Railroad along the Bow - Photoshop CS5 HDR Pro Example

As previously mentioned in an earlier post, I was a beta tester for Photoshop CS5.  It is an incredible software package for photo editing and I have been putting it though some tests to see what it can do.  The last CS5 post of mine was of the brilliant Content Aware Fill feature.  Today I will show you what the HDR Pro feature does for High Dynamic Range pictures.

I have been trying to take multiple bracketed multiple exposures (-2EV,0EV,+2EV) when I see there is too much contrast with the highlights and shadows in a scene.  Before CS5 I used Photomatix for my HDR shots and found it pretty good and making some great pictures.  Now Adobe has greatly improved it's HDR processing in CS5.

©Matt Graham 2010 - Railroad along the Bow (Bracketed Exposures)

After tweaking with the settings that HDR Pro has, sharpening the image and adding some pop to the image, here is "Railroad along the Bow".  This was taken outside the Banff Townsite down the banks of the Bow River on Highway 1A. I wanted to see if there were any animals lurking, as the railroads typically drop grain along the railway. The clouds were really interesting, banding in ripples from the mountain range and to the east towards Canmore.

©Matt Graham 2010 - Railway along the Bow

Mistaya Canyon Pathway

At the conclusion of the photo tour on Sunday, I headed back to Calgary.  The most unfortunate thing was that this Sunday was unlike another Sunday. It was the Gold Medal game day for mens hockey in Vancouver.  I realized this by the time I lost radio reception! So I put faith in the Canadian mens team and took pictures along Highway 93.  I took advantage of this drive back as it will probably was the last time I'll be there for a while.  Moving to Pittsbugh in June will be great, but I sure will miss the Rocky Mountains of Canada.

One of the stops I took was just south of the North Saskatchewan River. Mistaya Canyon, is a great spot along Highway 93.  It's not as busy as Athabasca or Sunwapta falls.  As well, there are some great viewpoints that are not obstucted by "human stupidity" barriers.  I really liked the pathway that led to the canyon, with the bluesky peaking through.

©Matt Graham 2010 - Mistaya Canyon Pathway

Abraham Lake Sunrise

I have to admit, I am attracted to take photos of sunrises and sunsets.  It offers me a better chance of catching that 5 to 10 minutes of amazing light. I guess the cost for that is waking up early and getting going to bed late. Abraham Lake is an amazing place to take pictures.  The mountain range backdrop gives so many composition ideas and the ice patterns and cracks provide great foreground elements.

© Matt Graham 2010 - Abraham Lake Sunrise

Glory Hole Sunrise

On our second morning of the photo tour, Darwin knew the best place to go for a surefire sunrise scene.  Leaving Jasper and heading towards the east park gates, there is a natural spring system that is open year round.  Its named the "Glory Hole" by landscape photographer Daryl Benson.  Rumor has it thathe came to this spot countless times and never had a bad shoot.  We really rushed to catch the great light as we might have taken too much time stuffing ourselves with some awesome Raspberry White Chocolate scones from the Bears Paw Bakery prior to leaving Jasper.

I tried a lot of filter combinations to create this scene.  In the end, a 1 second exposure blurred the water and painted some light in the clouds.  It was simply an amazing sunrise that I will never forget!

© Matt Graham 2010 - Glory Hole Sunrise

Endless Chain Ridge

On my photo tour with Darwin Wiggett and Alan Ernst, our first day was driving up the Icefields Parkway towards Jasper.  After the Columbia Icefield, the Endless Chain Ridge comes into view. It was named by Mary Schaffer, one of the first non-native women to visit Jasper National Park, when it opened in 1907.

A great resource for mountain names and history of the Canadian Rockies is Peakfinder.com.  When I looked up the history of the ridge, it quoted Schaffer wrote:

"A short distance beyond the rock-slide and on the river''s right, begins a low, rocky ridge, which for length and unadulterated ugliness cannot be beaten. We trailed it for a day and a half and then named it ''The Endless Chain'' well named too, for on reaching the Athabasca shores, we found that it still stretched on in an unbroken line for miles down the river."

©Matt Graham 2010 - Endless Chain Ridge

Back from an amazing photo trip

Last week I anxiously drove to the Aurum Lodge on Abraham Lake to attend Darwin Wiggett's "Winter Magic" photo tour.  I took off from Calgary on Wednesday and took my time driving through Banff and Lake Louise and up the Icefields Parkway.  The Aurum Lodge is nestled alongside Abraham Lake and its a amazing place!

Darwin is a great landscape photographer and it was nice to see how he does it.  First of all, he has tons of options in his mind to where the best locations will be, no matter what light you have to work with.  Another thing that amazed me was the amount of time that he used his Canon G11 point-n-shoot.  He does shoot with a big $$$ Canon 1Ds Mk3 with amazing tilt-shift lenses although I swear he used the G11 more often! 

Alan Ernst of the Aurum Lodge also lead the tour and I was quite impressed with his intimate landscapes. His wife Madeleine worked hard at the lodge making wonderful lunches and delicious dinners while we were away.

Over the next couple weeks I will post a picture a day. Not to spread out blog posts, but because it gives me a reasonable schedule to edit!

Well my first photo to show you is of Mt. Rundle... quite possibly the most photographed mountain in the Canadian Rockies. 

©Matt Graham 2010 - Mt Rundle Reflection

Calgary Mountain Vista - 23rd floor Bankers Hall

I recently moved office rooms at my office in Bankers Hall West.  I had a good view of the mountains and my recent move more south opened up the mountain vista even more! Its not the best as there was glare on the dirty window, but its a good view that I will soon miss as I am transferring to Pittsburgh PA pretty soon!©Matt Graham 2010 - Calgary Mountain Vista