Everyone likes photography one way or another. Some like to look at pictures, other take them and some relish the opportunity to be in them. I have posted pieces about photography in the past. I like looking at photography and taking pictures. There is a 4th passion having to do with the capture of images – manipulating them. Everyone is familiar with the Photoshop application as a tool to make things disappear or to insert impossible images into photos. There is another type of photo manipulation you have probably seen but not known exactly what it was, it’s called HDR. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range.
Here is an over simplified explanation of HDR: Imagine that the full range of color and intensity in the world goes from 0 – 100. Our eyes see most of it but not all of it, maybe values 20-85. A photograph (and print or display on a computer) is less than that, for arguments sake, lets say between 35-60. This is one of the reasons a photo can’t fully express a sunset or light streaming through a stained glass window, we see the values between 20-85 (and feel even more than that) but the photo we take only shows the middle 35-60 colors and intensities. An HDR photo turns up the colors and intensities (light and dark) to 11. It artificially boosts the values in the photo. If done poorly the photo just looks overblown and garish, if done well it can actually come closer to the “real” feeling you had when you saw it in person.
Of course, first you have to be a good photographer then you have to become an HDR artist. The best HDR collection I know about is from a guy named Trey Ratcliff, he lives in Texas and he has photos from all over the world on his site Stuck In Customs. I warn you, if you start looking at these photos it’s hard to stop, “regular” photos will be less impressive and if you have any desire to take pictures, you will want to try HDR photography. Lucky for you Trey has a tutorial on the site to show you how to do it. Don’t miss the navigation down the right side of the page toward the bottom, all the pictures are in groups so you can see all his shots of India or Disney World.
The photo below is called The Most Beautiful Road in The World it is outside Queensland in New Zealand
