Does new HDR Efex Pro 2 Pass the Test?
I am a big fan of Nik Software, www.niksoftware.com and when they sent me an email announcing an upgrade to the HDR processing plug-in HDR Efex I decided to take a look. While I had purchased HDR Efex about a year ago I never used it, preferring instead their competitors HDR processing product Photomatix. Photomatix is by a company called HDRSoft and from what I can tell most amateur photographers use it rather than Nik Software. Photomatix had a couple of things going for it that HDR Efx did not – it was faster (a lot faster and less clunky) and it had cooler presets such as the “Painterly” preset that I found to look extremely cool. I downloaded it at this site and to tell you the truth I have loved it for the last year. It cost me $99 for a license.
I’ve posted some other blogs on HDR photography so I won’t go too much into it here but HDR photography is the method of taking 3 exposures to capture all of the light range in a setting. Wikipedia has a pretty good explanation of it here if you want to take a look – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_dynamic_range_imaging. I think it is a good technique but only really useable for certain situations mostly landscape and architecture. It doesn’t do a great job with people because of movement and ghosting.
Nik Software sent out an email and offered me a free 15 day trial of the software. If I like it, I can pay $50 and have it or I can let the demo expire. I decided to test out the software by comparing the results to HDR Efex 1.0 and Photomatix. If I like the results I will buy the software if not I will just stay with what I have. I must say after trying out the software there are a couple of key advantages that I think make this software pretty cool. First it is totally integrated into Photoshop which means that I don’t have to save it outside of photoshop and later import it into Photoshop to do additional edits – Photomatix doesn’t have this feature which means a few extra steps. The second thing I really like about it is the fact that the HDR photos that are produced have a lot more customization controls including the selective feature that NikSoftware has patented. And finally, the HDR images that are produced out of HDR Efx 2.0 are the most natural of any image.
You can check out HDR EFEX Pro 2 at http://www.niksoftware.com/hdrefexpro/usa/index.php?view=intro/main_hdr2.shtml and see all of the cool features that they have on this software. While I read through it I was pretty impressed with what they were offering in this version.
So I took the same 3 HDR exposures I took from the Golden Palace in Japan and ran them through the 3 different software packages. Here are the results.
HDR Efx – First NikSoftware Release. This is a pretty good result that I got using the Balanced preset. I think the image turned out ok in spite of having some dust spots on the sensor which appear in the sky.
Photomatix – I downloaded their latest version of the software which actually cost $20 and is not actually free. As I said earlier I always liked the dramatic effect of Photomatix and its speed. To process the image it takes about 20% shorter than using the Nik Software. One downside to Photomatix is that it is not integrated into Photoshop so you need to do all of your work outside photoshop with it and then import it in after. Another downside is the fact that it leaves these lines on the side of the picture after aligning the photos and those always need to be cropped out.
And the third and final image from HDR Efx 2.0. I used the Deep Color preset which is a new preset that I actually really like. I think the result came out good. I could have gotten a much more natural looking picture by using the default preset or the natural preset but I chose this one. I think overall my assessment is that HDR Efx 2.0 is the best HDR processing software out there and I will be making the $50 upgrade purchase. Well done NikSoftware. Well done again.
A visit from Maryann and Co.
What a nice surprise. Guess who popped into town – the world hopper Maryann along with Lee and her son Jordan and his girlfriend Rosie. It was just a day trip but we decided to do a little touring of San Diego. Lucky I have a big car because he son Jordan is 6 foot 7 tall and needed the extra leg room up front. We packed 4 in the back and 2 in the front and we were off to see the best of San Diego.
After catching the beautiful views of La Jolla’s cove we decided to take the long way to downtown San Diego to check it out. When we got to San Diego Bay we bought tickets to check out the old ships and tour a Russian Submarine. Maryann and Lee are catching some very interesting sights. They were obviously amazed at the ships in the area, some of which dated back 150 years or more.
Lee catches a solitary moment and ponders all the great things the world has to offer. It’s a good day when your on a boat in San Diego he thinks to himself.
