Ok, so the HDR version of the last 2 photos did not translate back. I think we are all seeing the low res version. I’ll try posting them in Notes to see if the HDR version comes across.
It’s just one of those things with new technology, I suppose. Before long hdr monitors will be the standard, but at this point in time it’s a conundrum!
That'll be interesting when that happens. I know HDR is..like...a separate technique for taking a picture. So if HDR monitors become the norm, I wonder if that means HDR photos will also be the norm, instead of a separate thing. Hmmmm..
So this will add to the confusion- hdr as a technique has been around for years. Basically, you take multiple shots of the same thing at different exposure levels. That way you have a shot with the shadows looking good, a shot with the highlights looking good, and everything in between. Those shots are all layered together, either in camera or in photoshop, using only the best parts of each image.
This new thing is using the same name, but entirely different. Normally there’s an upper limit for white, after which it is “blown out” or just completely devoid of data/detail. The new tech/screens dramatically bump up that upper limit, but if your monitor doesn’t have that ability it just shows a much lower quality approximation.
But yes, it won’t be long before hdr tech is the norm and the hdr photo layering is largely obsolete.
Ooh....gotcha. I appreciate the reminder that hdr as a technique is nothing new. I know what you mean now - that there are two separate things here. But it's yes it's confusing that the same word (hdr) is naming both the old technique AND the new way of adjusting the upper limit of blown out images..😅
Man, Erik, I think about these paradoxes all the time. How do hold onto these experiences closely enough to capture them, but loosely enough so as not to miss everything else that happens as a part of them. How do you find novelty in the familiar? How do you let go of control to gain it?
Haha, glad to hear I’m not the only one thinking about these things! Figuring it out, or just flowing with it when you can’t, is what makes life such a wild ride!
Paradox #1: It seems to me that it's not only hiking (and I know a lot about that) that gives us "real" experience. Almost any activity, including working on your professional projects, if described honestly and in detail, can be such an experience.
Your photos capture the awe of the moment beautifully. The photo wouldn’t have been possible without your felt sense, because you would not have seen it the way you captured it. It is a gift.
Erik, your second paradox really hit home. I used to be all about the challenge, pushing myself to the edge of endurance and then a little bit more. Now it's all about presence and connection, slowing down. Perhaps its age - mind getting a little wiser / body getting a little slower! Great essay, thank you.
Thanks! That’s probably as it should be. Here’s another paradox, though- the older I get the more I seek the challenges. It’s as if I can feel the time running out, and a regret of not having done more when I was younger.
I definitely feel that pressure - but it's not a matter of regret. Choices had to be made. I stopped bushwalking in my 20s as I focused on triathlons and mountain bike racing. Now I've returned full circles due to photography and dodgy knees slowing me down. I've got time - on the South Coast Track there were 4 people in their 70s, and they were coping fine.
That’s awesome! I feel like my life was on pause for 20 years while my kids were growing up. Time with them is obviously not a regret, but now I feel like I’m playing catch up!
Really enjoyed this, Erik. I think a lot about an issue adjacent to Paradox #3: Who/what makes a photograph?
It bugs me when people see my images and just say "wow you've got a great camera." Yes, but my camera does not create the expression. If you like the picture, you like my expression.
Let's think of it in terms of copyright. Sorry, I know I'm quick to jump to law. A photograph is taken with a machine. A copyrightable work is an original work of human authorship--HUMAN authorship. In the era of AI, that gets sticky. In 2023, Thaler v. Perlmutter held that "art" made by an AI was not copyrightable. Upheld in 2025. No human author.
But the issue of authors using machines predates AI.
1884's Burrow-Giles case asked whether an image taken with a camera had human authorship. The photographer posed the portrait subject (Oscar Wilde), arranged the backdrop, and manipulated the light.
Cameras don't do that. Human authorship.
YOU backpack, YOU decide what to capture, YOU translate your experience of the wild into images. My camera doesn't see birds, I do.
