Project365 - When is HDR Too Much ?

Introduction
A couple of days ago, I decided it would be appropriate to mess around with High Dynamic Range (HDR). There is a lot of discussion in photography circles that HDR is way overdone. Tonight, I thought I would take a couple of examples of photos & see how they turn out.

The Setup
Camera - Canon 60D, Lens - Canon 70-200mm f/4 IS

I have been watching a certain venue for some time. If you come from the South of Calgary, up Highway 2, you come over a rise & the entire city is laid out in a beautiful vista before you. It's quite some distance from the house, and I haven't (yet) figured out exactly how I want to shoot it. So this evening I decided to stop just before dusk & take some test photos.

Note: I still haven't decided if I like Photomatix, so the photos have their watermark instead of mine.

The Photos

I like the overall effect of having the rays of the setting sun flaring out over the foothills of the Rockies. The foreground is very light, and (to MY eye) seems tinged a blue colour. This would be an image _I_ could see people calling "overdone".

 Here is a tight shot of the downtown core - about 25 km away ! The lights seems a little too bright - even a little surreal to me. 

This photo is of the new hospital Pat works at, called the South Health Campus. It was taken at dusk, so the foreground has been lightened considerably. I think this photo displays the correct use of HDR - because you wouldn't know it was, unless I told you !







Lessons Learned
I think that HDR does have a place in a photographer's toolbox, if it is used correctly. While it is fun and challenging to create the images, it is also very easy to create unrealistic photos. Something I'm not sure I like !