Ben Franklin Bridge HDR

[sparkie1263]

This is my second attempt at HDR. I didn't use a tripod.

[GB1]

Hm.. doesn't appear like a traditional HDR. Looks normal
G

[Sebastian]

Sparkie

I think you're missing the point of the method. HDR is meant to record a scene that has a dynamic range outside of what the camera can record. You photographed a scene that is well within the range of a regular camera, making any HDR processing into a series of wasted steps. Experiment with much more dramatic light.

[mjs1973]

I like all the leading lines in this image. Like Seb said, it doesn't look like it needs to be an HDR image. I would like to see the original images you used to create this one.

[sparkie1263]

Here is the original. Thanks for all the feed back.

[Liz]

OK.....a dumb question....

What is HDR? Guess I'm not around here as much as I should be!

Thanks.
Liz

[Sebastian]

Sparkie,

You used one image?

Liz,

HDR stand for High Dynamic Range. As you well know, the camera's sensor can record much less of the range between highlight and shadow than the human eye can see. It's a LDR, or Low Dynamic Range, technology. To get a high dynamic range you take multiple exposures of the same scene, each shot being several stops apart, and use software to create an image that stores the range of contrast of human vision. However, there is no way to display such a wide range, as monitors are low dynamic range as well. In that case a software trick called "tone mapping" compresses the high dynamic range image into an image that can be displayed on a regular monitor. This image shows detail in shadows and highlights that was pulled from each exposure and blended together. And this is what people refer to when they talk about HDR.

[sparkie1263]

No I used 3 images. Did you want me to post all three??

[Sebastian]

Sorry, no, it was Mike that asked for the originals. You only posted one, so I thought you only used one. Just misunderstood.

[Liz]

Sparkie,

You used one image?

Liz,

HDR stand for High Dynamic Range. As you well know, the camera's sensor can record mych less of the range between highlight and shadow than the human eye can see. It's a LDR, or Low Dynamic Range, technology. To get a high dunamic range you take multiple exposures of the same scene, each shot being several stops apart, and use software to create an image that stores the range of contrast of human vision. However, there is no way to display such a wide range, as monitors are low dynamic range as well. In that case a softwarte trick called "tone mapping" compresses the high dynamic range image into an image that can be displayed on a regular monitor. This image hows detail in shadows and highlights that was pulled from each exposure and blended together. And this is what people refer to when the talk about HDR.

Sebastian,

Thank you for taking the time to explain HDR and describe the process - quite clearly I might add (I usually need explanations for dummies). I had no clue you could acquire high dynamic range through a process of exposures......very interesting. Now I'll go back and take another look at the photo.

Thanks again.
Liz

[Sebastian]

Liz,

You're welcome.

[brmill26]

Back on point, Sparkie, the image looks great, which is the main point. But I can't tell a bit of difference in Dynamic Range from the first image to the original you posted. It looks like a little boost of saturation and maybe some very, very minor adjustments would yield the same result out of the single original. There's nothing wrong with the way you achieved the result, it just took far more effort and time than it needed.

Also, I am completely shocked as to how you can hold your hand perfectly still enough to get that myriad of lines to all line up perfectly. For future HDR work, ALWAYS use a tripod - it will make your life much easier once you get to blending the 3 images together.