Following on from the last part, we're into slightly different territory here. Dark areas with deep shadows and bright sunshine peeping through the gaps, also known to photographers as "Oh no, my camera can't possibly take that" territory. HDR comes to the rescue here.

So. Into the darkness (and the light).

This first shot was a definite call for HDR; compared to what you see below, the building was almost in pitch black shadow. Bracket three shots at a difference of 1.0 and run it through photomatix, and you get something more easy on the eye.

While you obviously make compromises on image quality with a 28-300 zoom, it is nonetheless very useful for those wide angle shots. This was HDR too; the difference between the sky and forest floor was considerably more than your average sensor could handle.

Around the halfway mark between Magome (where we started) and Tsumago (妻籠) where we were planning to finish, there is a lovely old house owned and run by a fine gentleman who treats travelers to tea and sweets. The interior of the house is dark and cool, while the outside was warm and extremely bright. A three shot HDR produced the following shots of the house and a portrait of the gentleman who owns it.

(This was a single shot which didn't need HDR)

Before we left, I asked the owner if I could take his picture. He seemed somewhat surprised at this request, but he was happy to oblige. Even with the HDR treatment, this one took quite a bit of post processing to get it how I wanted it because of the section at the back which was miles brighter than the rest of the scene. It's also one of those shots where I couldn't decide between colour and black and white. So both of them made it in.

Continuing on, we were following trails through the forest with dark patches punctuated by sunlight. I took the following shots just to see if I could make them work with HDR. Turns out that I could.

More light/dark forests

Path

The next (which may or may not be the last) part of this set will be a mix of the first two: some open air, single-shot scenes and some more HDRs to balance out the extremes of light and darkness.

Thanks for looking!