HDR Takes a Walk Around Vernonia Lake

Sunday after church, Kathy and I visited Vernonia, a small Oregon town whose main tourist attraction is the adjacent lake. It takes about 10 minutes to circumnavigate the lake on the nicely-paved walking path -- 30 minutes if you take time to photograph what you see along the way.

Assuming, that is, photography is capable of capturing and conveying what you see. For one of the scenes we encountered, the phrase comes to mind: "The picture doesn't do it justice." At least, that was true for ordinary photography. But a three-shot HDR photo saved the day. Here is a normal shot of an old mill building, followed by the High Dynamic Range version. (The latter matches much more closely what I saw with my own eyes as I gazed up at the edifice.)





From the mill location looking back across the lake, another shot demanded HDR to "do it justice." The first picture was exposed to show the detail in the picnic table, which unfortunately results in a completely washed-out sky. (Exposing for the sky makes the picnic table nearly disappear into a shadow.) HDR photography to the rescue:





If you would like to see seven more shots (with captions) from Vernonia Lake, click here.