Customer Reviews

A World in HDR

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Trey Ratcliff, aka StuckInCustoms, finally released his new book, "A World In HDR". Ever since he announced that he was writing a book, I couldn't wait to get it. I've been following Trey on his website and drooling over some of his wonderful images he's taken during his travels for quite a while now. I even use some of the techniques he discusses in his tutorial, which has really helped my processing. He's a big influence on my work. I think I signed up to get it on Amazon back in August. It finally came on Friday last week and I just finished reading it a day or two ago. Now take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt. This is my first book review and I still consider myself an intermediate photographer. With all of that said, here's what I think:

Overall, I'm a little disappointed. Maybe my expectations were way too high, but I really don't think so.

The book starts out with a chapter on what High Dynamic Range photography is and how your brain interprets light. He explains that the eye darts around quickly, taking in different levels of light and how your brain puts the different light levels together in a sort of snapshot, giving you a vision of the scenery around you that a normal camera cannot possibly express in one snap of the shutter. The next chapter quickly explains how art forms evolve, such as music, and how HDR is evolving photography. In these two chapters, he uses words such as "synethesia" and "eleemosynary" and speaks about art quite well, but that's not for my taste. I'm pretty simple and just want to get to the meat and potatoes of how to do it. Time to break out the dictionary. He then very quickly begins his showcase of amazing images and where he was when he took them.

The photography is stunning to say the least. He is certainly a pioneer in this medium. Some of my faves include, "The Magic of Disney", "The Icy Pit to Hell", and "Hong Kong From the Peak on a Summer's Night." Shots such as these fill the pages through chapter 4 and make up the bulk of the book. The descriptions of his images are a fun read. Trey has a wry sense of humor that I enjoy. When he talks about his Russian tent-mate Yuri or explains the steps you need to take to get a shot inside of a cathedral, I snickered a little too loudly.

Also included with the image on each page is a little technical blurb in red italics that tells you what he did in that particular photographic situation as far as f-stop, iso or even possibly processing. However, it's not too in-depth and most of this technical info does not explain the actual settings he used in the software, save for maybe a couple of shots. He really wants you to try to figure it out on your own for the most part. I was hoping for more things like how much luminosity he used, did he used LucisArt in this one, did he use other software in that one. Again, great shots, but not much technical info.

Speaking of technical, chapters 5 and 6 go into his tutorial and other software recommendations. His tutorial in chapter 5 is fantastic. After his instruction, one could really process photos into HDR quite easily. However, it's the one you can get on his website for free, except for a couple of minor updates. That was another little disappointment. The only new thing I found here is that he changed the opacity of the brush tool for masking from 30% on the tutorial on his website, to 50% in the book. He also explains double-tonemapping, which is new as far as I can tell. That's about it. Chapter 6 also reviews some other software that he uses and those reviews can be found on his website as well.

That's it! No conclusion or anything. So overall, I think it's a good book, but disappointing at the same time. I think the tutorial should've been more toward the beginning of the book. I think this would help prepare the reader with a foundation of what he did in some of the images where he actually does talk a little about the processing he performed. Also, I really expected this book to include more about the actual settings he used in the software while processing each image and what other camera settings he used. I remember watching one of his videos in Atlanta where a person he was with asked him what bracket settings he would use in a particular situation. He would say something like (I'm paraphrasing), " I would bracket at -1 to +1 here because of this type of light." THAT's the kind of stuff I was looking for! I also really didn't care for all of the artsy-fartsy references to Monet, Renoit and the like. But, this is an art form and I can't really ding him for this. It's just a little too high-falutin' for me.

I guess I expected a technical book and what I got was an art book. My first clue should have been the title, "A World In HDR". That is a good title since it really discusses just that.

It's a great coffee table book and a great book for those getting started in HDR photography or have never heard of HDR photography. But, for those of us who have been doing this for a little while now, you can get just about everything in the book from his website. Not that that's a bad thing, but unless you want to help him by buying his book as a thank you for the work he's brought to the world, you may just want to stick with his StuckInCustoms website.

If ever there was a reason to go check a book out in person before you buy, this is it. I waited for this book to come out. This was my one and only Christmas gift this year. Heaven knows how much Trey has hyped it on his website, Flickr, FB and Twitter. The cover shows a "seal" on the top left that says "Featuring The Award-Winning Exclusive HDR TUTORIAL" WOW!! It HAS to be good right? Wrong.

First off, it's 210 pages long. Of those 210 pages, roughly 18 relate to this "Award Winning HDR Tutorial." That leaves the rest for him to show us his "home movies" of his greatest shots (just ask him). Like someone else mentioned, most of these shots are already on his website, in larger than life sizes. Hey, I admire a healthy ego, but this book is kind of over the top for me.

Instead of showing HOW he did each of the 100+ pages of HDR photos that we are treated to, he tells us about getting up on catwalks and how popular he is and all the great places he's been to. Super..

Which takes us to the Tutorial itself. Wow, not really helpful. Think of someone who is so impressed with his HDR work, that he doesn't REALLY want anyone else to copy him.. Telling others "how to" do HDR photos.. That pretty much sums it up.