If you like a photo, and it's not from AI, you like a human's work--e.g. yours or mine.
Those are really astute points! That’s why I don’t hesitate to say that I post process my photos, rather that stick with a minimally worded photo journalistic style. For me, it’s about conveying the impression and feeling the scene had on me. So, to your point, very much a human creation!
Whoa, so much amazing material to engage with, I hardly know where to start. First, I will NEVER unhear HDR images as the "Schrödinger’s Cat of photography"! I love it!
Second, I do see both the HDR vs the non, in the section where you present both. I think the image at the top shows up for me as non HDR. For what it's worth, I kind of like the non HDR version better? Deeper contrast even if some of the detail is lost in the shadows. HDR is neat...but I think it oozes an "overly processed" look that jars me out of the scene and into thinking about Photoshop.
Anyway...I like all three of your paradoxes. As someone else said, I too think about them (.mostly the first I think) often. For #1, we have overengineered the struggle out of our lives. (Or I guess some would argue struggle is very present, but in different ways) people dont venture outside their comfort zones in search of challenges. I guess that's why backpacking appeals so much to us.
#2 speaks to something I struggle with too - patience and presence vs the pursuit of greatness and striving towards goals. That's been a tenuous balancing act for years, and I only recently think I've gotten it under control!! We can be present even as we struggle towards a challenge, I think. That's a huge takeaway backpacking gave me.
I always welcome your essays Niki! So insightful and hit the nail on the head!
I never was able to get the HDR version of the photos to show as they do on my phone. They are so much richer in the highlights, if that makes any sense. I was going to share the HDR version in Notes, but the preview just showed the lower quality version again.
Balance, that’s the key! I find it but then lose it again. I’m grateful to friends like you and others who bring up the important points and ask the sharp questions!
Ok, so the HDR version of the last 2 photos did not translate back. I think we are all seeing the low res version. I’ll try posting them in Notes to see if the HDR version comes across.
That's so strange! And it sucks. Why have a feature like HDR if most monitors are unable to display it properly..!?
It’s just one of those things with new technology, I suppose. Before long hdr monitors will be the standard, but at this point in time it’s a conundrum!
That'll be interesting when that happens. I know HDR is..like...a separate technique for taking a picture. So if HDR monitors become the norm, I wonder if that means HDR photos will also be the norm, instead of a separate thing. Hmmmm..
So this will add to the confusion- hdr as a technique has been around for years. Basically, you take multiple shots of the same thing at different exposure levels. That way you have a shot with the shadows looking good, a shot with the highlights looking good, and everything in between. Those shots are all layered together, either in camera or in photoshop, using only the best parts of each image.
This new thing is using the same name, but entirely different. Normally there’s an upper limit for white, after which it is “blown out” or just completely devoid of data/detail. The new tech/screens dramatically bump up that upper limit, but if your monitor doesn’t have that ability it just shows a much lower quality approximation.
But yes, it won’t be long before hdr tech is the norm and the hdr photo layering is largely obsolete.
Ooh....gotcha. I appreciate the reminder that hdr as a technique is nothing new. I know what you mean now - that there are two separate things here. But it's yes it's confusing that the same word (hdr) is naming both the old technique AND the new way of adjusting the upper limit of blown out images..😅
Man, Erik, I think about these paradoxes all the time. How do hold onto these experiences closely enough to capture them, but loosely enough so as not to miss everything else that happens as a part of them. How do you find novelty in the familiar? How do you let go of control to gain it?
Haha, glad to hear I’m not the only one thinking about these things! Figuring it out, or just flowing with it when you can’t, is what makes life such a wild ride!
Paradox #1: It seems to me that it's not only hiking (and I know a lot about that) that gives us "real" experience. Almost any activity, including working on your professional projects, if described honestly and in detail, can be such an experience.
I agree. The paradox is having both a high drive to achieve, explore, and experience while also feeling content and present in the moment.
That moth is amazing!
Haha, thanks! He was just a bit bigger than a normal moth, but really caught my eye. Looks pretty cool up close!
