MICHAEL FREEMAN BLACK & WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY FIELD GUIDE

MICHAEL FREEMAN BLACK & WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY FIELD GUIDE The essential guide to the art of creating black & white images First published in the USA 2013 by Focal Press Focal Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group an informa business 70 Blanchard Road, Suite 402, Burlington, MA 01803, USA Copyright © 2013 The Ilex Press Ltd. All rights reserved. This book was conceived, designed, and produced by Ilex Press Limited, 210 High Street, Lewes, BN7 2NS, UK Publisher: Alastair Campbell Creative Director: Peter Bridgewater Associate Publisher: Adam Juniper Managing Editor: Natalia Price-Cabrera Specialist Editor: Frank Gallaugher Editor: Tara Gallagher Editorial Assistant: Rachel Silverlight Creative Director: James Hollywell Designer: Jon Allan Color Origination: Ivy Press Reprographics No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. Notices: Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary. Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility. Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data: A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: 978-0-415833-51-6 (pbk) ISBN: 978-0-203486-76-4 (ebk) Typeset in Aptifer Sans LT Pro CONTENTS

Introduction 6 Using Hue for Vegetation 118 Skin Tones 120 THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 8 Specific Colors 126 Monochrome in Fine Art 10 Handling Opposites 128 The Photographic Tradition 16 Handling Adjacents 130 Wavelength & Sensitivity 20 Handling Subtleties 136 Black & White as Normality 22 Monochrome in Photography vs Painting 30 CREATIVE CHOICES 140 The Photographer’s Choice 34 Thinking in Black & White 142 Subtracting Color 42 The Range of Light: Adams & the Westons 144 Shape 44 The Long Range of Gray: Paul Strand 146 Structure 46 Mid-tones 148 Tonal Nuance 48 Contrast High 150 Form & Volume 50 Contrast Low 154 Texture 52 Shadow & Darkness: Brandt & McCullin 156 Interpretation 54 Low Key 158 Film 60 High Key & Graphic: Callahan & Hosoe 160 High Key 162 DIGITAL MONOCHROME 66 Digital Zone System 166 The Monochrome Sensor 68 HDR in Black & White 172 Linear Capture 70 Tone Mapping without HDR 180 The Clipping Problem 72 Adding Tints 182 Noise, Bit Depth, & Shading 74 Old Process Effect 184 Infrared 80 Your Processing Workflow 88 Glossary 186 Silver Efex Pro 92 Index 190 Basic Processing 96 Colors into Tones 104 Default Conversions 106 Hue Adjustment 108 Reversals of Brightness 110 Using Hue to Control Contrast 112 Using Hue for Depth & Atmosphere 114 INTRODUCTION

Black-and-white photography occupies a unique place in the world of art and imaging, all the more surprising because within the world of photography it is taken so much for granted. What I will attempt in this book is to jolt black and white out of its normally complacent position, and in this I’m helped by the completely changed circumstances of digital photography. Digital Monochrome The Black & White Tradition 7 Creative Choices

And it is this unmistakable sense of of sense unmistakable this is it And From the other side of the fence— the of side other the From edge, is the appropriation of photography photography of appropriation the is edge, be artists by to claim not do who words, other In photographers. primarily photography artists invade contemporary art. invades photography than more very world, own its being photography be to us allows that self-contained, largely just It’s white. and black about complacent with. up grew photography that something which move, the on are things however, Now, book. this in explore to want I what is because there is no way of quantifying quantifying of way no is there because In this: is doubt in not is what but this, discussion and writing of body entire the or painting to references photography, on artvery graphic other the on thin are any say to not strange, little a is This ground. part reality the of it’s but short-sighted, are There world. photographic our of are, there as this, for reasons historical well,reasons. philosophical has art side—there unconstrained the photography. of acceptance more been tends which phenomenon, recent fairly A on teeth photographers’ many set to

World World that

hy complacent? Because black and Because black complacent? hy as so established become has white series, where black and white is sois white and black where series, It seems that most photographers, photographers, most that seems It For many people, perhaps most, perhaps people, many For

appeared in Thames & Hudson’s Hudson’s & Thames in appeared Artof of photography by Ian Jeffrey, titled Jeffrey, Ian by photography of History A Concise Photography: black-and-white photography just “is.” “is.” just photography black-and-white historythe on volume a re-read just I the course of more than a century that its more of the course questioned. rarely only are being for reasons W over photography of the senior tradition only a few see their work in the wider the in work their see few a only “seems” say to have I art. of context when they are shooting or processing, processing, or shooting are they when and alone, photography of world a inhabit they decide to process on the computer. the on process to decide they modern world of digital photography, in photography, digital of world modern inis other the or one of choice the which timeeach every of photographer face the were more years spent in black and white white and black in spent years more were the for do won’t also It color. in than is by no means unusual,means no by is to hard is it but there that grounds the on simply justify much assumed to be center stage that stage center be to assumed much This 240. of out pages three just fills color THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION

Digital photography has very clearly changed the way we can shoot in black and white, and it is perfectly obvious that by far the most important practical difference between a sensor and film is that now you can have both color and monochrome from the same shot. There is no prior choice to be made, no decision to load black-and-white film rather than color film before setting out. Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 9

translation of a view into a special medium medium special a into view a of translation As verywith particular characteristics. changing a been has there see, will we a as white and black of perception it put, Crudely photography. in medium accepted became then necessity, as began of choice full the with normal, as now, and with coupled color) of kind any (and color of possibilities processing infinite the choice. creative a is it images, digital processes, of course, weigh heavily on on heavily weigh course, of processes, make I reason this for and tradition, this Black- past. the at looking for apology no image its photography, film and-white deal great a have processes, and qualities black-and- but this, only Not us. teach to more traditionally is photography white artwith color than associated strongly lessons also are there and photography, The painting. monochrome from learn to this of all through running theme common black sets What palette. the restricting is not is it that is color apart from white and does it and world, the see we way the a is It reality. represent to pretend not

s a result, most of what is written what is written of most s a result, about digital black and discussed This choice transcends the difference difference the transcends choice This All are essential and valuable topics to to topics valuable and essential are All

into the long and rich tradition of black- of tradition rich and long the into earlier and Film photography. and-white between sensors and film, and it draws us draws it and film, and sensors between interesting is the choice to make the make to choice the is interesting than rather white and black in image color. obvious more the in and I hasten to add that this is all included all is this that add to hasten I and more much is what book—but this in how to achieve all the various kinds of of kinds various the all achieve to how image— digital a from effect monochrome monochrome is “why” and “when.” There’s There’s “when.” “why”and is monochrome explaining about complicated too nothing study, but they skip two key issues: More More issues: key two skip they but study, “how”the shooting than fundamental of emulsion, and so on. emulsion, and so on. grayscale, how to achieve the “look” “look” the achieve to how grayscale, black-and-white a favored of and grain how to convert, how to adjust channels adjust channels to how convert, to how of the brightness alter to in order appear in they as colors different A on the practicalities— focuses and white Monochrome in Fine Art

onochrome—black and white even proved to be a fertile ground for Mmore—occupies the same minority developing great skill, and for a finely position in the history of art as color did tuned aesthetic appreciation. in photography’s first hundred years. Monochrome painting in the West, The reasons for this complete reversal known as “grisailles” (from the French of status bear some examination, because gris, meaning “gray”), is known from the they help us to understand the independent Renaissance onwards, but occasionally way in which photography has developed. rather than often, and a typical use was Independent of the rest of art, that is. in frescoes in shades of gray and/or Monochrome in photography is used more brown. Its use was often dictated by a 10 or less interchangeably with black and need to execute quickly and cheaply more white, but not quite so in the wider world than for aesthetic reasons. It was the rise of art. Monochrome painting is largely a of abstract art in the twentieth century twentieth-century phenomenon, whereas that led to more experimentation with the history of black and white is mainly painting in a single color, and this color that of ink, one of the most ancient was not confined to black or white. The of media. Suprematist painter Kasimir Malevich The most common source of ink has produced black on white, and white on always been carbon, held together by white paintings from 1913; Ben Nicholson binding agents, and in the earliest times produced all-white low reliefs in the 1930s; it can have been only a short step from Yves Klein created a series of paintings touching the lamp black or soot over a fire in blue in the 1950s; Agnes Martin in to painting and drawing. The use of black black, white, and brown in the 1960s; ink in art was universal because of this Mark Rothko’s late paintings from the ease of production. Ink appeared in China 1960s; also the contemporary Chuck at least 5,000 years ago and in India at Close in black and white; and the Chinese least 6,000 years ago. Other sources included contemporary artist Shao Fan in black on ferrous sulfate, tannins from gallnuts, black, among others. cuttlefish, and hawthorn bark. The connection between monochrome Its main uses in Western art have been painting and monochrome photography is for drawing and for indirect application, notably absent from discussions of art such as etching and woodcuts. In East history, but it seems to me a fruitful area, Asia, directly applied by brush in the form especially now that digital capture makes of calligraphy and scroll paintings, ink it a free choice for photographers. The enjoyed a higher status. There, laid down reasons why painters choose to work with in broad strokes with brushes, its qualities a severely restricted palette may not be in covering an area of paper were more very different from the preferences of critically acknowledged. The immediate photographers in black and white. In the commitment needed with brush strokes twentieth-century West, monochrome was Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 11 pictorial arts.” KAZIMIR MALEVICH KAZIMIR paintings, “Supremist Composition: One of Malevich’s White on White, 1918,” in which he sought to express “the supremacy of pure feeling or perception in the the emotional significance of monochrome monochrome of significance emotional the Nicholson’s white works and in Agnes Agnes in and works white Nicholson’s of hint Some grids. hand-drawn Martin’s set the scene for this, with Kasimir Kasimir with this, for scene the set and black in circles and squares Malevich’s Ben in later seen be can it and white, in short-lived Russian Suprematist movement movement Suprematist Russian short-lived supremacism)with confused be to all at (not frequently tied to simplicity of form, form, of simplicity to tied frequently The sense. particularlygeometric a in 12

