I am very excited to have my friend, Jacques, contribute to the Alt Perspective series.  To a lot of you, I suspect that you’re more familiar with Jacques’ alter ego, Fotofreq, but however you regard him, the man is a true student of UrbEx HDR photography.  But still, that isn’t what caught my eye when I started following Jacques’ work.  The thing that jumps out at me is his fantastic sense of composition and style.  He has a great eye, simply put, and that is the single most important skill to have as a great photographer.  The scenes that he often shoots has SO many elements in and a good photographer will learn what to remove and what to keep in.  His shots offer up variety in presentation, as well.  It’s not all the same ol’ thing.  Jacques can return to the same locales and consistently bring back different shots, all with equally strong artistic and technical merit.  I really admire that.

Aside from Jacques’ skills as a photographer, he’s just a fantastic guy with a hearty sense of humor and gives great care in fostering others to grow in this craft of ours.  It was a no-brainer to have my friend, the FotoFreq, contribute to the series.  I really do look forward to seeing the results of his ongoing adventures in the dereliction that man left behind.

You can follow Jacques on Twitter, Flickr, and his Blog

Sense… and Sensibilities! – Jacques Gude

Ok, folks!  I’ve got to pinch myself, ‘cause I still can’t believe I’ve actually been given the opportunity to blog on my man, Brian Matiash’s, ‘Alt Perspective‘ series. Thanks, Brian, for allowing me to share some thoughts with the many people out there who come to your site for inspiration and guidance! It is truly an absolute honor and privilege.

I suppose it might be best for me to tell you all a bit about how I got into HDR.  Well… The truth is that I really do not rembember when, but, like many HDRgraphers (and the HDR curious), I think I first heard about HDR from the oft-acknowledged Godfather of the art, Trey Ratcliff of Stuck in Customs fame.  I spent months shooting and processing, initially starting off with the typically over-baked type results.  Eventually, I refined my capturing and processing skills, resulting in more pleasing and “realistic” work.  While I had dabbled a bit in Urban Exploration while living in Indonesia, there really was not that much to shoot in that theme in a country where every bit of scrap is quickly turned into much needed income, or used in some other creative way.  Following my arrival in Berlin, Germany, I was suddenly surrounded by glorious urban decay! I started trolling the internet to see what others were doing in Germany, elsewhere in Europe, and around the world.  It was this research that led me to the website of the Baron von Brackethoven himself, ace photographer and all around good guy, Brian Matiash; Brian’s work forces me to bring my “A” game and to strive, incessantly, to improve my craft.

When Brian first asked me to write for his Alt Perspective series, I had planned to talk about the importance of “Passion” in approaching your work; I had even prepared a first draft.  Over the 4th of July long-weekend, however, I dropped that idea — following a tweet session with a new HDRtist who was looking for help — to talk HDR Sense… and Sensibilities.

So what does that mean, exactly? Sense… and Sensibilities?  Well, since I figure that is why you have read this far, I’ll tell ya’ll:  Sense, in this case, is the intuitive ability (or acquired perception) of the photographer to recognize a given subject’s HDR-potential; Sensibilities, on the other hand, refer to the photographer’s ability to shoot and process his HDR vision in a way that does not offend… well, the senses!

That makes sense, right? But then why, for the love of (insert your preferred diety here), do photographers still pump out over-baked images?  I believe it is because, more often than not, they have no idea how to do it “right”.  So, for those of you who want to dive in, do so!  The water is fine, and there are many great resources that our HDR forefathers have fought hard and died – ok, maybe not died (but maybe bled for) – to help the rest of us get up to speed quickly, thus saving the world from the tyranny of bad HDR (it really does hurt to look at it; one could go blind).

To get started, I commend you all to begin with the free HDR tutorial that Trey Ratcliff slaved over and given to us for free  here!  At the same time, do yourselves a favor and read the fantabulous HDR Best Practices Guide that Brian has hooked us up with as well.

So, you’ve now edumacated yourselves with the above tutorials and tips, but you’re still confused (or not satisfied).  No problem.  Then it is time for you to study the works of your favorite HDR photographers.  Try to figure out why their work speaks to you.  Is it the subject? Composition? Processing? Or, is it a combination of several factors?  Whatever it is, try to figure out “how they did it”, and then emulate it.  That is how I learned, and I’m telling you it works!  Eventually, you will bring your own sense of vision and style into the picture (lame spun intended), and then you will have reached HDR nirvana (but you will still keep evolving, as it is a never-ending process)!  And remember, those of us who shoot HDR are a very giving bunch, and we are always here to help you grow; all you have to do ask!