Point Cabrillo lighthouse – Experimenting With Photomatix

Two weeks ago I took a trip up the Mendocino coast (N California) to photograph some of the coastlines and lighthouses. The trouble is, I hadn’t figured in the possibility that the whole area would be fogged in. And where there was no fog, it was completely cloudy with horrible flat light. See the first photo of the Point Cabrillo lighthouse – the only way I could make it remotely interesting is by crouching down and cutting out most of the sky.

So I figured - return at sunset. Maybe the setting sun will be below the clouds. Well, it was – not spectacular, but better light. See pictures two and three below.

Picture 4 shows the setting sun with the lighthouse in silhouette.

Then, on a whim, I put the camera on the tripod and shot 5 bracketed shots, one stop apart. When I got home I downloaded a trial version of Photomatix HDR software and produced the fifth image you see below.

This was produced using the “exposure fusion” option, which (as I learned last weekend, after much Googling) is not quite the same as HDR. It merges the five exposures but gives a more natural look. I also did some HDR with tone mapping, but I like this one the best. I do wonder though if I shouldn’t have increased the red in the sky before importing from Lightroom?

Anyway, my first attempt at exposure fusion / HDR. I liked the software so much I immediately upgraded from the trial. The trouble is, now every scene looks like an HDR opportunity. Expect more!