Reviewing my Photography in 2010: Tone-mapping

Tone-mapping either HDR or MDR source images is something I've found relatively easy, but my approach isn't to dial all the controls up to 11 and create something so busy with fussy detail that it hurts my eyes to look for too long. My use of tone-mapping this year has almost exclusively been to make an image which better represents what the human eye saw at the time. The eye adjusts its sensitivity depending on what it is looking at, while the camera has one exposure across the entire frame that might lose detail in shadows and highlights when displayed on a screen. Therefore it's not surprising that many of my tone-maps will be from difficult lighting conditions with extremes of light and shadow, but sometimes I do exaggerate the effect slightly to give a certain "look".

Over 2010 I think my tone-maps have improved, though I tend to find these "technical" shots are quite easy. The main thing which has developed is what is gradually turning into my "signature look": the use of multiple different tone-mapping algorithms and the blending of them across an image. This gives me the ability to draw attention to details within an image (just as one might do with lighting or focus in a traditional single-exposure image), while still getting the feel of high dynamic range.

Jan 8
I used HDR tone-mapping here so that cloud detail, both in the sky and lingering in the valley, would still be visible in contrast with the dark textures of the rocks and trees. The colour of the light this evening was remarkable, but I wanted my capture to show detail of the brighter lights coming from houses and streetlights without burning out to white. Tone-mapping a HDR capture made this possible. Jan 20
Jun 22
I think this image was captured with an iPhone 3GS, with a very small CCD sensor. Either the sky would be blown out or the land would be crushed to black in a normal picture, but the HDR merge helped make a picture which was more like what my eyes saw. Even using a Canon 7D, the extremes of lightness in the sky compared to the shadows on the riverbank wouldn't have been exposed correctly side-by-side. A tone-map of several exposures made this image possible. Sep 3
Sep 5
Two different HDR tone-mapping algorithms mixed: "compress highlights" to get the tone with a bit of "equalise histogram" blended in to bring some contrast back and make the blacks deeper. My use of the technique of balancing between different tone-mapping algorithms became more common as 2010 progressed, and I think has helped to give me "my HDR look". My use of HDR/tone-mapping here was all for "the look" of this rather futuristic structure. Sep 6
Sep 30
I like that you can see inside the offices next to the CIS Tower, inside the office in the bottom middle of the frame, down the brightly lit street, see detail in the sky... just a shame that Photoshop CS3 has a bit of a spazzy fit when there are bright moving lights from cars on the road! Bright lights and dark waters still need texture: tone-mapped HDR to the rescue! Oct 2
Oct 8
Three exposures, auto-converted to HDR with Photoshop and then tonemapped using different settings. These were stacked into layers and then masked and merged by hand. One of the most complicated "HDR" images I've produced, but I felt it needed the effort to make the sunny highlight on the horizon contrast properly with the plants on the nearby shore. This is (for me) a "HDR" done right: capturing the details of all the image, both inside the darker parts of the ruins and the colours and contrasts of the much brighter scenery outside. Minimal "halos" or other post-processing artefacts, just what you could see. Nov 7
Dec 12
Impossible lighting for an iPhone 3GS, but I did enjoy processing this image. Two exposures, HDR-merge, tone-map, and then some vintage Velvia-style colour adjustments to give a very vintage film look. Multiple algorithm blended tone-map. A quote from a critical friend: "the station looks dope. Love the exposure and density of those crushed blacks with that dark green iron work. And then just to monkey with my mind there's that "sat up" digital sheen from the platform edge. Props." Dec 28
Dec 29
Once again I'm using the multiple-algorithm blended tone-map technique that's become my "style".