I'm A Born-Again HDR Photographer

I can't say I've "discovered" HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography at this point. It's been around for a while and I've certainly enjoyed seeing its implementation. That's not the same as becoming a fan, however. Early on, I wasn't because I though most of the photos I saw using this technique were to odd for my tastes. Now that I've tried it, and applied some additional tricks of my own liking, I'm there.

So, what is HDR? Wikipedia has a good description so I'll just summarize here:

1. Film or photo sensors can't "see" all the lights and darks in many scenes.
2. You have to decide which to favor.
3. Your image will probably not look good.
4. You can tweak the image in your computer.
5. If you're smart and clever, your tweaks will be OK but not always great.

HDR takes this to another level. It makes 2-5 easy.

Here's one of my efforts offered as an example...

This came about as a result of five pictures, from way over exposed to way under, that I shot using a tripod. The HDR software and other special effects software did their magic and I liked the result.

So, now I'm addicted. In the past few weeks, I've done over a dozen similar images and I see no end in sight. Not all images will have the HDR "look". The scene of the rapids in Putnam, CT is about as weird as I'm willing to let HDR go. The next image...

...has a more painterly feel and it's more in line with what I like. But, who knows what I'll do with HDR over time. Maybe weird will become the norm for me.

You can see most of my HDR work on Project 52.

Project 52 Update

It's been keeping me busy. I thought at the onset that I might have trouble keeping things going. Then, my friend Steve Morse suggested that we go off every once in a while and do some photography. I jumped at that and it's been a blessing in disguise. I've had some fun with the images I've captured during our treks and they've helped fill out some of these early weeks. I had thought that most of my efforts would revolve around music. I haven't abandoned that but photos have been the main thrust. I think that's because, for me, photos are more immediate and more easily manipulated. I'm not so creative that I can think of a photo in my head and go off and recreate it. I can sort of do that with music. The problem is that, when I get a musical idea, it's harder for me to evolve it into a finished state. For prose and poetry, to the extent that I dabble in those, they fall between photos and music, but are more like photos in how quickly the evolve.

The good news, for me, is that Project 52 gives me a target, a deadline, a commitment to be fulfilled. Even though it's self imposed, I take it seriously enough and it gets done!