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As you can see, there is very little contrast and the light is so diffuse that all colors are rather muted. This is where the HDR concept comes in. It is able to bring out details in the under-exposed parts of the picture, and temper the blown-out sections of the picture.
I used a program called Photomatix to align and merge the separate exposures into one. As you might expect, multiple exposures over a long period of time result in slightly different positioning of elements within the picture. Plants and trees are moved my the wind. Wave action, of course, is blurred. Birds and people move. These will leave artifacts in the merged picture called "ghosts" that are quite distracting and detract from the image. Photomatix has the ability to manage ghosting and minimize its effect.
Here is the resulting merged picture after processing by Photomatix, using its default settings, which is usually a good starting place before feeding the it into Lightroom or Photoshop for final adjustments.
I like all the elements in the picture that didn't move, like the birds and the rocks. They are fairly sharp and detailed. I also love the effect that the long exposures had on the ocean waves, giving a silky smooth effect. And the horizon has been made soft by the rain fall and mist I had to shoot through. I'm not too keen on the plants in the foreground. Their coloration and blurred effect detract from the picture and draw your eyes to them, spoiling the overall look of the scene.
I then took the picture and imported it into Lightroom, so that I could crop it and tweak the colors and contrast until I was happy with it.
Beautiful Portland
I live in the northern part of Oregon's Willamette Valley, almost exactly half-way between the state capital of Salem and the largest city in the state, Portland. It is an area rich in history and has an abundance of extra-ordinary everyday beauty. My business carries me all over the area, from farmland and rural settings to deep into the interior of city streets. Whether I have to be in the countryside or in the urban forest, I can't help being a happy and grateful man, privileged to be living in such a place.
It's true that all places have their own particular beauty, whether it's a vast desert, a majestic mountain range, or the bustling and congestion of a city. All you have to do is look for it with an eye for appreciation. Here is an excellent time lapse video of the place I call home.
Zoom-Zoom-Zoom
Every photographer needs to understand the capabilities and limitations of their mix of equipment. Here, let's consider looking at only lenses and camera bodies. The combinations of lenses with differing focal lengths and cameras of different sensor sizes can be mind boggling. Nobody can have all possible lenses for all possible camera bodies, and have an immediate grasp of how all these affect each other and the pictures they produce. It simply isn't practical, nor is it necessary.
New photographers sometimes find it difficult to comprehend all the implications. Visualizing how one lens behaves on cameras with different sensor sizes is something that needs to be learned and understood. It affects the very outcome of the picture you are taking.
Fortunately, to help visualize the differences between lenses on different cameras, Canon has produced the Field of View Comparator:
This is pretty nice. In the left-hand column, in the Camera A box, select your preferred camera, perhaps the one you own and use the most. Then, in the Camera B box, select a camera you'd like to use for comparison. Typically, this would be one that uses a different kind of sensor chip than the one in Camera A. In the picture above I have selected a crop-sensor camera for Camera A, my Canon 60D, and a full-frame camera for Camera B, a Canon 5D Mk III.
Next, move the Focal Length slider to the value you'd like to compare. Here, I have set it to 50 mm. You can see, as the two cameras you selected are looking at the exact same scene, how the differing focal lengths and different type of sensors change the scope of the picture you will get. With the example above, the 50 mm lens on a full-frame camera sees a much wider view that the one produced by the same lens on a crop-sensor camera. In fact, the crop-sensor produces a picture that is 1.6 times closer to the subject. (See the crop factor values indicated in the lower right-hand of the picture.)
So, if you are using a camera that has a sensor smaller than a full-frame camera, you can use the crop factor to calculate the effective focal length a particular lens will have on that camera. In this case, the 50 mm lens will produce a picture on my Canon 60D with an effective focal length of 80 mm. (50 mm x 1.6 crop factor) This is good to remember, because focal lengths for lenses are designated by their full-frame values. My Canon EF-S 18-200 mm lens for my crop-sensor Canon 60D in reality has an effective range of 29-320 mm. It is a longer lens, effectively, than it would be if it could be mounted on a full-frame camera.
Play around with various values and camera selections. It will help give you a better idea of the capabilities of your current gear, and perhaps give you a direction and priority for purchasing new equipment.
Then Now Here 2014
It's with great satisfaction that I am pleased to announce that two of my pictures have been selected to take their place in the 2014 Then Now Here slideshow at the Oregon Historical Society on April 16, 2014. The slide show is a compilation of images from 66 Oregonian photographers and is "a celebration of Oregon, its people, its landscape, its unique character, and special history".
Additionally, the Then Now Where slideshow will be screened the entire month of April in the front window of the Blue Sky Gallery.
I intend to be at the opening reception on Wednesday, April 16, at 7:00 PM. It would be a lot of fun to see a bunch of my friends there as well. There will be live music, snacks, and an exhibit of Ansel Adams Masterworks open for viewing at the same time.
These are the two photos that were selected:
 Line Dance
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 Balloon Light
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Superman with a GoPro
Here's a clever and fun video that was made with a GoPro video camera mounted to quad-copter. Some additional footage from other cameras was edited in as well. What resulted was a fun three-minutes of Superman saving the day, but from his point of view.
Watch Superman Save Metropolis Through a POV Action Camera
And, being the nerd I am, I loved watching the "How They Did It" video. If you're into that sort of thing, you'll enjoy it too.