comes through in Malevich’s writing when CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY describing his Black Square, 1913: “I felt The above image shows contemporary Chinese only night within me and it was then that artist who works principally in brush and ink. The I conceived the new art, which I called modulations of a single color—black—through Suprematism.” This emotion-through- skillful handling of the heavily loaded brush monochrome is a recurring theme in initiated a strong Asian tradition of black and white. photography, as can be seen in the enduring work of, among others, Don McCullin, Bill Brandt, and Harry Callahan. The American painter Agnes Martin moved in the early 1960s from early experiments with bands of bright color to a severely muted palette, coinciding with a trend in American art at the time toward reductivism—using a few elements only, in color, tone, and form, to avoid illusion and representation. She dated her attaining artistic maturity to this time, saying: “I finally got to an absolute abstract painting.” Significantly, Martin was interested in Chinese art, art philosophy, Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 13 ALTERNATIVE LIGHT ALTERNATIVE of black subjects A number of different treatments a narrow palette indicate the potential range of even choices. when interpreted through exposure 14

and Taoism; and from this, in the importance WHITE ART of communicating absence. One of her Imprint is a white-on-white piece by Yukako Shibata, in statements reads, “Two late Tang dishes, which a high key is explored. The physical indentations one with a flower image, one empty. The are given an illusory quality by having shadows painted empty form goes all the way to heaven.” into them. The monochrome feature of Martin’s work is just one of the methods she employed own range of luminosity. As with some of to simplify in order to make a spiritual the low-key photography we will see later connection, as the statement alludes in the book, once the viewer accepts the to. She defined art as “the concrete very different range of tone from the representation of our most subtle feelings,” surrounding world, the perception of fine and subtlety of color and tone were very shading and minute tonal differences is evidently a key method in this exploration. heightened. Better known, abstract expressionist A contemporary Chinese artist Mark Rothko also moved through his following this route is Shao Fan. His work, painting career from colorful toward a like that of the literati in earlier centuries, restricted palette, and his last paintings is broad ranging, from sculpture to were in near black and near gray. His calligraphy, to architecture, garden design, Black-Form paintings in particular, never and painting—a very Chinese approach to shown together during his lifetime, appear the arts. In his black series, dating from at first glance as solid black, but reveal a 1998, Shao Fan works in oil on canvas in a slow build-up of layering and very fine tonal range that rarely rises above dark gradation. This has the effect of drawing gray. He writes, “The low key and very weak the viewer into a separate world with its contrast create an atmosphere of the Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 15

As we will see time and again in again and time see will we As photography, restricting the palette palette the restricting photography, on fully concentrate artistthe allows to calligrapher any As tone. of subtleties the infinitely is black of quality the knows, simple any beyond far goes and variable, The darkness. of measurement numerical is brush the as varies black which in ways stroke a during paper the on slightly lifted tonal delicate in equivalent their find of processing the during adjustments photograph. black-and-white a MONOCHROME other can mean a color monochrome As in photography, Shibata, a specific piece by Yukako than black. In this on the white surface, yet is blue casts a reflection on the inside of the frame. unseen as it is painted very Delicacy, nature.” of colors fugitive calm of sense a and hue, of transitions fine interests. her mark stridency than rather and see to choose can course, of Painters, now but freedom, complete with interpret the photographers gives processing digital the restricting and opportunities, same a encourages definitely range color imagery. to approach contemplative

Another contemporary artist, whose contemporary Another inspiration is what Shibata calls “the “the calls Shibata what is inspiration such as a white wall. She explores low low explores She wall. white a as such major a and work her in chromaticity monochrome means working within one within working means monochrome means by it modulating often hue, specific surfaces, external close from reflection of low-chromaticity end of the scale, is scale, the of end low-chromaticity her, For Shibata. Yukako London-based work conflates painting and sculpture, sculpture, and painting conflates work and subtle the to drawn is who and think of as toning, play an importantan toning, play part. as of think Subtle differences in color, akin to what to akin color, in differences Subtle photographers black-and-white traditional process of disappearing, of simultaneous a process attraction.” and distance of feeling supernatural. It renews our attention attention our renews It supernatural. the in things to and insignificant, the to The Photographic Tradition

he technical history of photography Various processes were invented between Tactually forced monochrome on us in that date and the 1930s, but technical the most obvious way. Quite simply, limitations prevented their mass use, light-sensitive materials that could be and it was not until the Eastman Kodak used to capture an image on a flat Company introduced the integral tri-pack surface reacted to light in total, color film in 1935 that black and white had undivided by wavelength. any realistic competition as a medium. Recording the color of a scene meant This was the classic Kodachrome. filtering the light through a set of at least The earliest photograph, taken three colored transparent filters, and that by Nicéphore Niépce in 1826, used a 16 involved a much more complicated feat substance that hardened rather than of technology than simple monochrome. darkened when exposed to light— Even so, it might come as a surprise a type of asphalt that was already used to many people to learn that the first in engraving. Coated on a pewter plate, permanent color photograph, taken by the asphalt was exposed to a view from James Clerk Maxwell, was as early as 1861. Niépce’s window. After about eight hours,

DAGUERREOTYPE These images show a simple daguerreotype camera in wood, with a focusing mechanism in which the rear plate holder is racked out backwards. Accompanying it, a daguerreotype portrait of Cyrus West Field, the American who laid the first transatlantic telegraph cable. Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 17

The next important step in the in importantnext The step The daguerreotype was soon was daguerreotype The gallic acid/silver nitrate solution. Once dry, dry, Once solution. nitrate acid/silver gallic making for ready was negative paper the prints. contact of invention the was emulsion of progress Scott Frederick by process collodion the as known Also 1851. in (1813–1857) Archer calotype, which used paper instead of a of instead paper used which calotype, modern to closer was and plate, metal image negative a produced it that in films many as make to used be could that photographer the as prints positive made capacity reproductive The wanted. the importantan to rival process this quality poorer the despite daguerreotype, the was inventor The image. the of Talbot Henry William Englishman Fox starting high- a with who, (1800–1877) coatings added paper, writing quality iodide, potassium and nitrate silver of acid gallic of solution a by followed paper. the sensitize to nitrate silver and was paper the exposure, the made Having the of application second a in developed This is a collodion wet-plate kit from the nineteenth kit from the nineteenth collodion wet-plate This is a from coating through The entire process, century. had to be complete before exposure to processing, the plate dried. particulara at viewed be being and, angle make to used be not could positive, a the Nevertheless, prints. of quantity a from reduced been had time exposure minutes, 30 and 20 between to hours eight for long too still was this although and later for wait to had which portraiture, finally had photography improvements, possibility. practical a become the process, alternative an by challenged COLLODION

Within twelve years, Niépce’s partner, partner, Niépce’s years, twelve Within because of its mirror-like finish, it had to to had it finish, mirror-like its of because of soda, and the result was a finely a was result the and soda, of However, photograph. delicate detailed, dangerous process with health hazards hazards health with process dangerous The time. the at appreciated fully not hyposulphite with fixed finally was image had been taken, the image, not yet visible, visible, yet not image, the taken, been had mercuryvapor—a by developed was by exposure to iodine vapor rising from from rising vapor iodine to exposure by picture the After crystals. iodine heated sensitive photographic plate. Copper, Copper, plate. photographic sensitive sensitized was silver, with coated already Louis Daguerre, had discovered a more more a discovered had Daguerre, Louis the solvent that Niépce then poured over over poured then Niépce that solvent the away. partsdark unexposed, the it; washed the asphalt exposed to the bright partsbright the of to exposed asphalt the resisted it that hardened so was scene the 18

the wet-plate process, the collodion SILHOUETTE AND FLARE process quickly replaced other systems The limited response of film and sensors to the full because despite the great inconvenience dynamic range of sunlit scenes has become accepted as of preparing the plates—which had to a photographic characteristic—objects in silhouette, be carried out on the spot just before and glittering flare from highlights, for example. taking the picture—it allowed exposures of as little as ten seconds. To achieve this great sensitivity, the photographer had By the 1870s, an emulsion made up to pour collodion, a solution containing of gelatin and silver bromide had been potassium iodide, onto a glass plate, tilt invented as a dry substitute for collodion, it in different directions until the coating and soon plates were being mass- was even, and then quickly dip the plate produced. Although glass (which is bulky in a silver nitrate solution. Because the and easily broken) has now been replaced sensitivity was largely lost when the by flexible film, black-and-white emulsion collodion dried, the plate had to be remains basically the same: the light- exposed wet, making life very difficult sensitive crystals, known as grains, are for the photographer on location. embedded in a layer of gelatin. Film was Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 19

This is a modern photograph, but processed but processed modern photograph, This is a in two ways: as blue-sensitive, sensitivity of early demonstrating the a tone-mapped HDR emulsions, and as exposures, to reveal all image, from five scene. tones from the original WHITE SKY VS TONEMAPPED VS SKY WHITE film: if only a few have been developed, developed, been have few a only if film: ones, undeveloped many among scattered have all if but gray, light a be will tone the developer to produce it. Development Development it. produce to developer partsthe blackens that emulsion the of the reducing by light, to exposed were silver, metallic to halide silver of grains either is grain Each dark. is which not; blackened—or is, developed—that The gray. of stages halfway no are there in tones of range a with result, final of number the to due is negative, the part small the any in of grains developed

