Went out and took some pics this morning since it's beautiful weather today. Then messed around with Photomatix. I don't usually do HDR, and I'm definitely no pro at photography, though I'd like to be lol, and this is w/ my mediocre Canon XSi w/ the stock 18-55 lens. Anyway, enjoy.

edit: the car is dirty as hell lol, I just didn't have the time to clean it yet. Part of the reason I went with HDR because it hides dirt well lol.

 

i LOVE that color!

 

Lookin' good. Nothing wrong with a dirty car. Just a good sign that it's being used properly!

Glad I'm not the only one that prefers the rear seats down.

Send some more once you have a chance to get it cleaned up.

Have a great summer!!

 

That's a beautiful car, man... though the photog in me says to cut back on the Topaz Adjust boost...
It feels weird to talk about boost in a photography context on a 911 turbo forum

 

Thanks guys, yea I've put about 3k miles on it since I've had it with me in 3 months. I can't resist driving it lol. About to do my oil change, have all the parts ordered, just waiting on them. Hopefully I can get the turbo up on the rhino ramps (really really hoping I can back it up w/ my lowered PSS9s lol)

and daytrip, I'll look into it, honestly was just messing around with the sliders lol so I don't even know where the topaz adjust boost is that you are referring to lol. I have to start reading up on how to use photomatix.

 

dragonman4, you were using topaz adjust, right? With both photomatix and topaz adjust when you're starting out, i think it's best to do a little less than you think is good. It's weird. I go back and look at my older HDR photos and think i way overdid it. Here's a pic of my dearly departed 996 NA. I gotta take the new (old) turbo out for a photo shoot...

 

I see now that Topaz Adjust is an HDR program. I am using Photomatix Pro 4.1. I kind of understand what you are saying. My sense from some of the HDR pics I've been playing around with is it's a great way to make a photo look more like an abstract CG print or something along the lines of that. I will definitely be playing around with it more since I have an underpowered camera and standard lens. I can't wait until I can get my hands on a canon 5d mk2 lol.

edit: also, is that pic of your carrera an HDR pic? It looks to me like it's just a really good pic taken with a good lens. I definitely have an untrained eye when it comes to photoediting.

 

Gotcha... Topaz Adjust is a tone mapping program (it will only deal with 16-bit color photos). Photomatix does both tone mapping and HDR... I used to do the HDR conversions (basically 3-5 photos to a 32-bit color image) in photomatix, tone map it and then over to Topaz for sharpening and a bit a bit of color fine tuning. Since Photoshop CS5 came out, it's unbelievably good at creating HDRs, so i've switched to using that and doing some tone mapping in Photomatix and Topaz.
You'll love the 5Dmk2. I had a mk1, but have since moved to a Nikon D700. Any full frame DSLR is gonna be that cat's meow.

EDIT: The pic is indeed an HDR taken with a simple $300 50mm f1.4 lens. If you look at the glow off the windshield and the detail in the shadows you can see it's an HDR. IMHO (this is only my preference/taste) the best HDR photos are ones where you cant tell they're HDRs.

 

OH, one last thing. I do think the D700 has the slight edge at making HDRs (if you're still in the market). It will take up to 7 bracketed photos (the 5D mk2 will take 3). You never need to go past 5 (to quote Trey from StuckInCustoms, "unless you're trying to photograph got him/herself"), but I definitely think that 5 photos make better hdrs than just 3.

 

Gotcha. Yea, I am looking forward to a full frame camera and the benefits it offers. I think HDR is a great way to make a pic taken with a regular DSLR pop a little more. My buddy is a die hard Nikon fan, and I'm a Canon guy although I can't really explain why tbh. Anyway, I'll check out Topaz Adjust, I have Photoshop CS4 at the moment though I hear great things about CS5.

 

I wish I looked into Cobalt blues also. I am just loving this color.. Nice pictures.

 

+1. Great pics, really great color!

 

Beautiful. I love HDR photos. The Photomatrix makes messing with it easy.

 

the color looks awesome in those pics! guess i'll need some HDR pics from my car too after looking at the result of you work..

 

Really great color. I think it really ads to the line of the rear pillar and just makes the car stand out.

Jim