The rumor (but posted as a press release by CNET Asia) this morning is that the Canon G12 will get both an HDR mode for stills and video.

CRUNCH GEAR HAS MORE DETAILS

There is mention of an HDR stills mode using brackets, but I’m going to go ahead and assume that the HDR Video mode is some kind of pulling down highlights and raising shadows in camera on the chip, on the fly.

I have had folks begging me for months to share my secrets for shooting interiors (this stuff is harder than you think folks).  And I responded to them this past week.  I emailed the 16 folks that over the last two years said they’d sign up in a heartbeat.  9 did in under 24 hours.  WOW!  That’s commitment!

I’m launching a full blown training site in September for the photographer that wants to deliver commercial grade HDR work to clients whether it be real estate, food, drink or otherwise photography.  The lifetime membership will be $500 which INCLUDES tons of personal one-on-one emails, phone and or skype support depending on what country you are in and even help with editing tough brackets you experience in the field.

So it is not just training, it is post production support. The kind that makes you realize you have a team behind you.  Prior to a shoot you can call me to discuss issues and I’ll advise you what to make sure you do on set.  Then in post if you upload your brackets to me I can process the hard ones myself and provide you the files edited and along with notes of what I did to get them to that point.

There are only 3 spots left.  After that I will launch publicly in September for $500 per photographer.

For more details and how to pay, visit this link.

I do not plan to abandon this blog.  I will likely mirror many of the posts over at HDR Labs here and I’m sure there will be times I want to discuss non-HDR information that might just be basic photography gear or such, and will post those here rather than clutter HDR Labs blog.

Many of you have also expressed interest in some form of training from myself and I have actually been working on a few projects at once so I’ll share what is going to emerge in the weeks and months ahead.

I have just crossed the threshold of having shot roughly 14,000 HDRs that I tonemapped into final JPEG/TIFF formats for commercial delivery for clients (mostly incredibly high dynamic range real estate scenes).  Because of this extensive experience with tackling exposure day to day for going on 5 years now, I have a unique view of HDR from a production pipeline point of view.  I’ve also shot and edited well over 1000 landscapes which were bracketed, merged to HDR and tonemapped, “for fun”.  I’m quite familiar with the dos, don’ts and work arounds relating to HDR Capture and Post Processing.

That said, a few things are in the very early stages of planning for eBooks, Video Training, Workshops and/or One on One Training.  These are the concepts I’m working on:

1. A beginner’s guide to HDR from my vantage point (from capture to final edit).  I’ll cover the best HDR apps to merge to HDR and tonemap (on both the PC and the Mac).
2. Advanced techniques for going beyond basic tone mapping and extensively tweaking RAW images as a 1st step BEFORE merging to HDR.  Also, how to utilize layers in 32 bit space in Photoshop “BEFORE” moving on to tonemapping or luminance blending techniques. How to sweeten and further enhance tonemapped TIFFs in Photoshop for perfect color clarity and color balance of mixed lighting and/or final exposure issues.
3. A workshop specifically aimed at Real Estate and Architectural Photographers (either group workshop or one-on-one training). I won’t be teaching basics or staging. The focus will be about how to either shoot exclusively with only available light in a HDR post production pipeline or how to integrate HDR along with your flash / continuous lighting frames taken to enhance lighting and add a new touch to your work. I will open pandora’s box and show you all the tips and tricks I use from capture through post production.

There are many flaws in the architectural segments because the video software guessed at pixel movement between each frame shot and you’ll see wavy lines appear briefly a few times.  Also, because I panned the camera by such a large amount between each still frame shot, the software had trouble creating all the in between frames (which also contributes to the large stair step feeling in the pans).  I was tempted to not include these shots because they are flawed, but figured I might as well to at least showcase the fact that each still is a tonemapped image from a 9 shot bracket taken with a Nikon D3 (each merged to HDR, then tonemapped of course).

