HDR On The Guadalupe

Well, I found the photographs I'd taken on the Guadalupe in late December 2005. Gillian and I were driving down to San Antonio for Ellen's and Stan's New Year celebration and we took a detour to Guadalupe River State Park. Several of my siblings had camped out there recently and I'd never been. It seemed like a good time to check it out.

Late December would be considered off-season in any universe so I didn't know what to expect. The park itself was different enough that, even after spending a couple hours taking pictures, I wasn't sure I'd have any pictures to get excited about. Eventually, after I got home and reviewed the pics on the computer, I was more than happy. Now, six and a half years later, I'm really happy I decided to stop enroute to SA.

I took this one straight-on to the near vertical wall across the river. The reflection is interesting but, except for the river surface, the two-dimensional quality of the image is what does it for me.

These two (above and below) are among my favorite all-time efforts. The serpentine roots of these cypress trees provide such intricate detail, an observer can easily lose himself in the image. The reflection of the sky by the river made for a surprising blue-green hue which perfectly complements the warm tones of cypress needles.

I like being able to study the textural detail "close-up" in this last one. The color of the submerged rocks somehow brought out the rusty tones late December in Texas take on, again, working so well with the blue-green highlights in the water.

In case you're wondering, I'm really liking this HDR stuff. . .

I Haven't Given Up. . .

It's been an interesting month or so. My cataract surgery was a great success - my two running lights match now. I can drive without glasses; my reading/computer glasses are standard (i.e., I don't have to remove one lens anymore). I had a minor medical problem that required daily visits to the doctor for a month. That was the result of ignoring the problem while I attended to the cataract. The 8:00 AM visits are finally over with; that's a good thing since I never managed to shift my bedtime when I started getting up with the sun. The sleep deficit was killing me. Clearing all that from my calendar will let me give the dentist his turn.

I'm still enamored with High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography and I have been practicing. Yesterday Mom and I went to Mayfield Park, down by the river near Laguna Gloria. We'd been there before to be entertained by the peacocks, which are still the main attraction. Of course, since they have the run of the place, you have to track them down when you get there. But that's not as difficult as you might imagine. If they're already performing for other park visitors, chances are one or more of the "screamers" will give away their location. I knew they could be loud, but apparently one has become a mime as well. In this case, the screams suggested suggested Freddie Kruger was working mayhem right here in River City. That they were interspersed with very convincing cries for "HELP" might well have had the APD Tactical Squad fanning out across the park landscape had they been paying attention.

Then, of course, when we came upon the scene of the supposed massacre, we found library-quiet fowl - butter wouldn't melt in their mouths. No forensic evidence within miles of this idyll and none of these birds were inclined to be stool pigeons.

I was pleased, however, to be drawn by the birds to a corner of the park I'd missed on previous visits - and three very pleasant lilly ponds. These first three HDR efforts were effected from three single pictures, the under and over exposures necessary for HDR created on the computer rather than being shot under and over exposed on site. This method's not as satisfactory as 3 to 5 shots per HDR image, but it allows me to practice. . . and I can go back later and re-shoot in the accustomed manner.

You can compare the shot above with my "cover photo" on Facebook to see the difference between "normal" shots and HDR images.

If this one looks familiar, it's because I posted a version of it earlier and I've been practicing on it ever since. The scene is Cow Creek and the escarpment in the background is one of the limestone "balconies" which give the Balcones Canyonlands its name. The sun here is behind the ridge and in a normal picture most of the scene would be shrouded in shadow and the sky would be blown out (overexposed). With HDR, all the detail lost in a typical photo is enhanced.

Taken a minute or two later with a slightly different camera angle this is still Cow Creek. Every attempt at an HDR image doesn't yield a satisfactory image. Practice is required to get consistent results. These pics of Cow Creek remind me of some shots I took of the Guadalupe River several years ago. Ah, something else to practice on. . .