Jun 15
HDR
I’ve mentioned a few times how I don’t like HDR (High Dynamic Range). The problem I have with it is when the effect is taken out of proportions, and when it’s done so bad that the halos show (can’t believe that the people can’t actually see the massive halos when they create their HDR image??). So I don’t have anything against the technique as such, it’s just a matter of using it in moderation.
Last week I mentioned how I tried Photomatix with one of my images and failed miserably to produce any good results. Now I started reading an article on Naturescapes.net and decided to have another go at HDR, because obviously I hadn’t played around with the settings enough on my first try. But instead of taking that sunset image, I wanted to start with something a bit easier – one of my Canada images where I had made just two exposures to get enough dynamic range. I was never able to merge these images before, but I’ve kept them in case one day I could figure out how to create a complete image and it appears that the day is today. Photomatix merged my exposures with ease and I opted to pull back the effect because I wanted to stay true to the conditions on that day; overcast, cold and murky. A bright and saturated image just wouldn’t ring true!
Happy at the results I was now getting, I threw the Högforsen sunset image at it and this time I was actually able to get something reasonable in return. But either I’m still not able to fully grasp the finer adjustment details or the image just simply is not suitable for the Photomatix treatment, because in the end I kept my original merge. But it was a close call, and definitely an encouragement for me to continue learning the HDR technique – not for the sake of the technique itself, but as another tool in my photography bag.
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I also tested another HDR programme, Dynamic Photo HDR. Initially I was pleased with it and and was about to ditch Photomatix, but then I noticed that it was having a lot of trouble with colour gradients, seen as nasty jaggies across the sky. The same image processed in Photomatix had much smoother gradations, so I think I will stick with it for now.
1 comment
Nice reading your experiences, I have to try HDR the day I shoot my first scenery