HDR Photo Pro Review

For a while now, I have been using HDR Photo Pro and have been comparing it against my entire HDR Workflow where I use Lightroom Photomatix and Photoshop. To cut things short, I am generally impressed by the software as it gives me more "realistic" results than its famous rival.

Here are some of the images I processed using the software.

Not bad right? Let me assure you that I didn't use any other software besides it. So, now, let me tell you the pros and cons:

What I like about it

• Adjustment sliders are fast (but only for Preview Size Processing)
• Names of sliders are much easier to understand. (As compared to smoothing sliders of Photomatix)
• Produces more "realistic" images

What I don't like about it

• No Lightroom plugin for easier integration into my HDR workflow.
• The strength slider has a stronger effect on Full Size processing than in Preview Size Processing.
• Noise reduction is freakishly slow. I use Lightroom instead.

So, will I use this software? Yes.... but only for those images where I am sure I won't be needing the help of Lightroom and Photoshop for clean up - which is pretty rare. I recommend this software if you don't want to use other products for your HDR photography. All in all, HDR Photo Pro as a standalone software is very impressive.

Miyajima Island's Floating Torii Gate

Miyajima is an island near Hiroshima City and is home of the most scenic view in Japan. Hiroshima has become my 2nd favorite place after Kyoto mostly because of this place. There was a spiritual feeling as I stood in awe beside this giant gate that I can't quite explain. This place is just an awesome place... period

I had to wait more than 4 hours until the tide came up. As you can see, it was very hard to get a clean shot of the gate without tourists ruining the shot. I waited for the golden hour and then the blue hour and I really liked how they turned out. A friend suggested that I should do a time-lapse video as the tide comes up. I shall try it when I have the money and time.

Shirakawa.... GO!

Ogimachi Village, a UNESCO world heritage site, is the largest village in Shirakawa-go. It is famous for their gassho-zukuri farmhouses. (Gassho-zukuri meaning "constructed like hands in prayer"). Their steep roofs are necessary during the winter because of the heavy snow that falls on the village.

The there was a funny photographer at the view point of Ogimachi Village who emphatically pronounced "Go" of Shirakawa-go whenever he took pictures. After we took our shots, his personality kinda brushed in to ours and we started enunciating the "Go" in Shirakawa-go whenever we took pictures.

The A-Bomb Dome

Located at the Peace Park in Hiroshima City, the A-Bomb Dome is the reminder of the horror experienced by the Japanese when an atomic bomb was dropped one fine morning in Japan. This structure, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was the only structure than remained standing near the hypocenter of the explosion.

Hiroshima Castle

Musings: What motivates us?

I've been listening to a lot of talks this week and I stumbled upon this really interesting talk on motivation. Because I've been a software engineer for almost 4 years now, I like the idea of paying us enough money so we could forget about our financial problems and concentrate on thinking of innovative ideas.

Here is the video:

Hiroshima Castle

After watching Band of Brothers and WW2 in Colour, I was extremely hooked to WW2 flicks. So, during Japan's Golden Week (7 awesome concurrent holidays), I had the urge to visit any historical place related to WW2. Hiroshima was the first thing on my mind since it was the first city in history to be hit by an atomic bomb. More than half a century later, I am amazed that the city is this beautiful and lively and I can't imagine it was flattened a few decades ago.