HDRI and Tonal Mapping in Photography Essay

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The science of High dynamic range imaging has developed the dynamic range of processing, transmission, and representation of imaging photography beyond the traditional forms. In this paper, I examine the recent developments in high dynamic range (HDR) and tone mapping. Before the nineteenth century, the majority of the artwork was developed in two or three-dimensional forms. The concept of using various exposures to secure a wide range of luminance was pioneered by Gustave Le Gray to deliver seascapes presenting the sky and the sea in 1895 (Sayre, 15). It was difficult at the time to use standard methods as the luminosity range was markedly extreme. Gustave Le Gray used two different negatives, one for the sky and a long exposure one for the sea. He then combined both in the positive. The need for high dynamic range imaging (HDRI) has existed for a long time but it was until in recent times barred by computer processing power (Sayre, 56).

Ansel Adams a great conservationist and veteran photographer created great public awareness of photography. He engaged a vigilantly controlled process to tone map scenes on negatives and subsequently tone map them on print (Alinder, 8). He used a zone system to accurately predict the details he could capture on paper and film. In 1933 he opened the Adams Ansel Gallery in San Francisco. He later secured a job in Washington as a photo muralist as well as teaching photography at the museums around the time of the Second World War (Alinder, 14). He perfected HDR by use of dodging and burning images, a previous form of tone mapping which provided better contrast in the elements of his images.

Contemporary HDR was developed in the ’80s and 90’s when computers were used to analyze and create local tone mapping functions. It represents a great change in imaging technology from black and white images to color photography. The process involves the use of a high dynamic range luminance followed by tone mapping the product. Tone mapping is employed in the display of HDR images in devices of low dynamic range, for instance, a computer screen (Kopelow and Doug 20). HDR is used to reproduce images as seen by the human eye including images.

Presently cameras, e.g. the Pentax K-7s perform in-camera processing of HDR and can produce high-quality scene photographs. Nikon has effectively combined three image sensors into a single platform significantly reducing the limitations posed by previous imaging technology. The customary imaging technology was characterized by taking three fast shots of an object and merging them to make an HDR image however the Nikon’s image sensors with a video component combine the three into one shot (Revell 23). This development has led to elevated shooting speeds and increased memory reads.

Works cited

Alinder, Mary S. Ansel Adams: A Biography. New York: H. Holt, 1996. Print.

Kopelow, Gerry, and Doug Smith. All Our Changes: Images from the Sixties Generation. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 2009. Print.

Revell, Jeff. Nikon D3100: From Snapshots to Great Shots. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press, 2011. Print.

Sayre, Henry M. A World of Art. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall, 2000. Print.

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