About
Once you try HDR Photography, it's hard to go back...
My name is Pungkas Nataatmaja, or simply Pongky - as that is what I am known to the people I interact with daily. I have decided to create this site to share my knowledge and also hope to learn from you, the readers - about HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography. The thing about photography that we must understand, is that it’s a learning process - I don’t care if you’re Ansel Adams, or if you just got your first camera - the knowledge you can gain is endless.
Why HDR? Simply because it takes photography to a deeper level of ‘art’. It gives the photographer another tool to tell a story or set the mood of a scene. The photographer, or story-teller, can interpret the scene in certain ways that was not previously possible. Technically - HDR is a tool to help give details in shadows, and deeper, more vibrant colors in an otherwise overblown part of the image, such as a scene with a bright sky and dark contrasting shadows. But to me, it is much more than that. It is like an artist having another set of brushes and paints of never-before-seen colors with which to paint a scene.
HDR photography for me has become a real passion as of late. I would go out on a shoot, and just can’t wait to see how it would turn out after merging and processing at home. No one has paid me to do it, it’s just an itch that needs to be scratched.
I also understand that HDR photography is still a niche, and probably will always be - but for those of use who dare venture into this - either by accident or by will - I am hoping that we will turn out for the better.
I am a photographer first, and an HDR enthusiast second. My goal is for you to become more interested, or better yet - excited, by the process of creating HDR images. At the very least I hope this site will give you an overview of the techniques used to generate HDR images and how to best take the images. I know I still have a lot to learn, so I am hoping we all can learn something from each other, and grow better at this wonderful art we know so affectionately as HDR photography.
So, get out there and set your camera to auto-bracketing mode, and fire away!