Pixiq

This past week, I was out shooting with another photographer at a cemetery in town. Working off of a tripod, I shot my subjects using my usual 5 shot AEB bracketing sequence. I was shooting with my latest toy, a beautiful Zoerk (Zork) tilt adapter that I have been playing with for the last month or so.

At the time, I thought I was shooting RAW, but had forgotten to reset the format from an earlier session. Instead, I was actually shooting jpeg. Luckily, the camera was set for the highest level of jpeg. I was not aware of shooting the wrong file format at the time and only realized it after returning to my computer later that night. Although I have created many successful HDR photographs using high-resolution jpegs, I was disappointed to find out that all the work shot that day was in jpeg format.

Rather than processing every bracketed shot, I selected only those exposures that I thought would produce the best results with only 8-bits per channel to work with. I decided to use the two images on either side of the correctly exposed image from each bracketed set of five shots. These two shots had enough potential to recreate a very natural looking result of the scenes and the available light at the location.

What I ended up with was a great rendition that produced all of the details I was hoping to obtain. The sharpness and image quality was excellent and the processing times were greatly shortened.

While the bit depth of an 8-bit image has nowhere near the capacity of a 16-bit image, the results were remarkable. In Photomatix Pro, the 8-bit image is still converted to a 32-bit or 64-bit HDR. Once saved, the file is eventually returned to 8-bits but retains its blend of all the exposures. This blend if done properly, should contain the best detail and tones of the chosen bracketed exposures.

For me, it is not that I obtain every tone possible, but rather that I achieve all of the tones required for the particular image at hand. I have found that overlapped 8-bit files are very capable of producing a high degree of tone and detail at both ends of the scale.

The secret for me is to make sure you have produced the correct exposures for blending within the HDR software. These exposures need to fully represent the tonal values of the scene desired. Which means that the darkest and the lightest areas sought after are included within the highest and lowest bracketed shots. It also requires that the total number of usable exposures overlap into each other from one EV to the next.

Next time I go out, I may just decide to shoot jpegs! I guess it will depend on the subject and my intent. At least, as long as I work with the highest level of jpeg, I won't be too upset that the files might only contain 8-bits of data.

However, the more bits you have, the more control you will have in creating even better results. An 8-bit file can never fully substitute for 16-bits of RAW exposure data.

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Other links about HDR

HDR - V -THE ZONE SYSTEM - PART 1

HDR - V -THE ZONE SYSTEM - PART 2

WOULD ANSEL USE HDR?

NOTICE:    THIS POSTING AS WELL AS ALL PHOTOGRAPHS AND GALLERY IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT - © JOHN NEEL AND ARE NOT TO BE USED FOR ANY PUPOSE WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT FROM THE WRITER, THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND/OR PIXIQ. THE IDEAS EXPRESSED ARE THE PROPERTY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND THE AUTHOR. 

"Best Books 2011: Art Instruction - Library Journal!"

Best Books 2011: Art Instruction

"Neel, John. Rethinking Digital Photography: Making & Using Traditional & Contemporary Photo Tools. Pixiq: Sterling. ISBN 9781600597862. pap. $24.95.

Owing to the digital revolution, nearly everyone is a photographer. Those looking to set their pictures apart from the crowd and incorporate alternative processes or older tools will appreciate this modern guide." - (Library Journal 12/11)

*Neel, John. Rethinking Digital Photography: Making & Using Traditional & Contemporary Photo Tools.Pixiq: Sterling. 2011. 240p. illus. index. ISBN 9781600597862. pap. $24.95. ART INSTRUCTION

best-of/best-how-to -"There is a retro trend evident in current fashion, in the renewed interest in vinyl records, and in smartphone apps that take crisp, high-resolution digital images that look like they were taken with a Brownie box camera and developed in a darkroom. This book is just the thing for retro camera app devotees who want to go a step or two further. Fine-art photographer Neel presents all manner of camera equipment alteration projects, alternative processes, and playful photographic tricks, often combining digital and analog processes. This is a modern guide that incorporates older tools with great creative effect." - (Library Journal 12/11)

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Best Books 2011: Art Instruction

http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/category/best-of/best-how-to/

Start your photography season off right!

Break the boundaries of conventional photography. 

"Rethinking Digital Photography - Making & Using Traditional & Contemporary Photo Tools"

BUY it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble in the USA, Chapters/Indigo in Canada and other fine book stores in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and other countries worldwide.

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