LightningPaul

14 Apr 2009 • 438 views
 
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photoblog image Palace of Loo

Palace of Loo


Palace of Loo (in Dutch: Paleis van Loo), in Apeldoorn in Holland. It was open museum day but luckily I managed to take an image before it got very crowdy.


TECH-INFO: I had no tripod with me since I was with my family on vacation (actually I left it in the car). Though I shot 5 JPGs hand held but I used a water level. This may look silly but it really helps to keep you camera more straight.
During post processing I started with DxO Optics Pro for lens corrections, afterwards Photoshop to align and merge them into a HDR file. Then I tone-mapped it in Photomatrix to a TIFF file. Again in Photoshop I enhanced it using various masked adjustment layers of the curves tool. Also I slightly rotated it because I didn't hold my camera 100% straight. The sky is dramatized, the palace got more contrast using the soft light blending mode and the down part of the foreground is darkened using a gradient layer. Due to the changes the sky got pretty noisy so Noise Ninja helped me cleaning it. Finally some vignetting is added.

Palace of Loo


Palace of Loo (in Dutch: Paleis van Loo), in Apeldoorn in Holland. It was open museum day but luckily I managed to take an image before it got very crowdy.


TECH-INFO: I had no tripod with me since I was with my family on vacation (actually I left it in the car). Though I shot 5 JPGs hand held but I used a water level. This may look silly but it really helps to keep you camera more straight.
During post processing I started with DxO Optics Pro for lens corrections, afterwards Photoshop to align and merge them into a HDR file. Then I tone-mapped it in Photomatrix to a TIFF file. Again in Photoshop I enhanced it using various masked adjustment layers of the curves tool. Also I slightly rotated it because I didn't hold my camera 100% straight. The sky is dramatized, the palace got more contrast using the soft light blending mode and the down part of the foreground is darkened using a gradient layer. Due to the changes the sky got pretty noisy so Noise Ninja helped me cleaning it. Finally some vignetting is added.

comments (16)

  • DrAW!
  • United States
  • 14 Apr 2009, 05:33
brilliant work!
LightningPaul: Thanks!
Great work Paul. Impressive you manage to get this photo without a single person in it.
LightningPaul: Thanks! I wanted to make more images but too people where flooding in. After 20 minutes waiting I left smile
Nice image; your PP history is always accurate and interesting. Bravo!
LightningPaul: Thanks!
have you been in the gardens as well
LightningPaul: We wanted to go but due to time and other constraint we couldn't :-( We regret this now.
  • Stan
  • United Kingdom
  • 14 Apr 2009, 11:04
I like this shot but i'm not crazy about the lamp post position.

Good info on your PP. I'm not sure if you're already doing this but a way to keep noise and posterization down is to make adjustments to the luminance information and avoid the chrominance where possible.
LightningPaul: Thanks for your comment, I really appreciate it.
Regarding the lamp, I agree a bit. It would have been better if I lowered my camera so that the top of the lamp would only be in front of the clouds. The lamp itself may a bit disturbing but it turns the image into a less regular one. Also I fully broke the rule of thirds here smile
When using curves I indeed (mostly) only alter the luminance info, otherwise the saturation changes. If I wouldn't have done this (I experimented with it) the sky would have this posterization for sure. While now thinking about it, it was better to make a second tone mapped image from the HDR file in which I dramatize the sky. Then I would just have to blend the two tone mapped images.
  • Aussie
  • Australia
  • 14 Apr 2009, 11:29
Lovely shot, thank you for providing the information on how you did it.
LightningPaul: You're welcome smile
  • zed
  • Australia
  • 14 Apr 2009, 12:35
Love it and l like the positioning of the lamp post
LightningPaul: Thanks!
As always technically excellent but I'm not keen on the lamp post.
LightningPaul: The lamp makes this image less regular. I also broke the rule of thirds deliberately here. Just I should have lowered my camera a bit more so the head of the lamp would be fully in the sky. Thanks for your comment.
superb shot and work as i have become accustomed too Paulsmile
LightningPaul: Thank you Tim. I try to set a high level.
Well done for a hand held shot. It's a great image. Had you have moved infront of the lamp post, it would not have been so interesting. It just helps hold the viewers interest. Great
LightningPaul: I agree, the lamp adds something extra. It also provides lots of depth. And I deliberately broke the rules of thirds.
  • Jessie
  • New Zealand
  • 14 Apr 2009, 23:12
It's so crisp! I like it.
LightningPaul: Thanks Jessie!
  • chi
  • United Kingdom
  • 15 Apr 2009, 13:22
love the mood of this picture ..especially the lamp..
LightningPaul: Thanks! I think this lamp is necessary here.
This image is exceptional, it pops right out of my screen. Look so real, almost 3D. A masterpiece!
LightningPaul: Many thanks! I'm very happy I got to manage to have the 3D effect.
great work as always..do you prefer noise ninja to neat image? is it better?..bye
LightningPaul: Thank you. I have no experience with Neat Image at all. Before buying Noise Ninja I did some tests with some very noisy images and I was happily surprised with the results. On the internet I read a few times that both programs are very comparable.
Such depth, it seems to be a extremely sharp image. I cant decide about the lamp post, whether it adds interest or affects the main subject.
LightningPaul: Despites the lamp is not perfectly placed in the image (I should have lowered my camera a bit), I think it adds lots of depth in the image. Several reasons for such sharpness:
1/ HDR processing + local contrast enhancement
2/ The original image is much bigger (on the web only 700 pix), so making it smaller will only sharpen it
3/ I let SC sharpen it
  • Larry Bliss
  • Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
  • 24 May 2009, 02:23
Sounds like a lot of work to get your result, but what a great result!
LightningPaul: Thanks a lot smile

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camera NIKON D200
exposure mode full manual
shutterspeed 1/160s
aperture f/8.0
sensitivity ISO100
focal length 12.0mm
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