As I mentioned the other day we've been working on some new developments for our training site, particularly in terms of providing more information about the various photography and post-production workshops we run throughout the year. If you'd be interested in taking a look, the main page is here:
It includes details of two workshops we'll be running in September in Blackpool: The Art of Black and White Photography (on the 16th) and Creating Dramatic Images (on the 17th and 18th). You'll also find some further information on our UK one-to-one training dates for 2011, a photo tour to Istanbul in November that I'll be running with Bobbi Lane, and the Gulf Photo Plus Fotoweekend, also taking place in November.
If you have any questions about any of the new content, just drop me a line.
Anyway, back to today's image ...
Since I posted my first set of images of the Buzludzha monument, back in October 2010, we've managed to find out a bit more about it, though we're not 100% confident about the accuracy of some of what follows.
It's the largest monument in Bulgaria, located on mount Buzludzha (1441m) in the Balkan Mountains, and was built to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Buzludzha congress – where the Bulgarian Social-Democratic Workers' Party was founded (the predecessor to the Bulgarian Communist Party).
16 million leva were collected, as both voluntary and obligatory donations, of which 14,186,000 were spent on the monument. The rest was spent on the construction of three kindergartens. It took military construction units almost seven years to complete, and more than 6000 workers and experts took part in the construction. Over 20 leading Bulgarian artists worked for 18 months in order to complete the interior decoration, and verses of "The International" and "The Worker's March" were inscribed on the entrance of of the memorial.
The interior was partially clad in marble and the staircases were decorated with red cathedral glass. In the 15 meter-high main hall a 500 sq.m. fresco was constructed, which included portraits of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Todor Zhivkov (the leader of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1954 to 1989). The dome of the structure was covered with thirty tonnes of copper and two 12m stars of ruby glass were built into the top of the 70m high tower. These were made in the Soviet Union, and were three times bigger than those in the Kremlin. You can see one of the stars at the top of the tower in this shot.
The monument was inaugurated by Todor Zhivkov in 1981.
On 10th of November 1989 Zhivkov stepped down after 35 years in power, the day after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Immediately afterwards the Politburo ordered the removal of his portrait from the memorial (you can see the gap in the mural in this shot). In 1991 the monument was ceded to the state, abandoned, looted and left to rot.
As for the post-production ...
If you take a look at the original you'll see the tone-mapped image (produced using Photomatix Pro) and small thumbnails of the seven original exposures. In this instance the tone mapping was reasonably conservative, as I wanted to avoid producing something that looked overly HDR-like, but I did want to create an image that captured the surreal nature of this building. As to whether it's entirely successful – I'm not sure. I do like it, but may revisit it again as I'm not 100% convinced that I made the best of this one. Let me know what you think.
captured camera lens focal length aperture shutter speed shooting mode exposure bias metering mode ISO flash image quality RAW converter image editor plugins (etc) cropped?
comment byCarlos Garcia at 01:53 PM (GMT) on 17 May, 2011
David: just when I think you have outdone yourself, you "outdo" yourself! Thanks for the background story, and, I think that you have succeeded in creating another fine piece of photographic art. Congrats!
comment byDan Kaufman at 02:04 PM (GMT) on 17 May, 2011
What a story! And love your post-processing. For me this is what HDR is for: bringing out the details. Well done. There most certainly is "another image" to be had from this shot, this one however is a good one.
comment byMatteo at 02:12 PM (GMT) on 17 May, 2011
Your HDR-fu is strong :)
comment byJason Hines at 02:56 PM (GMT) on 17 May, 2011
Very, Very nice use of b&w. This really brings out the shapes and textures. Thank you for sharing.
Simply Stunning..! This is an awesome structure and you really have done such a fantastic job with the HDR :)
comment byMartin at 05:57 PM (GMT) on 17 May, 2011
While I have no harsh criticisms about the shot (it's lovely), the one thought I had was about complexity. I've visited this site for years, and I know what you're capable of with regard to dynamic range in a single RAW image. It's hard for me to believe you needed to composite SEVEN images to get the range needed to produce this work. I'd love to hear a little more about what necessitated that number. I swear you could've done in in three. :)
I could have done it in three, if I'd used a 2EV increment between shots, but this wouldn't have been ideal - for two reasons. First, if you used a 1EV spacing with an HDR sequence you'll end up with less noise. Don't ask me why though, as I don't know, but I've tested this quite extensively and it's definitely the case.
