Revisiting Matt’s Introductory Series on HDR
North Rim of the Grand Canyon (by Liz Ness)
There I was at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, shooting away and frantically trying to guess when the lightening would strike. It was bouncing around everywhere. Soon, I worried that it might strike one of us. So, I ushered us into the lodge, giving up.
I left the rim believing that I hadn’t captured any lightning at all — because I didn’t see it in the view screen. It wasn’t until I arrived home, was wearing my reading glasses, and had the benefit of my big monitor that I realized that fate had been kind. My camera had captured that sought for strike! Of course, this shot became a favorite and I went to work on creating an HDR (High Dynamic Range) photograph to show off the range of light and shadows for which lightning storms are known.
If you’d like to learn more about HDR and the tools and techniques for creating your own HDR photographs, check out Matt Kloskowski’s series introducing the approach. But, be warned. Once you start down the HDR path, you may never want to leave!
- Introduction to HDR: What it is, how it can help you capture what you see, the two main styles of HDR photography (grunge and natural), about Photomatix Pro (a must for HDR), and how to capture images for HDR.
- Introduction to HDR — Part 2: All about Photomatix Pro (what is is, where to get it, and how to use it).
- Introduction to HDR — Part 3: How to process the HDR photograph within Camera RAW.
- Introduction to HDR — Part 4: How to finish the photograph via photo-processing within Photoshop Elements.
One last note, if you love this form of photography please check out Trey Ratcliff’s blog and photostream on Flickr. Trey has the distinction of having one of his HDR photographs be the first HDR to hang in the Smithsonian. His work is beautiful.
Related Tags: HDR
Mike
May 12, 2011 at 9:27 am
Hey, thanks for bumping this topic, Liz. I’m actually in the midst of testing out a couple HDR plugins, and Photomatix is next on the list. I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. It’s Little League season, after all…;)
Liz
May 12, 2011 at 10:21 am
Yay! I remember little league (my oldest brother coached for my youngest brother — what fun)! Have fun trying out Photomatix! =)
Linda
June 30, 2011 at 10:35 am
Hi Liz,
I was hoping to learn a technique by which I can extend the Dynamic range of my photo by using Photoshop elements9 layers and not have to go to the expense of purchasing a plug in such as Photomatix. Is this possible from taking a single shot, or/and using the three shots created through the bracketing option in my camera ? What I need is a tutorial that will take me through (even the babysteps) of the process. I need someone to take my hand and gently lead me through the steps to an extended range of my original shot…..help….
Thanks, Linda
Liz
July 6, 2011 at 2:52 pm
Hmm. I’m actually not sure and will have to look into this (to see how much you can do with Elements beyond creating a composite).
Which leads me to the option of creating a composite shot — where you use the best of your bracket set, pulling from each photograph, using masking, etc., to create the best, most dynamic photograph. However, Photomatix and other software (including an awesome program from OnOne — our sister company) take on a lot of the work (a huge time savings) and apply algorithms that do such an amazing job of creating the HDR look.
Thanks for this question! I’m looking forward to seeing what I can learn about the answer!
=) Liz