High Dynamic Range Imaging has been all the rage over the past two years. It is a method of photography that allows you to merge the light of different parts of an image in to one image giving you a much more balanced feel for the lighting. It is also a technique that allows you to create illustrative effects to an image giving it a unique feel. It has even touched off a new movement within the photographic world called the "grunge" movement.

In High Dynamic Range (HDR) Mastery Ben Willmore, Photoshop guru and road warrior, will shows you step by step how to master HDR photography. Ben sold his house in 2006 and bought a bus, converted it into a mobile home, and has been traveling the U.S. ever since. You can find out where he is by checking out his blog site "WhereIsBen"

The idea of HDR is simple. By using HDR, when you shoot an image, say from inside a building where there is low light, through a door way, or window, where there is bright light, you can adjust the image to balance the two. This video will take you through everything you need to know about HDR. To create the kind of images displayed in this video you will need a product called "Photomatix;" a stand alone product from HDRSoft, and you will also need Adobe Photoshop CS3. While you can do some of the work with each of the packages alone, to get the full effect, both are required. High Dynamic Range (HDR) Mastery is divided into four classes composing twenty lessons. I will break this down by class.

"Shooting for HDR" begins with the big picture of what HDR is. Here you will learn that you can use HDR for more realistic photography, or as the instructor often does, more as an illustrative look. First he shows some examples of what can be done with HDR. Then he shows how to choose subjects that will work best for the technique. From there you will see how to set up your camera to do HDR; here he shows both Canon and Nikon set ups. He then finishes with how to set up for handheld and monopod setups.