I had the day off from work today, and as I came home from a jog (which I barely survived) I noticed how awesome the clouds looked just over my house. So I ran in, got changed from my sweaty clothes, grabbed my trusty Nikon, grabbed my cheap $20 ebay tripod and set about taking some shots.
The problem was that when I finally got setup, the clouds had moved on and the scene was just not as dramatic as I first envisioned. Lately I have had a bit of a "photographers block". I just haven't been able to get excited about shooting. I've been going crazy with trying to find inspiration, looking for that one unique thing to capture where someone says "hmmm... that's an interesting photo". So today I decided to try HDR for the first time ever!!!. I have read multitudes of literature on what it is, how you do it, what software is the best, but I have never actually put theory into practice.
HDR (for those not up with the lingo) stands for High Dynamic Range, the idea is that you take a scene at multiple exposures (usually 3 or more) , i.e. -3, 0, +3 ev. Then you blend them into one image using the software app of your choice, photomatix tends to be the most popular one that people seem to mention. The idea being that the underexposed image brings out the details in the dark areas and the over exposed brings out the details in the bright areas and the one that's just right has a little of both worlds.
It's not for everyone, and I know some people don't like it. Personally I love it and I think it has it's place. Although I don't believe that HDR can be classified as photography. I see it as more like "PhotoArt". But then again, I just know what I like, and as biased as I am, I like this image.
The problem was that when I finally got setup, the clouds had moved on and the scene was just not as dramatic as I first envisioned. Lately I have had a bit of a "photographers block". I just haven't been able to get excited about shooting. I've been going crazy with trying to find inspiration, looking for that one unique thing to capture where someone says "hmmm... that's an interesting photo". So today I decided to try HDR for the first time ever!!!. I have read multitudes of literature on what it is, how you do it, what software is the best, but I have never actually put theory into practice.
HDR (for those not up with the lingo) stands for High Dynamic Range, the idea is that you take a scene at multiple exposures (usually 3 or more) , i.e. -3, 0, +3 ev. Then you blend them into one image using the software app of your choice, photomatix tends to be the most popular one that people seem to mention. The idea being that the underexposed image brings out the details in the dark areas and the over exposed brings out the details in the bright areas and the one that's just right has a little of both worlds.
It's not for everyone, and I know some people don't like it. Personally I love it and I think it has it's place. Although I don't believe that HDR can be classified as photography. I see it as more like "PhotoArt". But then again, I just know what I like, and as biased as I am, I like this image.
3 comments:
i like the picture, but it doesn't look real!
it's very pretty and all that, but it looks like a painting... or a dream or something.. if you know what i mean. :o)
luvly picture. HDR can make an image look like a painting :)
i also like the HDR effect for many scenes and it does has its place, especially where the normal shots will fail to bring out the beauty of a scene
Hi Sonia, I was going for a dream like look about it. That's the beauty of HDR I guess, it can make something look out of this world. It's not for everyone.
Thanks Sandeep, I agree that it can make a dull day look dramatic and full of life. I just have to contain myself now and not go overboard with it :).
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