Nov
5
High Dynamic Range Redwoods
Filed Under Technical
Lately I’ve been experimeting with High Dynamic Range images. Traditional photography has a dynamic range problem: in a setting with a lot of bright areas and also a lot of shadowed areas, it’s impossible to set the exposure so that detail is captured in both. There are new cameras being developed that will be able to capture a greater range of detail, and in the meantime there is a software solution. It’s done by taking two or more photographs (three works better), a normally exposed shot, and under- and over-exposed shots. This can be done hand held, with varying results, on a tripod with great results. Also, if you shoot in RAW format there is so much more information there that you can adjust the exposure to create the multiple shots in software.Next you use software that merges the three, and then uses different techniques to let you show the detail in both the dark and light areas. I love the results (although many times I’m definitely guilty of over-saturating the result ending up with something looking like a cheesy postcard). Here’s a link to some photos taken up near Garberville a few weeks ago.