HDR shot of the Memphis Belle

Shot of the "Memphis Belle", it is currently being restored in a hanger up at Wright-Patterson in Dayton Ohio. This was a one shot HDR that I created three different exposures from and then processed in Photomatix, PS, and Topaz Adjust. Since it was in a hanger with a lot of equipment laying around, I decided to isolate the aircraft by masking out the background. Then I added a graduated background with a texture overlay. I am pretty pleased with this shot.

I actually like the textured background in this case - which is rare!  It's the kind of thing I feel has to be done sparingly, only in situations where it really makes sense and adds something to the image.  In this case, it really suits the subject, and more importantly it doesn't distract from the subject.

There is one thing I'm curious about - and hopefully this doesn't sound too critical as that's not how it's intended.  But all of the range you pulled out to create the final product was present in one RAW file.  I think you could have achieved a good, balanced exposure without creating an overexposed version and an underexposed version to blend.  Just saying that because I think you could save yourself some extra work (as well as use less disk space and not require as much load on your computer's CPU and memory to process the image).

If there's anything I would say in terms of actual critique, it would just be that it looks like HDR.  When HDR is used only to bring out more dynamic range and make something look as life-like as possible, it's a great tool.  When it's used to create an "HDR look" or "HDR effect," I don't care for it.  That's very much a personal taste thing though, so take it with the proverbial grain of salt.

I like this so much!

Nice photo and I'm glad to hear they're restoring this beauty. I go to a local air show yearly and I'm still like a little kid when I get near the vintage WWII era aircraft......

My father did fly the B-17 in combat, so I have always had an interest in these.

As for the HDR effect, with this aircraft in a state of disrepair, the picture takes on something of a ghostly vibe.  And I think this HDR treatment conveys that ghost theme well, really good job.

My little nit-pick would be composition.  I would have swung the camera a little to the left, more nose, less engine cowl.

Kelly Cook 

R-Meyer, I get what you are saying and normally I try to pull back on the HDR look. However in this case I bumped it up a bit for a number of reasons. First, since I took this shot in a very tight space in a Hanger with crazy lighting. I did my best with exposure to try to convey the how cool this aircraft looks. I was being taken on a private tour and so this was a quick photo, so not much time to set up a tripod and take many shots. Plus there wasn't much room round the aircraft to begin with. I also wanted to bring out the texture of the aircraft skin that is just lacking on a normal exposed image. I also wanted the parts of the inside of the aircraft to be seen and again, you wouldn't if I didn't merge multiple exposures. Also look closely at the engines, I wanted the detail in the shadows to show as well.  Also this was one RAW file that I processed two additional times to get the under and over exposure. I did this because I use Photomatix to tonemap, I know there is more than one way of doing this. However, of all the methods I have tired, I found a great workflow that works for me. So I process all my HDR first through Photomatix then PS for finally tweaking. Only difference from this shot and my others is I take a individual bracketed shots. Which is what I did for my CV-22 HDR shot.

Since this photo was taken in a hanger with a bunch of equipment that didn't add to the photograph, I decided to mask out all the background. I think someone pointed out that I cut the part of the nose off where the nose gunner sat.  I couldn't get that into the shot and the engines. the space was way too tight and I was already against the hanger doors and I believe I took this with my 17-40mm wide angle lens already. So I had to compromise on the composition.  However, that just gave me an image of part of a plane. So I needed to do something to the image to give it a look. That is also why I punched up the HDR look and gave it a texture. I needed to give the image a feeling and a sense for existing then just a photo of part of the Memphis Belle. I hope that makes sense.

As for my CPU and memory, I am working with an overclocked Intel 7i, 32GB of RAM, and PS is running on a Solid State HD. I am all good

Thanks everyone for your great comments!!! I enjoy sharing my work with others and am always trying to improve.

I think you did a great job on this photo.  I like the gritty feeling to this photo! 

I definitely think you accomplished what you were looking for and executed it well.  And you used the workflow that allows you to get the results you want in a way that's most efficient for you.  To me, that's more important than how one person's taste differs from another's.  

Also, that sounds like a nice rig for post processing. 

Thanks rmeyer7 However, you gave great feedback. All things I considered, so hearing those comments from another photographer, I know I am on the right track overall with my photography.

My post-processing rig is all thanks to hubby LOL I am the computer engineer of the family, but he builds them

I like!

Love this shot, that's history! 

I am curious, did you use high pass?

Do you mean Photoshop High Pass filter? If so no.

pixlphotography wrote: Do you mean Photoshop High Pass filter? If so no.

Ah np.  High pass increases the whole effect of this style of hdr if you're up for tinkering.

Fantastic shot!!! Really nice!