Pseudo-HDR Images from Cajon Pass

During my deep-dive into the realm of High Dynamic Range photography I have been forced to test with pseudo-HDR images which are the byproduct of a single RAW image file. (See my previous blog post, “Going to the Next Level: Learning HDR,” for a detailed explanation.) I am learning the nuances and challenges of the process, the various techniques and softwares packages available, and developing a maintainable workflow process. Above all else though, I am becoming inspired.

Here are a few of my recent pseudo-HDR tests and practice images. These photos are from the vaunted Cajon Pass region of southern California: 

Cajon Pass - Mountains, Weather, and Trains — A westbound Union Pacific manifest train (top) heads downgrade while a BNSF intermodal train follows along side on the parallel alignment as clouds cover the summits of the San Gabriel Mountains. [4/6/2006 - San Bernardino/Los Angeles Subdivisions]

Old Meets New - Seen here at Devore, CA, BNSF 6937 and BNSF 6867 (EMD SD40-2’s) are providing power for the manned helper unit out of San Bernardino, CA on April 6, 2006, and pull slowly up to the front of BNSF 4987 East, an under-powered intermodal train with this GE DASH 9-44CW on the point. Soon the train will begin a full assault on Cajon Pass.
[4/6/2006 - San Bernardino Subdivision]

BNSF 4937 East - BNSF 4937 (GE DASH 9-44CW) is on the point of an under-powered intermodal train waiting at Devore, CA for a manned helper set to arrive to assist in getting it’s train over the hill.
[4/6/2006 - San Bernardino Subdivision]

BNSF 7741 West - Prior to BNSF’s recent triple-tracking program over Cajon Pass, CA, BNSF 7741 (GE DASH 9-44CW) leads NS 8594 (GE DASH 8-39C) and an unidentfied EMD SD40-2 around the bend at Swarthout Canyon Road near Blue Cut, CA, with a westbound hot z-train.
[4/8/2006 - San Bernardino Subdivision]

BNSF 4999 West - BNSF 4999 (GE DASH 9-44CW) is on the point of a westbound stack train as she rounds a curve near Blue Cut, CA on August 13, 2006.
[8/13/2006 - San Bernardino Subdivision]

BNSF 5326 East - BNSF 5326 (GE DASH 9-44CW) and the trailing units are in Run 8 (full throttle setting) as they hustle a hot eastbound z-train upgrade near Blue Cut, CA.
[4/8/2006 - San Bernardino Subdivision]

Going to the Next Level: Learning HDR

I recently started to explore the photographic technique called High Dynamic Range photography or simply HDR. This technique is centered around the post-processing task of combining a series of images, taken at different exposure settings, to create a scene that is, arguably, more realistic, which is not possible with a single camera photo.

There is an excellent description and example HDR photos at Trey Ratcliff’s blog, Stuck In Customs. I highly recommend it.

One acceptable practice of HDR is to use a single RAW image and run it through some HDR software to create a pseudo-HDR image. Since I haven’t been shooting my photographs with HDR in mind, this is what I have to do for now, at least until I take new photos with multiple RAW images using different exposure settings. Nevertheless the results are amazing and very pleasing. I can’t wait to shoot true HDR shots in the near future - like next week!

Here are a couple of shots that I took during a trip Deb and I took to Monument Valley in Arizona. I am pleased with the results and you can get a feel for the power of HDR, despite the fact that these images are just “pseudo-HDR” photos. (Notice how all elements of the scene are perfectly exposed and in focus):

One of My Recent Projects - The "PerryScope"

Despite the long weekend, we opted to stay home and keep the pets company during this year’s 4th of July celebrations. The downtime gave us an opportunity to do some maintenance and modifications to our vehicles. One project that I am proud of in particular, that we did this last weekend, was to finally install a remote searchlight and night vision gear on our “rig.”

Some time ago I had purchased a very cool searchlight from Magnalight.com called the “Golight Radioray.” This is a reasonably high-powered searchlight that can rotate 370 degrees and tilt about 140 degrees up and down - all with the use a remote control. The remote is radio-based (433MHz) so line-of-sight is not required to control the light. The base contains a 200-lb magnet to ensure the light stays in place yet remains removable. Way cool. Yukon Advanced Optics’ Digital NV Ranger 5x42

Another item that I have had for some time and used on occasion was a digital night vision device called the Digital NV Ranger 5x42, from Yukon Advanced Optics. This device is essentially a monocular with some impressive night vision capabilities. Two nice features of the device are its capability to run off of 12-volts DC and the ability to output what the device sees to a video device.

Considering we are often out  in the middle of nowhere with the complete darkness of a new moon night, I have sought to marry the two devices and find a viable mounting option that made use of the wireless capabilities. After many design considerations and testing I finally settled on a solution that should afford an effective and stable mount while still providing flexible deployment options.

Winegard RM-DM61We never watch broadcast television (or satellite TV for that matter) when we are on a road trip so I decided to leverage our Lance camper’s satellite and analog TV antenna system, which is the Winegard RM-DM61, as the mount for the scope and searchlight. By using the antenna as a mounting location it affords the searchlight to be manually elevated by a crank in order to clear rooftop obstacles and still be retracted and stowed for travel.

The antenna system had a large disc-shape analog TV antenna, which is now obsolete, that I removed to provide a location to mount the searchlight.  

Here’s What I Did… 

The chosen mounting location for the “PerryScope” was the location of the obsolete analog television antenna on our camper.

Here are the two main devices of the “PerryScope.” The Golight has the capability to display clear, amber, red, and Infra-red light through the use of lenses. Here, the Golight is shown with a red lense attached.

The night vision device is attached to the Golight through the use of a surplus tripod mounting head with a quick connect element that allows easy removal of the night vision monocular. The tripod mount allows the monocular to tilted and the whole assembly rotates 370 degrees with a remote control.

Here is the obligatory “action shot” with the red lense removed.

The night vision’s output is piped into the camper to be displayed on the television for all to see. It is cool to sit in the dinnete and control the unit with ease.

Prelimnary testing in our driveway suggests that there will many uses for the “PerryScope.” Obviously campsite security should benefit but also we are excited to watch the night wildlife from the “safety” our camper.

I’ll let you now how the field tests go.