I’ve tried out Photomatix 3.2 to process HDR images of some of the photographs from yesterday’s shoot at the Calgary Brewery. It’s much easier to push the microcontrast further than Adobe’s HDR Merge can with Photomatix, if that’s the image you’re going for.
I shot some photos in the old abandoned brewery in Calgary, Canada and I plan on another visit in the not-to-distant future. My exposures were up to 3 minutes long and sometimes even that wasn’t enough. I made the mistake of not bringing a flashlight either, which made it even more suspenseful to creep through the building, wary of stepping through holes in grating or falling off the edge of a platform.
It was surprising to see the lights turned on in some of the rooms and some switches were even labeled “Leave” with arrows pointed to them. I made sure I stayed away from the area of the brewery that’s been turned into a self-storage facility because there are cameras and security at that end.
The acoustics were amazing. When adjusting my tripod the sounds would resonate along the steel walkways throughout the entire building. I could hear pigeons everywhere and everything had a reverberation against steel and cement. There were doors that were made of 6 inch thick solid steel on hinges so well made they opened with no effort. I really hope they don’t tear down this building and maybe instead offer tours of the facilities. The old Calgary Brewing & Malt company dates back to the 1800′s.
