What is HDR? And why does Some Dude use it?

I often have to explain what HDR is when I mention that I have used it for a picture. In this post I hope to explain why it is important to my work, and a little about HOW to do it, but without explaining it completely. It is always good to work at something a little isn't it?

HDR stands for "High Dynamic Range", which could lead one to think, what is low dynamic range, or for you really smart folks who get to the meat of things, what the heck is dynamic range? In photography we use dynamic range to refer the relative luminance of all the part of the image captured in a photograph. From the darkest to the lightest parts. Many scenes we want to photograph have a larger luminance range than the sensor (or in the old days film) can capture. Meaning that either the bright areas are correctly exposed and the darker areas are too dark, or the darker areas are correctly exposed and the brighter areas are too bright. Many scenes have such a range of bright to dark that one single exposure will have areas that are completely black (Blocked up) and other parts that are completely white (Blown out). (This is usually the case with most of my night time temple photographs. Which was a prime driver in developing my humble skills using HDR. Specifically the program Photomatix.)

Many cameras have a setting that will allow you to see blocked up or blown out areas with a blinking warning when you view the photo on your back LCD screen after taking it. On my Pentax K5 & K200d the black areas blink green/yellow and the all white areas blink red. Which drives my wife a bit crazy, but is helpful to me.

Why does that matter? Well... human eyes are much better than the best camera sensor we can possibly build, they can manage to see hugely different levels of light in the same scene and show you detail in the shadows and not have the brighter areas be too bright. That is why when you take a photo of a scene, the photo doesn't look just like what you were looking at. Between the lens, the sensor, the screen you are looking at it on (or heaven forbid an actual paper print!) and the ambient lighting your eyes are adjusted for etc........... It doesn't look the same. 

HDR is a way of combining multiple photos taken at different exposures to produce an image that when viewed on screen or as a print looks more like what you experienced when viewing the scene originally. Notice here I did not use the "R" word, "reality" is a concept I am not ready to discuss relative to photography. In part because I firmly believe that trying to capture "Reality" is a fools errand when you are a photographer!

Now, to many photographers HDR is a bad bad BAD thing, because there are so many examples of people producing results that are not... aesthetically pleasing. The software used for this type of work (I use Photomatix) has a multitude of settings, some intended for one type of scene and some for another. Misapplication of a certain pre-set can be disastrous! See the link above for some pretty bad photos.

Sometimes, on a very few occasions I have gone over the top for artistic reasons and produced a lurid image that has been popular, however, I try to NOT got there. I prefer to use a gentle touch that produces an image that looks more natural and is closer to an artistic representation of what was pleasing in an image.

Now, "how do you do it?" you ask. Easy, (Well not really but I want to to try it so I will tell you it is easy, but Shhhhhh don't tell anybody else!)  I first compose the scene I want to capture. This is really the hard part, it is what separates the photographers from the plebian masses. Composition! I have read and tend to agree that the best landscape photos are taken either within 3-4 feet of the ground or way above it. That is why I am not allowed to wear nice clothing when I am on a photo expedition. If your knees are not dirty, or even better your entire torso, then you probably didn't get anything. 

Once you have composed the photo, then you need to do all the other things correct, choose the best aperture for the scene, the correct base exposure, lock down the tripod etc...  Then you need to either set up your camera to auto bracket exposures, or if you are like me and shooting EVERYTHING manually a lot of the time, set the bracket exposures yourself. Most quality cameras will do 5 exposures automatically and you can set the exposure gaps as you like. For something like our example below I usually choose +/- 1 stop for each photo.

This was -2 stops. (f10, 1/125s)

-1 stops. (f10, 1/60s) notice the increased detail in the shadow areas and less detail in the sky.

+/- 0 (f10, 1/30s)(or as the camera metered the scene, off the bottom right bump)

+1 stop (f10, 1/15s)

+2 stops (f10, 1/8s)

Notice that the aperture or "f stop" doesn't change. You want to keep your aperture the same, and you want to choose the correct aperture from the beginning.  I usually will be anywhere from f8 to f13 depending on the lens. (Aperture determines Depth of Field or how much of the scene is in focus, as well as how much light reaches the sensor/film.)

None of these shots above looks exactly how my eye saw the scene, or how yours would either.

This, however, is more like what I remember seeing. Maybe a little enhanced, leveled and corrected for the inherent distortions of the lens, but what photographer doesn't enhance things a little though?

So, that is a brief introduction to the what of HDR and a little of HOW, but not all. There are some specifics to HDR that need mention:

1) Solid positioning of the camera. HDR programs can adjust for slight movements of the camera between shots, but it can result in decreased resolution. I have shot HDR handheld in bright sunlight, but it is MUCH easier to do when you shoot a tripod.

