This weekend in Prague (HDR Preview).

cokebottles

cokebottles

cokebottles

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Just got back from an EXCELLENT long weekend in Prague. Went last year before I purchased my DSLR, and since getting into taking photos, had the perfect excuse to visit the beautiful city once again. Anyways. Equipment was just my Oly E-330 and kit lens as usual. Still no tripod.

I have a TONNE of photos which I am going to processes and probably start a thread for some C+C at a later date, but I gave the processing of three HDR shots a dry run last night, because I really wanted to see what they'd come out like. Please be vocal with your opinion.

These are all from 3 jpgs which I shot using AE bracketing. My previous HDRs have all been from a single RAW file.

PS: imageshack has died on me while uploading the photos, so the first one is re-sized and embedded in the post, but for pics 2 and 3 I've used another site to host the original images (quite large, but should be quick if you have broadband) - will fix this when Im at home later.

1.
2261774698_5c319bb237_b.jpg

This is the first one I processed. Bit dark and noisy, and I'm not happy with the lack of detail on bridge (way too dark). I do however love how the sky looks and the general moodiness (is that even a word??).


2.
2260980317_2809ef4878_b.jpg

Nothing special really. Was shot in program auto, and haven't studied the exif yet. It looks to me like the near-field is in focus with a shallow depth of field. Slightly disappointed at overall sharpness, but I like the colours.


3.
2260980581_03e0f9d042_b.jpg

I like this one the most of the three. Only change I might apply is a crop to align the horizon/bridge to match the rule of thirds. Oh, and if I hadn't mentioned, would you have noticed the slight ghosting on the boat?
 
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IMO you just can't take a bad shot of Prague, such a great city to walk around, makes me jealous looking at these pics, had some great times there.

Some nice pics, possibly over done the HDR in 3, at least on the 2 buildings on the right anyway. No.2 yes you can see the ghosting but its what you get with multi exposures, maybe try and clone it out with just a single image of the boat?

I would also try and crop to lose some of the water in the image, make it more of a wide landscape shot, shame you didnt get the other tower on the right section of the bridge in.

Great though, I need to go back there!
 
Hey guys, thanks for looking, and your comments. I have now updated the post with the images for 2+3. Please keep the comments coming....

To answer Big.Wayne, yes these have 'been enhanced' - it's a technique called HDR, I'm sure you wont have to search for long before you find some information on this type of photography and processing. The pics have also been put though Photoshop CS3 for a few minor tweaks too.

@BruceLee - glad to see the love for Prague. I was also thoroughly gutted at about not being able to get the other tower on Charles Bridge in photo 3. I was resting the camera on the ledge of the bridge I was on, so couldn't move further away, and lens was on widest setting. I really need to get me a 400/450D and a Sigma 10-20mm. Gutted.
 
cokebottles said:
Nothing special really. Was shot in program auto, and haven't studied the exif yet. It looks to me like the near-field is in focus with a shallow depth of field. Slightly disappointed at overall sharpness, but I like the colours.
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:confused: Looks like a pretty damned big DoF to me. :confused:

Lovely shots, though some cropping could be beneficial. I'd love to got to Prague.
 
cokebottles said:
@BruceLee - glad to see the love for Prague. I was also thoroughly gutted at about not being able to get the other tower on Charles Bridge in photo 3. I was resting the camera on the ledge of the bridge I was on, so couldn't move further away, and lens was on widest setting. I really need to get me a 400/450D and a Sigma 10-20mm. Gutted.
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Yep love the place, been loads of times with the ex who is Czech, fantastic in the summer and winter. Annoyingly I never had a very good camera before so would love to go back with a decent one, as you mentioned a nice 10-20mm would be very useful. Did you manage to get up Petrin tower at all? Some nice views over the river and city from there, shame I get hit by vertigo when I go up there!