Tips like: "Smoothing. This important slider affects the HDRness of the shot. The more you move it to the left, the more psychedelic your imagine will be." Thanks Trey..

On shooting your HDR sunset photo to follow along with in this award winning tutorial. Does he also show a sunset photo just for kicks? Or offer a download for photos so you can follow along?? Nope.. He shows us one of his favorite Times Square photos. How does this relate to the sunset we are supposed to be doing? It's doesn't.

So, take some pictures already!! Ha, set camera on auto-bracket and take 3 shots, -2, 0, +2. Of course my award winning Times square photo was taken with 5 auto bracket shots but I want to confuse you later, so I'll work with 5 auto bracketed shots of Times Square and you work with 3 auto bracketed shots of some sunset. That way, I don't have to "really" show you how I would do it, by using the very same setup or photos.. See that's how this award winning tutorial and photo book goes. Most of the award winning tutorial pages are really 1/2 to 1/3rd of the page, as his Time Square photos takes up the rest of it. (Not to mention pg's 178 and 179 are just one large award winning Times Square photograph.)

"What aperture should you use? Well, this (award winning) Tutorial doesn't really advise on this sort of thing, but f/9 or /10 should keep everything is focus."
In all honestly, aperture is not one of the things I'm wanting to know about. Again, would have been nice to see more screen shots of the different HDR apps and settings he used to achieve them.


Honestly, I have nothing against Trey or HDR. If your a SIC fan, this is a great book for you. If you're looking for an "Award winning HDR Tutorial, this is NOT the book you seek.

I own both Photomatix pro and Dynamic-Photo HDR. I was hoping this would really be an asset in learning more about HDR, It's not. Both programs offer far more help in their FAQs.

I feel like I was sold something I wouldn't have bought had I been able to look through the tutorial first. It's my fault. I fell for Trey's hype instead. I live in a small town in a remote area. The local "book" store sells newspapers. If you are a fan of Trey, you have already seen all these HDR photos, trust me. There really is nothing new here. It's no wonder Amazon is showing so many for sale as used.

I would have given this one star, but I don't want to be that guy. Besides, Trey's given me a whole new respect for Ken Rockwell.

Oh well, looking forward for my Sham-wow to come, heard they are great..

I just received Treys new HDR book. I was very disappointed. I thought the book was a technical how-to. I love his HDR Photos and regularly visit his web site. His book is a mostly a collection of his photographs with very little info on how to shot HDR photos.
I can see his work on his web site and don't need his book.

Let's be clear, this is about the book, not necessarily about the guy. He's seems very nice in his videos online. However, how nice could he be if he just took my money and did not deliver what is promised. O.K. let me use his description.

"A unique blend of practical and inspirational, this book features

* a breathtaking collection of HDR photographs
* engaging explanations of how the author achieved the image
* expert tips for achieving stunning results (and avoiding common mistakes)
* a foolproof HDR tutorial and software recommendations"

Unique blend? I guess it is unique when the "inspiration" is 90% and the "Practical" is 10%. Pretty much the exact opposite of what it seems everyone was expecting.

Yes it is a nice collection of HDR Photographs, beautifully printed. Breathtaking? That is subjective but seems a little over-hyped.

"Engaging explanations of how the author achieved the image". I would classify them as stories, peppered with his personal philosophy - but not engaging explanations of anything to do with how the image was achieved.

"Expert Tips"? Maybe a few. But so many tips seemed to be missing that I got more and more disappointed as I went through the book.

Wow, "a foolproof HDR Tutorial". Well, I own Photomatrix and that contains a foolproof tutorial. Trey is happy to say this in describing the sliders in Photomatix (his favorite HDR program) And after giving a brief description of 6 of the main adjustment sliders - and I mean "brief". He says " What about the other sliders? They might be useful in thier own way, but I honestly don't use them much." Well, I guess no one else will need to either.

The overall feeling is that in a 208 page book, he dedicates a total of 17 pages, with lots of photos and screenshots, to explaining the "process" of creating great HDR photographs. Well, that is ALMOST 1% (one percent) of the book. Maybe I sound bitter. It just seems as though for $45.00, this book has almost no meat to it. I think I will have to admit that I chose the wrong book for my needs. If Amazon offered a money back guarantee, This would be in the mail tomorrow.

Trey, I think you would do yourself and your book purchasers a favor, by offering them a discount on one of your workshops equal to the amount of this book. In that way maybe we could get the practical advice we were seeking in your book.

I have to say that like other reviews this book did fall short. The pictures are of good quality but you can see them on his web site; so nothing special really. You almost get the impression that he has been on 5 good trips and he just releases a pictures a day. (which seems to work for him really)
His book is for the most part a mirror image of his blog. No real info just a whole lot of bragging on his part, how "famous" he has become and how he has a good following.

The HDR "tutorial" has nothing more nothing less than a lot of similar one you can find else where. I agree HDR is a new and exciting technique but not the only type of photography out there. It's one facet and a good tutorial would be how to not over use it. Back in the day you didn't always shoot with a filter on... sometimes shadows are nice too.

