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Health & Fitness

Homebody: A Photoblog of Kings Park (and Close By), #4: The Bluff in HDR

     The Bluff, located at the foot of Old Dock Road, has to be the iconic Kings Park location for nature photography.  Generations of Kings Parkers have flocked to the Bluff for their dose of natural beauty; to fish for snappers or to launch their boat; to see what the latest storm is doing or has done; to just hang out, enjoy the day, and have fun.  And, of course, to take some pictures.  The Bluff even has its own Facebook page where people post photos and fond memories of the Bluff.

     So, naturally, when my friends Bob and Beth were up north visiting a few years back, we headed to the Bluff to take pictures.  Bob was interested in a then-new technique I was learning:  High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography.  We headed to the Bluff to take photos of Beth practicing Tai Chi.  Returning to the digital darkroom, Beth selected one photo that she liked, and I selected one photo that I liked.  I then created two HDR images of Beth practicing Tai Chi.

     This HDR image, Beth at the Bluff:  Harnessing the Forces of Nature, was my selection.  High Dynamic Range images are created from, typically, 3 photos of different exposure.  The 3 photos are then merged in an HDR software program to create one image that contains recorded detail in the shadows as well as the highlights of a scene.  There are no super-bright, or super-dark areas in the photo where you might not see detail, as could happen if you just took one photo of a bright scene.

     Depending on how you process it in HDR software, HDR images can look like “normal” photographs, or can look like this one, a thing of strange beauty.  I could not take my eyes off of this photo, with all its detail and strangeness!  HDR images have become more common and somewhat controversial.  A bit of a “backlash” has developed against them. They are not terribly difficult to make, and you can’t deny that they’re something different!  They have proven to be a lot of fun for me.  And that’s my bottom line in photography.

     Kings Park Photo Club.   Come visit our new photo club that meets the third Thursday of every month at the Kings Park Library at 7 PM.   Our next meeting is May 16, 2013.  Find out about HDR images and other interesting photo ideas.  The Club is planning a flower shooting session at Nissequogue River State Park on Saturday, May 18th.  Flowers are awesome HDR subjects too!

     Photo Tip: “It Worked For Me:”
OK, you are now carrying your camera with you every day (well, almost!).  The next step is to shoot and/or edit every day.    If you can even try to do this on a regular basis you will become a much better photographer and put more fun in your day.  Even one carefully shot photo a day can pay big dividends.

     Thanks for reading.  If you have any suggestions or requests for topics, please post them in the comments. 

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