So it was a tricky 08 with regards to photography for me, and to be honest the start of 09 didn’t yield much inspiration either. Except for a glimmer of light which was a Xmas card from my wife, that thoughtfully contained a few pounds and the promise of a weekend away to see a good friend of mine, someone who inspires my use of the camera, and has done so for several years now.

I was furnished with the opportunity to visit Dave from Chromasia, and whilst this was lovely I hadn’t realised quite to what extent the “cloak and dagger” arranging had gone too. Mel (my wife) and Libby, Dave’s wife, had concocted the whole plan, and this allowed for me to basically spend the entire weekend shooting with him on a new project, and to experiment in HDR whilst I was up there also.

What a brilliant present! and to be honest probably the best kick up the photographic backside that I needed to get my seeing eye going.

We had a brilliant time, and they welcomed me into their home, and to partake in fine wine and lovely food, for which I thank Libby and her many little helpers.

The photography was fun as well, and we visited a few old haunts (for Dave) and few new locations as well, and I am sure we have both gained some footage to see us through a few weeks blogging at least.

This shot aptly titled was one of my favourites from the bunch, and strictly was from day 2 of the trip. I will purposefully not chronologically order the shots taken, so that our Images don’t overlap in subject matter TOO much.

This was a 9 Image HDR exposure, processed in Photomatix Pro. I am sure people that dislike HDR will voice themselves, but whilst I am on the fence regarding its overall merit, I can from first hand say that the technique requires a good sense of the subject matter to work well and to choose the right lighting to effect a good image, the same for taking any photo I guess. I think as a process it just sits there amongst other effects, and I personally don’t find the results offensive I just realise that to do them well isn’t as easy as it may first appear to those people who voice disapproval.

That said, its all about photography, and about getting out and about, pointing the camera in the direction of anything at -4 degrees in the wind in the early morning after a hike is a good effort in my book!

I know that publishing the EXIF for a multi image HDR is slightly misleading, publishing the metered exposure used as a my starting point 0EV is fair. I then used a combination of spot metering highlights and shadows to work out the bracket range required, and a few nudges in Daves ribs!. I chose a 9 shot image here with 1/2 stop increments. The histogram said everything was within bounds so I thought I’d give it a go.

We were shooting on an old disused Railway East of Fleetwood, and someway off the beaten track, we found the old trainstation, and amongst the undergrowth I spotted the old station steps, I couldn’t resist….

Did It work?