2) The movement of elements in the shot can be a problem, called "Ghosting" for me it usually happens with cloud movement. Avoiding longer exposures, and gaps between exposures helps with that. One of the nice features of the camera automatically setting the exposures for the bracketed photos. In the linked photo I was setting them manually due to the longer exposures needed and there were up to 1 minute gaps between exposures.

3) White balance can be a huge problem if you get it wrong. HDR can magnify small  differences in color and make the whole image skew off into weird color land. I will usually take several RAW images and play with them in my converter (ACR) until I like the color balance. Sometimes I have to Re-Convert ALL my shots after washing them through Photomatix and not liking the result. I prefer to work with 16-bit TIFF files in Photomatix rather than bring them in in RAW format. The converter in Photomatix tends to add noise.

4) You really should go easy on how much you use it. You can easily make an image that makes you go WOW! And everybody else barf...

5) don't limit yourself to just 3 or 4 or however many images. Some of my best images have been 6 or 7. One of my favorites was only 3, but gapped more than 1 stop apart. Longer exposures with small apertures (Larger f-stop numbers) can help you to get rid of people in a busy scene. Like this shot, if you have ever been to Temple Square in Salt Lake City at Christmas you know that it is PACKED with people. My longest exposure was something like 15 minutes which really helped to get rid of a lot of people!

Hope this whetted your appetite to try HDR! Thanks for reading!

-Lloyd

On The Rocks.

That was the phrase going through my mind Friday night. It may have been the cold, it may have been that there was a lot of bare rock that I was looking at. All I know is it was kind of annoying really.

So, I went to my usual favorite place, Goblin Valley State Park last Friday. I know I need to branch out, but I keep telling people about it and they want me to take them there. My bad I guess. I was worried that it would be cloudy, as it was cloudy in Salt Lake but the night was pretty much clear as a bell. No moon until later so it was a nice night for Milky Way shots.

On a technical note: ISO 3200 is a starting point with your lens wide open and 30s exposure, beyond that, you just have to play with it and look at your histograms closely. And a really steady tripod.

Two airplanes and the Milky Way in the sky, lit up tent in the foreground. Works for me!

I am not a huge selfie fan, but I hardly think this is your usual selfie. I was trying to stay warm more than anything else really.

For these next three I did something interesting, I went from a 8mm Fisheye with 180 degrees of view from corner to corner, to a 17mm lens wide open at f2.8, and, with this shot up to 6400 ISO I got a lot more noise AND a lot more star activity in the sky.

Going back to 3200 ISO I started working on my light painting technique. Using a simple headlamp, a Black Diamond Storm if you care to know. My first attempts put WAY too much light on the rocks, a nice problem to have.  Eventually I figured it out, of this framing, this was the best.

Now this was quite a bit more difficult, if you noticed above the rocks are not as well lit as below, which is OK, the problem becomes getting the sky looking right and the rocks the right color. I solved this by creating two layers in photoshop and color balancing the top layer correctly for the  rocks, then making the under layer correct for the sky. I then erased the sky from the top layer leaving only the foreground rocks (not as easy as it sounds) and then flattened them down. Leaving me with this. I am excited to try to print this and see how it looks. Could be a good one!

Early the next morning, I woke to frost on the INSIDE of the windshield, and the light just staining the sky to the east. The temp was in the mid to upper 20's F, and I am prepared enough to be able to shoot in those temps. In fact I was too hot by the time I hiked down to the valley of the goblins! Nice problem to have if you ask me.

While hiking down my old friends the "Three Sisters" were standing vigil off the side of the road. Took a picture to say "Hi!" and kept on hiking so I could be set up for first light.

This would work better as a sunset shot, I had to work the HDR route to get the sky and foreground to talk to each other. Loved the frost and snowy spots.

Moving back up I began to search for the perfect first light shot. This is one composition I really liked, but I began to realize that a butte was going to mess with my light. sigh.

Moving up higher, Molly's Castle was starting to get light so I quickly set up for it, REALLY liked it.

Turning around and moving 30ft I set up for "The Shot" I have wanted to get the Iconographic shot the epitomizes Goblin Valley. I think this is close, I again had to go the 5 shot bracket and HDR technique to get the light balanced properly. I think I avoided the really outre HDR look, and kept it natural. What do you think?

Thanks again for coming to look, enjoy your Thanksgiving Holiday!

Running Away is FUN!!!!!

I love a good trip to the desert, especially when someone else is driving, and paying the gas (The Scout Troop in this instance) and the guy driving is a photographer who is more than willing to sit and take photos in no particular rush.

