This three image HDR merge was taken a few weeks ago when the foliage was just beginning to turn. The setting sun created a very high contrast scene but three exposures merged into one helped to even out the brights and the shadows. The original images were all taken with a Nikon D90 at ISO 200 and f/3.5, and at shutter speeds of 1/800, 1/400 and 1/200 second respectively. Saturation was boosted slightly, to give it a some added zip.
2 Guys Photo 
Gorgeous Autumn colours, tones and contrast. Lovely balance between light and shadow. Very nice exposure. Can you tell I’m doing a course in digital photography?
Thanks Lizzie, happy you liked it. Good luck with the course, and if there’s anything we can help you with just let us know!
Thank you, Ed. I may well have to take you up on your offer at some point. Bless you.
Anytime Lizzie.
Ed,
I like the image a lot. But I notice an artifact that I find a bit distracting, the light halo around all the trees against the sky. Is there a way to use HDR and not introduce this effect? I haven’t messed with HDR very much so don’t understand some of the finer points of the process.
Good eye Prentis. To be honest, I was aware of that when I posted it. The halo effect is not an uncommon result of HDR processing. With more fine tuning, you can usually minimize that, and some HDR apps are better at it than others. I used Corel PSPX4, which has an HDR processing module built in, one of many components of the program. I’m guessing that a dedicated program, like Photomatix, might yield better results, or at least allow for easier fine tuning.
Ed – I’m not familiar with Corel, but is there an anti-ghosting feature? I’m using Nik HDR Efex Pro and the newest version has introduced the ability to lock movement on whichever bracketed shot you’d like and then in the merge, the motion in the other shots is removed. If what Prentis is talking about is pure halo (not ghosting) then perhaps if you dialed down on the “HDR effect” somewhat…? In the Nik product, you can dial down structure, contrast, etc. to eliminate the halo.
I like the shot and the vibrancy. Would be interesting to see the straight standard matrix metered shot for comparison.
Rey
I don’t think is a ghosting problem, but you’re right, dialing down on the effect will improve the halo. I’ll post the three original jpegs later. Thx.
I love stopping by just to pick up the photo jargon!! What I like about the photo is that I feel the waning warmth of the sun and the faint promise of the coming winter.
Beautifully said Rebecca. You create with words what I attempt to create with a camera.
We make for an unbeatable team….