Free Apps MAC

There is a distinct lack of Tutorials for creating HDR in Pixelmator, but i did find an APP that pertained to create HDR "style pictures from one or more photographs (free) As i didn;t have 3 photos with different exposures i took 3 from the original and messed around with them so I had ...the original, one desaturated,sharpened, and lightened and the final totally colour saturated and darkened slightly. The result is below. I have tried doing the fake HDR tutorials with very mixed results and to be honest, because I don't fully understand the whys and wherefores of what is done it is all a bit hit and miss.

I realize the image is wee bit over blown but there is an adjuster in the app to the "degree" of HDRing.

I think that the definition of HDR has become a bit blurred over time and what I always thought of as being HDR i.e. a more vivid image with people who looked a little like comic book images has been improved by many people and some good programmes. I like all forms of HDR from the really garish effects to the more subtle technique that Mike employs. It is for that reason I like your image as it seems to be a mix of both, if I look at the tram lines and the right hand side it looks more colourful and the people have that more intense look as does the stonework of the arch, whereas the centre building and left side pavement and buildings look slightly less so, but overall I like the effect.

I have always thought of HDR as being a technique and there are different ways of employing that technique. My personal choice, mainly because I photograph landscapes, is to go for the more subtle look. With a lot of the apps they are increasing the contrast and sharpening to simulate HDR, You can do this in Lightroom, but I'm not always convinced that the programs are really extracting the full dynamic range. Saying that though this one seems to have done a reasonable job but I would question the sky. There's no definition and it's just too flat and grey in my opinion.

I didn't have time to import a sky...as the sky in the original was featureless to begin with. The app does a fairly good job on it's own, but as I say manipulating the original and feeding it to the app changes the out come greatly.