So, three shots wouldn't have been enough as I needed four to cover the entire dynamic range of the scene: -2EV to +1EV. So, why did I used seven? One of the other factors you need to consider when processing an HDR image is the quality of the lightest shot in the sequence. Digital sensors record far more data in the upper segments of the top histogram: 50% in the top fifth, 25% in the next, through to around 3% in the bottom fifth. The net result, if the shadow detail is close to the left-hand edge in your lightest shot, is that you will end up some noise in the darkest areas of the scene. The best way around this is to make sure there's a clear gap at the left-most edge of the histogram for your lightest shot. In other words, by including the +2EV and +3EV shots I was able to produce a cleaner image.
As for the -3EV shot: I could have left this one out, but used it for the sky, i.e. I dropped in the sky from this exposure rather than using the sky from the tone mapped image.
So, seven shots rather than three :)
comment byMartin at 07:03 PM (GMT) on 17 May, 2011
Thank you for your thorough explanation, David! I completely understand now, and it explains a frustration I had with a composite image I was processing over the weekend. I bracketed to allow for no cutoffs to the left of the histogram, but I totally forgot the fact of more data being collected to the right. The way I did it, I wasn't getting as much data in the lower light areas of the shot, making for muddy, pixelated dark shadows. I should have exposed so the dark (left) data was more to the middle or right of the histogram for the overexposed frames so I had more shadow data to work with in post. Most excellent. Thank you again--I learned something today!
Martin: you're welcome, and I'm glad you found my explanation useful.
comment byIan Mylam at 07:54 PM (GMT) on 17 May, 2011
Fabulous image... an arresting composition and the processing rocks.
comment by Jim Miller at 08:58 PM (GMT) on 17 May, 2011
Just amazing as usual. The story really helps to make the viewing experience complete. What did you use to sequence the 7 shots? Or, was it completly manual since the 5D can only do 3 shots by itself. Bravo, well done!
Jim: I shot in manual, but wish that Canon would change the firmware on the 5D II to allow a longer sequence for auto-bracketing - it would make the whole process a lot quicker and less prone to error :)
Another great frame Dave, always enjoy your work. Your latest online tutorials and mini psd are also very enjoyable. Keep up the good work! Used some of your ideas in recent shots from Paris's La Defanse, which can be seen on my flickr site.
As I mentioned the other day we've been working on some new developments for our training site, particularly in terms of providing more information about the various photography and post-production workshops we run throughout the year. If you'd be interested in taking a look, the main page is here:
http://www.chromasia.com/training/events.php
It includes details of two workshops we'll be running in September in Blackpool: The Art of Black and White Photography (on the 16th) and Creating Dramatic Images (on the 17th and 18th). You'll also find some further information on our UK one-to-one training dates for 2011, a photo tour to Istanbul in November that I'll be running with Bobbi Lane, and the Gulf Photo Plus Fotoweekend, also taking place in November.
If you have any questions about any of the new content, just drop me a line.
Anyway, back to today's image ...
Since I posted my first set of images of the Buzludzha monument, back in October 2010, we've managed to find out a bit more about it, though we're not 100% confident about the accuracy of some of what follows.
It's the largest monument in Bulgaria, located on mount Buzludzha (1441m) in the Balkan Mountains, and was built to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Buzludzha congress – where the Bulgarian Social-Democratic Workers' Party was founded (the predecessor to the Bulgarian Communist Party).
16 million leva were collected, as both voluntary and obligatory donations, of which 14,186,000 were spent on the monument. The rest was spent on the construction of three kindergartens. It took military construction units almost seven years to complete, and more than 6000 workers and experts took part in the construction. Over 20 leading Bulgarian artists worked for 18 months in order to complete the interior decoration, and verses of "The International" and "The Worker's March" were inscribed on the entrance of of the memorial.
The interior was partially clad in marble and the staircases were decorated with red cathedral glass. In the 15 meter-high main hall a 500 sq.m. fresco was constructed, which included portraits of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Todor Zhivkov (the leader of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1954 to 1989). The dome of the structure was covered with thirty tonnes of copper and two 12m stars of ruby glass were built into the top of the 70m high tower. These were made in the Soviet Union, and were three times bigger than those in the Kremlin. You can see one of the stars at the top of the tower in this shot.
The monument was inaugurated by Todor Zhivkov in 1981.
On 10th of November 1989 Zhivkov stepped down after 35 years in power, the day after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Immediately afterwards the Politburo ordered the removal of his portrait from the memorial (you can see the gap in the mural in this shot). In 1991 the monument was ceded to the state, abandoned, looted and left to rot.
As for the post-production ...
