Fun with HDR

It's not photography...its HDR.  For me, high dynamic range images have yet to reach a point of not looking fake; but that doesn't mean they aren't interesting.  It is when HDR tries to pass itself off as a regular image that it begins to feel like putting on a cheap suit...it is an attempt to look nice that just doesn't pull it off. 

So with this in mind, I signed up for Tony Sweet's HDR class over at Betterphoto.com.  For the first week's assignment, I tried to make an HDR image look as though it wasn't.  Here is the result:

Based on the number of questions asked by other photographers about whether or not this was HDR, I figured that I had almost succeeded in my effort to disguise the processing.  Almost.  If you look closely, the flaws begin to surface.  Check out the over-saturated/weirdly-saturated"EXIT" sign. 

In the second week of class, we learned to create an "illustrated look" with our images by applying the HDR process twice to an image.  This is where HDR began to get interesting.  For me, it became the only real way to use HDR (until the technology improves).  This technique doesn't try to hide what it is, but rather creates a new type of artistic interpretation of a photograph.  Here are a handful of my favorites from the class. 

 

 

 

Click links for more information about the software used to create these images or Tony Sweet's class.

 

 

Comments

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1426221433]

Hi Chuck, Remember us? Ale posted this on Facebook where we all are now so I thought I'd send a note. I'm having a little trouble with the "why" I'm doing photography, too. Haven't been to BP in quite a while, but glad to see that they are offering new classes. Of your HDR images, I liked the people moving the best. I have a bit of a problem with the HDR images as they don't look real but with the flag and the movement of the people, I like it. Hope to see you on Facebook.

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This is all very new to me and this article really opened my eyes.Thanks for sharing with us your wisdom.

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Back in my film days, 90% of my photographs were shot in b&w. Over time, I came to think in b&w. Only now do I realize what a powerful mindset that was. When you remove the color information, your mind changes. Think about how your previsualization works when you know that the color you are seeing will not be part of the final image. You immediately begin to focus on things like texture, contrast, tonal range, shape, and form. All of the subtle things can turn a good image into a great image. Heck, I used to actually use the "zone system" to place the shadows or highlights right where I wanted them. Just thinking about the zone system before pressing the shutter is an exercise in good photography. It causes you to consider the elements in the photographs as elements and how they should work as part of the whole.

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I have a bit of a problem with the HDR images as they don't look real but with the flag and the movement of the people, I like it. Hope to see you on Facebook.

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I decided I wanted to make this image a simple, colorful landscape. But when I was finished, I had the image in the middle and was pretty unsatisfied with the result. I mean, who needs another colorful landscape shot. How predictable and uninteresting. It doesn't have a mood, it doesn't feel like art. It feels like a nice vacation snapshot.

My thought process then turned to what I disliked most about the image...the predictable color. It's just too pretty. I liked the tonal range of the image and the composition, but the color was just too much. Plus it was just to crisp and clean. I decided it would be more interesting if it had the appearance of being an old photograph. More importantly,

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I decided I wanted to make this image a simple, colorful landscape. But when I was finished, I had the image in the middle and was pretty unsatisfied with the result. I mean, who needs another colorful landscape shot. How predictable and uninteresting. It doesn't have a mood, it doesn't feel like art. It feels like a nice vacation snapshot.

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I decided I wanted to make this image a simple, colorful landscape. But when I was finished, I had the image in the middle and was pretty unsatisfied with the result.

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I mean, who needs another colorful landscape shot. How predictable and uninteresting. It doesn't have a mood, it doesn't feel like art. It feels like a nice vacation snapshot.

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Photoshop and HDR images could be great if the subject is proper, often the effect is overdone.

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