high dynamic range

09-08-12 Magical (HDR)

Generally, I use HDR tools very carefully when I work on photos. I'd like you to see a broad range of darks and lights in my HDR photos rather than an exaggerated HDR effect. I'm pleased that Joe Farace commented on this when he wrote about this blog in the October issue of Shutterbug.So why am I posting an HDR photo that is clearly less than "real?" I don't know. I worked on this photo for 30 minutes when, on a whim, I decided to see what Nik HDR Efex 2 would do to this scene. And this is the version that made the "final cut."Canon 5D 1/25s f/7.1 ISO250 40mm

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The Old Farm At Sunrise (HDR)

This farm has been pictured several times in this blog. Today, I went there before sunrise thinking that maybe I would get something different. I had it in my head that I would try doing something with High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography.Thus, I set up my camera on a tripod and exposed first for the sky and then for the farm and foreground. When I got back home, I used the HDR function in Photoshop CS5 to merge the two photos together. And this is what I got.It is certainly altered (or enhanced) reality. I'm not sure I like it because I am a fan of photos that are "real." But I also like to experiment and play.(Here's what the two photos looked like before they were merged.)

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