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Within The Place Of A Stone Circle
3rd PlaceWithin The Place Of A Stone Circle
scarbrd


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Best of 2007 (Advanced Editing VII*)
Camera: Canon EOS-5D
Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM
Location: Stonehenge, England
Date: Apr 30, 2007
Aperture: 9.0
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/320
Galleries: Landscape, History
Date Uploaded: Jan 15, 2008

 Three exposures using HDRI.

Out take from images I used in the Pi and Dr Suess challenges.

____________________

Post challenge: I am floored that this ribboned up against some awesome competition. Thanks everyone.

A 12 minute span on a visit to Stonehenge produced a blue, and yellow and a top 10. Not bad!

The Shot

My wife and I were on a bus tour to Stonehenge while on vacation in the UK. We arrived in the afternoon after visiting Windsor and Bath. We were at Stonehenge for about 40 minutes. The light was pretty good but there were clouds rolling in.

As the clouds rolled in, my wife noticed a break in the clouds behind us. I ran around to the other side to get the light behind the stones. I had my 5D set to autobracket the exposures in 1-stop increments. normal, -1, +1. I laid down on the ground to get the horizon low in the shot and include the light at the top. (I'm sure the other tourist loved that!)

The Post Processing

Back home (and several months later) I opened each exposure in Photoshop using the RAW converter. Needing more range than the 3 exposures gave me, I made 2 images from the darkest exposure, 1 from the normal exposure and 2 from the lightest exposure. In the lightest and darkest images, I adjusted the exposure in the RAW converter to get a darker image and a lighter image. This gave me 5 images of different exposures to work with, a 5-stop range.



I saved each one in TIF format. Then I used PhotoMatix for the HDR and Tone Mapping. In PhotoMatix, I combined all 5 images using the Generate command in the HDR menu. The result is a very odd looking image:


I'm not sure what's going on in PhotoMatix, but all the pixel data must still be in the file. Then I select Tone Mapping from the HDR menu and after adjusting the sliders a bit, I get this:


I save that image as a TIF and go back to Photoshop.

The tone mapping left a red fringe around the stones. I spent a bit of time cloning the red fringe out.

In Photoshop I masked off the stones using the pen tool. This creates a clipping path. I saved the path so I could use it again. I turned the path into a selection with a slight feathering. I inverted the selection and unselected the ground leaving just the sky in the selection. Levels, Brightness Contrast, color ballance layers on the sky.

I activated the path again and turned it into a selection for just the stones. I added adjustment layers for levels and brightness/contrast.

I then increased the saturation on the grass to make it greener.

Some dodge and burn and general clean up left me with my image. The last thing I did was invert the image horizontally because I liked the composition better with the light in the upper left than in the upper right.

There you have it! Utilizing the new rules and every other tool available in Advanced Editing and I get a Yellow ribbon!!!

Statistics
Place: 3 out of 484
Avg (all users): 7.2258
Avg (commenters): 8.6316
Avg (participants): 7.1264
Avg (non-participants): 7.4595
Views since voting: 11967
Views during voting: 427
Votes: 248
Comments: 43
Favorites: 43 (view)

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AuthorThread
 01/31/2008 04:31:38 AM
fantastic well done on the ribbon David
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/31/2008 02:22:58 AM
What a stunning shot Congrats on your 3 rd placed image
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/30/2008 11:21:55 AM
yes! congratulations David!

SMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOCCCCHHHHH!!!!!!!!

;)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/29/2008 07:49:48 PM
cool man... nice job. But how does that HDRI works. Is it possible with nikon D70's raw shots?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2008 02:25:41 PM
Congrats David. 3rd place on a bestof1 Huge ribbon. Stunning image.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2008 12:22:04 PM
Very impressive shot - congrats on the ribbon.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2008 09:55:08 AM
Love it! Congrats on the ribbon.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2008 09:23:20 AM
Congratulations!!! This is just stunning, and perfect, and beautiful, and amazing, and gorgeous, and fantastic and phenomenal, and I could keep going!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2008 08:30:34 AM
Wow, congrats! A beautiful shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2008 08:03:30 AM
You're really good, David. Congrats for this special Ribbon.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2008 03:17:02 AM
Excellent shot and processing, congrats on the yellow!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2008 03:06:38 AM
I love this, it's gorgeous. Congratulations on the yellow, David.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2008 02:32:39 AM
beautiful picture/well done/congrats
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2008 01:47:36 AM
Congratulations on your ribbon!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2008 01:17:50 AM
Great picture and congrats on your ribbon! Not bad for 12 minutes. ;)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2008 12:42:53 AM
Wow! Congrats on the Yellow. Fully deserved. You know a ribbon the "Best Of" is worth 12 times one in a regular Free Study don't you. ;)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2008 12:37:25 AM
Congrats David!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2008 12:33:49 AM
Nice pic and congrats on your ribbon!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2008 12:32:58 AM
Wonderful work!! Congrats on 3rd!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2008 12:20:31 AM
One blue, one yellow, and one star. I'd say that was a successful trip to Stonehenge. :) Congrats!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2008 12:18:41 AM
WOOHO!!! Glad to see another Houstonian win this. GRATS! on third place!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
01/27/2008 11:28:41 PM
I have always wanted to visit Stonehenge and gorgeous photos like this just enforce that desire even more. The lighting here is amazing.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/27/2008 03:04:29 PM
I really like the concept, but the my overall perception of the image is that the tone is a bit "muddy". I would really like to see the stones stand out a little more.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/27/2008 01:06:31 PM
Very nice shot - gotta love those light rays. Not sure I'm wild about the color tones in the sky but a very lovely image. Back to bump you up to 9.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/27/2008 05:49:58 AM
Magical and mystical. Would make a great postcard.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/26/2008 10:20:33 PM
Beautiful light and tones; I don't think you can do any better capturing this well-photographed site. 10 and a fave from me.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/26/2008 02:46:21 PM
I love this picture ! - 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/26/2008 12:49:09 PM
This is simply a magical photo. The archetypal image of Stonehenge that everyone has in their mind.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/25/2008 03:13:11 PM
Now if you just had a rockclimber scampering up the face... ;P Colors are a little wierd but image is cool nonetheless. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/25/2008 10:55:08 AM
just stunning ... hope to make it there to take my own pictures some day
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/24/2008 10:55:39 AM
Scalvert? Beautiful lighting on Stonehenge - makes for a magical capture. 8.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/24/2008 08:43:58 AM
Oh WOW! What a beautiful photo of stone henge. This is amazing. Wonderfully done! nice work. 10 + 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/24/2008 12:10:14 AM
Although I think the sky is overprocessed for my liking, I really like the result. Good Job. Good Luck. 7. Bump. 8.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/23/2008 10:40:45 AM
Stunning!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/21/2008 06:59:33 PM
very nice...great sky
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/21/2008 12:19:04 PM
I am such a sucker for sun rays in photos. The colors here a beautiful, and the detail on the stones is really good.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/21/2008 11:48:26 AM
Man, this is beautiful... Perfect exposure and tones. Outstanding.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/21/2008 11:23:51 AM
Very nice composition and great clarity.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/21/2008 10:28:58 AM
A beautiful moment, you captured the sunrays perfectly. This is an awe-inspiring photo.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/21/2008 09:49:26 AM
Very nice! 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/21/2008 09:01:31 AM
Wow!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/21/2008 04:16:05 AM
love the warm light and the rays...8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/21/2008 12:57:02 AM
Oh my, the best yet, wish I could give you 11. The rays of sun coming through the clouds are perfect. Obviously my votes a 10.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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