I went to Tahoe over the weekend with my friend Adam and his dog, Squiggy. We had an unbelievably gorgeous friday at Squaw Valley, where the Space Cowboys showed up with the UNIMOG and rocked the apres ski patio. Saturday was the Snow Fest parade, which closed through traffic in Tahoe City. So we headed for Northstar, where, unbeknown to us, they were having a big contest. The place was a nightmare till we got further up the mountain. We skied uncrowded Rendezvous most of the day, going as fast as we could every run. So much fun... on our way home, we stopped at King's Beach to take the dog for a walk. But once we got to the waters edge, I looked through my 16-35mm and saw the makings for some great imagery. We shot for an hour plus and did a lot of good work. The dog had no idea I was trying to make a classic portrait, so I had to be rather patient and hope that she would give me something that complimented where I'd positioned Adam. While he stayed still, she walked all over the place and I got this.
Way cool. Is this an HDR? The only thing I can think of is that the person looks somewhat "pasted" into the picture. Actually, now that I look closer, so does the dog. Between the dog legs and behind the tail is not the same color/texture as the rest of the surrounding sand. The same thing is not really noticeable around the person as much.
Regardless, very cool shot. Hope some of this helps.
Is the 'arc' and rays of the sun flare natural or PP? (seen in the clouds)
Also, I do appreciate your backstories you have on your posted images (and blog) as i think they make interesting reading. I wish more people would provide the story or information behind the shoot along with the image for viewing. So, keep it up.
flute - while i am definitely moving in the direction of HDR, this is just one RAW file processed once in Lightroom and output to jpeg. No filters at capture and no Photoshop pp. but If i were to show you the larger file, you would see the halo effect around the high contrast edges that would need a little cleaning up, in addition to the issue you mentioned.
the area around the sun is blow out and non-recoverable and there are some hot spots reflected in the water, both of which could be controlled with HDR.
the one thing that helps show it's real is the shadows reflected in the water and also that of adam's legs in the sand. when you push an image this far, good to include "proof of reality" components in the frame.
thanks steady the sun flare is natural.
do I dare suggest that cameras are already in development to auto bracket 5 exposures and merge in camera?
the sun flare is natural.
not to mention the dern sun flare.