More HDR Fun: Moss Landing and Bonny Doon

Little by little, I'm starting to get the hang of HDR. These pix were taken in Moss Landing and Bonny Doon along highway 1. As usual, I'm drawn to seemingly desolate places, and high dynamic range imaging gives me an enhanced palate to convey the feelings associated with these environments.

Incidentally, the first three images helped me confirm the absolute need to reduce camera noise when attempting HDR processing. Before this shoot, Jenny and I learned the hard way to set our D5000 to not adjust ISO, no matter what. Otherwise, processing is marred by excessive graininess.

Additionally, it's important to keep a consistent aperture for these shots. Stacking three to five images with different depths of field is a recipe for failure. Of course, with all this technical talk, it's useful to note that HDR produces some beautiful sunsets!

These last two shots, at Bonny Doon, are my favorites. But I suffered to get them. The wind, the spray, and the waves punished me. Oh, and I came way too close to dropping my camera in the drink. But the results are promising. With a bit more reading and practice, I think HDR will help me create some lovely images.

June 23 update: Here's a new shot from Bonny Doon. Love those Pacific sunsets!

(Photographs by Andrew Wood)