Going Viral (The Great HDR Debate)

Yesterday, my photo “Belem Tower At Sunrise” went viral on Reddit.com (the #2 spot, where it still remains) and became the topic of a (very) heated debate about HDR Photography.

Here is the link to the comment thread.

Up until now I knew that HDR Photography could be a touchy subject but I had no idea that it could generate so much hate. — Some people seem to be generally disgusted with HDR Processing and are adamant to tell you how much they hate it.

Others are quick to say how beautiful they think it is, or how it’s an amazing new art form. — Some even go further and say it can be the most accurate interpretation of what we ‘actually’ see with our eyes.

Regardless of standpoint though, Is all photography judged this way? For example, if you see a Black and White photo that you don’t like, do you say, “Black and white photos are the worst thing to ever happen to photography. How dare you strip the color out of the photo! That’s not realistic at all!”

I know that art is always a topic of discussion and debate, but since when has it been such a focus of hate? Is HDR that threatening to photography as a whole? Is it equal to the old film vs digital debate? Does it threaten too many people’s beliefs on “the proper way to do things?”

Maybe in the end, it’s just an irritating leg cramp in the growth spurt of digital photography. — And just like the “film vs digital” debate, The comments will slowly smolder down into a calm unemotional bias like, “meh, it’s not really my thing.”

Well, one can hope so anyway… — What do you think?