[GhostDakota]

Thanks guys. Any of my photos that get published in catalogs, or are displayed, I definitely do some post processing to most of them. Photoshop if your friend, though I do pride myself in minimal post processing of my photos. It's not always the gear that takes the best photos, but a combination of good gear and the 12" behind the viewfinder.

The 3 photos I posted above are known as HDR, or High Dynamic Range photos. It basically allows you to photograph a subject as it truly appears, or BETTER in many cases.

The basic principal behind it... I use a Nikon D2x and Nikon D70s. They allow me to use "Bracket" shooting. On the D2x, I like to use 5, 7, or 9 shots. On the D70s I set my bracketed shots for 3 shots, each 2 stops different from the other. This basically creates three photos: -2, 0, and +2. You then use a program, Photomatix in my case, to merge them together. Once merged, it's still nothing special. You then need to use that program to "Tone Map" the new single image. This is what brings out the final product.

You can also use just one imagine, ONLY if it's a RAW image. This helps for you to take photos in diverse conditions (moving vehicle traffic, pedestrians, trees, whatever). You then use a RAW editing program to change the stops manually as with the 3 photo routine. You then save 3 (Or 5, or 7, or 9) versions of that original RAW. -2, 0, and 2 EV as before. Make sure the RAW editing program does NOT save file info, and if it does delete it. If this is not done, it will not work properly and will look like poop. At this point, you then go ahead and Tone Map as before, and you get a similarly good final product.

Make any sense?