The precise sequence of events that events of sequence precise The image on the film, and it takes a chemical a takes it and film, the on image scattered throughout each silver halide silver each throughout scattered visible no still is there stage, this crystal.At photoelectrons, and these combine with combine these and photoelectrons, which atoms, silver produce to ions silver impurity of specks small around form follows the exposure of film to light is light to film of exposure the follows releases light step, first the In complex. film, and roll film. roll and film, possible to roll up long strips of emulsion, of strips long up roll to possible 35mm film, picture motion of basis the synthetic polymers of today. Whatever Whatever today. of polymers synthetic it made film of use the composition, its since moved through nitro-cellulose to to nitro-cellulose through moved since stable immensely the to acetate cellulose originally made of celluloid, but has has but celluloid, of made originally Wavelength & Sensitivity

n normal color photography, one of the green, and blue, each square of color Ibasic aims is to record the scene as it sited over on photosite on the sensor. To looks to the eye. correspond more closely with the human This may sound too obvious to eye’s extra sensitivity to green light, there mention, and most camera sensors are twice as many green filters in a Bayer and lenses achieve results so perfectly array than there are red or blue. The acceptable that we rarely question it, but human eye’s peak sensitivity is in yellow- things become interesting in this area green at 555nm; it reacts very poorly, by when you shoot for monochrome. At heart, contrast, to wavelengths shorter than this is a technical issue involving wavelength. violet and longer than red. Sensors also 20 Our eyes are sensitive to a very small differ from the human vision system in part of the electromagnetic spectrum, that they are sensitive to infrared. As a from around 400nm to 700nm—what is result, normal cameras have sensors with called, obviously, the visible spectrum. an infrared-cut filter (as we’ll see on page In reasonably good light, the eye can 82, removing this is the way to customize distinguish millions of colors. It manages a camera for infrared photography). this because the cones are divided into In our experience of colors, some three types: those sensitive to red, others hues are brighter than others: an average to green, and others to blue. These three yellow, for example, is brighter to us than together embrace more or less the full an average blue. If the tones in which spectrum, so that by varying the input different colors are reproduced in a black- from each, any other color can be made. and-white photograph approximate to this In the case of our vision, this occurs in experience, the image seems realistic. The the brain, but the three kinds of receptor blue sensitivity of black-and-white film can are not equally efficient. The eye is result in clear skies that look too pale, but most sensitive to yellow-green, and least a yellow filter—which absorbs blue— sensitive to blue; what we cannot see is restores the expected appearance. ultraviolet, the reason being that the eye The principle is straightforward. A has two yellow filters, over the lens and colored filter placed in front of the lens over the fovea, which probably evolved will pass more of its own color and block to reduce chromatic aberration, at its the light of other colors. The contrast greatest in violet and ultraviolet light. between a red tomato and green lettuce Camera sensors do not match the eye’s leaves in a salad, for example, is clear and color response, and need both physical obvious when viewed in color, but not at filters and special image processing to all in black and white. come close. Sensors, indeed, record monochrome, and the means for capturing color in the vast majority is a filter in front, called a Bayer array. This is a mosaic of red, Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 21

HIGH RED High red and lower greens create high contrast with a light roof and dark surroundings. the grass medium dark. LIGHT RED A more naturalistic result keeps the red roof light (on the principle that warm colors are thought of as lighter), and LOW RED LOW still Lowering red and raising green is Red.” high contrast, but opposite to “High 47% 40% 60% 20% 80% 211% 47% 60% 20% 80% 122% 51% 190% 20% 80% -22% 181% 60% DESATURATED equal for all channels. Straight desaturation, Black and White Black and White Black and White

Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans:

ORIGINAL Black & White as Normality

black-and-white photograph is Aclearly some distance from actually representing a scene. Until color film became practical and widely available, the very lack of color information was a definite drawback for many photographers and for publications that used photographs. And yet, by about the 1930s, in documentary photography (led by news), black and white had 22 become thoroughly accepted as a normal representation of events and the world LIFE MAGAZINE COVERS in general. From the perspective of now, For many years, Life magazine presented a striking with color photography long established combination of a red masthead set against a strong as the default, this may not be easy to black-and-white picture depicting current events. appreciate fully, but in, say, Life magazine’s During the 1950s, color became more usual. and Picture Post’s coverage of the Second World War, the veracity of monochrome was unquestioned, and the reading public managed without thinking to bridge the gap between the colored real world and the completely unsaturated image. Black- and-white imagery remained “normal” in newsprint until offset color became practical for dailies around the 1980s. How and why this happened is worth considering, because the decades of black-and-white “normality” impressed the monochrome image with a particular strength and legitimacy. The onset of acceptance was slow and uneven, and can be argued to have been a special feature of documentary photography, where the aim was to show things “as they are,” even though this is a loose concept open to various interpretations. Naturally, documentary photographers, always more concerned with the events in front of them than a Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 23

Photography: A Concise History A Concise Photography: more flexible and adaptable to changing changing to adaptable and flexible more was this time, same the At situations. disastrous economically and socially a and world, the of much for period these on concentrated photography Jeffrey, Ian before. ever than more topics in writing FAST FILM FAST film came A 35mm camera and ISO 400 Tri-X to embody reportage photography—rapid shooting of subjects in available light—here, an opium addict in northern Thailand. medium the became cinematography, invented Barnack Oskar after choice of Loading, winding it. use to Leica the a as and faster, were unloading and on, developments, other and this of result ever became photography reportage

The period from the 1930s through through 1930s the from period The lenses to film. 35mm film, already used in in used already film, 35mm film. to lenses the 1940s saw substantial technical technical substantial saw 1940s the to cameras from photography, in progress the most popular and widely used of all of used widely and popular most the films. reportage and its ability to be “pushed” later in later “pushed” be to ability its and became higher, considerably development emulsions than color emulsions. Kodak’s Kodak’s emulsions. color than emulsions 400, ISO of speed nominal its with Tri-X, kept color at bay, as it was always easier easier always was it as bay, at color kept black-and-white faster manufacture to photography has relied on fast—more fast—more on relied has photography alone This media. sensitive—recording in as many lighting conditions as possible. possible. as conditions lighting many as in documentary lenses, fast with Even to them. Speed was a never-ending never-ending a was Speed them. to movement capture to ability concern—the creative or deliberate treatment of them, of treatment deliberate or creative available was whatever with worked THE MAINBOCHER CORSET Horst P. Horst, 1939 Horst’s image remains one of the most iconic photos of the twentieth century.

(part of the Thames & Hudson World of Art series), took the view that “…during the 1930s, photography’s tasks were mainly social and reformist, for which urgent black and white was an apt medium.” This is an exaggeratedly narrow view of 1930s

24 photography en masse, and for its own convenience ignores a large area of news journalism, but the point is valid within its frame of reference. Sally Eauclaire, setting the scene for a discussion of how color photography became critically acceptable in the 1970s, wrote in The New Color Photography, “Black-and-white photography figures so predominantly in white photographs with ‘realism’ and the the documentary tradition that we might authentic.” Contemporary documentary be conditioned to expect the news in photographers who stick to black and tones, not chromes.” white as much as possible include The legacy of this period, Sebastião Salgado, Chien-Chi Chang, and approximately from the 1930s through Richard Kalvar, among many others. Some the early 1960s, is that even today black photographers are certainly influenced in and white is accorded a respect for its this by their preference for the medium documentary “correctness.” So much so of film, but Salgado, for example, has that in 1997, Graham Clarke, writing in recently moved to digital after extensive The Photograph, part of the Oxford History testing, and is delighted with it. The of Art series, could say, “The traditional medium for him is monochrome rather canon of photography largely eschews than film. color, so that we are faced with the Other forms of photography spurred paradox of photography’s ‘realism’ being the creation of different strategies. communicated in black and white… The In the studio, for example, the best most obvious aspect of this remains the photographers quickly sidestepped the traditional ‘documentary’ image, where issue of lack of color and exploited black the presence of color actually lessens the and white’s essential qualitie: lighting, sense of the photograph’s veracity as an composing for drama, geometry, texture, image and witness. We equate black-and- or sensuousness, according to skill and Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 25

but it is very limited on the reproduction reproduction the on veryis it but limited not and chemical remains which surface, in is it as transcendental,intuitive, not has which black, to opposed As painting. the on color, range, complex most the fragmentarya only range.” offers contrary, BAYON TERRACE BAYON in Angkor The upper terrace of the Bayon Temple relatively Thom. The colors in the scene are insignificant, and shooting in black and white enables full attention to be paid to the modeling and the massing of shadows and highlights. processes chemical the have yet not do down breaking complex the permit that pastel the (in color of reconstitution and greens of gamut the example, for range, on went He nuances!).” 375 of up made is is color me, “For that, this from argue to verya important information, of medium

And of course, with a full knowledge knowledge full a with course, of And being, otherwise,be cannot it we because Bresson wrote, “Color in photography is is photography in “Color wrote, Bresson time the for prism; basic a on founded the superiority of monochrome on on monochrome of superiority the Cartier-Henri grounds. philosophical of reproduction, it was possible for for possible was it reproduction, of justify to photographer thoughtful a of the physics of light and the chemistry chemistry the and light of physics the of in his portrait of playwright Harold Harold playwright portraithis in of more another, was 157, page on Pinter approach. spontaneous black and white’s strengths. Bill Brandt’s Brandt’s Bill strengths. white’s and black as masses, light and dark of use bold distracted. Portrait photography outside outside photography Portrait distracted. of use full make also could studio the are masterpieces of constructed lighting constructed of masterpieces are have only would color which from of the 1930s, Horst P. Horst’s Hollywood Hollywood Horst’s P. Horst 1930s, the of example, for shots, portraitsfashion and taste. From as early as the beginning the as early as From taste. 26

Paul Strand made a similar point in ATTENTION SEEKING his objections to color: “It’s a dye. It has no A demonstration of Paul Strand’s assertion that “you body or texture or density, as paint does pay much more attention to the subtleties of the gray [...] So far, it doesn’t do anything but add scale” in a monochrome image. The color version of an uncomfortable element to a medium this view of the Bank of England is dominated by the that’s hard enough to control anyway.” This sky and the need to hold the highlights, while a black-and-white rendering allows much more attention probably exposes his real concern. One of to be paid to the just-perceptible fluting of the columns. black-and-white photography’s great joys and strengths is that it offers a different world from the one we experience, with Deeper than this was an understandable less going on in it and therefore more streak of conservatism that ran through to explore in the image qualities that it many of the established photographers does offer. As in most human activity, the in the 1960s, the time that color was simpler the situation, the more effort can becoming a major force in photography. be put into what remains. In photography, This conservatism was created because they then, restrict the medium and you increase had spent a lifetime, or part of it, mastering the potential refinement, meaning that a medium that involved conceptualizing in if you are faced with a scale of gray as black and white. It was not that there was opposed to a scale of color plus gray much evidence or fear of losing the game, shades (as in the illustrations here) you but rather that their black-and-white pay much more attention to the subtleties photography was more intellectual, crafted, of the gray scale. Strand, by the way, and dependent on a hard-won sensibility to continued to refer to color photography how a raw scene from the world could be as black and white that had been dyed. turned into a very different and specific art Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 27

