Today I photographed the mill at McConnells Mill State Park. I will have more pictures in another post soon. In this post, we take the same view, but use four different photographic methods: traditional, HDR, false-color infrared, and black and white infrared. All images were taken with a Nikon 18-55mm AF-S DX VR lens, at the 18mm focal length. The first image is using the Nikon D90 with a single exposure, the standard technique. ISO 200, f/11 for sharpness, 1/100 sec
McConnell’s Mill, standard approach
I used HDRrtist free version to process three images taken at EV, +1EV and -1EV. Nikon D90, ISO 200, f/11 for sharpness, 1/100 sec. HDRrtist has an HDR intensity slider. I kept the slider just below where it I felt the HDR started to be obvious, as HDR tends to be. The main benefit seems to be a little more definition in the facing side of the mill. The other differences are minor. There is some detail loss in the sunny stone wall and the snow. Also, the waterfall has more blur because three shots were combined; however, that’s not a distraction because a similar blur is common with a slower shutter speed.
McConnells Mill HDR
Thirdly we have used false-color infrared. This was taken with a Fuji IS Pro UVIR modified camera with a 720nm IR-pass filter. The framing is a little different. There was a distracting yellow chain on the left in the color photographs; I didn’t see it as a problem in these photographs. The sun had moved a little, too, and we pick up more light on the left side of the mill. For processing, I used Gimp’s ufraw plugin to auto balance the white balance. I shoot RAW so that I can adjust white balance in post. I switched the red and blue channels, then used the Levels tool to increase contrast. Back in Aperture, I tinkered a little more. I like how it brings out character in the siding of the facing side of the barn, similar to the HDR, but without the HDR look elsewhere. I am not a big fan of the dark sky or the electric blue waterfall. This was shot at 3200 ISO, which was inadvertent, but there it is. f/9, 1/1140 sec, -5 EV.
McConnells Mill false colorIR
Finally, we have black and white infrared. This is using the same photograph as the third above, but desaturated in Aperture, for those who find the false color infrared too weird!
McConnell’s Mill Infrared, Black and White
There you have it, McConnells Mill from four different “angles” without leaving the parking lot.
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