Week Two

The Vault.

I have wanted to see if I could make an HDR image from the Canon S90 for some time, and I knew that "The Vault" at Glasgow University was a challenge to photograph because of its low light inside and its often brightly lit courtyards just out side.
Here's the first of 3 images to go into the HDR:

I exposed for the highlights, making the interior very dark - even so, I think the highlights are just a bit too bright still. (F3.2 1/15s 6mm)
Here's the second of the three images:

We can see that the interior exposure is much better, but the outside highlights are almost totally blown. ( F3.2 1s 6mm)
And here is the last shot:

The floor is overexposed, and there is no detail left at all in the outside area. ( F3.2 2s 6mm)

For the final image I used Photomatix Pro, setting the "Align the images by matching features" and "Reduce Chromatic Aberrations" to on.

Here's what it ended up like (with a few adjustments in Aperture (dodge and burn, exposure adjustment and a crop)):

I am quite pleased with the result, despite the blown highlights in the middle and right-most outside areas.

Here is a 100% crop of some of the detail:

I think that's pretty good for a shirt-pocket size point and shoot, don't you?

I think I will revisit The Vault again when I have more time and try the HDR route again.

The final image is also in the "Project 52" Gallery.