Hdr??

[fletch]

Originally Posted by wattsbw2004

Anyways here is a blog that features 99% oh HDR on a daily basis...
http://www.stuckincustoms.com/ Check out some his works, they are truly some of the best. He also has a tutorial on how to create them which is on the right site of his site.

I'm afraid that for me (and a lot of other people) a lot of stuckincustoms work does fall into the overdone HDR camp. Sure it is very well done but it also doesn't look at all natural and you can easily tell its photomatrix.

For me HDR is definatley a valid technique and I'm sure we are not far off cameras that can take them 'automatically' but when it goes all fantasy land I really hate it. If you like it then no problem but I don't really like it when people claim it looks natural.

[wattsbw2004]

Originally Posted by fletch

I'm afraid that for me (and a lot of other people) a lot of stuckincustoms work does fall into the overdone HDR camp. Sure it is very well done but it also doesn't look at all natural and you can easily tell its photomatrix.

For me HDR is definatley a valid technique and I'm sure we are not far off cameras that can take them 'automatically' but when it goes all fantasy land I really hate it. If you like it then no problem but I don't really like it when people claim it looks natural.

Your right in the fact that it doesn't look natural and i completely agree with you on that. There are some that are natural that look pretty great as well, here is a link to a flickr group devoted to realistic HDR images: http://www.flickr.com/groups/realhdr/ Now of course there are a few sprinkled in there that are pushing the limits of what is constituted as natural but for the majority of the content provided they are kept subtle.

[fletch]

Exactly, great hdr can look really great. This one from that pool looks really spot on.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/momenta...n/pool-realhdr

No crazy saturation or flattened contrast in the shadows, just a fantastically well exposed photo. Sure an experianced photographer may notice it was taken into the sun and therefore either the sun would blow out or the foreground would have not detail in a single expsoure but to the uninetiated its just a good photo. I wouldn't put most of stuckincustoms in that category.

[spookie5150]

My apologies folks, I was just making a flippant remark and I certainly didn't mean to offend. There have been long and drawn out discussions on this board about what is and isn't "artistic" or "aesthetically pleasing", and it all goes in circles so I won't try to go into any of that. Suffice it to say that I personally haven't cared for most of the HDR stuff I've seen. It's a personal opinion and I should have stated it that way.

Fletch, that is a great looking shot and much more tasteful than 99% of the other HDR work I've seen, so perhaps I need to look around more!

Again, sorry if I upset anybody.

[Nathan deGargoyle]

Castman, HDR is something that, done well (rarely) improves your work and done badly (often) wrecks it. I have yet to manage a good HDR. However if you are going to try it there's no point in forking out hard cash. Try qtpfsgui (crazy name, crazy program) which is free. I was going to say Google it but in light of the links above I'll do it for you. Just take the first link.