Liverpool this morning (10 Photos)

Jotun · 17 Apr 2008 at 22:48

I didn't have to be in Liverpool till around 11 so spent a couple of hours this morning walking round with my camera (the first time I've taken any photos in Liverpool actualy!)

#1

This was taken just outside the museum next to the tunnel, I don't know how long it has been there but I've never noticed it before. I am not actually sure if this is wonky or not as the steps in the background are at an angle.

#2

Heading down towards the tunnel is the museum, I did try a photo from directly opposite but that looks wonky due to the way the steps are on the slope.

#3

Over the road from the museum, just one of many statues.

#4

From there I walked down to the docks, only to find that there was construction taking place pretty much everywhere, I kept walking for quite a bit but gave up in the end. It's been a while since I've been down there but I'd forgotten just how big and imposing the buildings can be. I tried to convey this however it doesn't come across as much as I would have liked.

#5

I took this shot on the way along the front, although there is also construction work going on in the background

#6

On my walk up to the cathedral I spotted this, I'd never actually seen it in person before, only in photos by pete, so wander over for a few snaps of it.

#7

From another angle.

#8

This was shot just over the road from the above 2 shots

#9

Unfortunately I didn't have time to go inside but I had a chance to walk around the outside and snap a few photos there, I was reasonably happy with this although I didn't walk around the entire cathedral so that's something for another day.

#10

I headed back and passed the other cathedral on the way so stopped there for a few snaps there too. I'm hoping to go back some time next week and get a few more shots of both cathedrals and some shots of the interior aswell as I ran out of time today.

Any thoughts and comments? Personally I think my processing needs work although I'm not sure what to aim for, all C&C is welcomed. Thanks for looking.

Rob

xirokx · 17 Apr 2008 at 23:00

fantabulous...

loving the HDR

robmiller · 17 Apr 2008 at 23:05

What lens was this with? All the distortion seems bizarre and everything seems tipped to the right :/ Can't say I'm a fan of the HDR either, it looks washed out and unnatural.

boYce · 17 Apr 2008 at 23:07

Some really nice photos there, you've managed to get some really vibriant colours in the foreground but still maintain good contrast in the sky, they are all composed nicely too. 2 and 4 stand out for me, specially 4, almost expect to seem a shaft of lightening in the background. What sort of photoshopage was done to it?

Jotun · 17 Apr 2008 at 23:20

xirokx said:
fantabulous...

loving the HDR

Thanks glad you like it, I wasn't sure about the HDR myself.

robmiller said:
What lens was this with? All the distortion seems bizarre and everything seems tipped to the right :/ Can't say I'm a fan of the HDR either, it looks washed out and unnatural.

It was with the canon 10-22mm, the only reason I could think of for distortion would be if I've not lined up a shot in the center exactly and so there's a bit of an angle making it look odd? I can't see any glaringly obvious distortion though.

Regarding the HDR, I am a bit uncertain on my processing as a whole really, I've found I am not sure what I'm aiming for when I've been processing photos lately, I think it's been a bit hit and miss if I'm honest. Thanks for the comments.

boYce said:
Some really nice photos there, you've managed to get some really vibriant colours in the foreground but still maintain good contrast in the sky, they are all composed nicely too. 2 and 4 stand out for me, specially 4, almost expect to seem a shaft of lightening in the background. What sort of photoshopage was done to it?

Thanks, I have been trying to pay more attention to the composition. With the processing, most of it has been done with Photomatix and a little bit done with photoshop using the dodge/burn tools.

dirtybeatfreak · 17 Apr 2008 at 23:38

really liking the subject and composition of the set mate, but i agree with robmiller on the hdr thing, quite a fair few of those have visible halo'ing. maybe try ease off a little on the strength of your conversion.

Greenlizard0 · 17 Apr 2008 at 23:43

*drools* mate these are mint! I was out drunk last night around most of those!

My mate vomited at #7 last night, did it rain after 2:30am this morning hehe

box · 18 Apr 2008 at 01:32

Love the composition, but they are a bit too unsaturated for my liking...far too grey and dull for the scene. Maybe try turning colour saturation up a little?

benneh · 18 Apr 2008 at 05:45

Personally I think the tonemapping does nothing for them. If anything I find them soft and grey. Sorry dude

.

