Don’t Delete Your Photographs Part II–Ghosts at Damascus Gate

This is the second in a series of posts discussing a few pieces of software that present the opportunity to save photographs you may otherwise decided to discard.  The conclusion resulting from these advancements is to save your photographs (even the flawed ones that hold promise); a software magician is about to make them better.

 

In this post, I focus on Photomatix Pro.   This software package is specialized for processing multiple exposure HDR photography.  Photomatix has always done a fine job of processing HDR photos.  However, until recently it had some difficulties handling “ghosts.”  Ghosts result from people or objects moving  - in other words they show up in a different location in each exposure.  Imagine a three exposure HDR image that has a person walking from left to right through the frame.  When processing the three images, the software is confronted with a person in three different positions…where does the person belong?

 

A recent update to Photomatix Pro went a long way to remedy this by allowing the user to select ghosted areas, then designate which exposure to use for eliminating the ghosts.  The photograph of Damascus Gate (The old city of Jerusalem) featured here is an example.  The first version was processed with the selective ghosting tool.  The next two versions are tighter crops so you can see the differences.  The second version uses the “automatic” deghosting function of Photomatix Pro.  The auto mode was as good as it gets prior to the update unless you went through a good deal of tedious masking in Photoshop.  Finally, the last version shows the same shot with no deghosting.

 

For my taste, and what I was trying to achieve with this photograph, the second and third versions are unacceptable.  6 months ago, I might have overlooked a photo with such ghosting problems unless the “ghosts” were an interesting part of the composition (see my photograph of the Brooklyn Bridge in a previous post).  With the recent advancements to Photomatix Pro, I can shoot crowds with confidence and know that I will not be spending hours in Photoshop masking out ghosts.

 

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

 

Craig

Don’t Delete Your Photographs

This post is a preview of several articles I plan to write in the near future.  The theme tying these posts together is that of technology rescuing what you may have thought was an unsalvageable photo.  First, let me be clear that it is always best to get the shot right at the moment of exposure.  Most of what you might do in post processing is either compensation for not nailing the shot, or application of your artistic vision for the photograph.  In the first case (compensation for a less than perfect shot) the result of post processing will likely be a compromise from what you had in mind when you first viewed the scene.  Therefore, it is always best to capture the best representation of what you intended when taking the photograph.

Unfortunately, getting it perfect at the moment of exposure is not always possible.  Some of these shots may not be of great interest in retrospect, but others can be frustratingly great shots doomed by some flaw.  Think of the great shot you took…at precisely the decisive moment, and you did not get something right (motion, focus, exposure, etc.).  This is maddening and you have nothing but the story of the “one that got away.”

Increasingly, the software magicians are making advances that offer the opportunity of recovering these fundamentally great shots that are flawed in some way.  In the coming days, I will talk about several of these tools that have advanced the possibility of saving those great shots we might have otherwise discarded.  For now, trust me and do not delete those great shots that are flawed in some way – some super-smart software engineer is working on the solution as we speak.
The photographs featured in this post are detail shots of the plaster model for the Statue of Freedom.  The bronze version of the statue sits atop the U.S. Capitol building, while the plaster version is on display in the Capitol Visitors Center’s Emancipation Hall.  For more information on the statue, visit the Architect of the Capitol.
Have fun, and don’t delete your photographs.
Craig