What Is HDR?
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Article - WHAT IS HDR?
Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge at Sunset - Kauai, Hawaii.
Link to Original Image: http://www.tom-hill.biz/Galleries/Scenics/AlaskaMidwayHawaii/i-DwzFk72/A
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High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography is quite the rage nowadays. I’ve been using this technique for 10 years with excellent results. I guess I was an early adopter. The technique has definitely become common-place the last four or five years. Results from using techniques such as these makes the whole digital revolution in the photography world worthwhile. But, HDR is not without its issues. As you can see in our title image, the results can require compromise--the sunset is not as crisp as totally desired but artistically acceptable. How well this works is completely dependent on what you’re trying to achieve. The compromise in this image was to keep it looking "realistic" while still avoiding blowing out the bright areas or eliminating the shadows in the dark.
HDR is not a fix for every situation. The danger is using it without perspective on what you're trying to achieve and therefore unintentionally producing results that are clearly "made-up". At least for my photography, I'm mostly trying to achieve what my minds eye sees and that's pretty close to what my normal vision sees.
Just like anything else in the digital world, just because the technique is available doesn’t mean the it has to be used all the time and at that matter to an extreme. Sometimes, more subtle approaches will yield much better results. It all depends on what you’re trying to achieve.
Cheers
Tom