33L · 18 Apr 2008 at 08:17

where you waiting for a passport!?

Im not the biggest fan of HDR as said they seem kinda grey and could have easily been mistaken for gothem city.

Columbo · 18 Apr 2008 at 08:24

The detail and colour in #6 & #7 is murdered by HDR. Does'nt do anything for me I'm afraid.

neil_g · 18 Apr 2008 at 08:34

can we see the originals?

neilw · 18 Apr 2008 at 09:48

Whats HDR? Sorry for the newbie question.

Cheers

Cuchulain · 18 Apr 2008 at 09:49

neilw said:
Whats HDR? Sorry for the newbie question.

Cheers

High Dynamic Range, a seriously overused effect lately

neilw · 18 Apr 2008 at 09:55

How does it effect the images? Is it done on the camera or afterwards on photoshop ect?

A.N.Other · 18 Apr 2008 at 09:59

Sorry but for me, these really are just too overcooked. I have no problems with HDR done more subtly and it can look great in B&W, but these are just too far gone. For me, HDR is a technique to properly expose a shot, photomatix tone mapping being basically equivalent to using a plastic wrap (or something) filter in PS and then posting that up. I know lots of people love these shots, but that's just me. The skies are so dark in some that it just makes the image start to look underexposed.

On a positive note, there are some good compositions and some nice images there that would look great if you processed them again differently.

neilw said:
How does it effect the images? Is it done on the camera or afterwards on photoshop ect?

http://www.vanilladays.com/hdr-guide/
http://backingwinds.blogspot.com/2006/10/how-to-create-professional-hdr-images.html

neilw · 18 Apr 2008 at 10:07

Thank you

Jotun · 18 Apr 2008 at 17:02

Thanks for the feedback guys, I will definitely have another go at the processing at some point over the next few days as the comments have confirmed my thoughts that the processing needs work.

alangelluk said:
really liking the subject and composition of the set mate, but i agree with robmiller on the hdr thing, quite a fair few of those have visible halo'ing. maybe try ease off a little on the strength of your conversion.

Which photos do you think have the worst haloing? I know the HDR needs work (or scrapping completely) but I have had another look and paid attention to where the sky and buildings meet but I can't really see any obvious haloing going on, although I know there are definitely other tell tale signs of HDR.

A.N.Other said:
Sorry but for me, these really are just too overcooked. I have no problems with HDR done more subtly and it can look great in B&W, but these are just too far gone. For me, HDR is a technique to properly expose a shot, photomatix tone mapping being basically equivalent to using a plastic wrap (or something) filter in PS and then posting that up. I know lots of people love these shots, but that's just me. The skies are so dark in some that it just makes the image start to look underexposed.

On a positive note, there are some good compositions and some nice images there that would look great if you processed them again differently.

Do you think they are all overrcooked then? I agree it is pretty strong in most, but for example the last I thought was a bit more subtle, would you still say that is over done? I have been trying to correctly expose the shots but I do end up with some rather unnatural results. Thanks for the comments, I will be reprocessing them hopefully a bit better next time.

neil_g said:
can we see the originals?

Sure thing. When I was shooting I did bracket all of the shots, so in addition to these there is also another 2 taken at +2ev and -2ev. Looking back I think #1 and #3 could do with being re-shot at a different time of day, as the lighting hasn't helped much.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

Tooks · 18 Apr 2008 at 17:09

The originals just prove to me that I liked the HDR images in the first post!!

No's 2 and 5 stand out for me.

Nice set of pics, and I care not if HDR is 'overused these days', as I enjoyed looking at them, which is what it's all about isn't it?!

What software are you using for the HDR processing?

robmiller · 18 Apr 2008 at 17:12

Try playing with your levels/curves to achieve a similar effect to HDR without the washed-out look (i.e. bringing up the shadows while leaving everything else alone). All of them look like they have detail in the shadows that you can bring out (and need to bring out).