July 16, 2007 HDR Thriller (jewel)

Where the land ends and the sea begins.... Originally uploaded by luispraiameco.

Where the land ends and the sea begins.... Originally uploaded by luispraiameco.

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These two shots of the same subject are also both HDR shots. The main difference is how they were processed. It's the differences in the HDR processing settings that are the major difference the outcomes (maybe not the only difference because I suspect that the lower image also has a filter tone applied to the sky). Here's the TOP IMAGE IN LARGE and here's the BOTTOM IMAGE IN LARGE.

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While both have that look of a painting common in many HDR shots, their moods are really different. The lower one is superior technically....it has far less noise (especially noticeable in the sky comparison in the large size) and fewer tell-tale HDRtifacts, like the slight halo around the large sea rocks in the top image. What's the better shot? I think if it's just used in small size on a web site, the top image has greater impact; but when its to be used in large size, then the bottom image is better. What's your preference?

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Also...I would not have guessed this was from Portugal. In fact, the bottom one has such an "artist's rendering" look to it that I might have guessed "science fiction book cover" instead of actually being from somewhere on earth.