As described in my Guide to “New” or True HDR Photography, one of the greatest pleasures with True HDR Photography is that it can breathe new life into old photos stored in RAW format. While the purchase of a new camera or lens can only enhance photographs going forwards, True HDR Photography can also enhance all (or many) of the photographs you have taken in the past. I have populated this article with vivid images taken many years ago on a trip to Disneyland Paris.
How many photographers have revisited the RAW images they have from years ago? I started capturing photographs in RAW when I first purchased the Canon 350D in 2006. I cannot believe that that’s about 20 years ago! The 350D was quickly followed by the Canon’s superior 5D full-frame camera and my photography journey was well underway.
Quite frankly, I have been amazed at the quality of many of the early images I captured, now they can be viewed as part of a True HDR Photography workflow. It is astonishing that these images are up to 20 years old and yet exhibit such incredible image quality. It shows that RAW formats can capture far more colours and dynamic range than the 8-bit JPEG and this becomes much more evident when you select the ‘HDR’ button in Adobe Camera RAW and view images on an HDR-capable monitor.
Back in the 2000s, I was less focused on photography aspects, such as composition, and more focused on simply capturing – for posterity – my holidays, and friends and family around me. I am so pleased that I made the decision to capture and store images in RAW format and, as described in my article Shoot in RAW as JPEG Will Become Obsolete in a High Dynamic Range (HDR) World, I urge you to do the same.
Working through my old RAW files has been an exciting, fulfilling and emotional experience, and I strongly recommend anyone with stored RAW files to do the same. True HDR has been making images of family and friends so lifelike, vivid and three-dimensional – like a veil has been removed from those early processed JPEGs. Scenes captured on past holidays suddenly take on a closer, more immediate feel, as if you have physically stepped back into them. Absolutely wonderful!
Other pages you my be interested in:
What is the Perfect True HDR Photography Workflow?
La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona – a showcase of True HDR Photography
Guide to HDR Image Formats: JPEG with Gain Map, JPEG XL, AVIF and HEIC/HEIF
Navigating HDR Image File Formats from Adobe Camera RAW and Photoshop
