It’s our May holiday weekend here in Canada and I’ve had some time to relax.
I’ve spent part of the day looking at various fora, blogs, photo-sharing sites, etc. and have seen some genuinely nice images.
To my dismay however, I’ve also seen a lot of something else: the over-processed-HDR look.
Apparently, tone-mapping is alive and well.
At this point, I feel compelled to link back to an article I wrote several years ago:
Over-processed, not.
Please read it, or pass it along to a friend who may need help. Consider it an act of kindness. Or tough love.
In the meantime, if you want to remind yourself of what a proper photograph should look like, have a look at some film images.
Here are a couple of sites I often visit because the photographers there are still shooting film (in addition to digital):
You won’t find anything flashy there, but you will find some very fine photographs.
—Peter.
Prosophos 
It really is garish, isn’t it? I’ve read comments where photographers are back-patting each other over the most horrible looking images you could possibly imagine. Of course the fad will eventually be sneered at – by the same people indulging in it. Photoshop is the new cross-processing and HDR is the new Power Goo.
HDR can serve a photograph by protecting highlights and keeping shadows clean. Using it ‘artistically’ is 100% Pure Fail.
Thanks, Peter for the kind words. That means so much coming from you. Truly.
-bijan
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Peter,
Just stopped by and read your post–thanks for the heartwarming endorsement!
-Mark
Here here Peter on both counts..over-processed images and both Bijan and Mark’s respective sites and view on the world. Refreshing, alive and great sites to follow.
I’ve always told myself that if I could make my digital images look like Portra 400 I’d be one happy camper. I’m not always successful (ok truthfully probably never!), but I have been trying to make them look as natural as possible. Couldn’t agree more about both Mark’s and Bijan’s site – they are a constant source of beautiful imagery and a showcase of what film can still do in the digital age of photography.
Peter,
One of my pet peeves since the beginning of digital photography. The only problem is that we are in the minority. Heavy handed processing is a very popular part of photography now.
So true!
Thanks too for the links to the photographers. I have spent some time at Bijan Sabet’s site and really like that, thanks.