HDR at Twilight | Bracketing

Bracketing is the feature to use for shooting HDR. The Nikon D700 allows for a maximum of 1-step Exposure Values (EV’s).

Unfortunately, three shots spaced by one EV are often not sufficient for properly taking HDR scenes at twilight or night.

At default the D700 is already set-up with the exposure bracketing feature assigned to the function button (FN).  That makes it easy to press and dial my 5 or 7 shots-in-a-row bracketing sequence. 

5 or 7 shots are a good number to input into today’s HDR software programs.  It doesn't take the computer any more time than it takes for 3 shots and gives the software programs more information to work with.  For this shot I used 

Nik Software’s “HDR Efex Pro”.

So, with my camera set for 1-stop EV's, my cable release attached, 
and 7-shot bracket dialed-in, I was preset and ready for the sun to make its last short peek before setting.  

~~~See you out there

return to:    Robert Howell Photography.com 

 

Night Photography | White Balance (WB) moods

Experiment with white balance (WB) to make dramatic moods.

If you have a Live View feature, use it to scroll through the various WB settings as you compose your shot and choose a setting that you 'feel' fits the scene.  After shooting the "correct" white balance. I choose 3300K as a cool 'blue' place to start and sometimes go as high as 10,000K to heat it up.   If you shoot in Raw format, you can adjust the WB and the “mood” in post processing.  

The mixture of thermal steam from these Yellowstone Mammoth Hot Springs and the nearby ambient lights create a wonderful opportunity to try a variety of WB moods.

~~~See you out there

return to:    Robert Howell Photography.com