Again, each frame is actually a bracket of images that were merged to HDR and then tonemapped.  Many sequences were shot with a Nikon D3 set to auto bracket 9 shots from under exposed to over exposed with 1EV jumps between each of those 9 frames.  I also shot a few segments with a Canon T2i set to 3aeb.

(MORE DETAILS OF THE SHOOT BELOW THE VIDEO LINKS)

Vimeo 720p DIRECT LINK HERE (crisper than YouTube version) (embedded below)

HDR Timelapse and HDR Video from Michael James on Vimeo.

YouTube 1080p DIRECT LINK HERE (embedded below)

The D3 segments were shot via HDR Timelapse using the D3’s built in intervalometer.  The intervalometer on the D3 allows for shooting brackets in addition to standard single frame timelapse.  You just set the camera up initially as if you are going to shoot an automatic exposure bracket like you would any other AEB burst, but then go into the intervalometer setting afterwards and set it up for timelapse mode… presto… HDR Timelapse capture at your fingertips.  (The D3 can fire 3, 5, 7 or 9 frames from under exposed to over exposed in AEB mode)

With the Canon T2i I had to “trick” the camera per se by using in camera AEB plus connecting a Promote Control via USB to it to fire it off.  However, this was prior to the Promote Control having the new firmware which adds HDR Timelapse functionality.  When I shot the sequences with the T2i it was when the Promote Control would only do standard timelapse or HDR bracketing, but not both.

So what I did was set the Canon T2i to 3aeb on the camera itself and then I set the Promote Control to standard timelapse with it shooting one frame off in 5 second intervals.  So the T2i was firing off the full 3aeb sequence over 10 seconds per bracket because of the timelapse delay. Basically, the promote control was assuming it was just firing off a timelapse sequence with shots fired every 5 seconds.  But the T2i I set in AEB mode instead of manual mode so that the shots fired off each 5 seconds were in fact the AEB sequence the T2i was set for.

Shot 1 would go off (normal exposure), then 5 seconds later shot 2 would go off (the under exposed frame), then 5 seconds later the shot 3 would go off (over exposed frame).  Another 5 seconds would pass and start over on the normal exposure, and on and on.

Because of the 5 second delay between each AEB shot, there was time for trees/sky to move slightly, but the sequences I used the T2i on were not hurt badly because of the delay.  The T2i HDR Timelapse sequences were: the bedroom shot, the shot from the top of a home showing trees/beach/water in distance and the Vegas Skyline sunset shot through a VERY DIRTY hotel window (no balcony to shoot from).  So the delay between frames was not as apparent as it would be shooting other subject matter.

I used this same technique with the Promote Control to do other HDR Timelapse sequences too, but just have not gotten around to processing yet.  I even shortened it up to firing off every 3 seconds in some cases, but it eats through memory cards too fast and doesn’t encompass as many changes in lighting / clouds, etc.  Now that the Promote Control’s firmware is updated to support HDR Timelapse, I won’t have to use that work around in the future.

Finally, a lightly tonemapped image of the D3 in progress of shooting the HDR Timelapse sunset sequence. (Shot with a Sigma SD14)

CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGE VERSION

Just announced this morning is the second update to Oloneo’s PhotoEngine public beta.  However, this update includes 64 bit support if your system supports 64 bit programs (the download is for both 32 bit and 64 bit systems in one installer).  I was on the 64 bit private beta and it was ROCK SOLID for a beta. Not a single crash despite throwing a few dozen large brackets at it and lots of tonemapping tweaks.

Oloneo reports (and confirmed by users in forums) that it runs well on a dual core Mac using Parallels Desktop 5.

===> DOWNLOAD LINK AND RELEASE NOTES HERE <===

Oh, did I mention yet how FAST this app is?  ;)

HERE’s THE LINK to the review I did when it first released the version 1 beta (in case you missed it).

Unified Color Technologies Announces 32 Float™

New Plug-in Provides Complete 32-Bit Color Editing Functionality To Photoshop Users

32 Float = Full Press Release HERE

So what you say?