The argument hinges on color offering offering on color The argument hinges too much. The more that you can expect expect can you that more The much. too difficult more the an image, in capture to the on stamp personal your put to is it not it, see I way the is “this say and image genuine a is, and was, This is.” it way the more materials, of choice wider A concern. for blessing mixed a are tools, better and preserve black and white. It was clear was It white. and black preserve that it about thought who anyone to simpler, becoming was photography all, photography to color and available mass the in way its have to going was most what simply was it because market not need they end, the In wanted. people did color Yes, much. so bothered have and photography, of world the over take achieved onward, 1980s the from even, photography’s at artisticrespectability spelling from far But end. refined more created it white, and black of demise the for photographers many among reason a refined, more medium, different a wanting snapshooters. of mass the apart and from

There is a definite sense in reading all reading in sense definite a is There of a rearguard action being fought to to fought being action rearguard a of these opinions from the 1970s and earlier and 1970s the from opinions these absolutely… There are four simple words words simple four are There absolutely… whispered: be must which matter the for vulgar.” is photography color to corrupt…” as ‘‘Color tends to corrupt to tends ‘‘Color as corrupt…” to corrupts color absolute and photography Walker Evans made the not-very-clever not-very-clever the made Evans Walker tends “Power Acton’s Lord of adaptation higher calling. Hence the often pompous often the Hence calling. higher made. frequently were that statements what was there; but to make the shiftthe make to but there; was what a simply, was, medium unique a to 1980s that basically anyone could take atake could anyone basically that 1980s reproduced simply it because image, color form. There was a distinct feeling at theat feeling distinct a was There form. higherthe into well until photography of end Intentional vulgarity, as Edward Weston claimed, was seen as Edward Weston Intentional vulgarity, color in its early days. by some as the legitimate use of VULGARITY ROADSIDE STAND NEAR BIRMINGHAM, 1936 Walker Evans

any photographer or artist. On the one one kind or another—filtering the real hand, they make it possible to do new through a creative imagination, if you like. things and explore kinds of imagery that It’s tempting to argue that the new digital no one tried until now. At the same time, ways in which color can be manipulated however, they can offer too much choice and corrected have actually furthered the 28 and distract. It usually helps to have a cause of black and white. The division clear view when you create an image, and between monochrome and color has certainly cluttering this up with more and more disappeared with the easy ability to choose possibilities can just be a damaging nuisance. exactly how saturated or unsaturated any Cartier-Bresson, one of whose greatest hue should be in an image. In that sense, skills was organizing the chaos of fleeting black and white simply represents one end street scenes into compositional unity, of a continuum, not on its own island. said simply, “Imagine having to think about Later, in Chapter 4, we’ll be treating these color on top of all this.” It’s easy to draw shades of tone from the point of view of parallels with other camera-or-medium adding hints of color to monochrome, but inventions. Zoom lenses, now standard, the same results could equally be explored were not thought of as a universal blessing in a book on color photography as ways when they began to appear in the late of muting color. 1950s. Quite apart from optical quality Some of the most interesting in the early zoom designs (a top-quality photographers for me in relation to all prime lens still sets the highest standard), of this are those who switched and still they gave a new dimension to composition. maintained success, at least in their own Framing could be fine-tuned infinitely; eyes. Among the older and traditional are hugely useful if you are a sports or event Eliot Porter, Harry Callahan, and Joel photographer shooting from a restricted, Meyerowitz, each of whom switched to fixed position, but for many photographers color while maintaining full respect and it just gives an extra layer of choice, meaning affection for black and white. And, if you more to think about, which can at times accept black and white as normality, you delay the shot by just enough to lose it. could turn the question on its head and And it goes much further than “how ask when and where it would be better to can we cope with all of this sensory input.” shoot color. This is a rather old-fashioned Art can be many things, but it is never way of thinking, harking back to the days about reproducing reality as perfectly as when color was emerging rather than possible. There is always a translation of dominating, but it brings a useful Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 29

In many ways, I think I most like most I think I ways, many In Robert Frank’s existential argument existential Frank’s Robert are white and “Black monochrome: for they me To photography. of colors the andhope of alternatives the symbolize subjected.” is mankind which to despair which are only ‘colored’ black and whites.” and black ‘colored’ only are which seek subject matter because of its color. color. its of because matter subject seek subjects avoiding form, as color see must We monochrome spent years trying to avoid avoid trying years spent to monochrome its of because exciting matter subject now must we medium, new this in color; altogether surprising conclusion that conclusion surprising altogether in photographing began who us of “those finally became fascinated with the instant the with fascinated became finally not the reached He Polaroid. of colors picture subject is precisely the vulgarity… the precisely is subject picture validly”),used be can film color only then and grumpy about color’s “vulgarity” (he “vulgarity” color’s about grumpy and a of point the “when that conceded had perspective to the same issue of choice. choice. of issue same the to perspective aloof both being earlier Weston, Edward Monochrome in Photography vs Painting

e began by looking at painters’ monochrome meant a degree of Wexperience of black and white in desaturation of hue that the artist could order to put photography in the wider decide on the spot. In paint, there is a context of the graphic arts. continuum from color to monochrome, The most significant difference between not a binary switch, and this perhaps painting and photography is that painters accounts for the relative lack of discussion have a full choice, and the decision to by monochrome artists on this subject desaturate the palette has always been (Agnes Martin, for example, spoke much taken deliberately, whereas for the first more about the geometry of her work century of photography, black and white than about the lack of color). 30 was an imposed medium. Of necessity, Now, digital processing offers exactly photographers learned to work within this continuum of colorfulness, so that the restrictions of monochrome, and black-and-white photography has not surprisingly these soon ceased to be extensions into subtlety of color rather thought of as restrictions. For example, the than simply all or nothing. Any degree early emulsions were sensitive principally of saturation is easily possible, and this to blue light, and in landscape photography brings photography closer to painting in this meant a negative properly exposed for one aspect. Being relatively new, it remains the ground was invariably overexposed for to be fully explored. the sky. Good photographers learned to compose the frame to allow for blank white skies—take Timothy O’Sullivan for example. Another important difference between monochrome in painting and monochrome in photography is the matter of degree of color. In traditional photography, there was a clear distinction between the two because the emulsions were different and quite distinctive (of course, the situation has changed now with digital, as we will BLACK CANYON see in Chapter 2; but the influence of Top right: Timothy O’Sullivan, 1871. This shot was photography’s traditions remains strong originally commissioned by Lieutenant George Wheeler as part of a military survey mission, and has the full artistically). You could do one or the title “Black Canyon, From Camp 8, Looking Above.” other, not a version in between. No film

manufacturer made “half-colorful” film. HALF-COLORED IMAGE In painting, however, there has always Right: Digital processing makes possible the range of been a wide choice of pigment, and “colorfulness” that was formerly the preserve of with the exception of ink-based art, as in painting. This interior view has been deliberately China, Korea, and Japan, moving toward desaturated in parts. Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 31 32

PHOTOGRAPHIC QUALITY: THE SILHOUETTE Left: A Tibetan monk in the monastery of Tashilhunpo. This is a good example of the silhouette—invented as an art form, and then later appropriated by photography. Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 33 Flare is an optical effect completely PHOTOGRAPHIC QUALITY: FLARE QUALITY: PHOTOGRAPHIC Above: painting but not of characteristic of photography, (other than painting that aims to mimic photography).

certain areas of an image, while enhancing the saturation of others. PARTLY COLORED IMAGE COLORED PARTLY which Another possibility from digital photography, was formerly complicated with film, is to desaturate The Photographer’s Choice

iewed from the perspective of the became better and better, and also Vfirst half of the twentieth century, cheaper. As recently as the 1980s, it was it seems completely reasonable that entirely normal for a heavily illustrated photographers would think of black book to mix black and white with color and white as normal. just for cost reasons. A signature (typically Color in its earliest forms, such as 16 pages) of color images would frequently Autochrome, and then the revolutionary be followed by one of black and white. Kodachrome, was understandably Color printing is now so efficient that considered exotic, even threatening. today this is virtually unthinkable. But once color chemistry had matured, Many photographers simply moved 34 it was inevitable that it would take over to color and enjoyed what it had to offer. photography almost completely. Others, as we saw, fought rearguard The gradual change in the status actions. Some simply accepted the new of black-and-white photography came demands from publishers by making about as much because of how images as few changes as possible to the way are used and distributed as by the they worked. Ian Berry, a Magnum possibility of shooting in color. Until photographer, told me, “I just shoot in very recently, when photography has color as if I were using black and white become fully democratic and open [which he preferred].” For a long while, to almost everyone, professional and many of the avenues for displaying black- commercial needs were very influential. and-white photography closed off. Just It was magazines in particular that were the gallery print remained, which of course for so long the means for displaying focused energies on print quality in a way photography to a mass audience. This that color has hardly ever received. began in the 1930s, and lasted for at But finally, the sheer universal least sixty years, gradually declining availability of color, and the excesses it in importance in the face of first has been put to in richness, vibrancy, television and now the internet. Color and super-saturation, have given black sold magazines, and the famous weeklies and white a status of refinement. The like Life, Stern, and Paris Match moved “excesses” began with the efforts of film quickly toward it, while monthlies like manufacturers to satisfy their mass National Geographic and GEO focused all markets, the Japanese manufacturer Fuji their attention on displaying the best, being particularly active in this. They most exciting, and well-printed color appreciated that people’s memories of imagery that they could find. This pushed holiday scenes were more colorful and editorial photographers to shift to color. idealized than reality. Holiday skies, Advertising, which filled pages on the therefore, should be bluer, and this same presses, followed immediately. was achievable through the increasing Moreover, color offset printing processes sophistication of film technology. Printing Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 35

