HDR Revivisted

Apr 4, 2017 | Field Reports

B-25j “Maid in the Shade”
capture by D4 / 18-35AFS

There was a time in our not to recent past where everything was shot HDR. Being on the groundfloor of HDR, the original intent was to expand the amount of information, light, we could capture with one click. The problem was in the beginning, the one click wasn’t enough so many clicks had to be made and then combined in the computer. That’s when HDR took on a life of its own. Many of the early developers stuck with that original premise though, just expanding the number of stops of light of information we could capture and share in our photographs to immolate what our eyes and more importantly, minds and hearts were actually seeing.

B-25j “Maid in the Shade”
capture by D4 / 18-35AFS

Back in 2012, just a short five years ago products that we now take for granted like ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) weren’t what they are today. What you see here is an example of the point I want to make. The top image is a single click from the HDR bracket set just now processed in ACR … the bottom are the five clicks assembled by Photomatix into the original finished image (from 2012). I reprocessed the middle image of the 5 image set in ACR and the above photo is that image. The point I’m trying to make is how far our software has come in “pulling” out information. If you look at the clouds in the top right corner and under the wing (highlights and shadows), there is a big difference. The original HDR might not have been combined the best but now, you don’t have to think about taking five perfectly registered files and processing them. It just takes the one click. So something you might want to stick in the back of your mind is revisiting those HDR files and seeing if there isn’t more there as a single click then might have been combined.

SB-5000 Firmware Update

Apr 4, 2017 | Field Reports

There was a release of a SB-5000 firmware last month. You can find it here and here’s what it updates.

Five Came Back

Apr 3, 2017 | Field Reports

Netflix has just started streaming their new documentary series Five Came Back. This is just an outstanding series about five directors, movie makers, famous Hollywood storytellers and how they took on the mission of telling the story of WWII. Capra, Ford, Huston, Wyler and Stevens go to war to bring back the images and stories that became history. This three part series is so well done and for modern storytellers a moving, educational and inspirational window into our world. You must watch all three episodes because one the most important precepts in photographs is beautifully laid before you. The click you are making is the culmination of all your experience up to that click. Not of your photographic experiences, but all your experiences of life!