Tonemapped Forest Scene |
It helped for this forest scene because the early afternoon sun was burning onto the ground while my shadow areas lacked any detail whatsoever.
Learn a bit more about HDR and tone mapping below;
This is what the original scene looked like at a neutral exposure. |
Tone mapping can take some of the work out of compressing a scene to fit and display on your camera's sensor. Usually a photographer will capture two, three, five, or more images that will be delivered to a specialized computer program that 'maps' out the tonal values at each pixel location, and then compresses the dynamic range of contrast within the multiple images, and then re-renders it with a smooth tonal gradation from shadows to highlights.
Shooting a lot of landscapes, I sometimes bracket my exposures just to make sure I have some good shadow pixels to use later if need be, but these bracketed exposures rarely make it to a tone-mapping phase.
If you like the look of HDR and tone-mapped images, you may want to check out two great and easy to use computer programs that de-mystify the whole process;
HDR Efex
and
Photomatix
You can also check out my blog post from 2010 about HDR tone mapping process, or the alternative which is masterful use of optical filters, via this blog post here.
Have fun and thanks for reading!
Where was this photo taken?
Just outside of Tobermory, Ontario on the Bruce Trail in October 2013.
Canon EOS 50D on a tripod, remote trigger, and a 24-105 f/4L lens.
C Gardiner Photography | Promote Your Page Too