Monthly Archives: February 2015

HDR 32 Bit and Lightroom

This post is a plea for help. Anyone who is a regular user of Lightroom and Photoshop may be in a position to educate me a little. I use Photoshop to process my HDR shots. I start out in Lightroom, select the shots and use the Edit Photo>HDR Pro method to open them up in Photoshop. I then use the 32 bit version of the HDR Pro processor to create the file. I then take the Edit Using Adobe Camera Raw option for opening the file to undertake the final mapping. This works pretty well and I can usually get something I am happy with.

I then close the file and save it which automatically reimports the finished file back into Lightroom. This is when things go wrong. The view of the file in Lightroom doesn’t appear to make use of any of the edits I had done in ACR. The highlights are too bright and the shadows too dark. I can then use the Lightroom Develop settings to get something close to what I want but surely that should not be necessary. I might make further tweaks but shouldn’t it look the same when I close out of Photoshop.

Below is a sequence of screen captures to show you the unprocessed shot in ACR, the finished version, what it looks like in Lightroom and then what I can tweak it to. Any suggestions are gratefully received.  (Note, I didn’t make this exactly match the two edited versions.  It is aimed to illustrate the disconnect and the recovery process.)

Original HDR merge pre tone mapping

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HDR with ACR tone mapping appliedwpid12808-Screenshot-4.jpg

How the saved image appears when imported to Lightroomwpid12806-Screenshot-5.jpg

Using Lightroom to get back to something like I had in Photoshopwpid12804-Screenshot-6.jpg

Kiteboarders on the Ocean

wpid12737-AU0E4957.jpgOur run up the Pacific Coast Highway included a brief stop at one of the beaches as we passed by. We had a dinner reservation in Half Moon Bay and had some time in hand so standing on the shore for a little while watching the ocean was going to fit. One of the beaches had a few people kiteboarding just offshore. There was a strong breeze so they were able to get some speed up.

wpid12714-AU0E4867.jpgThere was some surf rolling in but they weren’t getting the big airs you sometime see when the boarders can combine the wind angles with the direction of the surf. Even so, they seemed to be having some fun.

USAirways is Going

wpid12865-QB5Y2504.jpgThe merger of American Airlines and USAirways is now getting close to the point where the two airlines become one. A lot of the USAirways aircraft and undergoing the repainting process to the colors of the combined airline. It won’t be too long before they have all gone and another airline’s colors will be consigned to history. Given that there is enthusiasm for retro schemes, some will remain. However, I thought I would have a little retrospective of some USAirways planes.

wpid12887-AU0E7805.jpgThere are two liveries that dominate the shots I have. I flew on USAirways in the 90s but don’t have much to show of the colors that they had then (or the US Air name!). They have a big fleet so the transition won’t be instant but it will suddenly occur to me that the old colors aren’t showing up any more. In advance of that time, here are some samples of the old colors.

Shoreline on the Pacific Coast Highway

wpid12741-AU0E4973-Edit.jpgHaving started out our day at Santa Cruz, we thought a run up the coast to Half Moon Bay would be a good idea. The low winter sun angle makes everything look nice and heading north up the coast means the sun is pretty much behind you most of the way. There are a string of beaches scattered along the coast along with the cliffs and lighthouses for the more treacherous parts. If you were on a purely photographic venture, you could lose a lot of time along this stretch.

wpid12739-AU0E4968.jpgThis wasn’t a photo trip – just a nice day out. Of course, that doesn’t mean no photos – just not taking too many pictures. Here are a few samples of what was there to be seen that day.

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Santa Cruz

wpid12710-AU0E4746.jpgThe winter in our part of California is not exactly harsh compared to many parts of the country. However, we do get a lot of cloud and rain at this time of year. Having a lovely clear day is a good time to just get out and go to somewhere pretty. Santa Cruz certainly fits the bill. The coast there is both picturesque and full of interesting things going on. A variety of stuff was happening while we were there and some of those things will get a post of their own so keep an eye out for them.

wpid12688-AU0E4552.jpgThe rocky shoreline is very cool. It has a beach below it which makes it look even better. Add in to that people surfing, walking their dogs or just being a little different, you have a fun place to be. Not often you see a bunch of guys on unicycles come by on their afternoon ride! I wasn’t the only one out with a camera either. I was actually testing a lens while we were out and I met another guy with the same lens so we were obviously doing similar things. Meanwhile, someone had a Phantom getting some aerials over the shore so cameras were busy that day.

