Posted by Twelvebit (Victoria, United States) on 15 September 2007 in Cityscape & Urban.
This photo illustrates why I often find hdr processing to be a good choice. The original image is flat. The windows are opaque black panes. Nothing is visible through the glass. If the intent is to isolate or highlight this woman talking on her cell phone and smoking, perhaps the original capture is a better choice. However, if the intent is to place this woman more in context, the hdr version reveals activity and information beyond the glass. In this case it shows that the restaurant behind her is a sports bar and tells us that the lunch hour is either over or just beginning, as the staff is busy at various tasks and the restaurant is empty of customers (a little easier to see with a larger image). And I think this background detail is still subtle enough not to take away from the subject.
The original capture isn't bad, and in this case, it is actually probably closer to what I saw when I took the photo. I saw the woman on the phone --I didn't notice the other detail behind the glass. Sometimes I try an hdr version to see the effect, and in this case I discovered it revealed additional information and a tonal balance I like better that the original.
There is a cost here though. The windows were nearly black so the view through the glass was very underexposed, and the extra detail comes at the prices of greater noise --or "grain."
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Thanks a lot for your very kind and heart warming comment on my blog. It's not only US that is run by criminals, we can say the same for Iran as well. Unfortunately this world is a very bad place with bad people holding all of us as hostages. If people like me and you were in charge things of that sort would never happen. But to run as a politician you need to have zero respect toward people's lives and well being and be on constant path toward deception and lies.
15 Sep 2007 6:48pm
@Amir: I believe a good description of reality is Lord Acton's maxim that "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." In this context, all governments are "criminal" to some extent --some worse than others. Contrary to the civic fantasies taught in our schools, this country has always been corrupt to one degree or another. It didn't matter much to most people when the State wasn't as powerful and pervasive as it is today, but changes that were once subtle and remote are now visible and direct.
The use of the State as a tool of personal enrichment for the powerful and politically connected used only to be something I read about. It never touched me directly. Now it is no longer theoretical or remote to me; it is something I have to deal with nearly everyday, as the mechanisms of government are increasingly used to serve the interests of our "elites" over the interests of the people as a whole.
Our media is an ocean of lies, promotion, and propaganda --mostly promotion and advertising in one form or another-- that advances the interests of what our Founders referred to as "the money power," over nearly all other considerations. Television is an intellectual sewer full of deliberate misinformation. And we have "news" networks like "Fox," that present what are literally cartoon versions of reality, and in a cartoon atmosphere (which isn't to suggest that everything else is better, it's not, but a network like CNN dresses its lies a little better).
Yes, we are hostages, literally, to the self-interests of our "elites." What concerns me now is that these criminals feel more entitled and more immune from the consequences of their actions than ever before. What was impossible even thirty years ago is routine today. And there doesn't appear to be any hope for change in sight. Both parties marginalize the voices of reason and decency, and in this "democracy" the "two" party system has managed to almost completely monopolize access into the system.
Your photos are all awesome specially this candid shot. It's an HDR while it is not, colors are cold and that is why I like it. Well done my friend. You have great eyes to capture the right moment in perfect frame.
15 Sep 2007 6:49pm
@Amir: Thank you. It was just a lucky accident but one of the things I like about this image is the way her foot is turned as she talks. The original frame wasn't a perfect capture though, I did crop the image a little on the left and at the top of the frame. I try to compose an image so as not to crop, but sometimes the camera frame is not in the right proportions for the scene you want to capture, or the necessity for quick shooting inhibits more careful composition.
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12 Bit Photo
12 Bit Photo
