HDR (High Dynamic Range) is a set of techniques that allow to represent wide range of intensity levels between lightest and darkest areas of the image.

By Trey Ratcliff (aka Stuck in Customs), one of the most famous and renowned HDR photographers on Flickr. In his article Trey describes some professional insights and useful photography tips that he collected over the years of his career. A camera does not work like an eye; film does not work like memory. There is a fine line between a photo that is quite nice and one that is quite breathtaking. At some unknown point, a photo can cross the Rubicon and be forever a piece of beautiful art. That hinterland between a regular photo and evocative art is a shifting area from person to person and taste to taste. However, that zone can be narrowed a bit once you start to consider the way the brain stores memories and emotions. And yes, it gets a bit touchy-feely here trying to determine if your work has crossed that line. With rigorous practice and peer feedback, you can start to appreciate where that zone is and, consequently, improve your hit ratio.

Animal photography is probably one of the most dangerous types of photography. The outcome totally depends on the skills of photographer and the time when the shot is taken. A photographer who uses good exposure, color and blur settings along with appropriate shutter speed and focusing techniques can produce stunning photographs. Animal photographers have to be prepared and be ready for the unknown. They need to study action and language of animals to know every move. Many animal photographers use camouflage to hide themselves and to give photographs a natural and “natural” look. When shooting in wildness, photographers usually shoot with long telephoto lenses from a distance.

I love photography... that will never change. I could spend hours and hours looking at some awesome pictures, and thank God for Flickr. There, a person manages to find tons of breathtaking shots... full of passion, agony, insanity... some colorful, some not... there are all the feelings. Here is a brief selection of the picture that took my breath away during a little visit to Flickr. I really hope you enjoy these as much as I did. Cheers!

Happy Valentines Day! In celebration we thought we’d publish this post on the romantic topic of Candlelight Photography! Have you ever tried to photograph a candle lit scene with your digital camera? The results can be stunning with the warm glow of flickering flames reflecting off your subjects face (can you feel the romance?) but the shooting in such a low light environment make it can make it a challenging situation. Here are a few tips on how to get that perfect candle light portrait!

As there are hundreds of posts available on the internet about photoshop and photo manipulation. But our today’s post is really different than those. In this post we are listing another set of 23 Magical Photographs To Believe That Are Not Photoshopped. This does not mean that they haven’t been photoshopped for cropping, coloring etc, but originally all the photographs are real using only in-camera tricks and photographer efforts. You will need to grab their creativity in these photos. These are the wonder creations of photographers who use their creativity with a different angle and approach to get the result that makes a difference.

We are starting today the “Photography in colors” inspiration series. We are going to specify a color and then selecting beautiful photos on which this color stands out. We’re beginning with the primary colors, and today, the chosen one is red. Red: The color from the opposite things, religion and hell, innovation and rebellion. It’s a hot color, vibrant, happy, dynamic and funny. It’s useful to distinguish specific parts, especially the ones that need attention or caution. It’s also the color of love, passion, romance, sensuality and sin.

More people across the world are living in cities than ever before. Cities are both places of historical significance and the engines of the world’s economy. They’re also home to some of the greatest treasures and buildings that mankind has created. Cities are wonderful subjects for photography. They offer a variety of subjects suitable for both straight and HDR photography, including architectural, street and night photography. The structure, angles and texture you get with architectural photography make it unique and very engaging. From the energy of Cairo to the canals of Venice, Smashing Magazine celebrates the diversity of the world’s cities by presenting you 35 beautiful city photos. Be sure to check out the portfolios of the talented photographers whose work you see here. We’ve also included some useful links at the bottom of the article.

Wonderful photo art work, mostly nude photography by Klaus Kampert.

As I have said before, Im not huge into most gothic style photography. Much of it is the same thing, just done by another photographer. So, when I see a creative gothic style photo I am always impressed. Girltripped’s portfolio on Deviant Art is filled tons of awesome gothic style photos. Check them out…

One of the most charming contrasting color effects you can get in photography is by using infrared. An easy way to understand near-infrared light is to think of it as the color of the rainbow next to red, a color that is invisible to the human eye. But near-infrared is not the same as thermal imaging. Because everyday objects reflect infrared in proportions that differ sharply from that of visible light, the tonal relationships are wildly unexpected. Such near-infrared techniques used in photography give subjects an exotic, antique look. Green vegetation becomes white, whereas human skin becomes pale and ghostly. The resulting images look alien. Digital cameras use CCD and other similar sensors to capture infrared images. Although all digital cameras available on the market are sensitive to infrared light, they are equipped with infrared-blocking filters. The main reason for this is that consumer cameras are designed to capture visible light. But sometimes these filters are used together, giving very interesting in-camera effects like false color, wood effects etc.

Macro Photography shows us a world of details, vibrant colors and things we couldn't imagine. We present a list of 70 Macro Photographies to show how a small world can be so perfect.

I often look at photography for inspiration in my designing. While there are limitless amounts of talented photographers out there, I like it when I feel a photographs work can easily be converted into a feeling. After all, that is usually what we are trying to do when we design a ad or website, right? Zhang Jingna does a great job at capturing a specific feeling in here photography.

I’m not really into the whole gothic thing, but there sure are some impressive gothic artists out there. Countess-Grotesque from Deviant Arts one such photographer, Photoshoper, model, and makeup artist. One thing that really drew me to her work was that much of it was gothic, but had plenty of color. So much gothic work is just dark in nature. It was nice to see some with a mix of color.

Long Exposure Photography is something that can take your breath away when you get it right. Here are some shots to get you inspired (plus some tips below the pics on these techniques).

The city is a fantastic source of beauty and inspiration, with all the glitz and glamour glistening beneath the city lights. But there is another side of the city altogether, one rife with its own kind of allure. Across the tracks, away from the dazzle of downtown, lies a darker imagination, this one looking to grunge-ridden, dilapidated architecture for inspiration. There is a beauty that pervades this kind of urban decay and captured wonderfully through a photographer’s well-trained eye. These industrial city scenes are wonderfully dark and offer a glimpse of the weathered face beneath the city facade. In this inspirational installment, we take a tour and show the charm of a more neglected and worn side of the city. We showcase the beauty of urban decay, a series of photos of this eroded elegance that photographers have captured brilliantly. These gorgeously grungy images have a haunting appeal, a stirring quality that radiates from within and that earned them a spot on this list.

Corwin Prescott Photography

I know that many people out there think the holidays are too depressing... but hey, it is actually about joy, love and all good things, that's for sure. And nothing better to capture these great moments as taking some christmas pictures! And people, cheer up!! There's a whole new year about to begin. If you didn't get 2008 as you wanted, try your best to make 2009 an awesome year!! The Abduzeedo Team wishes you all Happy Holidays!! Cheers!!

Aerial photography offers a drastically different perspective than the one you get from shooting on the ground. It includes photographs taken from aircraft, helicopters, balloons, rockets, kites, skydives, etc. It can be a rewarding, challenging and enriching experience. It can produce unique shots that look different than any other ground shot you have ever taken. Scenic flights can give you some great, memorable photos. Below, we present over 50 amazing aerial photographs — photos shot “from above”, in the air. At the bottom of this post you’ll also find references to DIY-tutorials and further useful information about aerial photography. You can also explore other works of the photographers we’ve featured in the links at the bottom.

20 Amazing Examples of Conformal Photography. How do they do this? I have read in various places that the images are manipulated with Photoshop, I am not sure. Either way it is in an amazing technique.