you do hate this...right? ... why, in several short sentences :-)

[Vaughn]

OMG -- there is an -ism for that?! Damn that Matisse!

(yes, I had to google it...)

 

[mshchem]

I'm not going to throw rocks at someone who wants to drive a modern car no matter how stupid I think their bluetooth-connected touch-screen on the dash is. Because the modern touch screen is really no more absurd than the tail fins on a ...

I bet I could figure out the radio and heater controls on that old Cadillac, which is more than I can do with my wife's Honda touchscreen

 

[removed account4]

OMG -- there is an -ism for that?! Damn that Matisse!

(yes, I had to google it...)

we've gone to the dogs !

 

[BobD]

To me it's a gimmick. And, a gimmick is just a substitute for competence. Like a rock musician who can't play well so just plays loud instead and hopes no one will notice he sucks.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

To me it's a gimmick. And, a gimmick is just a substitute for competence. Like a rock musician who can't play well so just plays loud instead and hopes no one will notice he sucks.

Autotune and Ableton.

 

[msage]

Of course not! It is a tool or technique that can be used poorly, like burning & dodging.

 

[macfred]

Hi Vaughn
I think the original is called Fauvism ...

„Tiens, Donatello au milieu des fauves .... “

 

[jtk]

IMO old barns and blurry water are gimmicks...

 

[removed account4]

To me it's a gimmick. And, a gimmick is just a substitute for competence. Like a rock musician who can't play well so just plays loud instead and hopes no one will notice he sucks.

hi BobD
i can see where you are coming from but IDK jimmi hendrix played pretty well and what if it ISN'T a gimmick and it is just something that can be used to further communicate what you want to say? I mean one could easily say a few things, like burning and dodging enlargments is a gimmick for people who can't make good exposures, to hell with the score and symphony stuff or prevision, its just because one can't use their gear ... anything but a box camera, no controls just a I and T button is for people who need a gimmick, all those extra exposure controls, and im not even talking about large format, you know the bigger the negative (or print) the better the photographer and all that.
now *I* don't believe that box cameras are the only thing to use or burning/dodging or enlargements or large format or anything else is a gimmick i was just saying that, but i am sure there are people who do believe these thing. good for them ! i already do the stuff the program makes it easier to do, been doing it for years, i think it is kind of funny that my wandering off the main road has become suburban sprawl with a CV-sss pharmacy and inout burger. i wonder whats gonna happen next ?

 

[jtk]

Thanks!
Would be great for. Making negatives!!

( that is my short 2 sentence response , longer response below )

i've been spending the last year revitalizing old post cards from the turn of the century. i love old post cards. from what my leeky research has told me, some were done with the Chromolithography Process. they were vivid and colorful and sort of HDR of their day done in 1900 in what one might call a Photo Shoppe. i've been using a simple levels, burn dodge technique but using this program would make my life easier LOL, i wish they'd give a trial subscription

NIK does it...and that was free until recently.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I liked the before versions. Maybe a more subtle application...

 

[ozphoto]

>>>>> The HDR app is useful if the photographer knows how to use it. But there's a lot of bad HDR out there.

You have nailed it in one! Used well, it is a superb app that provides a result that may not have been viable due to time, tonal range etc. I shoot hotels and commercial properties for clients and 99.99% of the time, I will light rooms in addition to natural light to achieve the results I require.

On those *very* rare occasions that I might be asked to shoot on the afternoon/night of my arrival (and my assistant is still in transit) I have used HDR to achieve the shot. Note though, I bracket the h*** out of the scene and instruct my digital tech to create a "real" image, not one that looks like "Lego blocks".

As always, others MMV.

 

[jtk]

You have nailed it in one! Used well, it is a superb app that provides a result that may not have been viable due to time, tonal range etc. I shoot hotels and commercial properties for clients and 99.99% of the time, I will light rooms in addition to natural light to achieve the results I require.

On those *very* rare occasions that I might be asked to shoot on the afternoon/night of my arrival (and my assistant is still in transit) I have used HDR to achieve the shot. Note though, I bracket the h*** out of the scene and instruct my digital tech to create a "real" image, not one that looks like "Lego blocks".

As always, others MMV.

