HDR = High Dynamic Range

Many people are now asking about this new effect I am using called HDR. I figured I better type this out to be able to answer more people more better more faster.

OK, so I got this from Wikipedia for those of you who want more of an explanation of what I have been doing with photos with the HDR label.

In image processing, computer graphics, and photography, high dynamic range imaging (HDRI or just HDR) is a set of techniques that allows a greater dynamic range between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than current standard digital imaging techniques or photographic methods. This wide dynamic range allows HDR images to represent more accurately the range of intensity levels found in real scenes, ranging from direct sunlight to faint starlight, and is often captured by way of a plurality of differently exposed pictures of the same subject matter.

In simpler terms, HDR is a range of techniques geared toward representing more contrast in pictures. Non-HDR cameras take pictures at a single exposure level with a limited contrast range. This results in the loss of detail in bright or dark areas of a picture, depending on whether the camera had a low or high exposure setting. HDR compensates for this loss of detail by taking multiple pictures at different exposure levels and intelligently stitching them together so that we eventually arrive at a picture that is representative in both dark and bright areas.

In even simpler-simple terms ... these photos look kewl dude. I guess this is where I completely abandon Wikipedia nonesense and just talk what I know. Basically, here's what I am doing. I am taking three photos. 1 - normal exposure, 1 - over-exposure (+2EV) and 1 - under-exposure (-2EV). Read up in your camera manual about "bracketing". Your DSLR camera might have settings to do this a lot easier than it sounds if you have never heard of this term. Anyway, collect the three photos and you can drop them into a program called Photomatix Pro ($99) to achieve these effects.

I could say a ton more but I won't. It's too easy Drill Sergeant!
You'll get the hang of it fast as long as you know you can produce the three photos.
In my "Label Section" (Top Right) locate HDR and you can see many examples produced with this program with little to no military intelligence.

Hope this helps. Sorry, maybe you can tell that I am just kinda flying by the seat of my pants here but that's the story of my photography life. After a while I start knowing a bit more about what I am saying. I know what to say now ... but I don't get it all yet!

Now if your like me ... seeing is believing. Watch Demo! I am a show me how kinda guy. This will at least show you a bit about how to use the program using three large jpegs.

Best of luck. NikonSniper Steve