19.2.09 ; The view- HDR

The view- HDR, originally uploaded by Kokenko.

HDR is one popular technique used as post processing.

Well, recently I took an interest in seeing good HDR and later tried to apply it on my own. This style is not done by commercial software such as photomatrix, topaz, etc. It was post processed with CS2 by eye.

I used one jpeg image to convert this into roughly speaking 4 images for the combination. The layers were used to capture details and shadows. First few layers were for sharpening and the last few was for noise reduction. One of the disadvantage of using single jpeg (not RAW) is the noise upon HDR-ing.

Needless to say, I had to dodge it (brighten it manually) with a mouse and a stylus pen. This helps the overall image and eliminates some noise (digital) mentioned earlier.

Summary : Start from scratch ! Working with a single jpeg image is indeed challenging as it robs us luxury of RAW files and multiple exposure. However, it takes some understanding to work with simple JPEG to discover it's limitation. It's benefit is, you do things manually and not let the program do it for you. Things like dodging and burning and minor details are all in your controls.