So this $99 plugin ($79 intro price) will allow your Photoshop CS3 – CS4 – CS5 to have tremendous HDR capabilities.

If you are happy with your current version of Photoshop and didn’t upgrade to CS5 to get the HDR Pro plug-in, you can now add high end HDR editing to your Photoshop CS3 or CS4.

If you bought Photoshop CS5 and are underwhelmed at the tools in photoshop’s HDR Pro, then you can add more functionality to CS5 with 32 Float from unified color.

I was not given access to an early edition so I can not comment on it or rank it yet.  Once I do get a chance to use it I”ll either update this post or add a new one in the feed.

Rather than cut and paste every single option and feature, I’ll link to their main page (there is an english button on left to translate).

Of particular noteworthiness to me is that it allows bracketing up to 10 shots. Clearly allowing for some amazing HDR panorama captures.

Options Galore

Their site also has many LCD captures to show you all the options dialogues so I won’t bore you with that list or multiple screen captures here as well.  Just one image to show you the UI.

The site link is: http://gigapanbot.com/

The GigaPanBot, Gigapixel Panorama Robot creator says it is a private project and to email if you would like information about how to build one yourself!  I’m sure if you were willing to write a check they might help faster or who knows.  Just speculating!

Finally, the GigaPanBot in action firing off side by side mounted Canon+Telephoto monsters for dual coverage. CRAZY!!!

You’ve got to go to 4 minutes, 20 seconds.  NUTS!

Embedded video below, but here is the direct youtube link if you prefer to watch full screen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXyEMAwWOdk

I am heading to Ft. Lauderdale (soon) to do some one on one training for an established architectural photographer. Specifically to show them my HDR workflow. They reached out to me after surfing the net tirelessly looking for those using HDR for architectural photography.

The reason I’m posting this is two fold.

1. Yes I’m available for one on one training (for a fair price or trade of services)
2. This is last minute and I’m planning on driving which means I could make myself available to work with another photographer or photographers in Florida.

I could take multiple routes to get to Ft. Lauderdale.  Here is a map of my starting point and destination (CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE).

As you can see, by choosing which interstate(s) to take from NW to SE, I could hit any part of the state easily.  The date is NOT set yet, but will be finalized in the next 48-72 hours.  Basically as early as this tuesday July 27th through August 5th.  That date could be determined by YOU effectively because I told the other photographer I am putting the word out on Twitter and my blog first.

If you live in florida and have been wanting to either kick start your HDR knowledge or take it to the next level, then email me at DIGITAL COAST IMAGE at GMAIL dot COM.

The photographer in Ft. Lauderdale has requested one on one only to use their equipment and software, so even if you live in that city, I wouldn’t be able to include you in that session.

Spheron HDR video – footage from SpheronVR AG on Vimeo.

I would have LOVED to have seen some dramatic backlit scenes as examples.  I was most interested in the lighting examples around the 3 minute mark in the above video because of the way you can relight shadows due to the latitude in the file/capture.

Full Spheron Press Release here: http://bit.ly/bnjShW

This is about 8%-10% of the images I’ve shot for realtors, builders, etc over the last year.  About 10 shots are more than a year old and I can’t quite let them go.  I actually could have uploaded many other shots, but I have some shoots only on stacks of DVDs and have long since wiped the shots off of hard drives.

Here’s the gallery link:
http://digitalcoastimage.com/comps/selections/index.html

The naming of shots is like this… here’s a link to one shot:
http://digitalcoastimage.com/comps/selections/content/arch_inter_110_large.html

The name of that image is after the “content/” so it would be named “arch_inter_110” (leaving off the “large.html” at the end.

Another example would be:
http://digitalcoastimage.com/comps/selections/content/pool_patio_108_large.html

The name of that image is also after the “content/” so it would be named “pool_patio_108” (leaving off the “large.html” at the end.

If you want to send me your top picks, then email me at digital coast image AT gmail.com (no spaces between words).

Thanks to whomever can help!