Nanette, great name! Nice work, too. Love your Lego block metaphor

 

[TheRook]

It depends on how you apply HDR processing. You can use it in a very subtle way, such that its application is not very obvious to the viewer. In a high contrast scene, HDR can indeed be a quite useful tool. You can also use HDR much more aggressively, generating candy colors and killing all the shadows within the image, causing the scene to appear very flat and cartoon-like. Many photographers who have never dabbled in HDR photography falsely assume only the latter is possible.

 

[Vaughn]

They have changed the image -- removed the smog of some large city.

If it would help me to better express the light I find and experience, then it would be an interesting tool to use -- if I did anything digitally except reproducing work for internet use. My quest is, as I mentioned, is to express the light I find, not to paint pretty pictures with it....most of the time, LOL!

Got a couple hours to wait for some freshly pt/pd coated watercolor paper to dry so I can make some prints needed for family obligations...last minute, of course. Some need to be hand-carried to Chile in a few days and some head north to accompany a book of my nephew's wedding.

 

[jtk]

They have changed the image -- removed the smog of some large city.

If it would help me to better express the light I find and experience, then it would be an interesting tool to use -- if I did anything digitally except reproducing work for internet use. My quest is, as I mentioned, is to express the light I find, not to paint pretty pictures with it....most of the time, LOL!

Got a couple hours to wait for some freshly pt/pd coated watercolor paper to dry so I can make some prints needed for family obligations...last minute, of course. Some need to be hand-carried to Chile in a few days and some head north to accompany a book of my nephew's wedding.

The things I most love about redwood forests are the aroma and the soft ground cover.

 

[jtk]

It depends on how you apply HDR processing. You can use it in a very subtle way, such that its application is not very obvious to the viewer. In a high contrast scene, HDR can indeed be a quite useful tool. You can also use HDR much more aggressively, generating candy colors and killing all the shadows within the image, causing the scene to appear very flat and cartoon-like. Many photographers who have never dabbled in HDR photography falsely assume only the latter is possible.

Yes...many don't even realize that HDR was involved in the work of their favorite photographers.

And, of course, "candy colors" are the reason many photographers loved Velvia.

 

[Vaughn]

The things I most love about redwood forests are the aroma and the soft ground cover.

Which is why I pity the folks that drive through in the summer for their one redwood experience. With rain and the seasons, the aromas, color and mood changes under the redwoods. Sometimes it is good to get wet, with moss and redwoods needles in the beard.

Loving the first rain of the season a few years ago -- Rolleicord in the shoulder bag:

 

[DREW WILEY]

I guess if one enjoys gilding the lily with fools' gold, somebody will take their money yet another nonsensical toy.

 

[ozphoto]

Nanette, great name! Nice work, too. Love your Lego block metaphor

Thanks, glad you like the work! I love Lego, but not in my photography unless it's actual Lego that I'm shooting.

 

[dmr]

But there's a lot of bad HDR out there.

This!

In my not so humble opinion, most HDR photos that I see posted are overdone, if not poorly done. There are a few, however, that use HDR effectively, and with those, it's not obvious at first glance that they are HDR shots.

 

[jtk]

Nobody seems to be aware that HDR is often used as a masking tool. If HDR apps had been available 99% of amateur Ciba prints would have looked a lot less ridiculous and the material might not have vanished.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

This!

In my not so humble opinion, most HDR photos that I see posted are overdone, if not poorly done. There are a few, however, that use HDR effectively, and with those, it's not obvious at first glance that they are HDR shots.

I think a some think "The more the better". Just like salt in cooking, you have to know how much you have to add to enhance the flavor. I have an acquaintance that sends me digital images that are over sharpened and over saturated photos. I don't have to heart to tell him that "Less is more".

 

[DREW WILEY]

Everybody with five cents worth of brains in their heads routinely masked Ciba prints. It went out of production for entirely different reasons. But when it comes to HDR, five cents of brains seems darn hard to come by. Think of monkeys getting ahold of finger paint. No reserve. I totally agree with the foregoing post.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

When they killed Cibachrome, I was a bit sad. It was the most difficult material to print and if I got a good print, It was an accomplishment. I thought for years that nothing will beat the color of Ciba until I say digital prints on aluminum. To me, masking was a total PITA. I'm sure Cibachrome wreck a of plumbing when people used it.