This is an HDR time-lapse of a Shing Mun River (城門河) during sunset in Hong Kong. It was shot from the vantage point of the Banyan Bridge (翠榕橋) which runs parallel to the river which reaches most of Shatin (沙田). # Black and white vs Color The video first shows what the HDR footage looks like in color, which highlights the change in hues during sunset. Then it shows a side-by-side comparison when processed in black and white. And finally, it shows the footage when separately processed in black and white. In the B+W rendition, you would see that the intention — which is the clouds in the sky and its reflection from the river — is much more pronounced when the color information is removed. # Workflow As I wrote previously [1], I originally had not intended it to be an HDR time-lapse, but since I erroneously left the AEB (auto-exposure bracketing) on before starting the timer, I ended up with 3 exposures spanning -3 to +3 every 5 seconds. The way I processed it is as such: 1. Import RAW files into Lightroom, such that they would be serialised (renamed) the way I need them to. 2. Create an HDR processing preset using Photomatix Pro using one of the image stack. 3. Batch-process the whole folder of images using the preset set in step 2 and output to 16-bit TIF and 32-bit HDR files. 4. Import those 16-bit TIFs into Lightroom, and create DNGs for each of the tone mapped HDR images. 5. In LRTimelapse, setup keyframes from the DNGs (LRT only works on DNG or CR2 and not TIFs) 6. Processed keyframes in Lightroom: one set for color, one set for B+W) 7. Batch-process DNGs using LRT again. 8. Export 1080p JPGs from Lightroom for each frame. 9. Assembled image sequences inside After Effects. The workflow is not really very complex — but mostly I was just waiting for the computer to crunch numbers to process all these images. After all this, you get 8 seconds of footage, which was also one of the reasons why I decided to output both the color and black and white versions so there would be a slightly longer time to watch it through. # Soundtrack: Memoirs (Cinematic Version) by Rameses B Once again, I salute talented musicians who graciously published their music under Creative Commons (CCBY) such that I can focus on working on the visuals. Soundtrack has always been the bottleneck for most of my footage. http://sml8.it/16jaaRw # Notes 1. 如上以下 As above, so below / 香港沙田城門河之寧 Hong Kong Shatin Shing Mun River Serenity (BW HDR) / SML.20130807.6D.25123-24-25.HDR.BW: http://sml8.it/16MEFxF # SML Data + Date: 2013-08-07 (recorded) 2013-08-14 (processed) + Camera: Canon EOS 6D + Lens: Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM + Accessories: Canon TC-80N3, Manfrotto tripod, Manfrotto head + Workflow: Lightroom 5, LRTimelapse 3, Photomatix Pro 4, After Effects CC, Ableton Live Suite 8 + Video: 1920x1080 (1080p), 24fps, Progressive + Location: 香港沙田城門河 Shing Mun River, Shatin, Hong Kong + Photographer: See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography + Soundtrack: Rameses B: Memoirs (Cinematic Version) / SoundCloud CCBY + Media Production: SML Universe + License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CCBY) + Copyright: 2013 See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Universe Limited + Series: 寧 Serenity + Serial: SML.20130807.6D.25087-SML.20130807.6D.25677-HDR-PPTM-TL # Media Licensing Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited 如上以下 As above, so below / 香港沙田城門河 之寧 Hong Kong Shatin Shing Mun River Serenity (HDR Timelapse) / SML.20130807.6D.25087-SML.20130807.6D.25677-HDR-PPTM-TL / #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #HDR #SMLHDR #Timelapse #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects / #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #自然 #Nature #cloudscape #clouds #video
