!!Con 2017: HDR Photography in Microsoft Excel?! by Kevin Chen

Kevin Chen explains the foundational algorithm behind high dynamic range imaging and demonstrates how to implement it using a spreadsheet.

HDR Photography in Microsoft Excel?! by Kevin Chen Have you ever taken a photo with areas that are too bright or too dark? As any photographer will tell you, high dynamic range photography is the right way to solve your problem. And, as any businessperson will tell you, Microsoft Excel is the right platform to implement your solution. In this talk, I’ll explain the algorithm from one of the foundational papers about HDR imaging — no prior image processing knowledge required. Turns out, it’s just a system of linear equations! So, obviously, the next step is to implement HDR in a spreadsheet. Because we can. The end result reveals how this complicated-sounding algorithm boils down to a few simple ideas. Kevin is an amateur photographer and Microsoft Office enthusiast. He also studies computer science at Columbia University.