My Very First HDR Image

Last week I jumped at the opportunity to finally try out HDRI, a fairly new technique in photography.  I wanted to do it for quite some time. Finally, I got the necessary software and went out to the beautiful Baker Beach in San Francisco to photograph Golden Gate bridge in a whole new way (at least for me).

What is HDRI?
- HDRI stands for high dynamic range imaging.  High dynamic range imaging is a method to digitally capture, store, and edit the full luminosity range of a scene.  It allows for all the visible light to be captured, from direct sunlight to the fine shadow details.  Having a wide range of luminosity available in one image opens great opportunities when post-processing. HDRI is said to be the ultimate digital representation of light.
What is the basic process of creating HDR images?
- HDRI process require two basic steps.  One is at the point of capture and the other is during post-processing.  First, a photographer needs to take multiple standard photographs using exposure bracketing in RAW format.  Once, those are taken, 3 images (overexposed, normal and underexposed) are merged into one. Post-processing is a little more demanding and it depends on what you as a photographer are trying to achieve. It can be anything from a very realistic photo to a Harry Potter type of scene.

Without further ado...  my first such image and looking forward to creating more...