Contemporary black-and-white black-and-white Contemporary photography has, at least as I see it, see I as least at has, photography distinct reasonably two into evolved the continues deliberately One strands. the documentary style; gritty of ethos tactile even textural, the explores other sensual,and crafted finely the of qualities HOLIDAY SKIES HOLIDAY who recognized courtesy of Fuji chemists sky, A Velvia the desire of most holidaying photographers to reproduce blue skies as they think they should be rather than as they are. richness contradictory the from freedom toward means a and color, full of not control—advantages and emphasis Cartier-Bresson as Or, sacrificed.” lightly photography “Black-and-white it: put that.” like I and things abstracts Black and white, not surprisingly, surprisingly, not white, and Black purified; or it allowed photographers photographers allowed it or purified; radiant and genial…Monochrome genial…Monochrome and radiant reality of visions insights, promised looks all the better by comparison. Ian Ian comparison. by better the all looks the takes above, quoted was who Jeffrey, both are worlds “Polychrome that view the internet displays all of it. it. of all displays internet the made color excess even easier, and with and easier, even excess color made screens, electronic of gamut broader the opportunities to ratchet up the colorfulness. colorfulness. the up ratchet opportunitiesto unfortunately has photography Digital for publication offered the same the offered publication for the subtleties of form and texture. The side-lit torso of a Khmer statue offers a classic subject for black and white, with refined treatment of REFINEMENT 36

“POLYCHROME WORLDS ARE BOTH RADIANT AND GENIAL” The “radiant and genial” appearance of “polychrome worlds,” in the words of Ian Jeffrey, is exemplified in the glowing rice fields of this Balinese terracing ready for harvest. Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 37

situation itself. ABSTRACTING THINGS ABSTRACTING contrast, By removing color and by manipulating plains this view of wildebeest on the Serengeti divorced from the attains an abstract graphic quality v

38

DEEP SKY Strong geometric abstraction of an old ladder in the clifftop New Mexican settlement of Acoma. The deep blue sky was easy to convert to black, for maximum contrast with the bleached wood. Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 39 .

Not unexpectedly, collecting collecting unexpectedly, Not many people are still uncertainstill about are people many prints. color of qualities archival the respect skewed strongly this Nevertheless, that suggests prints monochrome for more being as perceived is white and black heartthe at photography of more serious, color. mere than TEXTURE black-and-white print The textural, tactile qualities of a between are of prime concern—the difference here. semi-gloss and matte is demonstrated photography take who People curators. more even white and black take seriously in sale recent major a Consider seriously. of Galleries Swann York’s New by 2008 Important 19th & 20th Century Photographs monochrome. were 364 lots, 389 the Of which safety, toward biased is photography and masters, known by prints older favors

thoughtful collectors, commentators, and commentators, collectors, thoughtful and unquestionably “apt” for serious for “apt” unquestionably and many of documentarytypical is issues sense of following in a great tradition tradition great a in following of sense that comment Jeffrey’s Ian up. pops still somehow is white” and black “urgent of color helps to focus attention on the on attention focus to helps color of the but scene, the in activity meaningful perhaps more importantly, the traditional traditional the importantly, more perhaps distraction the removing that argument Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, and Capa, Robert Cartier-Bresson, Henri and also, is there course, Of others. with the great reportage photographers photographers reportage great the with Brassaï, Evans, Walker as such past, the of documentary photography, in which in documentaryphotography, continuity for feeling strong a is there toward black-and-white imagery can black-and-white toward in surfaces This self-conscious. be the historical road, decades past the past decades road, historical the between choice full a of introduction attitudes white, and black and color print. In some work, of course, the two two the course, of work, some In print. along far This briefly. together come Without Color Pictures without color can convey altogether different qualities to the original, which is inevitably color in the world of digital.

ALANG SHIP BREAKING In the black-and-white conversion, the distraction of the color is removed, allowing the eye to concentrate on the figures and the mind to consider their labors.

40

GRAIN SACKS The color original is confusing, with the red lifeboat demanding too much attention. In black and white, the central protaganist is seen more clearly.

DELHI BOY Opposite: Black and white’s reputation for “gritty reality” suits it to reportage subjects such as these. Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 41 Subtracting Color

t the risk of oversimplifying, Asubtracting color from imagery allows the other graphic elements and RUINS dynamics to increase in importance. In this image taken in the abandoned Khmer ruin of Indeed, compels them to, like a sort Banteay Chhmar, with its inimitable face tower, the of Boyle’s Law of attention—fewer color version distracts without adding any particular components in an image expand to value, while a black-and-white rendering pulls attention engage the attention of the viewer. back to where it was intended—on the face tower. Color is so integral to our experience of the world, and of imagery, that most number of photographers. One of 42 people (and most photographers) do the most influential was the Swiss not separate it in their mind’s eye from photographer Ernst Haas, who notably everything else that is going on. In order exploited the strong, but dark, color to understand what happens when we saturation that Kodachrome gave when take it away and work in monochrome, slightly underexposed. By contrast, Eliot we need to know how it fits in to the Porter worked with a more restrained total range of image qualities; also, palette, but still with a sensual approach how it differs from the other elements in which the colors themselves are often in its effect. the principal reason for the photograph. Moreover, color elicits subjective and And because color triggers emotional emotional responses in a way that other responses, there is also usually an image qualities do not. Without normally unquestioned assumption that it analyzing it, we tend simply to like or works on a scale of beauty, or at least dislike in varying degrees the way a attractiveness. To say “what a spectacular certain color looks, or a combination of sunset,” or “look at how blue the water is,” colors. The subjective response to color or “that gray really sets off the pink,” or is powerful and pervasive, and as a result, any of the many other common value takes over viewer response to many judgments on color, is to acknowledge photographs. If the color component that the effect of color can be likeable— in an image is strong, rich, unusual, or and for most people should be likeable. simply noticeable, there is a good chance This gut reaction to color is by far the that it will swamp the attention. Many most common, and in this way it stands photographers, perhaps too many, have apart from the other formal graphic exploited this and concentrated their elements, which we’ll now examine. There energies on the power of color. Once are a number of ways of subdividing the the chemistry of color film was properly graphic components of an image, but the established in the early 1960s, the most generally accepted are: point, line, opportunity to concentrate on it as an shape, texture, and color. In the way that image quality began to be exploited by a these are used and interact, there is Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 43 A Sudanese woman ABU SHOUK Left: recently from Darfur, arrived in a refugee camp after her husband was killed in an attack on their the village. Arguably, bright colors favored by all Sudanese women detracts from the severity of the situation. volume and texture. and volume the gradation along the gray tonal scale, scale, tonal gray the along gradation the of ones three-dimensional the as well as that the components and qualities most most qualities and components the that shape, of ones graphic the are affected and image, the of structure graphic the vectors). Subtracting color enhances enhances color Subtracting vectors). means this practice, In remaining. those contrast, balance, and dynamics (or (or dynamics and balance, contrast, Shape

hape in photography can be pushed Sin two directions. One is toward the two-dimensional and graphic—“pure” shapes that behave as cut-outs, as in a strong silhouette. The other is toward creating the impression of volume, roundedness, and three dimensions. In either case, the emphasis is on formal graphic structure. As Joel Meyerowitz, another photographer 44 who moved from black and white to color, put it, “it was a big step to cut off black- and-white work and commit myself to color. You’re really changing the nature of your response. It’s a very different game out there. Black and white has more form. Somehow, pictures look like there’s a compressed formal structure running through them, tying events together. In color, there’s more of a languid flow from one thing to the other. Learning how to make that switch was a departure for me.” In fact, although here I’m isolating the particularly black-and-white qualities of photography, beginning with shape, they are all interconnected. Shape can be used to define form, although not necessarily. This in turn gives a sense of volume and presence. Shape depends heavily on outline, and in photography this is defined by edge contrast, as opposed to in drawing, where lines are more normal. This contrast in itself draws more attention to edge SILHOUETTE SHAPE transitions in monochrome than in color, Above: Shape based on the edges of a silhouette is clear, with all the attendant issues of sharpness, graphic, and two dimensional. While the sunset colors smooth gradation (in the case of a soft or are fairly attractive, this image is nevertheless a defocused edge), and possible artifacts candidate for black and white because of its graphic such as halos when you apply sharpening. qualities. The removal of color further keeps the attention on the outline of these old Shanghai roofs. Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 45 A cropped detail showing two ill effects from A cropped detail showing two ill LIMITS OF SHAPE LIMITS Below: image). One of these (in the right-hand over-sharpening noticeable is haloing around the edges, particularly ears; the other is an exaggeration around the horse’s of noise in the shadows of the horse and rider. An image, taken in Iceland, that works perfectly An image, taken in Iceland, that works the fencing and white church emphasized. black and white is arguably stronger, at least when black and white is arguably stronger, with the shape of processed this way for good contrast, Above: The differently. well in color or black and white, though EITHER WAY Structure

omposition in photography can Black and white enhances these Cbe subtly embedded, so that the possibilities by taking away the distraction viewer is unaware of it. However, it of color, forcing more attention on the can also be strongly evident, and this contrast across edges, as the two examples depends on two things: whether or on these pages show. In Frank Lloyd not the photographer wants to push Wright’s Guggenheim Museum image, the this particular graphic aspect of the interior is not particularly colorful, but image, and the opportunities that even so, the differences in color from the the scene offers. mixed lighting contribute nothing to the Image possibilities that contain a image and simply serve to distract. In 46 strong potential for structure notably black and white, the image is stronger include elements of line and shape, and cleaner. In the other image, under almost always heightened by some form a hill-farmer’s house in southern China, of contrast. These conditions, and the the wooden construction, the relationship images here, are just two of countless between calf and buffalo, and the examples that create what Henri Cartier- exaggeration of all of this by using a wide- Bresson described as the “geometry” of angle lens (at 27mm focal length), create a photograph when he said, “I think of the potential for pronounced geometry. what I see, and the geometry, that Again, however, the cool-warm color means everything has to be composed contrast works across this. Here, careful properly.” He also wrote of composing as processing made the most of the seeing “...the beauty of the form; that is, a structure, and we will look at this in detail geometry awakened by what’s offered.” later on page 154.

