AK Dreamer Loc: Alaska & Nevada

It seems to me more and more photo enthusiasts are trying their hands at HDR and asking for comments. I've only commented to one individual and will refrain from doing so in the future as I believe most of these attempts at art are nothing short of disastrous. Good photos are turned into images worthy of nothing but the circular file. Out-of-focus photos are now stated to have been created using the Orton effect. Perhaps I'm an old stick in the mud but unless done properly HDR is a waste of everyone's time. By now you can see I am not a fan of HDR and am strongly in favor of natural photography. All that having been said and probably provoking many, I can support different art forms and believe expanding one's knowledge base is commendable but folks...HDR & Orton is not for me. What I'd like to see is a seperate section for HDR & Orton Effect added to this forum (like the macro section) so that when one opens a thread expecting to view realistic photos he/she is not confronted with cartoonish or garrish images. I'd like to know what others think about this and please don't nail me to the cross. I don't advocate not displaying the work of those that believe HDR & Orton are legitimite art forms, I would just like to have them in a collection where one can avoid them at will. Convince me I'm wrong...an old dog can learn new tricks but it may take a while.

Robert Graybeal Loc: Myrtle Beach

I'm with you, old dog!

LarryD Loc: Mojave Desert

I think that HDR toning has it's place... however, it is usually overdone, leaving a burnt, overprocessed look..

I can appreciate it as art.. but not as a good photograph unless it's done for what it was designed.. to balance the dynamic range extremes...

(I think that I just said that I agree )

TNmike Loc: NW TN

As a newbie, noob, or what ever you want to call me I like some of the HDR stuff. But the Orton out of focus thing is just not for me. I like seeing the well focused, sharp, and composed pictures that are often posted here at UHH. I have taken snapshots and a few pictures but still working on a photograph. So I have to say that I agree with you, AK Dreamer, on your post. Mike

Tea8 Loc: Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain.

I think that is a great idea. Maybe someone on here will agree to be the moderator for a section like that then Admin can create one. I never even knew HDR existed until I got my iphone and started using the feature. I liked that I could take a pic and it would create a little bit better of an image, but my images looked normal. I have to agree that some on here go way out on the artistic limb in how they are doing HDR. Not that there is anything wrong with that I'm just like you Dreamer, I don't necessarily like looking at all of it.

Meives Loc: FORT LAUDERDALE

I like HDR when it done right. To me right means no color push. The best thing that HDR does is smooth out the too bright and too dark areas. Some work it is difficult to figure out it is HDR because modifications were done with control.

forbescat

And I would suggest a separate section each for landscapes, moon shots, flowers, bees, grandchildren, dogs, cats, horses, bears, pictures that need to be cropped, pictures that need to be color corrected, pictures by people under 50, pictures by people over 50, etc. Come on, folks. Is your time so valuable that you can't open a thread and move on because you aren't interested. I do it all the time.

Meives Loc: FORT LAUDERDALE

I agree. With you, forbescat.

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

Yeah, really. 8-)

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

In a sense, lumping HDR with the Orton effect is mixing apples and oranges, but that's another topic.... I would not be so quick to dismiss HDR (throwing out the baby with the bath water!) One use of HDR is to digitally stretch the tonal range of the image. So to dismiss HDR is akin to dismissing "dodging & burning" and other darkroom manipulations or dismissing the graduated filter, or the "huckersterisms" of Adams, Weston, and other practitioners of the Zone System for film photography. (Surely there was badly rendered darkroom work!)
If you are asking for a separate forum for "bad" photography-- then I (personally) think you are in the wrong place. The chief value (in my most humble opinion) of this forum is the curious intersection of so many from such varying photographic skills-- and the general respective natures of these conversations.
I truly am not trying to be rude because really I'm just an old dog learning a few new tricks... and I hope you don't misinterpret my words for the inability to convey tone electronically. Best to you...

jkaye65 Loc: Chico, CA

So........if somebody takes a "landscape" photo with a dog in it......where should they post it. "Landscapes" or "dogs"? No doubt, in this forum, if it is put in landscapes, the landscapists will bitch about having to look at a dog. If it's put in the "dog" section, the dog lovers will bitch about having to look at landscapes.

Maybe we can have a category for "Landscapes", with a sub-category within for "landscapes with dogs", then another "landscapes with horses", then another for "landscapes with chicks in skimpy swim suits".........

Then there's the category for shots taken with ND filters (with a sub category for graduated ND filters). And another category for CPL filters.........and another for Nikons only with ND filters..........OMG!!!

Get my drift?!? Nobody is always going to be happy. We don't need a category for every single subject. That could be endless.

This takes me back to forum users complaining about having to look at boudoir images. Every single time the title of the post said something to the effect of what the subject was.

IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE SUBJECT......DON'T OPEN THE POST! It can't be any simpler then that people!!

tramsey Loc: Texas

I agree, 99% of the HDR is over done. I have see very few that I like. Some of them when you open them, is like a slap in the face.
I googled 'the orton effect' and took a look at something totally different than what I see here.
I made a comment to that effect and got blasted out of the water, just what I expected.

AK Dreamer, post another one in your corner

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

I can't speak for everyone but having seen MANY really bad HDR'd photos I might offer the following comment as to what I THINK MIGHT be happening.

When i started shooting a short time ago...I processed my pics....i sharpened them to within an inch of their life...I HDR'd them...I put the filters on them...

And i think it was all because my pictures just couldn't stand on their own...they weren't "inherently exciting" to look at and so I was compensating; maybe unconsciously....I thought my results could be improved by running them through a Topaz filter (usually overdone) ...


Well...now that I've learn a little more about the craft of photography, I've realized just how mediocre my shots are (generally) and now I try and cull very very hard, and only keep what is REALLY a good shot that can stand on it's own.

I try and take good shots IN CAMERA and get the focus right...composition right and dynamic range correct as much as possible so I don't have to spend a week photoshopping my masterpiece into a decent shot. I'm not knocking PP...but only saying that HDR won't make a pigs ear into a silk purse...it only glosses over a bad shot.

I know that there is a place for "light" HDR that improves dynamic range, but generally that's not what is posted...what IS posted is the most garish halo'd stuff that hurts the eyes....and if you took the HRD away you'd be left with a badly exposed blah boring photo.

I too haven't seen a lot of good HDR...it's out there...but the good stuff is hard to even tell that it's been done.

AK Dreamer Loc: Alaska & Nevada

My point exactly!!! You have to open the post before knowing what it pertains to. And yes to another on this thread my time is valuable to me. A lot of fine photography is presented by individuals here along with discussion groups and advice. I just don't find HDR entertaining or worth my time and would really like to not open the post containing the medium.

forbescat

Let's play a game...I bet I can open a thread and discern my interest level in 2 seconds. Can you beat me?