If you take a look at the original you'll see the tone-mapped image (produced using Photomatix Pro) and small thumbnails of the seven original exposures. In this instance the tone mapping was reasonably conservative, as I wanted to avoid producing something that looked overly HDR-like, but I did want to create an image that captured the surreal nature of this building. As to whether it's entirely successful – I'm not sure. I do like it, but may revisit it again as I'm not 100% convinced that I made the best of this one. Let me know what you think.
camera
lens
focal length
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
image editor
plugins (etc)
cropped?
Canon 5D Mark II
EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
16mm
f/8.0
7 exposures (1/8 to 1/500)
manual
n/a
evaluative
100
no
RAW
Photomatix Pro
Photoshop CS5
Topaz Detail
minor
David: just when I think you have outdone yourself, you "outdo" yourself! Thanks for the background story, and, I think that you have succeeded in creating another fine piece of photographic art. Congrats!
Amazing shot!
What a story! And love your post-processing. For me this is what HDR is for: bringing out the details. Well done. There most certainly is "another image" to be had from this shot, this one however is a good one.
Your HDR-fu is strong :)
Very, Very nice use of b&w. This really brings out the shapes and textures. Thank you for sharing.
Simply Stunning..! This is an awesome structure and you really have done such a fantastic job with the HDR :)
While I have no harsh criticisms about the shot (it's lovely), the one thought I had was about complexity. I've visited this site for years, and I know what you're capable of with regard to dynamic range in a single RAW image. It's hard for me to believe you needed to composite SEVEN images to get the range needed to produce this work. I'd love to hear a little more about what necessitated that number. I swear you could've done in in three. :)
Cheers!
Beautifully composed, great texture and tonality. What an amazing place.
Thanks everyone :)
Martin: Thanks too. As for your question ...
I could have done it in three, if I'd used a 2EV increment between shots, but this wouldn't have been ideal - for two reasons. First, if you used a 1EV spacing with an HDR sequence you'll end up with less noise. Don't ask me why though, as I don't know, but I've tested this quite extensively and it's definitely the case.
So, three shots wouldn't have been enough as I needed four to cover the entire dynamic range of the scene: -2EV to +1EV. So, why did I used seven? One of the other factors you need to consider when processing an HDR image is the quality of the lightest shot in the sequence. Digital sensors record far more data in the upper segments of the top histogram: 50% in the top fifth, 25% in the next, through to around 3% in the bottom fifth. The net result, if the shadow detail is close to the left-hand edge in your lightest shot, is that you will end up some noise in the darkest areas of the scene. The best way around this is to make sure there's a clear gap at the left-most edge of the histogram for your lightest shot. In other words, by including the +2EV and +3EV shots I was able to produce a cleaner image.
As for the -3EV shot: I could have left this one out, but used it for the sky, i.e. I dropped in the sky from this exposure rather than using the sky from the tone mapped image.
So, seven shots rather than three :)
Thank you for your thorough explanation, David! I completely understand now, and it explains a frustration I had with a composite image I was processing over the weekend. I bracketed to allow for no cutoffs to the left of the histogram, but I totally forgot the fact of more data being collected to the right. The way I did it, I wasn't getting as much data in the lower light areas of the shot, making for muddy, pixelated dark shadows. I should have exposed so the dark (left) data was more to the middle or right of the histogram for the overexposed frames so I had more shadow data to work with in post. Most excellent. Thank you again--I learned something today!
Martin: you're welcome, and I'm glad you found my explanation useful.
Fabulous image... an arresting composition and the processing rocks.
Just amazing as usual. The story really helps to make the viewing experience complete. What did you use to sequence the 7 shots? Or, was it completly manual since the 5D can only do 3 shots by itself. Bravo, well done!
Thanks Ian.
Jim: I shot in manual, but wish that Canon would change the firmware on the 5D II to allow a longer sequence for auto-bracketing - it would make the whole process a lot quicker and less prone to error :)
Another great frame Dave, always enjoy your work. Your latest online tutorials and mini psd are also very enjoyable. Keep up the good work! Used some of your ideas in recent shots from Paris's La Defanse, which can be seen on my flickr site.
Wow, even as an HDR sceptic, I have to say this is a wonderful image, clearly improved by the technique. I love it.
My only doubt concerns the vignetting, which throws me off balance slightly as I view the shot.
Thanks everyone.
Simon: I'll take a look.
Nick: it's always good to convince a sceptic :)
the post processing on theses images are fantastic, well done.
Wow. This shot is fantastic. Just love all the shades of blacks and the detail
Great black and while! I love the detail and the use of lead in curved lines. Great composition balance as well.