Friday, September 30, 2011

In The Eye of The Beholder


Some people love HDR photography.  HDR simply stands for High Dynamic Range and is the process of combining several different photographs at different exposures to create an image that better represents what the human eye actually sees.




All of the photos in this post were created using HDR techniques.  Now, I am very new to this type of processing, and the true masters of this type of photography would likely cringe if they ever stumbled upon these, but I think they are pretty cool none the less.




Like using textures, or any other post processing technique, the sky's the limit with HDR and you can create images like the one above that almost have a dreamlike quality to them...





To the more "realistic" side of the HDR spectrum.




Some photographers hate HDR images, and feel like they aren't attractive or even realistic, but there is some evidence that Ansel Adams used this very technique (of combining several images) to create some of his masterpieces, so I'm just fine with HDR.  Granted Ansel Adams had to do it all by hand, and today's technology makes it much easier, and I'm thankful for that.

I don't create HDR images very often, but the Cathedral Notre Dame in Strasbourg, France was the perfect place to try my hand at creating a few HDR images.  I hope to continue to create HDR images and improve my skills, because they really do make for some amazing photos. 

So what is your take on HDR...love it, hate it, somewhere in between?!  

For more on HDR photography you can visit Stuck in Customs, a wonderful site full of info on using HDR, and his images always impress!

9 comments:

  1. Love it Kat: it's all part of creative play~

    helps to have a cathedral to practice on!

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  2. Yes, I like it. Some unbelievably good amateur astronomical photos have been taken using basic equipment which overlays the best images, to the extent that NASA started using the same systems after seeing the bay doors of a shuttle open on a picture/s taken by a 35 mm camera in broad daylight in California.

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  3. I think they are gorgeous. I don't know why anyone would cringe at them.

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  4. Amazing! When you see these shots, I bet you can hardly believe you were just there Kat. What a fascinating new way to bring your images to the next level. xo ~Lili

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  5. Kat, these photos are just amazing! That cathedral is really awesome-very beautiful!

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  6. Well, I didn't know what it was before, but I certainly love your images!
    I loved seeing that beloved church again - many Sundays, many afternoons just-because, and many visits when we had company from away.

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  7. Yes, those are amazing photos, Kat. And what a beautiful cathedral!!! Fun to "play around" and see what you get!!! Have a great weekend. Mickie :)

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  8. These are gorgeous and the to see the cathedral like this is spectacular! I am not familiar with HDR but I have to say that I really like it. :)
    Enjoy your week!
    xo

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  9. Oh my goodness, Kat! These images are truly extraordinary! I didn't even know about HDR but now you have me fascinated.

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