Why hdr!?

Here is a simple example from a friend of why would you bother with HDR..


Why wouldn't you - https://plus.google.com/u/0/113104944605785201866

Simply amazing and is a true definition of HDR.

Nice. Though, the first one ("underexposed") is itself a beautiful photo too (less details does not necessarily result in a worse photo) ...

There are just times when their is just to much contrast to get the photo you want. To me I want my photos to look like what I see in the real scene. Actually that is not quite correct. I want them to look like what I see in my mind when I look at the scene. I want bold color and lots of detail. Sometime I get it and sometimes I don't. There is a scene just down the street from me of a pre civil war factory and the mill dam. I use that scene to test all new equipment and techniques. It is positioned wrong for sunsets. I did see a sunset a few days ago that I though might work so I grabbed my camera and went down the hill. I shot 5 shots brackets at 1 stop each. I shot probably 10 of that series at different stages till the sun was gone. I processed two of them and posted them here. They aren't what I want yet but I did try and it is far better than what I got with a single shot.
Photography is a very personal thing. Some may like HDR and some may not. Some like it natural and some like it overcooked. All good no matter which way you like it.
Here are my two that I still think are a tad overcooked. But I will try again.

HDR done well has it's place. I much prefer the first photo though.

I see he does a lot of 4 exposure shots with 2 under and 1 over and 1 at 0.

Depending on the camera, I suspect he could have done a lot more with the top photo and the right exposure - even just staying in Lightroom.

It's all good. It all has it's place.

I would choose photo # 1. I think that is closer to what the lens actually recorded and the color appeals greatly to me. Just saying

HDR can be an awesome way to capture the full dynamic range of an image. Think the thing with it is photography purists that say it isn't real or it looks fake.

I guess if we think back, I am sure each and every painter / artist that tried something different may have received the same reaction at some point.

For me, HDR has it's place. I like HDR that still looks like a photo. I don't get into the full on stuff that looks like a cartoon strip or has heaps of haloing etc.