HDR certainly generates a lot of discussion, both pro and con. I have secret suspicion that most of the negative views are those of photographers. Many of the lay viewers seem to love HDR images, both good, and even some of the bad ones. They look like cartoons.
I think those of us who grew up with film, tend to expect the film style tonalities our eyes grew up with.
While the online world prattles about the pros and cons of HDR, ( and what exactly an HDR image is ?? ) HDR like images are taking over in the printed world, and on screen.
Just look through your color newspaper images in USA Today, or Time magazine, or even National Geographic, and carefully evaluate each image for detail in highlights, mid tones, and shadows, and you will find a large number of HDR-like images - Not necessarily multi frame tripod based shots, but perhaps multi processed Smart Objects in RAW, or via Ludicrous Pro, or Topaz Adjust, or other software. I do see them everywhere in print, (and do not post them online out of respect for copyright issues) and I am certain if you look you will too.
Most of the published HDR images are not garishly haloed, and calling outright attention to their differentness, but their detail in deep shadow and highlights are not typical single frame film images, and certainly not the images we used to see from Kodachrome with its deep, dark shadows, as seen in
"Bound for Glory"
Trey Ratcliffe's HDRs are not everyones cup of tea, perhaps, but certainly are very popular with viewers. Scroll down and check out his shot of the Chocolate shop.
As for tool fetishists, people do not ask a great sculptor what hammer and chisels he used to create his statue, they look at the creation he has rendered.
The tools are only incidental. I like nice tools as much as the next guy, but one quickly learns that it is not the tools, but what you do with them that counts.
My galleries contain images shot with everything from 35m point and shoot film cameras from the 70s and 80s, to current pro level DSLRs, and I know most viewers cannot tell which is which, without checking the EXIF data. That means I have some lousy images shot with first rate cameras too - that will help keep one humble:bike_rider:
