New Exhibit by Photographer Dan Burkholder

High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography has been used for cityscapes, sunrises, and sweeping vistas under varying degrees of light, but rarely for interior shots. This is understandable—often there isn't enough detail to warrant the surreal modification of HDR, and if there is, light is often plentiful. In the abandoned interiors of New Orleans homes, Dan Burkholder (CameraArts September/October 2006) found a unique application for this digital technique and created a series of haunting images. The exhibit, titled "Shadows of Lives and Loss: Decaying Memories of the Gulf Coast," will be shown at Tammy Cromer-Campbell Photographs & Gallery, in Longview, Texas.

"Seeing New Orleans’ destruction in person was very different from watching it on TV at home. Mile after mile of neighborhoods were devastated. My first goal in making these photographs was to personalize the destruction and loss—to give the images a 'you are here' feeling that was intimate and personal for the viewer. Every place I photographed had been under at least ten feet of water for more than a week. The way building materials, fabrics and personal items were affected by this soaking in filthy salt water was like nothing I’d seen before. It was like 300 years of aging had taken place in the ten months since the storm."

—Dan Burkholder

You can view a pdf of the CameraArts article on Burkholder and his HDR method here. There will be an artist's reception on December 9. You can find more images and information on the gallery's website. University of Texas Press will publish a collection of Burkholder’s New Orleans images with a scheduled release date of early 2008.