Is there a 12-step program for Flickr addicts?
I admit it, Flickr has me completely addicted. They have exactly the right mix of community, art, and opportunity. I was moderately addicted till Dancergirl got all the way sucked into it…now we're ‘Flickr bickerers.' :)
One of my most recent discoveries has been HDR processing. HDR stands for "High Dynamic Range", which when said in English means a blend of three or more images into one image with the tonality calculated in such a way that the colors and tones are spread across the entire spectrum, instead of the usually limiting way that our eyes or our camera lenses see it.
HDR-processed photos are definitely surreal. They remind me at times of vintage hand-colored postcards, or the fantasy prints that were popular when JRR Tolkien and D&D were the "Second Life" of the time. They're also controversial. The controversy stems from the fact that HDR can make an otherwise crummy digital image look good. Well, it can but if the composition sucks it doesn't matter how punched up the colors are anyway. The best of the best HDR photos start with a strong image that HDR just enhances.
This is my first go at it. The idea is to shoot images in camera RAW (uncompressed) format (which I do, anyway), and expose the same scene at 3 different exposure intervals. Then the three images are overlaid on each other and blended to give the maximum tonal range. Here's what came of my somewhat dark and underexposed photo of light filtered through the clouds of the last storm on April 24th.
Before the last storm
Kinda cool? It is, but this image is put to shame before some of the others I've seen recently. One of my favorites is this one by Flickr member soundsgoodllc, because the underlying image is so strong to begin with:
HDRSoft makes software to do the actual layering and calculating — it's called Photomatix. The trial version doesn't expire, but it leaves watermarks all over the images, so it's worth paying the money if you think it's worth it. There are some images I wouldn't dare do this with, and yet I'm itching to find some new cool scenes to try it with. It reminds me of the colored pencil drawings I aspire to but haven't ever achieved…which is probably why I like it so much!