Stephen Leary

Hi. I have returned from a break from my photography. Inspiration comes and goes in waves.

I am experimenting more with HDRIs and tone mapping, as I think the potential for this relatively new technique is immense. The low dynamic range of our computer screens and prints often do not do the scene we have shot justice. Tone mapped HDRIs potentially increase perceived realism and can mimic closer what the eye (and your own buit-in image processing) sees.

Your eyes and brain heavily process the light that comes in. Local adaptive contrast is something your brain does, so why not use similar techniques in our images? Artists have been using similar techniques for centuries, and now HDRIs allow us to take local adaptive contrast in photography to new levels.

I am relatively new to HDR/tone mapping and any guidance is very welcome!

I'm currently using an Canon EOS 400D. My older photos are using the 18mm-55mm stock lens. For my later ones, a Canon 18-200mm ES-F Lens, which is working much better for me. Also have a Polarizing filter.

My much older photos were shot a long time ago with very poor none-SLR cameras. Only photos are from the last 2 years are with an SLR.

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(Older profile info..)
I am interested in learning new techniques for photo editing after having been very impressed by the photos in the gallery and elsewhere on the site.
Some photos on this site are very impressive and I can see there is a lot of talent here.

I am selective about the photos I upload, as I get bored of looking at other people's average photos and don't want to subject others to the same. I am also not so impressed by photos with no originality ('has been done many times before' photos bore me) - I hate photos of flowers ;).
I would like to choose a style and stick to it, but just experimenting with a few different things at the moment, so my gallery may look a bit random. I like to express emotions and atmosphere in my photos and I hope that comes across in my work.

Feel free to offer advice/tips/criticisms/praise on my photos. All is welcome.

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Still longing to get something in the gallery, if you like a photo, please submit for voting, thanks. ;)

Looking forward to hearing your comments.

Kind regards,
Stephen.