One of the highlights of the day was when Maryann showed us her Dinghy. Apparently Maryann has been keeping her little boat a secret for many years. Her little boat provides her an escape from the daily grind. When she gets stressed out she often finds herself taking her boat out singing Christopher Cross’s ‘Sailing Take me Away”. So Maryann has a boat. Now you now.
Did I mention her son is 6 foot 7? Here is a picture to prove it. Is he twice as tall as his girlfriend Rosie? Almost!
When you go into the Russian Submarine, it is very small so they provide a porthole for you to climb through to see if you can make it. It’s kind of like those measuring tapes that are on the wall in front of a roller coaster to see if you are tall enough to go on. Tu decided to take it to the next level and actually tried to do a 360 in the porthole. She almost made it. Check it out.
I met Rosie in London when Maryann was living there. Jordan and her having been dating for a few years now. It was nice to hang out with both of them and get to know them better.
Lee, Maryann’s boyfriend has been getting some acting gigs lately and some pretty good roles. He has got that X factor and leading man look so look for him in a theater near you soon.
We had some fun in the Star of India – one of the oldest shipping vessels in the US. This ship was in commission during the Civil War and it looks like the kind of ship that a pirate playing Johnny Depp would be very comfortable on.
Jordan contemplates on the history of the ship, imagining himself dressed in swashbuckling clothing fighting off Pirates and defending his fair maiden Rosie on the ship.
After San Diego Bay, we headed over and toured Chicano Park before arriving on the beautiful Island of Coronado. Now this park is beautiful and has some of the most amazing Chicano art in the US. We saw a mural that said “No Yonkes” which we thought meant “No Honkies” or “No Yankees” which is a term many of you will remember from the 70’s. We assumed this meant no Caucassion people but actually “Yonkes” in spanish means “Junkyards”. Chicano Park was established to get rid of the junkyard in the hispanic community that they wanted to keep there. “No Yonkes” means no junkyards.
In Coronado we went to the #1 spot in San Diego to catch the skyline view. Tu, my favorite model helped pose for a picture there.
It was so nice to see Maryann and spend time with people important in her life. Maryann is my good friend that I have known for many years and worked on many projects together. It was a fun day with great friends.
Beach Baby Workout La Jolla
Alisha Randall asked me to take some photos for her new workout project which is going to be offered in La Jolla and Del Mar. The new program is going to offer workouts on the beach for mothers and their babies. What a great idea (combining motherhood and daily workouts) and I am sure Alisha will be very busy!
The Bubbling Mud of Yellowstone
In the middle of Montana, Yellowstone National Park sits on what is now considered the largest Super Volcano in the world. All around this park, signs of internal distress within the earths crust is evident. No where is this more evident than in the multitude of bubbling mud pots that collect almost everywhere within the park. Mud Pots are sorts of acidic hot springs that contain a limited amount of extremely hot water and lots of mud. What you get when these mud pots develop is a little bit of boiling water under the crust of the earth and lots of mud. The mud pots because they have various colors within the park are also called paint pots because they resemble artist pools of different colored paint. The only difference is that the mud pots are boiling and mud is flying everywhere. The mud pots produce this really cool steam but the steam smells like boiled eggs and actually makes your eyes burn. You want to stay around the mud pots, but the tremendous amounts of steam, fog and general bad smell make you want to leave after a little bit.
These mud pots spell trouble for dogs and travelers to the park. Just a couple of months ago, a dog jumped into the area where the mud pots were and cracked through the crust and literally boiled himself alive. The owners friend, jumped in the pot to save the dog but alas he fell to the same fate. One generally does not want to venture off the beaten path in Yosemite because it is quite easy to break through the ground and end up in one of these boiling mud soup pots. It is quite an amazing place, full of beauty and danger.
Welcome to the Crack Motel
Stopping in Baker Nevada we came across this place. It was a bit of a mess. Looks like it has been abandoned for years. Abandoned by everyone but the crack addicts.
