Next up: to capture as much detail as possible in one shot
YOUR PHOTO CHALLENGE: GO SHOOT… An HDR image
Our next challenge was a technique-based one: shoot a high-dynamic range (HDR) image. This process requires you to take a sequence of bracketed exposures with the camera stationary throughout. The best bits of each exposure are then merged into a single image that retains masses of detail in the shadows and the highlights – something that might otherwise be impossible to achieve in one picture.
It’s easy to overcook the HDR effect, with the potential for altered sunrises and sunsets to look more like nuclear blasts, but architecture shots that include brightly lit windows and dark interiors are ripe for this treatment.
Tewkesbury Abbey and its magnificent stained-glass windows made the perfect choice of location for this task. Chris tried a number of views within the abbey before settling on this one, using five separate merged exposures to achieve the final image. Marcus tried creating some ‘vertoramas’ – vertical panoramas – to take in the floor-to-ceiling view, but it turned out he didn’t have the patience to shoot five exposures for each frame!