ALTERNATIVES: CHINA Color and black-and-white versions of a scene in a hill-tribe village in southwestern China. Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 47

ALTERNATIVES: ALTERNATIVES: GUGGENHEIM A view of Frank Lloyd Guggenheim Wright’s York, Museum in New in both in color and black and white. Tonal Nuance

his is a very specific photographic Tconcern, by its nature subtle and personal. If you study the examples here with some care, you can see how complex the issue of brightness can be in a color image. Physiologically, our visual system responds more sensitively to some hues than to others, which is why yellows and yellow-greens are brighter to our eyes. But 48 more than this, there is our psychological response to different hues. One simple example of this is that “hot” colors around orange are readily associated with flame and burning, and also the production of light. Most people feel these to be inherently brighter than, say, blues, which we tend to associate with water, coolness, and dim light. Further proof is the huge choice in translating hues into tones when you use one of the various software processing methods that mixes channels (as demonstrated opposite, and we will see in considerably more detail in Chapter 3). Take this away, and the tonal scale simplifies dramatically. What this allows is a clearer, purer concentration on the subtleties of transition between shades different areas of the scale. You might, for of gray. Immediately, as you would expect, example, want delicacy in the upper mid- this places great importance on the tones in particular, or very finely tuned hints smoothness of tonal gradients, such as in of detail in deep shadow areas. All of this a clear sky. Unevenness, and in particular naturally leads to different interpretations banding, is even more apparent with of tone which, as we’ll see in a few pages, no color to distract the attention. Long has a wider range of acceptable results in smooth gradients show up the efficiency monochrome than in color. of the sensor, and make 16-bit-per-channel I mentioned channel mixing in processing a priority. software monochrome conversion, which On a more subjective level, there is you would do as part of your Raw extra room to play with tonal transitions in processing (providing that you shot Raw), Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 49 40% 99% 99% -193% -48% 80%

Black and White Black and

Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens:

the process. the demands a clear idea of what you want want you what of idea clear a demands begin you before ideally achieve, to It makes it possible to achieve almost achieve to possible it makes It tones, of distribution conceivable any certainlyIt choice. much too almost with This, of course, adds another very large veryanother adds large course, of This, nuance. tonal controlling to dimension but which can also be performed on TIFFs. TIFFs. on performed be also can which but adjustment to darken the protective suit and man’s brighten the orange flames. Recovering the tonal distinction (right) involves operating the sliders in hue desaturation (above) loses the impact completely. gold smelting clearly stresses the intensity of the flames, whereas a straight DESATURATED this image of In color, Form & Volume

orm and volume both play an We’ll deal with texture on the following Fimportant part in revealing each pages, but for many black-and-white other, with texture key to the viewer’s photographers, this massing that understanding of the picture. uses brightness is the key concern in In their classic A Concise History technique. Eliot Porter, who began in of Photography, Helmut and Alison black and white, but made his reputation Gernsheim put the issue of shape and in color, was unequivocal when he wrote form succinctly when they wrote, “In that, “When photographing subjects like monochrome the massing of light and rocks, the approach is entirely different, shade and the reproduction of texture because in black and white you see the 50 are of the utmost importance,” making forms much more than you do in color.” the comparison with color photography.

PRECIOUS WENTLETRAP With diffused lighting from the left and a reflector on the right, against black velvet, the setting, lighting, and processing for this still-life of a precious wentletrap have been chosen primarily with a view to emphasizing the volume of the shell, so that we can sense its three-dimensionality and delicacy.

BRONZE STATUE Opposite: Side lighting, a hint of secondary lighting from behind and left, and a low-key treatment combine to stress the form of this ancient Khmer bronze statue. Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 51 Texture

exture is structure and form on a small shadows, and in particular, under raking Tscale, meaning small relative to the light from a low angle. However, this is not view. And, because a texture is, by just simple but quite simplistic. There is an definition, something that is reasonably infinite variety of texture, including smooth consistent over a substantial area of a glosses and metallic sheens, and the key surface, it is usually a repetitive structure. to handling texture is to connect it to the A pebble-dashed wall, to give an object whose surface it covers, and what example, has a particular consistency of you want to say about it in the image. If, roughness and spacing. The reason why for example, a ceramic vase or bowl has a texture becomes a more prominent, pronounced and gritty texture, how much 52 malleable quality in black and white than do you want to stress this aspect rather in color is—as we’ve already seen for than the volume? Almost certainly there shape and form—removing color from will have to be a compromise. These kinds the equation makes the presentation of of possibilities and decisions are endless, texture a pure exercise in tonal modulation. and there are certainly no rights or wrongs. The simple way of treating texture in The place you give to texture in an image a photograph is in terms of its strength, is entirely your choice—in as much as you and almost any relief texture looks stronger have control over the lighting which, under a point-source light that casts hard ultimately, reveals texture.

BRACES Another lighting technique that reveals texture is this—a large, diffused area light aimed from in front of the camera but out of frame. This method lit the entire stone slab on which these old braces were placed, while showing its texture. Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 53 BADRUTTS SILVERWARE BADRUTTS Hotel silverware in close-up. The texture, in this case, includes lettering answer is an area light, but not The and a symbol that need to read clearly. so large that its reflection swamps the entire curve of the metal. close-up, plus strong fill from a reflector on the right. spotlight aimed through an empty wine glass to throw caustics over the letterhead in silver called for a variety of light falling on it to convey its texture. The solution was a BADRUTTS The metallic texture of an embossed Interpretation

ne theme running through this monochrome. These are tonal compression, Obook is that monochrome, by brightness, and global contrast. The being distanced from what we take argument is that you can push each of in through our eyes, allows more these acceptably to a more extreme extreme manipulation without degree in monochrome than in color. Any breaching any norms of acceptability. judgments here are subjective, of course Let me expand on this a little. Color —a matter of taste—so it’s perhaps better photography, despite coming late in the that I’m not didactic here. Better to let the twentieth century to the photographic examples speak for themselves. Tonal world, carries with it, automatically, the compression means clipping at either or 54 presumption of being close to reality. It’s both ends of the scale, which is usually expected in most instances. Or rather, it’s more acceptable for the shadows because unquestioned. Make major alterations to a of the long photographic tradition of the color image, such as hue changes, selective silhouette; much less so for the highlights. changes, and they will very definitely look Even so, it can work perfectly well for a like alterations. Adjustments at the same black-and-white image. Altering brightness level of intrusion in black and white, is basically a change of key (between high- however, are accorded much more latitude key and low-key), which we explore in by most viewers. more detail later. Local contrast affects We’ll come to the large-scale the entire image, while the ends of the possibilities later, in Chapter 2 when we look scale remain fixed, and is traditionally at processing, but for now let’s limit altered by applying either a classic ourselves to three moves that are both S-curve or a reverse S-curve. basic and common to both color and

STAGES OF INTERPRETATION Creating the perfect black-and-white image can involve a number of stages, including —as here— the use of masks to target specific areas for different tonal treatment. Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 55 294% 45% 125% -79% -198% 80% Black and White

Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows:

DESATURATED reference. All sense A straight desaturation, purely for lost. of contrast in the cloths has been dark; raising yellows and greens, lowering blues and cyan. This certainly achieves dark; raising yellows and greens, present is exaggerated. Also, both the cloth contrast, but vignetting that was in the upper half need tempering. highlights and the dark shadows BLACK & WHITE SETTINGS 1 BLACK contrast that will have the cloths light and the river Using hue adjustment, I aim for a The color original, of yellow cloths drying on the banks The color original, of yellow cloths of the Ganges at Varanasi. DHOBI WALLAH Vignette

Amount +25 56 darken lighter

Midpoint +79

BLACK & WHITE SETTINGS 2 Using Lens Correction in Photoshop, the vignetting, most prominent in the upper corners, is reduced.

BLACK & WHITE SETTINGS 3 To darken the foreground overall while increasing its contrast, a mask is roughly painted over this area with a large soft brush. The curve shown here is then applied. Some unintended darkening has occurred at the left and right because of the mask’s imprecision. These were restored with the History Brush. Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 57 of several possible ones. are held in place. This is the final image—clearly just one interpretation painted, and then a curve applied. Note that only the upper part of the range is lightened—the dark shadows BLACK & WHITE SETTINGS 5 BLACK lighten the corners, they are mask To crept in, leaving the top left and right corners of the image too dark. crept in, leaving the top left and right The river area is selected by mask painting as above, intentionally leaving a gap in The river area is selected by mask side, which are already very dark. A strong the middle of the boats on the right-hand water has some unevenness across the Now, contrast- creating S-curve is applied. BLACK & WHITE SETTINGS 4 BLACK to get a gritty feel. with its boats, in the river, The next step is to heighten contrast LIMITS OF COLOR What we have done earlier in black and white is to make strong, even extreme, adjustments to the image as shot. Now I want to show the limits of adjustment if we were to work in color. Vibrance

Vibrance +100

Saturation 0

58 COLOR SETTINGS 1 COLOR SETTINGS 2 These limits are much tighter. First, let’s apply 100% Below: If, instead, we decide to shift all the hues, there Vibrance (which is, by its design, less extreme than the is even less latitude. Here 15%, which is very little, is same Saturation increase would be). Even then the about as far as we could go and still maintain some result has already gone beyond what most people semblance of naturalism. would consider reasonable. Hue: +15

Saturation: 0

Lightness: 0 Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 59 50 % Photo Filter

