Ali Shah wrote:
> Thanks Marc!
>
> I am not sure what to make of HDR. Is it photography?
> Some people I know do amazing HDR work but you are right - you can go
> overboard. It does however get
> "oohs and aahhs"!
>
I guess I must have missed the memo. Here I thought HDR was simply a way
of working around limited DR in film/sensor. Apparently it is now a way
to get an artificial 'wow' factor.
I'm of the general opinion that HDR, a great solution to a real, but not
very common, problem, is used mostly when not needed, at least for its
original purpose. Take a look at this image. In the original shot, the
view out the windows appears blown out, as do the sunlit spots on the
carpet and chair. On the other end of the DR, the ceiling and dark
carpet pattern are lost in shadow. Yet all were there in the RAW file.
<http://moosemystic.net/Gallery/MPhotos/Calif/HearstCastle/HearstBed.htm>
Would HDR have been any use? Sure, why not. Not so much at this size,
but for a large print, shadow detail would be better and noise lower.
But this was shot on the run, with neither tripod nor time for
bracketing. But really, a properly exposed shot on a contemporary DLSR
had enough DR for this very high contrast subject with bright summer sun
outside and deep shadow inside.
Your "1st HDR Attempt" is a great capture, but I don't see where HDR, in
the sense I give above, would be anywhere near necessary. Unless the top
part was very, very bright and you brought it into balance with the
rest. If that's the case, congrats, as it is very natural looking.
The other images are interesting exercises in amping up images - to the
extent that I can't tell if the simple HDR part was useful or not. Not
that I dislike them, I just don't understand what HDR has to do with it.
> <snip> I always ask - how did people do it before the DSLR?
>
Used CN film, which has very wide DR, and custom printing to retain the
DR. Automated prints give no clue of the DR in the underlying film
negative. Do a decent scan of that snap of people on a picnic under
white sky and in front of black shadows under the trees. WOW! Blue sky
with nice fluffy clouds! Foliage detail in the shade! A whole different,
and much, better image.
Bracketed, scanned and combined manually until HDR software came along.
Before scanners, tedious hand masking and hand burn/dodge along the
seams to create a natural transition.
Moose
==============================================
List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
==============================================
|