Santa Fe Sunrise - High Dynamic Range Photogrpahy (HDR)

About HDR

In image processing, computer graphics, and photography, high dynamic range imaging (HDRI or just HDR) is a set of techniques that allow a greater dynamic range of luminances between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than standard digital imaging techniques or photographic methods. This wider dynamic range allows HDR images to more accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes, ranging from direct sunlight to faint starlight. - Wikipedia on HDR

Adobe's Photoshop provides a way to create High Dynamic Range images. However, the Photoshop functiaonlity is not that great. Scott Kelby, editor and publisher of Photoshop User and Layers magazine, and co-founder of th eNational Association of Photoshop Professionals, recommends a different program, called Photomatix Pro. The Photomatix Pro software is designed specifically to create these types of images and it does a fantastic job.

I figure if even a Photoshop expert like Scott Kelby chooses not to use Photoshop, that I would follow his lead. The image at the bottom of this page was created using the Photomatix Pro software.

I selected the color scheme for this page using the Debreave.com Color Palette Generator. This utility examines a photograph you specify, and chooses a set of colors from the image to create a suggested complimentary color palette. It shows the hexidecimal code for each color it chooses. I gave it the location of the last photo in this set, and it chose all the background colors you see here.

Santa Fe Sunrise

Below are some photos I took on a recent trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico. I took 8 images of the same sunrise with varying camera exposures. Then I composited the photos into one High Dynamic Range (HDR) image.

Sunrise Exposure 1

Sunrise Exposure 2

Sunrise Exposrure 3

Sunrise Exposure 4

Sunrise Exposure 5

Sunrise Exposure 6

Sunrise Exposure 7

Sunrise Exposure 8

High Dynamic Range Composite of 8 Exposures

Did you know?

Radiole - photo from Wikipedia

A radiole (pictured) is a heavily ciliated feather-like tentacle found in highly organized clusters on the crowns of Canalipalpata. Canalipalpata is an order of sessile marine polychaete worms consisting of 31 families (including the Sabellidae, Serpulidae, Terebellidae, and Alvinellidae, a family of deep-sea worms associated with hydrothermal vents).