Your photos capture the awe of the moment beautifully. The photo wouldn’t have been possible without your felt sense, because you would not have seen it the way you captured it. It is a gift.
That means a lot Leesa! The difficulty lies in being aware enough to leverage what I’ve learned in wilder scenarios in the everyday.
Erik, your second paradox really hit home. I used to be all about the challenge, pushing myself to the edge of endurance and then a little bit more. Now it's all about presence and connection, slowing down. Perhaps its age - mind getting a little wiser / body getting a little slower! Great essay, thank you.
Thanks! That’s probably as it should be. Here’s another paradox, though- the older I get the more I seek the challenges. It’s as if I can feel the time running out, and a regret of not having done more when I was younger.
I definitely feel that pressure - but it's not a matter of regret. Choices had to be made. I stopped bushwalking in my 20s as I focused on triathlons and mountain bike racing. Now I've returned full circles due to photography and dodgy knees slowing me down. I've got time - on the South Coast Track there were 4 people in their 70s, and they were coping fine.
That’s awesome! I feel like my life was on pause for 20 years while my kids were growing up. Time with them is obviously not a regret, but now I feel like I’m playing catch up!
Really enjoyed this, Erik. I think a lot about an issue adjacent to Paradox #3: Who/what makes a photograph?
It bugs me when people see my images and just say "wow you've got a great camera." Yes, but my camera does not create the expression. If you like the picture, you like my expression.
Let's think of it in terms of copyright. Sorry, I know I'm quick to jump to law. A photograph is taken with a machine. A copyrightable work is an original work of human authorship--HUMAN authorship. In the era of AI, that gets sticky. In 2023, Thaler v. Perlmutter held that "art" made by an AI was not copyrightable. Upheld in 2025. No human author.
But the issue of authors using machines predates AI.
1884's Burrow-Giles case asked whether an image taken with a camera had human authorship. The photographer posed the portrait subject (Oscar Wilde), arranged the backdrop, and manipulated the light.
Cameras don't do that. Human authorship.
YOU backpack, YOU decide what to capture, YOU translate your experience of the wild into images. My camera doesn't see birds, I do.
If you like a photo, and it's not from AI, you like a human's work--e.g. yours or mine.
Those are really astute points! That’s why I don’t hesitate to say that I post process my photos, rather that stick with a minimally worded photo journalistic style. For me, it’s about conveying the impression and feeling the scene had on me. So, to your point, very much a human creation!
Whoa, so much amazing material to engage with, I hardly know where to start. First, I will NEVER unhear HDR images as the "Schrödinger’s Cat of photography"! I love it!
Second, I do see both the HDR vs the non, in the section where you present both. I think the image at the top shows up for me as non HDR. For what it's worth, I kind of like the non HDR version better? Deeper contrast even if some of the detail is lost in the shadows. HDR is neat...but I think it oozes an "overly processed" look that jars me out of the scene and into thinking about Photoshop.
Anyway...I like all three of your paradoxes. As someone else said, I too think about them (.mostly the first I think) often. For #1, we have overengineered the struggle out of our lives. (Or I guess some would argue struggle is very present, but in different ways) people dont venture outside their comfort zones in search of challenges. I guess that's why backpacking appeals so much to us.
#2 speaks to something I struggle with too - patience and presence vs the pursuit of greatness and striving towards goals. That's been a tenuous balancing act for years, and I only recently think I've gotten it under control!! We can be present even as we struggle towards a challenge, I think. That's a huge takeaway backpacking gave me.
Okay, I better stop...sorry for this essay!
I always welcome your essays Niki! So insightful and hit the nail on the head!
I never was able to get the HDR version of the photos to show as they do on my phone. They are so much richer in the highlights, if that makes any sense. I was going to share the HDR version in Notes, but the preview just showed the lower quality version again.
Balance, that’s the key! I find it but then lose it again. I’m grateful to friends like you and others who bring up the important points and ask the sharp questions!