More Special Effects - HDR

HDR has been around for a while, but I've resisted. It has always seemed like a lot of work to me, considering that my camera doesn't support it out of the box.

So, what is it? It's a special effect that I feel gives your pictures a more precise, vibrant look. But, it's a special effect, nonetheless.

I downloaded a tool called FDRToolsBasic to see what this would look like, and if a free tool could simulate the effect easily. Here's my before picture:



Here's the after:



Taking a look at it, it's interesting. I do see a bit more depth. A plus is that the software is easy to use. I read the manual for about three minutes, and got started quickly.

Here's another example:



This is the before - taken in DC.



The after is ... interesting. I don't know, honestly. It's fun, but I think I like my pictures the way they are. Admittedly, though, I like special effects as much as the next person. After all, I'm the one who wants a fisheye lens, and a tilt-shift lens. So what's the difference? Well, no one is right or wrong. It's just a personal choice. I'd rather use lenses to produce special effects. Others like software. No big deal. :)

By the way, maybe I could have done this in Aperture, maybe not. But that's missing the point.

There are other tools, too, but many of them seem to be Windows-centric. For me, it's not a big deal, since I don't plan to do much with this. However, it's very interesting to see others' work. An example is this link:

Some very cool work is on that page!

Anyway, I can't post tomorrow - I'm in meetings for around 12 hours. Wednesday - I'll look for other online tools that a hobbyist could use.