Preserve Luminosity Filter: Warming Filter (85) Color: Density: ✓ experiments is clear—black and white lends itself to greater extremes of experiments is clear—black and color. processing interpretation than does suggest it. But applied at 50% we have quite a different effect, almost suggest it. But applied at 50% we from these three color like a colored monochrome! The lesson COLOR SETTINGS 3 COLOR a standard filter we can apply and still seem see how strong let’s Finally, might and the overcast light natural. This is a basic warming filter, Light-sensitive Gelatin Film Qualities crystals Scratch-resistant coating Adhesive he particular look of film has been Taround long enough to be an established part of our cultural understanding of the image, even if it is no longer present in many of the pictures that we are presented with. It carries with it certain expectations of truth. Every medium adds its own internal qualities to an image, be it oil paint, 60 charcoal, watercolor, or film. And for photography, emulsions, both film and paper, have dominated it for so long that their particular characteristics are Cellulose-acetate embedded in its language. Consider the base Adhesive Antihalation backing history of black-and-white emulsions. Over the course of the late nineteenth century FILM STRUCTURE and most of the twentieth century, many In a typical black-and-white film, the emulsion is a layer monochrome film emulsions were invented, of gelatin in which the light-sensitive crystals of silver each with a different quality, varying by a bromide are embedded. This is supported on a tough, mix of grain and texture, contrast, tonal stable base, usually cellulose acetate. A scratch- structure, and other things that was hard to resistant coating protects the emulsion and an antihalation layer prevents stray light from being pin down, but nevertheless made most of reflected back into the emulsion from below. them identifiable. Graininess in film is caused by silver particles clumping. In fact, when people distributed as evenly as possible in the talk about grain in film, they usually mean gelatin layer that makes up the body of much larger structures, as individual grains an emulsion. The size and distribution of are normally impossible to see at normal these crystals, also commonly known as viewing distances. This goes back to the grains, varies according to the type of film, structure of an emulsion, in which silver but in an average emulsion each measures halide crystals are suspended in a matrix. about 1/1000mm across. The silver and They react latently (meaning not at the halide components are held together in point of exposure) to light falling on the a lattice arrangement by electrical bonds; film, and processing converts these when the photons strike, they disrupt the exposed crystals into black silver. That, electrical status quo by adding energy to skipping the details, is the essence. The the crystal. silver halide is the active ingredient in One of the special qualities of film, lost film, in the form of a mass of crystals in digital sensors, is that it responds to Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 61

technology. The increased granularity granularity increased The technology. appearance, grainier a to rise gives with or films verythe in which fastest up breaks actually enlargement great speckled pronounced a into image the film quality, image maximize texture. To a into grains smaller set manufacturers affected grain needs to be exposed. exposed. be to needs grain affected using by done was this Traditionally, modern more a but grains, larger are that grains use to is development lay they if lumpy; than rather flatter is effect the light, the toward flat-side silver more without sensitivity greater flatter, or larger, with Film bulk. halide and light to readily more reacts grains price the However, “faster.” therefore is in increase this for paid be to has that so more image, coarser a is speed film flat-grain with than large-grain with

Most of the improvements and and improvements the of Most sensitive to light, a greater area of each each of area greater a light, to sensitive the way in which they are suspended in in suspended are they which in way the more film a make To emulsion. the alterations that film manufacturers used used manufacturers film that alterations with do to had products their to make to and grains, these of shape and size the emulsion responds more sluggishly. sluggishly. more responds emulsion its response. Put more practically, it means it practically, more Put response. its the film, the on falls light more as that a wide range of brightness (dynamic (dynamic brightness of range wide a compressing by words) other in range, brightness in a way that is quite similar quite is that way a in brightness handle can it Basically, eye. human the to experience to be able to “see” the image from its tonally reversed negative. JUDGING NEGATIVE THEN PRINT THEN JUDGING NEGATIVE demanded Black-and-white printing from negatives Gelatin 62

thinner emulsion, so as to reduce the HIGHLIGHT ROLL-OFF internal reflections that degrade the Even shooting straight into a bright sun on a clear day, image in a thick layer of gelation. This film handles the excessive contrast quite gently in the type of emulsion has a fine-grained highlights. The tones roll off gradually toward the solid appearance, but reacts less well to light white of the sun, with no obvious banding. and is therefore “slow.” The improved sensitivity of flat grains is also used in favor the grain structure of certain films, combination with cubic grains for fine- and generally learned to appreciate this grained emulsions that can produce quality. Kodak’s Tri-X was always well exceptionally sharp images. Even regarded for this. Philosophically, you distribution of the crystals and a fine could argue that even though film internal structure contribute to this. manufacturers have always tried to The net result of all this effort is minimize the appearance of grain, it that different film emulsions have remains structurally a part of the process different styles of graininess, and many and of the image, and so should be photographers who are wedded to film accepted, and even loved, for that reason. feel able to discriminate between brands. There are certainly many examples in How real this is matters less than that black and white of photographers film photographers certainly used to emphasizing and using this quality. Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 63 many film photographers. definite grain structure prized and enjoyed by TRI-X in magnification Tri-X shows the distinct and photographer, has since moved happily to digital black and white. has since moved photographer, pointillist drawing or an intaglio aquatint.” To this end he exaggerated the effect by this end pointillist drawing or an intaglio aquatint.” To Krause, a renowned printer as well as mercury intensifier. later applying Victor’s George Krause, 1965. This is a photograph that relies heavily on revealing the grain in George Krause, 1965. This is a photograph that relies heavily on revealing a Seurat order to create what the photographer calls “an image that suggested BIRDS There is also a paradoxical relationship between graininess and sharpness. Sharpness is a subjective quality, to which the measurable quality of resolution contributes only partly. Other things come into play, including contrast, and sharpness is very much a matter of judgment, as becomes immediately obvious when people discuss it. “Not sharp enough” and “too sharp” or “over-sharpened” are clearly 64 expressions of taste. At a degree of enlargement when it becomes visible, and especially with high-speed and pushed film, grain can act to help sharpness. Even though overall the less noticeable the grain, the sharper an image looks, in its detail, graininess with a precise structure can, just by giving a definable texture to the image, provide a different kind of sharpness. FILM GRAIN IN DIGITAL However, grain in color film is not the In these examples, DxO FilmPack, a software processing application, offers measured simulations same thing. To begin with, at a microscopic of a selection of 60 films, not just the grain level, the crisp black silver of black and characteristics, but the characteristic curve white is replaced with a rather fuzzier dye response. As the company puts it, this is from cloud. Then, a tri-pack color emulsion has “modeling the colorimetric responses of more depth, with overlapping color dye- silver-halide films. For the modeling process, great clouds adding to the softness. What is care was taken in the development of these films, visible in a high-speed black-and-white which was entrusted to major professional film image as a crisp structure becomes laboratories in Paris and New York.” more amorphous in fast color film. One different monochrome process borrows some of color film’s technology. In such “chromogenic” films, the original silver is this latent desire among photographers removed after the first development, and to recreate the look of traditional films, and replaced with a dye. The result is a virtual in particular their graininess. The result absence of the traditional grainy texture, is presets that make an image look as if which was not a foregone advantage for it were shot on a specific brand of film. the reasons discussed above. The examples here are from DxO FilmPack. Interestingly, some image processing software manufacturers have caught on to Digital Monochrome Creative Choices

THE BLACK & WHITE TRADITION 65 DXO HP5 PLUS 400 HP5 PLUS DXO 3200 T-MAX DXO DXO AGFA APX 25 APX AGFA DXO DXO KODAK HIE KODAK DXO DIGITAL MONOCHROME

While digital photography is for the most part practiced in color, camera sensors are strictly monochrome. But of course, so is film. Both react to the quantity of light and not to sections of the visible spectrum. Also, both need a process of color separation in order to record and reproduce the colors of the world. The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 67

Much of this chapter is devoted to hue to devoted is chapter this of Much the sky, for example, can be lightened or lightened be can example, for sky, the overall the of independently darkened a or blue a adjusting by simply exposure, side is straightforward; The technical slider. cyan when deciding is interesting more much controls. powerful these use to why and while film has a generous latitude latitude generous a has film while forgiving more be to it causes that extent some to and overexposure, of the exposure, digital a In underexposure. slight a from highlights of loss sudden always is overexposure and miscalculation two has sensor camera The concern. a clipping or loss, highlight limits: critical noise and end, top the at known, is it as shadows. the in end other the at post-processing the is This adjustment. fine- and choose can you which in stage between relationship brightness the tune of blue The scene. any in colors different

For anyone coming to this from black- from this to coming anyone For Black-and-white photography with awith photography Black-and-white

n the case of sensors, the near- sensors, of n the case colored of method is a grid universal several key differences. First, camera camera First, differences. key several how proportionto in light to react sensors photosite, individual each strikes much and-white film photography, there are are there photography, film and-white brightness of any color to be adjusted as adjusted be to color any of brightness gray. of shade a to it convert you being a disadvantage, the color information color the disadvantage, a being the allowing in use excellent to put be can a retro operation, as the color information color the as operation, retro a from far However, removed. be to needs digital camera, therefore, is something of something is therefore, camera, digital then red—are stacked, on the same on the same stacked, then red—are film. color tri-pack used by principle to the front of the sensor. The alternative The alternative sensor. the of the front to in which three sensor, is the Foveon then green, at the top, layers—blue I and blue—attached green, filters—red, The Monochrome Sensor

ike film, and every other photographic Another way of shooting in black and L process before it, camera sensors white is to have a monochrome sensor— respond to total light, not color. that is, without the Bayer array in front of In order to extract the color it. And that is exactly the route Leica have information from a scene, the total light taken with the M-Monochrom, a black-and- reaching the sensor needs to be filtered. white version of their M9 full-frame Filtering simply means blocking some camera. The argument for this is simply wavelengths in order to allow others that the resolution and contrast will be through, and the standard method for better without the Bayer array. almost all camera sensors is the Bayer array, a mosaic filter manufactured with a pattern of red, green, and blue. Each photosite is filtered with one or the other, and the standard arrangement has twice the number of green filters than red or blue, to match the sensitivity of the human eye, which has its peak response to yellow-green wavelengths. This arrangement means that the color information is much less than the light information, and the camera’s processor uses interpolation to guess the mix of color for each pixel. In practice, this works perfectly well, even though it sounds 68 crude, but to get back to monochrome, the colors need to be desaturated. This is indeed what happens in cameras that offer the option of monochrome—a straight desaturation of each of the three channels: red, green, and blue. The hidden advantage of shooting color when you really want black and white is that later, when you come to process the images on the computer, this color information can be used to vary the BAYER FILTER brightness of specific hues. For more on In the Bayer filter bonded to the front of most this valuable feature of digital capture, camera sensors, a pattern of red, green, and blue see Colors into Tones, page 104, and the filters cover one photosite each. The color resolution pages following. is thus much lower than the spatial resolution. The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 69 GREEN CHANNEL BLUE CHANNEL BLUE

it’s easy to see how black-and-white photography can easy to see how black-and-white it’s each channel separately. benefit from treating RGB CHANNELS only, in terms of its channels image is viewed When an RED CHANNEL in Chicago, the green and blue channels almost in Chicago, the green and blue channels completely block the red. RED COW bull sculpture In this strongly colored image of a Linear Capture

he idea of linear capture arrived They compress the information, with the Tnew to photography with digital. very significant advantage that they can Because film responds differently to sense a wider range of brightness than light than a digital sensor, the matter they would otherwise. This compression was of no relevance before. Now, effect, essentially a log scale of sensing especially when we are delving deeply rather than a linear one, affects other senses into the digital process, it needs to be as well. If you hold a 100-gram (3½ ounces) dealt with and understood. weight in your hand, then add a second, the Basically, linear in the context of combination feels less than the full 200 grams. photography means a straightforward, Because this is the way we see, any one-to-one response to light. This is what imaging system that plans to deliver realistic a sensor does. It counts the photons, looking photographs has to conform to the photosite by photosite, and delivers a eye’s non-linear processes. Film has a similar signal that corresponds exactly to the built-in compression. In practice, this means numbers. That sounds uncomplicated, that highlights recorded on film don’t just basic, and normal, but it is not the way disappear suddenly into blank whiteness, that we perceive light. Nor is it the way but hold up quite well. In a landscape view that film responds. Both the eye and film in which the sky, for example, shades from react to light in a very non-linear way. a light gray cloud to the intense brightness

