This is the Menai Bridge crossing the Menai Straight which separates the isle of Anglesey from mainland Wales. The photo was taken at around 3pm on the 12th August 2020.
I took a few exposures bearing in mind the dynamic range and options for HDR processing and other exposure compositing options.
Having used Luminar for some months, I had been contemplating an idea for developing images with very high dynamic range. I’m all about convenience when capturing images; I never use a tripod during daylight, and if capturing an exposure bracket set, I use the 11fps continuous capture facility my Sony A6000 has in auto ISO mode – hand held. I’m never totally satisfied with the image quality of HDR blended images, however. So, onto my idea ….
This image was a plus 2 EV exposure, and my idea was to allow the sky to be blown out, giving the benefit of the exposure to the shadows, and then replace the sky. I developed the RAW image with Luminar AI, replaced the sky, put the Sunrays centre exactly where the original sun was, and put the birds under the main arch.
I found the colours to be not contributing to the image, so I went monochrome with subtle split toning to the highlights and shadows.
This exposure blending/ compositing technique could also be used with a correctly exposed shot of the original sky, of course, capitalising on Luminar’s excellent sky replacement feature.
I’m relatively pleased with the results and will try this technique again when photographing a scene with a high dynamic range.
