Creating HDR images with free open-source software

http://garmahis.com/tutorials/hdr-tutorial-free-software/

I am a big fan of free/OSS software. Though it is not always the best, it is a testament to what interested and motivated people can do for others. Many of the packages I’ve used provide amazing functionality for a price that literally can’t be beat. A few examples of top quality software are Open Office, the GIMP (GNU image manipulation program) a great alternative to photoshop and Mozilla Firefox. There are many, many more though.

Now that I am spending more time doing photography again I have become interested in how to create High Dynamic Range images. I was looking into tools to perform this and one of the most common is photomatix for $99 (which is honestly a very good price). However still wanting to look into FOSS options I located QTPFSGUI (I think the worst thing about OSS software is the names sometimes).

The link above is to an excellent beginner tutorial to using QTPFSGUI + GIMP to create HDR images. The results are quite extreme actually as you can see in the tutorial.

I am planning to put together a few HDR processed images as soon as I have some decent bracketed photos and a tripod to take them on. I get a great view of the downtown skyline at night near where I am so I am hoping to produce some impressive HDR night shots of Vancouver for you all.