This image is unique among all those I have posted thus far in that although it is a in camera image that I indeed photographed, for it to be possible, I had to utilize digital manipulation.
Most of the images so far have been straight digital shots, or ones that started out onto film and were later scanned in to this medium. This one is a composite of multiple exposures that were digitally combined into one in a process known as HDRI, or properly, Hi Dynamic Range Imagery. It is a technique where many exposures are made at differing light levels, combining those all into one image allowing detail to be appreciated on a large luminosity scale. Although many shots I have seen using this approach are 'too dynamic' and look fake, some purposefully so, I was pleased with this one, as it encompassed detail both in the snowy path as well as the much darker tree trunks and shadows in the woods.
Our human eyes, are marvels of creation, amazingly adjusting almost instantaneously from light to dark subjects without any conscious thought, but in years past, film was much less so forgiving and one often had to choose which range to capture, setting the mood intentionally within this limitation. With HDRI, I could here more closely reflect what I might have actually seen that winter day a couple of years ago in a local woods.
Once again , this process and post today, has helped me reflect (which is part of the blogs purpose) on the nature of our vision and experience in life. Often, our experiences and even or willingness to engage in ones, are limited by our vision and how much of the 'picture' we see. Long ago, using film, my creativity was more limited, as was my youthful viewpoint on much of life, but in this present age, just as the digital world has opened up many more possibilities of thought and expression in my photography, my mind has matured and offers a much deeper thought process when I seek to engage in issues and possibilities in all areas of my life.
I hope you have enjoyed this today as much as I did when imagining in my mind the image that might exist within this new technique, while i was out on a cool, quiet winter stroll.
Please click on the image to view it full size.
