It was one of the most striking pictures out of Iceland and, to trained eyes, obviously post processed to obtain the dramatic toning effects (so easily obtained by using a HDR software such as Photomatix Pro). But the world oohed and aahed.
Well, the cat’s out of the bag and Reuters has posted a retraction and the original, unprocessed, image.
To be fair to the original poster, applying HDR to a photo is not wrong and there is a good reason to do so. Toning up a photo for dramatic effects, as was done in this photo, is also not wrong. After all, it made the rounds of almost all the web sites (just search Twitter). It’s a beautifully toned picture.
But, No, Virginia, the sky did not look like that because of the volcanic eruption.
Read the article at: Toronto Star
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This photo just proves that HDR is the coming wave of the future of photography. As a photographer, I thought the HDR photograph was fantastic!!
Peace,
ThamasD
Agreed, it is a beautiful photo — just not reality as far as a news photo is concerned, and that’s where the controversy lies.
HDR toned photos are great but, like candy or chocolate, there is a point of diminishing returns and once you pass it, you’ll yearn for more natural looking photos.