More HDR

There is definitely a line that HDR photographs cross when it comes to reality. Even though you are simply combining three photographs of the exact same image,  the result can be quite surreal and more painterly than a typical photograph.

Last weekend was my outdoor photography course in the Beartooth Mountains and Yellowstone Park. Because of the smokey skies covering the west this summer, it is really tough to get a good landscape shot that doesn't look like it was taken through wax paper. That is where HDR comes in. By increasing the contrast in the images you are taking, you are able to circumvent the smokiness - but it comes at the price of realism.

I need five images to turn in next week from the trip and one has to be an HDR. Pictured here are just three of the approximately thirty I have to choose from!

The first shot is from a half mile up the trail to Crazy Creek looking out over the creek and the plateau below.

 Next up is Yellowstone Falls from Artist's Point. The haze in the background in this case is from the rain that was pouring down as I was shooting.

This view of the Terrace at Mammoth Hot Springs is pretty amazing. The colors really do look this intense when you are standing there and it is pretty tough to capture without HDR.