Where The Sand Merges With The Sea.

As the surf crashes onto the sand, the rising sun's golden light is reflected off of the wet beach sand. The spray from the waves glows like a thousand gold gems as they capture the sunlight.

The Merge Of Man And Nature.

A long forgotten boathouse, and a small brown, shed sit on the shoreline of Little Lake. Both nestled in among the evergreens and the brilliantly colored foliage of a New Hampshire autumn.

The Merge Of Exposures

I’ve been playing around with Nik Software’s HDR Efex Pro 2, and for this image a preset called “Sinister” seemed appropriate.

HDR image of a blue with red stripes, 2011 Ford Shelby GT500. The image, shot looking straight into the brightly burning headlights and foglight, show the grill, cobra emblem, and front vanity plate, "BRUTAL" so fitting for a car with this much power.

A Note Of Full Disclosure.

I wish to mention here, that as a member of the Nik Software affiliate team, every time a reader clicks a Nik Software link in a post, or the Nik Software banner on the sidebar, I get credit for it. Should you make a purchase I receive a small commission. I need to make clear that I will never be mentioning, or recommending any product on this blog if I don’t use it myself and believe strongly that the product is of potential value to my readers. 

With the Nik software, I felt it was such a great product that I wanted to be able to offer my readers a way to save on its purchase. Therefore, you will save 15% off of all Nik products by entering the code:   JSINON  when making a purchase. 

48 thoughts on “Weekly Photo Challenge: Merge”

  2. Now what I like about your “merge” photos: where do I begin- in the 1st one the texture of the sea, the drops of water – wonderful details, but also the colour scheme, in the second one the landscape is just dreamy and the reflections are as good as they can get, and in the 3rd pic – the lighting is really “brutal” – wonderful as always 🙂

    Reply

    1. Many thanks Paula! I can always count on you to leave such nice, thoughtful comments. The third is brutal isn’t it. I’m having a ball with the new HDR software!

      Reply

    1. Thanks Isadora. I was never a big fan of the over-done HDR image, and for when I use it for nature and landscapes I will always go for as natural a result as possible, but for some subjects, I’m really liking the “over the top” look.

      Reply

        1. All I can say after looking at that is Wow!

          I wish I had your patience. If I have to spend 10-15 minutes to get an image to where I want it to be, that’s a long time. I can’t imagine spending 4 hours, but your image certainly shows the results were worth it.

          Reply

  14. Just had a look at your blog – you photos are stunning.
    I would like to thank you for alerting me to the fact that my blog was private – I had no idea, I have changed the settings and really appreciate you taking the time to comment.

    Reply

    1. Thank you very much Barb, I’m glad I could help. I assumed it had to be an oversight, otherwise why post to the weekly challenge? That was such a tease 😉

      Reply

  15. Whoa! Jeff, that last photograph is awesome. Especially like the license “BRUTAL” touch which totally adds to the feeling of the photograph for me. Nice work as always!

    Nate

    Reply

    1. Thanks Rick! I’m having a ball playing around with HDR. For both over the top images like the Mustang, and for getting very natural results with landscapes, when used carfully. I’m getting close to giving up my Grad ND filters as it is so much easier to just blend 3-5 exposures in HDR Efex Pro.

      Reply

  17. All super, Jeff and I can never get enough of that golden hue in the evenings on any subject matter. 2nd one is stunning and has such wonderful balance. I think it would be quite different if that red foliage on the right wasn’t there. To me it really ties the photograph together. Well seen. And then the 3rd…oh my, sinister indeed. How are you liking the 2nd version of HDR Efex? I’ve been on the fence about upgrading mine.

    Reply

    1. Thanks again Brandon. So far I’m liking HDR Efex Pro 2 a lot. But in all honesty I didn’t use version one long. I bought the whole collection at just the right time and was eligible for the free upgrade to version 2. So far, I’m liking it!!

      Reply

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