Valley of Fire HDR Photography

<![CDATA[Valley of Fire HDR photography is not only a lot of fun to do, but you can get some awesome results!  Anywhere in the park can be a great place to get some fantastic images to work with.  A day with some clouds is definitely a bonus.

HDR explained:  High dynamic range imaging (HDRI or HDR) is a set of methods used in imaging and photography, to allow a greater dynamic range between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than current standard digital imaging methods or photographic methods. HDR images can represent more accurately the range of intensity levels found in real scenes, from direct sunlight to faint starlight, and is often captured by way of a plurality of differently exposed pictures of the same subject matter.

In simpler terms, HDR is a range of methods to provide higher dynamic range from the imaging process. Non-HDR cameras take pictures at one exposure level with a limited contrast range. This results in the loss of detail in bright or dark areas of a picture, depending on whether the camera had a low or high exposure setting. HDR compensates for this loss of detail by taking multiple pictures at different exposure levels and intelligently stitching them together to produce a picture that is representative in both dark and bright areas.

HDR is also commonly used to refer to display of images derived from HDR imaging in a way that exaggerates contrast for artistic effect. The two main sources of HDR images are computer and merging of multiple low-dynamic-range (LDR) or standard-dynamic-range (SDR) photographs.  Tone mapping methods, which reduce overall contrast to facilitate display of HDR images on devices with lower dynamic range, can be applied to produce images with preserved or exaggerated local contrast for artistic effect.

Each photo below was created from a series of 7 identical images shot at 7 different exposures and imported into Photoshop and merged into one HDR image.

Valley of Fire Arch

Elephant Rock at Valley of Fire State Park

The Cabins at Valley of FIre State Park

Arch at Valley of Fire State Park

Valley of Fire

Valley of Fire Road

Valley of Fire Photography

Valley of Fire Photo

Valley of Fire

Valley of Fire State Park

Valley of Fire HDR Photography

Valley of Fire State Park

All photos courtesy of Tomsik Photography

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