It is obviously some sort of cheating, and people who overuse it (including me sometimes ) should die in hell. But implemented with taste to enrich a scene, I don't think it's a bad thing.
It CAN be used to enhance a photo, particularly a scene where it would be impossible to correctly expose both the highlights and shadows. Often it's not necessary. I use tone mapping once in a while, it can be great when used subtly My complaint is when there's such obvious fringing. Does your photo of you running a marathon really need a halo around every edge? Did you really backlight every surface? At the very least, tone it down a notch.
OK back to posting photos white and black by jon.tidey, on Flickr Camera Selfie by jon.tidey, on Flickr
I love HDR, for the kind of photos i shoot it really helps to bring out details. Though i hate the obvious extreme HDR. Anyway, here is a urbex set with HDR
It's not realistic but it's not over the top. I don't see halos around everything but I don't seen any deep shadows either. I like all of those photos.
Congrats dude, great as usual I just realized my last post was a while ago, so here we go. The Bavarian Alps (Berchtesgaden, to be specific): Hochkalter Obersee Königssee Hintersee by Forester__, on Flickr
Those are some beautiful landscapes, I really like the the 2nd and 3rd photos. I would definitely want to see them around sunrise/sunset though.
I still think HDR has it's proper time and place, and this is a great example of that! By the way, since I constantly get asked why I'm a Finn with a Dutch name, what's the story behind your Finnish nickname?
I've been to finland on a holiday, and i've always really liked the country. I remember trying to read/understand a finnish article, and i had to look up the word "arvoitus" because i didn't understand it and thought it sounded cool. I used it once when registering for a forum, and since then it sticked. It was my default "game nickname" many years ago. And here are some more Urbex/HDR shots! I'm kinda digging this style of editing, really like the colors.
Personally, looking at this type of HDR images for me is like trying to read a wall of text in rainbow colors. Too much detail and too little comprehensible meaning and structure. I think upon seeing HDR most people have been impressed by how visually stimulating it can be, but the novelty quickly fades away and they start wondering "what am I even looking at here and why?". However, recovering some deep shadows and strong highlights that would otherwise be clipped is of course a great potential result from HDR. Anyway back to posting photos: Here are a couple sunrise shots from my trip to the seaside
Only posting this because it came out surprisingly usable all things considered, it doesn't come close to some of the stuff on here. Facebook banner we did on a Samsung Galaxy 4: Actually I'd be super receptive to feedback on this if anyone has any thoughts.
@jipchen wow, very nice and breathtaking shots of my "neighborhood" here is my version of the obersee shot lg aus Salzburg nach München Chris
Really valid point, though i love the edits (and lots of other people do) ... i'm kind of wondering if they really fit the place where i took them. I really like how i can make a surreal picture of it, but i agree that the details are a bit overwhelming. But what do you mean with "too little comprehensible meaning and structure"?