What on earth is happening to HDR Photography?!?!
March 15th, 2007 | Posted in Photography | 8 Comments
About a year ago, I happened upon some photographs on a site which looked absolutely amazing, the tonal range and richness of colours were staggering. Looking into the technique behind them led me to discover HDR (High Dynamic Range) Photography.
Since then, Its popularity had steadily grown to become thought of as the next generation of digital tweaking. Yet another indication that we are getting ever closer to the skill and art of photography being replaced with how good you are in Photoshop.. which is a shame.
Whilst browsing the HDR flickr group i had come across photos done by amateur photographers. The comments from group member were along the lines of
“great one! i love people HDR and this is really cool! :). “
Take a look for yourself…
and
They look like extras from a living dead remake. Great one?!?! Really Cool?!?!? Beautiful?!?! Jeeez…
In fact, Flickr has many examples of what happens when a great image enhancing technique gets brutalised.
So what is HDR photography? Well, I am not going to go into detail, there are many sites that explain it better than what I could. Basically, you get one picture with dark bits, then take the same picture with light bits.. then using magical elves you merge them creating a nice picture with not so dark bits and not so light bits.. like this…
geddit?
Personally, a great HDR photo is one that does not look like it has had the HDR makeover. It has to feel natural, something you feel you could see yourself. Cue good HDR example…
This does not have the over the top, halo layered cartoon like colours (read the comments, sigh) that some people have mistaken as what HDR is all about. It has taken a potentially difficult scene at different exposures and merged them together to create this scene where all parts are visible. (Not one of my favourites, but you get what I am banging on about).
So put your money where your mouth is then Khan!
Ok, Ok, here is my first attempt. Still a long way to go, suppose I have Flickr’s HDR group to thank for showing me which way that wasn’t. So here you have it, a pair of wrinkly elephants arses…. enjoy. :D
Before:
After:
thanks for setting the HDR issue straight… lol…
it truly IS a shame… but then again, all new things create the classic “hype curve” on which peak we seem to be right now.
p.s.: my fave FlickR comment was: “damn, i just loove Flare!”
great explanation and great photos.
All the best!
Emilio
[...] a pair of wrinkly elephants arses…. enjoy. Before: After: Words and Pictures Courtesy From: NextBigLeap.com - Photography —————————————————————————– I hope you all [...]
I totally agree. There are some really great HDR photos, but there is a limit to what should or should not be turned HDR. Great photos, I especially like the one with the tree surrounded by water.
Very nice photos.
i myself just stumbled on to this hdr technique about a month ago, and immediately fell in love with the art style. like you i noticed a lot of people doing crazy things with it. if you have any tips for an aspiring photographer/graphic designer please let me know
I totally agree. There are some really great HDR photos, but there is a limit to what should
have a look at my HDR example.
http://www.emiliorescigno.it/hdr.html
All the best to everybody
Emilio