A.N.Other, make the effort to go, its a bit more commercialised than when I first went back in 99/2000 but its great to walk around, a lot of gothic architecture etc and enough places to get away from the crowds if you want to, great bars and restaurants and although you should try to speak Czech nearly everyone there will speak English.
 
I really like pic 1, the colours of buildings on the left do a lot for me, in contrasting with the kinda sepia-ness of the rest of the shot :)
 
BruceLee said:
Did you manage to get up Petrin tower at all? Some nice views over the river and city from there, shame I get hit by vertigo when I go up there!
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Oh, is that the tower, which looks a bit like a mini Eiffel Tower/Radio Mast?? When we saw the weird copper sculptures of the half broken men (something to do with communism) - I think the Petrin tower was right above us - we were not sure if/how to get there. I was the only photographer in our crowd anyways, so persuading everyone would have been a challenge.

In regards to HDR processing. To reduce noise (on the full size version of 1, in particular) - is it best to get a stand alone app to do this, or use tools in CS3.
 
cokebottles said:
Oh, is that the tower, which looks a bit like a mini Eiffel Tower/Radio Mast?? When we saw the weird copper sculptures of the half broken men (something to do with communism) - I think the Petrin tower was right above us - we were not sure if/how to get there.
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Yeah, that's the one. Easiest way to get there from those sculptures is to take the funicular railway which is slightly to the right.
 
Thanks for the positive remarks adamph.

In regards to the Petrin tower I will DEFINITELY have to stop by there. I'm certainly planning another trip to Prague (most probably May 2009) and by then I would be hopefully on a slightly better camera with a wider lens.

Before my trip, I fell in love with some of the official press photos for the Aston Martin DBS which were shot in Prague. There is one vantage point (pardon the pun) that I wanted to find, just to say I did it, but never wound up with the free time. Has anyone been here.

asonmartindbsoff_009.jpg


Its not the wall outside of the castle, it looks like its further south. Any ideas?
 
Fraid its kinda near the castle. Not the road in front, but if you go futher up the river, on the castle side, but away from Charles bridge, its there. So on the pic of the car you've posted the castle would be off to the a fair right and slighty down the river a bit.
I've got a holiday snap of my ugly mug on charles bridge almost exactly the opposite view to that one, with the first bridge on that shot and the copper roofed building in the background.

If I'm not mistaken then looking at his map, the 1st bridge in your pic is Manesuv Most, with Karlov Most being the 2nd, and the picture taken somewhere along Nabiezi Edvarda Benese, just below the green park at the top.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...0.090769,14.413784&spn=0.008439,0.023389&z=16
 
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It's taken from above Nabrezi Edvarda Benese somewhere in the area of Letna Park. If you were on Nabrezi Edvarda Benese you wouldn't be able to see over the buildings with the copper rooves between you and the river :) There is a large wall there which this pic was taken from the top of.

You can draw a line straight from the eastern pier of Manesuv Most through the rectangular copper roof to the small white coloured building in Letna park and it's probably taken somewhere near there.
 
lol most places! the prices were generally expensive wherever we went: the cheapest place for a beer was our hotel actually lol:p totally worth it though. this was most places around the clock tower in Staromestska or 30 minutes walk or so from there.
 
Fair enough, I'm guessing you mostly went to places around the Wenceslas sq and the old town, most of the less touristy bars or cafes a little further out are much cheaper.

The cool thing about the good Czech bars is that you should never have to ask or go to the bar for a drink, as soon as your glass has about 1-2cm left the waitress will put another in front of you until you tell her to stop :)
 
£4.50 a pint?! Craziness. Even with the crappy exchange rate at the moment (around 32Kc to £1). In pubs, it was never more than 30Kc for a large beer. Even in certain clubs, about a £1 for a beer was the going rate.... unless of course you may have been in certain 'other' types of clubs... then of course you would be paying more.

I will DEFFO be digging out this thread next year when I go back, for the directions. Cheers guys - you really know Prague, haha!!
 
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