This old abandoned Pepsi Machine was probably the only cool thing left in abandoned resort. Too bad someone had scrawled “neckface” on the front whatever that meant.
This room looks like it could use a little maid service. I just wonder who has been sleeping here every night since it looks like someone was there recently.
I wonder if this place ever turned on the No Vacancy sign. From the looks of it, I highly doubt it.
Someone decided to splurge and get the Bacardi Gold which is the good stuff evidently.
Pretty much every room looked like this in the whole place. There must have been 100 rooms and they were all smashed.
The only place to sit comfortably was in the empty pool which was only slightly filled with old trash. This place was a dump.
Taking Gym Photos
I have been going to the gym almost everyday for the past 8 years. I rarely miss it, if I do miss a day I just don’t feel the same. A couple of weeks ago, the gym heard that I did a little amateur photography and asked me if I would take pictures for the new website that they were putting up. Seeing as a rarely decline the chance to take pictures I took on the project. We started yesterday and the first phase was taking portrait photos of all of the trainers against a white background. They wanted a super clean look that they could use on the website and something that would be easy to layer text and trainer bios up over. Photographing against a white background can be tricky and is actually one of the hardest things to do. To create a truly floating image you really need to over-expose the white background while getting the exposure on the subject just right. I have tried various methods to achieve the look but my favorite at the moment is to use continuous fluorescent lights to brighten up both the background and the subject. I have just found flashes to be too slow and do let me shotgun photos which I really like doing. Photographing against a white background can be hit or miss but it definitely provides a clean and distinct look for websites. Here is what I came up with for them.
El Caro No Worko
Today marked day 2 of our stay within Yellowstone National Park. Call it luck of the Irish as my car broke down in just about one of the best places you could break down. Unfortunately today however we found out that they had to special order the part from another state and have it federal expressed by Monday to the location. Apparently Range Rover does not open on weekends so that is going to have Kevin and I stuck yet another day here in Yellowstone. I guess the word “stuck” is all based on your perception of the problem. Things could be worse but this means that Kevin and I will have to do some fast driving on Monday night to make it home by Tuesday. I think we are still on mark to travel over 3500 miles on the road in less than 7 days.
Kevin and I spent the whole day driving through most of the park – actually we drove all around the park and could probably now become Rangers since we know the park so well. We saw even more wildlife today – Bison, Osprey, Orange Bellied Beavers, Cranes, Elks and Ravens. We also saw some amazing waterfalls today – the most intense and large that I have seen in my life. The lower waterfalls in Yellowstone must be seen to be believed. They were loud and millions of pounds of water we pouring over the side of the cliff every minute. It was a pretty awe-inspring site.
We finished off the day watching 2 elk wade across Yosemite River and pause to drink water – now that was another great day.
A view of one of the great waterfalls at Yellowstone at a location called Artist Point. It could take your breath away it is so beautiful
Everywhere you look within Yellowstone is like a picture perfect postcard. This place is called the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Can you see why?
Kevin’s smile reveals the terror within his heart as he grips the railing to avoid plunging down through the raging waterfall.
Kevin slapped this surprised Bison on the Butt Cheek as we drove past him. The Bison literally walked right beside our car – close enough to touch, or in Kevin’s case, close enough to launch a butt slap on him.
This elk was slightly annoyed that we were watching him wade in the water and have sips of water. Eventually about 10 cars were lined up taking pictures and trapping the poor elk in the water.
Burned trees are everywhere in the park. That comes with the territory as boiling hot springs and mud pots spring up in random places and burn everything around.
Burned tree sticks create a barren landscape in some places. Barren but still so beautiful.
Kevin sits on one of the picturesque park benches in front of a waterfall.
Kevin’s French Song
Kevin and I spent last Saturday filming a video for a beautiful arrangement that he put together with the theme song from Amelie. Kevin spent a long time producing 4 separate guitar parts and fusing them together with some beautiful harmonics. The song originally played on the accordion sounds beautiful on the guitar and even has a hint of Spanish influence. It was a great day and Kevin made a beautiful song.