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Oblique Wing

wpid12596-C59F2972.jpgHiller Aviation Museum has another aircraft I find interesting. This is the AD-1 Oblique Wing research aircraft from NASA. I have crossed paths with this machine before. I have seen it at Hiller before but it was also still at Edwards when I paid a visit to the NASA facility there in 1990. The oblique wing concept is an interesting one. Swing wing aircraft aim to combine he low speed and high speed characteristics required into one plane by having multiple wing sweep angles. The oblique wing approach aims to simplify this by having a single wing that pivots. The sweep angle is the same but eh CG is unaffected and the pivot mechanism much simpler.

wpid12578-CRW_9972.jpgForward swept wings are fine so, while the oblique wing looks odd, it should be practical. It will have some interesting aeroelastic issues to be dealt with but, it should be possible to engineer. Whether it will then deliver the benefits has never been tested. The AD-1 was a low speed research aircraft only but it flew many times over the years it was in service. Now it hangs from the roof of the museum.

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Waves at Santa Cruz

wpid12773-AU0E4796.jpgWhile watching the surfers at Santa Cruz, I also was watching the waves. Photographing waves is immensely frustrating. You see a wave do something really cool and want to get a picture of that. However, the waves never do the same thing twice so you are constantly frustrated. However, I did focus on two aspects of the waves while there. The sun angle was behind the waves so, as they started to break, the light would shine through from behind making a lovely green color light up the water. I find this really attractive and often look for it while watching the sea.wpid12677-AU0E4492.jpg

The other interesting aspect is the way the water runs off the sand after the wave has run its course. The gentle undulations in the surface cause the most interesting patterns to develop. The water is coming from multiple directions so the interaction of the flows results in some fascinating shapes. Looking down on these from above, they become quite abstract.

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End of the Brasilia?

wpid12753-QB5Y8919.jpg“You don’t know what you’ve lost ‘til it’s gone” as the song goes. These days a number of aircraft types are fading away and the previous lack of interest shown when they were commonplace gets replaced with a sudden wish to make the most of their final days. One type that is likely to be disappearing from the skies around here before too long is the Embraer EMB120 Brasilia.

wpid12757-QB5Y2814.jpgIt isn’t disappearing in total but the largest operator of the type around here is Skywest. Skywest uses the Brasilia for their services and for those of United Express. However, the relatively small capacity of the type is making them uneconomical to operate – something the age of the airframes is probably not helping. I think I have only flown on one a couple of times when I was connecting on Comair from Cincinnati to Greenville-Spartanburg (and back) in 1990. I recall it being a rather noisy beast inside.

wpid12749-QB5Y2707.jpgAs Skywest draws down their fleet, they will soon be gone. Ahead of that time, here are a few shots I have gathered over the years.

Old Versus New SFO Tower

wpid12576-C59F7616.jpgSFO has been undergoing quite a program of investment in recent years. Upgrades to the runways, redevelopment of terminal buildings and a new control tower. The new tower is not yet finished but it appears to be getting close. I thought a couple of shots to compare the old with the new were worthwhile before the change is permanent.

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Surfing

wpid12653-AU0E4233.jpgSanta Cruz is a popular spot for surfing and I have previously posted some shots from there here. With a great sunny winter day and the weekend combining in our favor, we decided to take a trip to Santa Cruz and enjoy a walk along the coast. Plenty of people were doing likewise and there were lots of surfers in the water. I don’t think the conditions were ideal since there seemed to be long periods with little wave activity but they were a patient bunch.

wpid12708-AU0E4710.jpgThe majority were further out into the water where the wave action was pretty variable. I few hardy souls were close in to the rocks where the waves could be a lot more active. I imagine this is a spot for those that are more confident in their ability to avoid getting pulped on the shore!