Harsh light does not have to mean missing out on making a good image image. Yes, there is no substitute for great light but there are ways to get something you can take home when the sun is high in a cloudless sky.

This image was created using 3 exposures 2 stops apart but unlike HDR a different technique was used to bring them together. Using Photoshop’s ‘Merge to HDR Pro’ feature I combined all three images into a 32bit per channel tif file which I then imported back into LightRoom. The resulting 32 bit per channel image file is then recognised byt LightRoom and all tonal controls become 5 stops wider giving amazing tonal flexibility.

The result is a HDR image that looks completely natural in the same way our eyes do it.

Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 368, Pappinbarra Bliss’. 1/3s f/22 ISO100 17mm