[Emay]

Agreed, my entire goal is to pull a pic right out of camera perfect in everyway, composition, exposure, tack sharp, incredible saturation and of course no missing details.

That said, HDR is fad-ish. Eventually you see people either tone it down, or put it to use much more sparingly as they get deeper into the hobby as a whole.

This is an HDR I did a few years back, more subtle and realistic than most. 10 exposures overall so I could pull out the rivet details in the overhead duct work:

[Lefty]

^Looks slow

[Emay]

It is..

[trueblue02GT]

race you for pinks in my scooter

[Emay]

you'd win for sure true.

[Lefty]

The hell w/ a scooter. I'll race you on foot

[trueblue02GT]

i'll scrape you lefty....i have NOS tattoo'd on my calves

[winnie51189]

The main thing I don't like about the OP's is the extreme halo effect on everything, especially noticeable on the dark areas with lighter halos. That and most of them looked extermely unrealistic.
Am I the only one who notices the rainbow in the OP's first outdoor shot? (upper right hand corner)

However Emay's always look perfect. Do you ever take a bad shot Emay?

[HEAVYGT]

A few HDRs...

[Fluffy The Rhino]

Originally Posted by winnie51189 The main thing I don't like about the OP's is the extreme halo effect on everything, especially noticeable on the dark areas with lighter halos. That and most of them looked extermely unrealistic. Am I the only one who notices the rainbow in the OP's first outdoor shot? (upper right hand corner) However Emay's always look perfect. Do you ever take a bad shot Emay?

To each their own.

As for the "rainbow" you described, I'm looking at the picture on my computer in full size and I'm still not seeing it. So yes, you are the only one who's noticed it. It's not there.

As for HDR photography being "faddish," the idea behind using multiple exposures to change luminance has been used since 1850, not long after the invention of the camera. I'm not talking about the wooden box with a pinhole method either. So, this style has been around, well, pretty much since the invention of the camera. The only thing that's changed in the past 160 years is the methods in which we are able to do this, and to what extremes.

Personally, I see no difference than using different styles/methods already available on the camera itself. I'm sure plenty of people still scoff at using a digital camera vs. using film. Changing your ISO settings, changing how long your shutter stays open for, using different focal lengths, using unnatural light (flash), etc... all alter the outcome of the photograph, right? So how is that any different than HDR photography?

I'm aware that some of them look unrealistic. That's because I wanted them to look that way. It's my personal taste. Some of them come out with a little bit of both, realism with a bit more in it. I prefer to keep my outdoor shots looking more realistic, and my indoor screw-around shooting to look pretty much off the wall. That's the whole point.

One of my other favorite style of shooting is at night with no flash, leaving the shutter open for extended periods of time. Is this faddish as well? Some people love nothing but up-close shots, some people only like to take pictures of wildlife, or certain types of landscapes. Is there something wrong with their preferences as well?

With that said, for anyone who wants to insult HDR for being "unnatural," if you've ever so much as used your flash, you're equally guilty of altering your photos : )

[winnie51189]

I was just saying that I think it would look better if the halos weren't as noticeable, and the pics weren't as grainy. Sure it involves a slight bit more time to make the adjusments, but the outcome is epic. I love HDR pics and wish I had the capability to take them with my camera but it involves way too much work for me to pull it off with my lil point and shoot. So like I said, love the pics just wish they were a bit less grainy and had slightly less intrusive halos

[Matt.]

thats crazy

[ITS ME DAVID]

some of mine..

Flickr: IT'S ME DAVID's Photostream