I'm not a fan of so-called "High Dynamic Range" photography (more properly labelled tone mapping) by any means. Not only do I see it as mostly pointless gimmick, seeing as 12-bit RAW files already possess far more dynamic range than any printer or consumer-level monitor can hope to display, but I also take a strong dislike to the typical "HDR look" favored by Flickrites using Photomatix software, as I find such "pictures" to be gaudy and kitschy almost without exception*, crossing the line separating photography from bad fantasy art a la Boris Vallejo. HDR is one of those technical "advances" in photography whose main effect seems to be to serve as a lure distracting amateur photographers from spending time honing their actual photography skills, squandering it instead on turning out dreck that wouldn't be fit to adorn the covers of even pulp novels by the likes of L. Ron Hubbard.
Why am I writing all this, you might wonder? The answer is, to provide context for why I find noteworthy the work of a Flickr user by the alias valpodando, who seems to be able to manage to do what so many others cannot, namely use the Photomatix tone-mapping technique to create images which are arresting without venturing into the realm of absurdity. He doesn't always succeed in staying within that boundary, but by and large this guy does a much better job of knowing when to stop than most of the other aficionados of this technique. Clearly Photomatix-style "HDR" [sic] isn't an entirely worthless photographic process, at least in the hands of photographers who have the requisite taste to use it with a little restraint - perhaps one should best think of it as a modern update on Ansel Adams' "Zone System". That said, this is one technique I think best left to the landscape photographers, in which grouping I do not belong.
Comments