By Ecoist in Art & Design, Geography & Travel, Nature & Ecosystems

(images via: mpaulmd, cleaneugene, funkybug and mtsrs)

Nature photographers explore the relationship of art to the environment but also to our associations, sentimentality and technology – from the amazing natural beauty of landscapes to the terror of incredible land disasters. HDR and tone-mapping processes result in images that are at once surrealistic and hyper-realistic, natural and artificial, peaceful but vibrant. Some HDR photographs represent reality more clearly than any conventional photograph could, while others exaggerate the real to bring out color ranges broader than those we conventionally experience.

(image via: rene ehrhardt)

When it comes to HDR nature and landscape photography HDR can bring a viewer to connect with a naturally lively and colorful scene … but the HDR process can also induce a profound artificial nostalgia for idealized subjects. This gallery examines the work of over twenty HDR nature photographers whose subjects range from the strictly natural to a mix of natural and architectural settings. Sometimes the colors and contrasts of HDR are so strong the results appear to be an illustration, a more distant representation of reality, while in other cases the outcome is more subtle and yet perhaps also less compelling. Click below to see enlarged views, more information and a link to each individual HDR photographer.

This concludes week one of a four-week four-elements series, starting with the most beautiful of natural landscapes to the most devastating of natural land disasters. Next week WebEcoist will feature three new articles revolving around water, from amazing water and ice formations to terrible water and ice disasters and compelling water and ice photography.