HDR

I've been working on a different type of photography called "High Dynamic Range", or HDR photography. The idea is to take multiple pictures of the same image, all at different exposures that will allow for all detail in the highlights and the shadows to be recorded. In a normal photograph, although not ideal, usually some of the details in the shadows or highlights have to be clipped (ignored) to allow for proper exposure of the subject. With HDR photography, all details are recorded, so it's up to the photographer in the post processing to decide how he/she wants the image to look. It takes a lot more work to photograph a subject in HDR (9-12 different exposures to make just one image) and a lot more equipment (a tripod, a cable release or timer release, and a special software program), and a VERY still subject (people are not always the best subjects for this type of photography, but if you can convince your human subject to stand very very still for about three minutes, it can work fine), a lot more processing time (it's taken my new computer up to 30 minutes to process a 12 image series), but I think the results are really worth all the extra effort.

Need to be convinced? Here are some recent examples from our trip to Bluestem Prairie.

My Dad, the ecologist:



A sunset:



The prairie:



A wild sunflower among the Bluestem:



The open road as we traveled from location to location on our field trip:



A beautiful farm in western Minnesota:



And probably one of my favorites from the weekend, my husband and son, fishing on Lake LeHommedieu in Alexandria, MN:



I think I'd like to try some macro photography using this technique, but I need a day without any wind. Wind kills macro photography using standard techniques, but when trying to use HDR techniques, it makes it almost impossible.

The photographer at work:

Thanks for looking. Note: for best viewing, click on each photo to enlarge and sharpen it (true for all photos posted actually).