Would I recommend this book, yes as a coffee table book, as a tutorial? No. A useful tool, no. It is a let down.

Here is why you should not buy this book.

- Tutorial is not in any way unique than what you can find on his web-site, for free
- The book does not contain too much of technical information on the images. Instead, it's more of a collection of anecdotes about his travels, and adventures
- The author uses too many big words in his book. Clearly this was written in haste and was not edited well, as is the case with books that focus on technology that is getting outdated so fast
- Trey is a huge self-promoter, if you follow his blog, on his Twitter feed or if you're his fan on Facebook. This book is mostly about him yet again.

No thanks.

One thing I will say for Trey Ratcliff - he is an astute student of promoting oneself in the age of digital media. With multiple websites, a blog, a contact-heavy Flickr account, multiple speaking engagements, and now this book, Ratcliff knows how to turn himself into a brand.

I've read every book on HDR there is, plus hundreds of blog posts, online tutorials, forums, etc... this book is nothing but a pretty coffee table book with a few good tips on shooting HDR that can easily be found online in a second searching for "HDR tutorial"... the book mostly consists of Ratcliff talking about himself, his trips, all the places he's been, all his gifted photographer friends, and so on. For someone who's reached the pinnacle of HDR accomplishments (in terms of fame and publicity), you'd expect a whole lot more substance on what got him there.

A perfect example is an early section called "Resources." You guessed it, every one of the Resources is Ratcliff's various websites, Twitter page, Flickr page, Facebook page, etc. He really should have written a book on how to brand yourself in the age of social media. 80% of the book is a gallery of Ratcliff's favorite shots and the story behind each one. Interesting, but doesn't help me learn the art of HDR - every other book I've read on the subject does a much better job.

Bloch's "The HDRI Handbook" and McCollough's "Complete Guide to HDR" are much better and much more suited to people who want more than pretty pictures and instead want actual substance on learning the art and technique of this unique photographic style.

There are good words in the English language that have bad connotations. One of them is flippant. That's a shame, because it would certainly be nice to describe Trey Ratcliff's language in "A World in HDR" as flippant, without disparaging the book.

This book has two different themes. The first is as a collection of travel photographs from around the world. Opposite each photograph is a commentary in which Ratcliff provides his thoughts about the image. For example, in showing a photograph of a monkey in Malaysia, the author discusses thinking about how things are named, and the place of monkeys in the context of the larger world around them, and even of how a photograph can be used to start a discussion.

The book is also about High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging, a process of extending the range of light in photographs by combining differently exposed images of a subject. All of the pictures are made using HDR techniques. There is also a short tutorial on HDR processing with an emphasis on the techniques Ratcliff favors.

When reading this book, it's useful to keep in mind the dual nature of HDR imaging. On the one hand HDR can be used to capture a range of tones equal to the human eye, rather than the more limited range of a camera, and thereby create what is actually a more realistic photograph. At the other end of the scale, HDR can create surreal pictures with vivid colors and abnormal lighting effects that are more like illustrations. Both effects can be used to convey the vision of the particular artist. Ratcliff appears to prefer the surreal extreme. (Indeed, he doesn't even discuss the exposure fusion function of the Photomatix Pro software, which can be used to merely extend the range of light.) Readers should remember that surrealism is not the only option

Readers unfamiliar with Photomatix Pro, which is rapidly becoming the standard software for HDR processing, may prefer a little more detail. One book that I found useful for early encounters with Photomatix is "Practical HDR: A complete guide to creating High Dynamic Range images with your Digital SLR" by David Nightingale. On the other hand, more experienced users may find some of Ratcliff's suggestions useful. For example, even though it's a standard Photoshop technique for local adjustments, I'd never encountered or applied the advice to blend the HDR image with the original images to tone down surrealistic effects or deal with image motion.

Strangely enough the author's breezy language is one of the reasons I recommend this book. It helps to convey the idea that creating images can be fun.

The majority of the book is dedicated to his photography which is quite nice. Very poor technical section, not very well explained. Only good part was information on a variety of software packages for photo editing etc. that I found useful. Not a "heres how to" book.

In my opinion, there are both good and bad things to say about this book, as well as about the author. I'll start with what I do like.

Trey is excellent at taking a collection of photos with different exposures and merge them into one HDR image. He achieves an arty fantasy look in the images which is very impressive. In my eyes, this is where his great talent is.

What I don't like are the photos themselves. If it had not been for the look created by the HDR process, most of his images would be boring, and nothing more than snapshots. I believe that the same amount of thought about composition should be applied to an HDR image as to a normal one. This is where Trey looses one star.

The other star is lost in his descriptions about the pictures. He gets overly arty and philosophical, and uses words you'll need a dictionary to understand. These paragraphs gave me nothing, and I believe the book would have been better without.

At the end, there is a good tutorial about how to go about making your own HDR images, but this is also available at Trey's blog.

As a summary, this books contains a large collection of images showing what most photographers can achieve if they practice their computer skills, and this inspiration is the best reason to buy the book.