dedicated camera allows total flexibility, just like shooting regularly for the most part.
Infared is sooo much easier these days than in the film days. Back then the film had to be refrigerated until just prior to use and the learning curve was real steep since we never had any LCD feedback and the amount of IR light varies so much from place to place, moment to moment and angle to angle. Much easier now to shoot then see what developed and compensate for any shortcomings immediately.
HDR is almost a trend these days, but it is an area I've always sought to explore, even in my film days, The results often lack certain contrast snap that we are used to, but instead offer extended detail in shadows and light.
The "flatter" picture takes on surreal qualities since we are putting on 2D paper what our eyes do naturally, and we are not used to it. Photography at best is only an approximation of what we see, like any recording medium, it is fraught with compromise. HDR seeks to overcome some of the compromises and substitute a new reality.
HDR can be approximated and accomplished by several techniques, the most common of which is taking multiple exposures of a scene at three or more exposure levels. You would expose one shot for the dark areas, one for the mids, and one for the highlights. Each exposure is optimized for a light level cluster, so the idea is to join them and create one overall image with extended dynamic range, hence HDR, High Dynamic Range.
Lots of variables in this technique, not the least of which is subject movement between exposures.
Still the results can be rewarding. I even extend the DR in a pseudo HDR technique shooting a digital negative format called RAW . With a single RAW file I can produce several identical files each one trying to expose for the highs, mids, and darks just like having three separate exposures. RAW has a couple of F stops more latitude than a typical JPG, so this technique has some validity once you tweak the RAW files.
Photomatix is a great program. I sue it to do most my HDR work. I just got Photoshop CS3 too which has a program within for HDR.
Lots more to it of course, but it is interesting stuff. Two approaches to the results as well. One is to try and mimic the real world the other is to d[-create an new world. I do both with varying degrees of success.
Here's some:
Larger file here so you can actually see it:
Cohasset Harbor color panorama Feb 2007 Massachusetts Minot HDR tone mapped photo - Robert Miller photos at pbase.com
Cohasset Harbor color panorama Feb 2007 Massachusetts Minot HDR tone mapped
Minot light in the background
A cold day for taking 45 separate exposures, but I did. Then tone mapped them in Photomatix, stitched them in Panorama Factory and cloned in more in CS2. Then converted to LAB, played with color curves, erased layers, sharpened the luminosity channel, shrank it a LOT for viewing and here it is.
Canon 5D, 70-200 Canon 2.8 L IS. ISO100 three exposure increments, -2 0 +2 f 10 the whole time.
I'd do it different if I shot it again. Too much dead space in the lower left water area. Still, it kind of works.
LAB colorspace is real good for exaggerating colors like here. It was sunset too and the colors were quite striking, now even more so. Ok, MAYBE even a bit too much!
Larger one here for detail:
Cohasset Harbor infared panorama photo - Robert Miller photos at pbase.com
This one is infared psudo HDR ( One exposure tone mapped from a RAW file ) Typical Panorama stitched from five hand held shots. Kinda flat looking I need to give it some contrast enhancement. This will be t the expense of detail but will result in a better looking overall picture.
Cohasset Harbor night shot
Lighthouse Keeper's Residence on the hill.
RAW file entered into Photomatix and tone mapped after pseudo HDR.