Sunny, warm, calm
At 6:10 A.M., the temperature
is already in the high 70s.The forecast for today is a high of 85, but with the
high humidity here at the shore, it will feel like 98. The humidity brought in the higher
clouds to give us a very nice sunrise.
It was two other early risers and the sand-sweeper who were privy to
this sight and it was well worth the effort to walk over to the beach to grab
today’s shot.
The images shown here are
actually composites or what is known as “High Dynamic Range” photographs. I exposed the exact same shots of the
sunrise five times. One exposure
was at the “proper” exposure. Then
I exposed the same shot at -2, -1. +1, and +2 stops (in laymen’s terms, a lot
underexposed, a little underexposed, a little overexposed, and a lot
overexposed.) The five shots are
then processed using a piece of software called “Photomatix” which takes the
best of each exposure and merges them into a photo that supposedly has many of
the features visible that would perhaps not be so evident in the single shot
exposure.
Is it a question of enhancing
a photograph beyond what is “realistic”?
Or is it a case of using the available technology to broaden your
artistic horizons? Perhaps a little of each, but it certainly is nice to be
able to enhance photos which are meant to be artistic renderings rather than
documentary. As a matter of habit,
I make every attempt to “enhance” my regular wildlife photographs as little as
possible….cropping, brightening, or occasionally sharpening an image. But when working on shots such as these
sunrises, it’s fun just to turn them into shots with a little more “zip”. But, beauty is in the eye of the
beholder. Hope you enjoy them.
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