I have been post-processing images with HDR/Tonemapping for several years. I recall the fascination many photographers (including myself initially) had with creating "paint-like" or "cartoon-like" images. However, that novelty quickly passed with me, these overdone effects do not add to the marketability of my general work (although I have sold "paint-like" prints of the "San Andreas Fault - Near Palm Springs California (Image #5)" and "Vilas, North Carolina (Image #8)" images posted). I progressed from the effects of over saturation, halos around dark objects, and paint-like or cartoon-like appearance due to a lack of large global contrasts. My style for these type of processed images today is minimal in a capture - I primarily use HDR/Tonemapping to enhance the original imaged captured for marketing.

Some history about my progression form creating images with the harsh effects of over saturation, halos around dark objects, and paint-like or cartoon-like appearance due to a lack of large global contrasts. My process today is a bit more refined than just allowing the camera to capture multiple HDR images and then post processing in camera or on my Macintosh. I now capture a single normal exposure Nikon 14-bit .NEF image, that is replicated into a -EV and +EV image, and then subsequently merged and edited with software applications to create a final product Please share examples of your HDR imaging work here as well.

Cheers!
The Davenport Projex

I have been post-processing images with HDR/Tonemapping for several years. I recall the fascination many photographers (including myself initially) had with creating "paint-like" or "cartoon-like" images. However, that novelty quickly passed with me, these overdone effects do not add to the marketability of my general work (although I have sold "paint-like" prints of the "San Andreas Fault - Near Palm Springs California (Image #5)" and "Vilas, North Carolina (Image #8)" images posted). I progressed from the effects of over saturation, halos around dark objects, and paint-like or cartoon-like appearance due to a lack of large global contrasts. My style for these type of processed images today is minimal in a capture - I primarily use HDR/Tonemapping to enhance the original imaged captured for marketing.

Some history about my progression form creating images with the harsh effects of over saturation, halos around dark objects, and paint-like or cartoon-like appearance due to a lack of large global contrasts. My process today is a bit more refined than just allowing the camera to capture multiple HDR images and then post processing in camera or on my Macintosh. I now capture a single normal exposure Nikon 14-bit .NEF image, that is replicated into a -EV and +EV image, and then subsequently merged and edited with software applications to create a final product Please share examples of your HDR imaging work here as well.

Cheers!
The Davenport Projex

The basic concept of HDR image processing is utilizing a 'high dynamic range' variance in photography - meaning you are capturing a merged large ratio difference between the brightest and darkest areas of multiple images to stimulate 'visual depth' when displaying captures in print or a computer monitor.

Single captures, on the other hand, are LDR 'low dynamic range' - and appear 'visually flat'. When I shoot a single image (in RAW), that huge range variance is captured in the single image - however, the result (while it may look good) still has a minimal amount of contrast range as captured, hence the visual flatness.

Image 1 is of a single RAW capture as shot exported via Adobe Photoshop Lightroom (Macintosh).

Greg, If you have the time I would love to know how to merge the files in LR or PS, I use cc2017 and stay up to date. I do not have Photomatix Pro, and use PC's for all my PP work. I am striving to be a better photographer and have only recently began to use RAW in my NEF.
Thank you for your time and wonderful explainations on how you achieve such beautiful results.

Bob

Image 2 and 3 are exposure modified images at +3EV (image 1), and -3EV (image 2) of that single image using Lightroom.

Image 4 displays the +3EV and -3EV images combined with Photomatix Pro (Macintosh). This is what 'tonemapping' is about. Tonemapping adjusts the merged contrasts locally so that each region of the image uses the whole range for maximum contrast (there's a bit more going on here - depending on the tonemapping algorithm used). Dynamic Range and Noise are opposites, in fact dynamic range is usually defined in terms of the noise floor of an image. There is a point at which tonal differences in an image get lost in noise, where the darkest part of an image meets the lightest part of an image. In this image we see this is where the digital signal clips in these two upper and lower EV merged images.

Tonemapping is similar to 'traditional' HDR of processing of 3 in-camera bracketed EV captures, just in this case I am using a single RAW image with low dynamic range, duplicated at different exposures and merged to enhance inherent contrast. One caveat to be aware of is that this two image high and low exposure process can produce image noise (which is evident in image 4).

Dynamic Range and Noise are opposites, in fact dynamic range is usually defined in terms of the noise floor of an image. There is a point at which tonal differences in an image get lost in noise, where the darkest part of an image meets the lightest part of an image. In image 4 we see this is where the digital signal clips in these two upper and lower EV merged images.

Image 5 is how I would present an image to the market - with the 3 EV (+3EV, 0EV, -3EV) images merged using the Photomatix application - which in my experience provides me the smoothest imaging contrast manipulation in post process.

Cheers!
The Davenport Projex