soft and simple:
Can you guess which of those houses is my dream house? I’ll give you a hint: There is no wrong answer. I’d very gladly and happily take either of them although the one covered in vines is pretty damn cool, right?
This serene liquid paradise is located in Levanto, Italy and is part of the truly beautiful Liguria Region. Levanto outskirts the famous Cinque Terre (5 lands), which are each amazing in their own way. — Check out the photo that I posted from Riomaggiore.
Since it’s a low light scene (meaning that there is not an abundance of dynamic range), the real focus of using HDR was to bring back the sky. After that, I intentionally kept things soft and subtle in order to maintain the soft emotional tone. I also blended in the water from the original (+1) exposure bracket which I find to be much more effective than dealing with HDR ghosting issues. — On the other hand, I could be making this all up on the spot. 😉
Also, keep in mind that I ‘did’ in fact try it the other way too. I pumped up the crap out of the contrast, colors, and saturation, but in the end I settled on this soft look. Sometimes the “poke your eyes out” look doesn’t get the job done. This is more a “smack you in the face then give you a hug” look.
Check out some more HDR Photos from Cinque Terre, Italy.