I was asked to be the guide for our scout troop, for some camping and hiking during their spring break. Seeing as I have been down to the Goblin Valley area a lot and I tend to try to instigate trips there whenever I can I guess it was only natural that I lead when nobody else associated with the troop has been there in years... or ever!

I am simply going to throw the photos out here in roughly chronological order, with a few comments, mainly because I like them too much to cull them, and... well... I'm lazy!

After going down early to establish a campsite, my buddy and I headed over to Dang Canyon to check-out the feasibility of reversing the usual loop. I was unable to get all the way up to the scrambly bits by myself, and I had already gone farther than he had. Just a little bummed, we started to head back down the canyon focusing more on photography than getting anywhere in a hurry.

In these first few shots, it was a little more overcast. The texture of this tree branch benefited from that, I think it would have washed out in direct sunlight. AS you will be able to see by the titles, I was seeing textures everywhere!

This was a minor obstacle compared with other visits where there was several feet of water to contend with that extended 40 feet down canyon from the rock, necessitating a certain amount of athleticism to not get wet. The roughness of the rock and the patterns (may I say, texture?) always fascinate me.

I loved the sky, but the blue was kinda funky, I was thinking B&W when I shot these, so that is what I converted it to, and I liked it!

I really struggled to find a composition that I liked, despite the fact I LOVED this little channel carved into the rock, my traveling buddy spotted it and I loved that he spotted it!

This is/was a very complicated composition, I kind of think I failed to really capture the essence of the scene, but I got what interested me, which was the shadows on the rock in the foreground. I again converted to B&W because I was looking at textures and I see textures in B&W.

Really wanted this one to look good in B&W but it just didn't have the contrast in the right places. Liked the green of the newly leafed Cottonwood Trees, and the star effect of the aperture too.

Ancient ripples in the sand, turned to rock, and cracked somehow with a spidery intrusion of a slightly harder rock was startling but hard to photograph. Think I did OK though, at least enough to make it a wallpaper on my computer. That is something right?

Sigh, dead skeletal trees, they just make my heart go pitter pat. The clouds mimicking the tree makes the shot, but those twisted gnarled trees just make me happy in a visual feast kind of way.

On the exit route back to the trailhead I saw this nice view of the entry to Ding Canyon, it looks benign enough but hides a truly fun and athletic jaunt through the heart of the sandstone.

The conversion of the sky from solid overcast to partly cloudy made me happy, very, very, happy. I have never had this light with clouds from this vantage point before. David Muench I'm not, but I like it.

The evening light made me happy to be driving behind the reef, I haven't been down that road in a long time, and the view of Temple Mountain is rather nice.

I had to lift the shadow in the foreground quite a bit, but I think I kept it from being too gaudy.

The scouts arrived after dark and were greeted by this sunrise the next morning. It was a blast to see the boys faces as they saw where they were camped.

The foreground rock was a favorite of mine to stand on and survey the sunrise and set light.

Having visited Little Wild Horse and Bells Canyon multiple times I took a few snaps of the boys and some video and called it good. I did take this shot I liked in Bells Canyon. I learned something on this trip about why there are so many dang jets flying overhead. There is a navigational landmark nearby that helps  the jets steer, so that is why I seem to always have contrails in my photos there.

Nice clouds but nothing super special in Goblin Valley photographically, but it was a blast for the boys!

Sunset light on Wild Horse Mesa from our campsite, it was a really really nice one that we likely will use again.

I have been dying to try some astrophotography for awhile. Finally a clear enough night to give it a shot. Tripod, pumped up ISO, 30 Sec exposures. Fisheye lens, lots of fun!

I think I like this one the best, the airplane trails are cool, not so fond of the flare from my headlamp on the bottom left....

Playing with Lasers can be a heckuva good time. Wrote a message to my wife!

My more usual long exposure star trail, moon was rising so it wasn't as dark as I like. Still liked the shot though.

I took this while still in my sleeping bag, just used the tripod I left up from the star trail right outside. That is living I tell ya!

Handheld pictures of the fire, .3 seconds seemed to work about right.

My new most favorite place Wildhorse Window, a.k.a. The Eye of Sinbad, which I like more, sounds cooler!!!! Getting the sky and the inside of the cave is really hard, fortunately I am marginally skilled with HDR and bracketing saved the day. I just love the texture of the inside of this thing. Would really like to find a way to get part of the Milky Way across the "Eye" on a dark dark night.

Take two, almost like the color here better than the first one.

I so totally WANT to rappel from the top of this thing. Just need to get a couple LONG ropes and loop it over the top. Need to find a friend with ropes......

Thanks for sticking along till the end!