HDR

This is an example of HDR (High Dynamic Range). The picture is St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Spring Branch. An HDR image is actually a composite of several images over a span of exposure values. 


Have you ever taken a photograph in bright sunlight, and you notice that the bright areas are blown out bright, and then the shadow areas are too dark? In this HDR "After" shot, it was created using 5 different pictures, each with different exposure values. (one with the proper exposure, and two under exposed, and two over exposed) By combining the pictures, you are able to see details in both the shadow areas, and the bright areas.

I have found my new photography religion... and it is HDR.  My prophet is Joel Grimes.  His work is just simply awesome.  Check out his portfolio at www.joelgrimes.com.  He describes his style as "edgy"...  I describe it as "Wow!"

Just when I get to a point in my life where I think I know a thing or two about photography, I start learning a new technique, and it just blows me away.  I feel like I have just started over, but I guess in reality it is just the next chapter in my artistic journey.  I cannot wait to experiment with some portraits in this style.