Last year I was browsing through my portfolio and was really unhappy with my post processing. Technology has made giant leaps over the past few years both in cameras and softwares and many awesome photographers out there have used it to the fullest to bring out never before seen extraordinary images.  As many of you already know, the human eye can actually perceive a greater dynamic range than is ordinarily possible with a camera. So many photographers are often frustrated that what they see through the viewfinder is never what comes up in the camera, especially when shooting in low light conditions. When shooting towards bright light at sunrise or sunset you would either get a perfectly exposed sky with foreground completely underexposed or a perfectly exposed foreground but with a completely overexposed sky. To go around this problem, for many years photographers used either a lot of dodging and burning in the darkroom (very difficult technique to master) and/or ND grad filters that will help balance the light in some situations. Both have their own disadvantages..

DarkRoom cons:
No everyone has the space or money to have their own darkroom at home
Very Difficult technique to master
Spending hours inhaling chemicals

ND Grad Filters cons
Extra equipment to carry around ( mostly need 3-6 different ones plus Holder)
Scratches Easily (Big problem over time)
Expensive
Hard to use without darkening unwanted elements in certain landscape situation

Dont get me wrong, I really value both and truly admire the last few masters that are still shooting film and still processing their own work in their own lab. As for ND grad filters, I started using them back in the days when I was shooting velvia slide film and still today in the digital era they are a valuable part of my equipment that I would never leave home without. ND filters gives me the opportunity  to get as close as possible to the final result right on the field.

But now, we have the chance to have amazing softwares like photoshop that let’s us photographer explore our creative vision to the fullest. Software that will render images with full dynamic range in ways we never thought possible. But the tricky part is,  you need to master these softwares. Not that easy if you have no clue where to start.

Like I was saying, Last year I was browsing through my portfolio and was really unhappy about my work, The compositions were right, the timing was right, the locations were right but at the end the final result just wasn’t. So I decided to do my own research on the subject. Over time I found numerous techniques, some of them I liked and kept and some other discarded completely. After being frustrated many times and not knowing exactly where to find the info I needed I was lucky enough to be invited to join my Friend and fellow Timecatcher photographer Jay Patel’s Online seminar on iHDR..at first I was sceptic because when I hear HDR, I automatically think  ”over processed photomatix look” and this is definitely not the direction I want go. But, what did I had to loose…

I must say that these seminars totally changed the way I process my images, they have not only showed me in a professional way, a way to improve my craft dramatically, but also to speed up the process so I do not have to spend hours processing all my images anymore. If you are like me you want to spend your time shooting, being out there and witnessing all those incredible moments. Not being in front of the the computer processing images. There is a reason why we are landscape photographers..we want to be OUT THERE, not trapped like a dog in a cage. Jay and his wife Varina (another outstanding  nature photographer) have found the way to teach us in a very easy to understand manner the secrets of post processing high dynamic range images. I cannot emphasize enough how good these seminars are and how much they will improve your craft. On top of that, afterwards, they also provide step by step instructions on how to repeat the techniques shown. I personally  took their last online seminars and will also be present at the one coming up on Oct 3rd. This will be perfect timing as I will be coming back on Oct 2nd from a trip to the beautiful state of Oregon. I always feel the urge to learn and get better. This will help refresh my memory on many things I might have left out since then.

I want to emphasize the fact that in no way I am being endorsed to promote their seminars, I truly believe that photographers need to know about them and I am all about helping out people in the field that do great things.

If interested you can find all the info about their upcoming online seminars  here

http://www.photographybyvarina.com/photography/workshops/webinar-nature-photography-ihdr-workflow

Live with Passion
Patrick Di Fruscia