PHOTOGRAPHY EXPOSED

by John Peters A.R.P.S.

EXTREME BRACKETING

What is the Extreme Bracketing (EB) method?

Its a method I devised to increase the tonality of an image. Sounds a bit complicated. I invented a way of increasing the range of dark bits and light bits in a photograph.

Hey, HDR does that and you would be right. The trouble is, HDR only goes part of the way to increasing the range of tones in a given photo. I like shooting into the sun or moon, contra-jour, and because I'm pointing the camera directly at the source of light, the range of tones is vast and the camera tends to wash out the brightest parts.

Thus my Extreme Bracketing method. I read that the eye/brain combination can handle tones in excess of the best digital cameras, even the likes of the 5D Mark 111 or 1V. The EB method is best explained in the picture below. Basically, it's like the H.D.R. process. I used PHOTOMATIX but many software products now support H.D.R. Extreme Bracketing is like H.D.R. but with an extra bit added on, an extra (extreme) exposure often 6 or 8 stops or more, under the average exposure. This is then blended in with the H.D.R. result. The final image has an increased range of tones recorded. That's the basics of EB or extreme bracketing.

TOP TIP Always use a tripod with some form of cable release or the self timer to avoid vibration. Keep the aperture constant, vary the shutter speed. Your Extreme Bracket will be set only to record the very brightest parts of the image, the rest of the image will be black.