Hearts in Hawai'i
HDR Photography
10/24/2009
I first became aware of HDR (High Dynamic Range) images several months ago while surfing Honolulu pics at flickr.com. My first thought was "what is this crap!" upon seeing what looked more like a cartoon than an actual camera image.
Now, some people will turn their noses up at HDR images, claiming that they violate "artistic integrity". I say that's a load of crap. My problem with most HDR images has nothing to do with integrity. They just look bad, they look unrealistic. Shouldn't the purpose of post-processing tools (such at Automatix, used to blend and process HDR images) be to bring more reality to these efforts? The specific application I want to apply these tools to is to correct cases where it's not possible to capture the entire dynamic range of an image where there is a high contrast between highlights and low-lights. Yes, I know, neutral gradient filters represent a more "natural" way to do this but there are certain situations where this type of filter won't do what I'm seeing justice. Hence, an opportunity to apply a better solution.
These "purists" are everywhere. You see them in the flickr.com forum. They're in the rec.photo.digital newsgroup. At this time, however, they seem to be drowned out (in voice, if not necessarily in number) by those who claim HDR is the greatest thing since the digital camera was invented. There seems to be a good deal of chest-thumping happening on both sides. The principle of "live and let live" seems to take a rear seat to "my side is right, dammit!" when it comes to HDR.
Where do I stand on this issue? I'm on the side of "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". If I encounter HDR images where the author has taken "liberties" and turned a mediocre image into a colorful, unrealistic image, I have a choice. I can choose not to view it. Nothing is forcing me to look at a specific image. I know what I like when I view images, and I also understand what the limitations are when it comes to digital photography. HDR photography appears to be a solution to these shortcomings, at least in part.
What's next? For me, it's simply a matter of downloading the trial version of some program (likely Photomatix, based on the research I've done), snapping some pics using the auto-exposure bracketing of my Nikon D90, and seeing what I can do with the resulting images.
Previous: 8/10/2009--Purchasing a Nikon D90
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