Gamma

70 The term gamma is used often in computing and in describing digital images. When applied to monitor screens, it is a measure of the relationship between voltage input and the brightness intensity, and because of the way a computer display works, a Raw, uncorrected digital image would look darker and more contrasty than our eyes would find normal. To compensate for this, gamma correction is applied inside the camera after capture, as the exercise will help you to understand. The typical gamma correction curve shown here has the effect of making an image brighter (because most of it is shifted to the left) and less contrasty (because of its shape, which lifts dark tones more than light ones).

GAMMA VARIATION Gamma lower Gamma higher The effects of lowering and raising the gamma. The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 71

Because of this, digitally captured captured digitally this, of Because GAMMA CORRECTION A typical gamma correction curve as applied in the camera to bring the image to an appearance that seems normal to our eyes. processing system. processing photographs always need to be adjusted with adjusted be to need always photographs typical A correction. gamma a called is what brightens it effect in and here, shown is one the toward off tailing while areas shadow the these of one applies camera The highlights. into shot just image the processes it when previewthe Raw, shoot you If a TIFF. or JPEG is screen LCD camera’s the on see you actuallymostthe of One JPEG. a from taken is Raw in shooting for arguments convincing that thecomputer, your of power processing image- of sophistication the with combined that exceeds far software, processing camera’s the of confines the in available

A Raw digital image, however, does not does however, image, digital Raw A LINEAR PROCESS The linear capture as it would appear without normal in-camera processing. Gamma correction that looks unpleasantly artificial. unpleasantly looks that that shades from bright to white, there is there white, to bright from shades that edge resulting a and point break sudden a of the gentle roll-off in the highlights that highlights the in roll-off gentle the of image an of area an In film. with happens Secondly, as brightness marches in step step in marches brightness as Secondly, none is there counted, photons the with with histograms in, say, Photoshop, with Photoshop, say, in, histograms with left. the to squeezed values the of most histogram, as shown in the example here, here, example the in shown as histogram, working to used anyone to strange looks the brighter end of the register rather than rather register the of end brighter the Raw A mid-tones. useful visually more the work like this. For a start,a bits the of most For this. like work to devoted are capture the encode to used will capture more than you might expect. expect. might you than more capture will shadows. the for goes same the And of the sun, black-and-white negative film negative black-and-white sun, the of The Clipping Problem

s just explained, one of the diminishing response to bright light A problematic features of digital produces a gentle roll-off toward capture is that the brightness captured maximum brightness. in the image is directly related to the With a digital image, this is difficult. exposure, and does not, as with film Moving toward the highlight, what and the human eye, diminish at the typically happens is that the tones upper and lower ends of the scale. shade normally up to a point, and then The problem of clipping is much suddenly change to featureless white. more important for the appearance Hence, the apt term “clipping” is used of the image, and especially in the to describe the sudden loss of values highlights. An all-too-common result in digital highlights. The effect, as you is a bright highlight ending up looking can see here in the example, is an like a blank white patch with hard edges. edge, which is unrealistic and definitely It is debatable whether this looks worse unwanted. The only way to avoid this in color or in black and white, but the is to reduce the exposure to the point argument for being especially careful at which there is no clipping, meaning in monochrome is that tonal gradation for the highlights. If the contrast range receives more visual attention when in the scene is high, or even normal, this there is no color to distract. creates problems in the shadow areas, Imagine a scene in which there is which will be underexposed. a steady increase in brightness across The other solution is in the part of the frame, as in, say, a sky looking processing, or afterwards. One of the toward the sun, or a studio set-up in saving graces of shooting color in order which a softened light shades across to arrive at black and white is that the 72 a plain white background. The latter is different responses of the three channels, easy enough to create and test. What red, green, and blue, can work to the we want to see is a smooth, steady advantage of recovering clipped progression from mid-tones toward highlights. Usually, the three channels almost white. Given care with the respond differently to exposure, meaning exposure, this is easy enough to achieve that it is unlikely that they all clip at shooting film, and even if the brightest exactly the same point. As long as at least point is actually a featureless white, one channel retains some information, the transition toward it will at least be there is a chance to interpolate from that. smooth and appear acceptable. This is Highlight recovery, a notable feature of because the film’s response to increasing Raw converters, attempts to reconstruct exposure slows down. On the S-shaped the detail information in a clipped response curve that used to be familiar channel from the other two, or even to photographers working with film, we in two clipped channels from the third. have here reached the shoulder. Film’s The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 73

/Alt key in Levels while dragging the slider /Alt key in Levels while dragging ⌥ HIGHLIGHT CLIPPING picture, a digital By contrast to the Death Valley break at the level into-the-sun image shows a sharp Holding down where clipping (overexposure) begins. the reveals this dramatically. USING THE HIGHLIGHT SLIDER The Highlight slider can be used to recover lost highlight information by using information that survives in one or more channels. these crowded against the right side. Clipped highlights from normal processing, revealed in the histogram, which shows CLIPPED DEATH VALLEY DUNES VALLEY DEATH the sun, in which the A film image, taken straight into near the sun is gradual. shading toward total overexposure CLIPPING WARNING AND REPAIR AND WARNING CLIPPING Noise, Bit Depth, & Shading

n the days of film, grain structure used Unlike grain, however, noise can be Ito receive a great deal of attention treated. There are several kinds and causes from black-and-white photographers of noise, but by far the most common in in particular; it is now time to look most photography is associated with high at the perceptual and even philosophical ISO sensitivity settings. The amount of differences between grain and noise. noise at different ISO settings varies from At first thought, noise and grain camera to camera, and depends very much appear to have much in common. Both on the sensor design. In particular, larger are artifacts that interfere with the image. individual photosites are likely to suffer They handicap it, holding back detail and less from noise because they can collect tone. But film photographers saw grain more photons. Efficient Raw processing, differently from the way in which digital particularly at the early de-mosaicing photographers regard noise. Noise is stage, also makes a difference. And, the mainly a sampling error—not enough appearance of noise can be reduced, even photons reaching parts of the sensor from sometimes eliminated, in post-production. dark areas of the scene. There are other This last is by no means a perfect solution, causes, but the overall effect is that at however, as it tackles the effect, not the high sensitivity and long exposures, pixel root cause, and there is always a trade-off values are not consistent as they ought between reducing the noise and an over- to be; instead, they vary and produce smooth, plastic-like appearance. a blotchy, gritty result. Closely related is the issue of smooth Grain, on the other hand, is generally tonal gradation—and making changes considered a more acceptable image to smooth tones. Just as favoring the characteristic, as we saw earlier. First, blue channel when making a black-and- 74 it is embedded in the medium and is an white conversion tends to enhance the integral part of the image-making process. appearance of noise, editing changes such Second, it has a distinct structure which as contrast curves also run the risk of can, with certain films, add a pleasing creating artifacts. In particular, there is texture. This effect does not happen with banding, in which there appear sharp digital noise, which, like hiss and crackle breaks of tone in areas that ought to in a poor audio transmission, is simply shade seamlessly. We saw an example of evidence of a weak signal. Taste, of course, this earlier on page 49. With tonal shading is an individual matter, but it is hard to across a wide area, such as with a clear imagine promoting the visual appeal of sky through a wide-angle lens, any hint noise. One of black and white’s advantages of banding is almost impossible to remove. over color is that only luminance noise But why should there be banding in needs to be dealt with, not color noise, and the first place? With a good sensor and the absence of color artifacts makes the minimal alterations in the processing, overall effect less unpleasant. there rarely is. However, sensors with The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 75

INCREASING NOISE INCREASING most visible in Noise is medium-to-dark tones that are smooth and detail. lacking in subject and banding are likely to receive even even receive to likely are banding and inspecting anyone from attention more closely. image the have chosen to shoot JPEG. If, sensibly, you you sensibly, If, JPEG. shoot to chosen have bits 14 or 12 original these Raw, in shoot image 16-bit a to converted been have will 16-bit Photoshop’s say, in, opening for processing do you that Provided mode. risk the bits, 16 in post-production and With veryis banding of reduced. much as hand, other the on image, 8-bit an after shows, 78–79 pages on example the likely quite is histogram the processing with appearance, toothcomb a show to may image the to damage This spikes. thin but magnification, high at only up show it prints, black-and-white high-quality for color no is there Because acceptable. not is artifacts noise like image, the in distract to ISO 1600

ISO 400 This is intimately related to bit depth. depth. bit to related intimately is This on-board processor, it will be 8-bit if you you if 8-bit be will it processor, on-board time the image reaches the memorythe reaches image the time camera’s the through been having card, accuracy of 1 part1 of much is so and 4026, in accuracy part1 16,104, in to measure bits 14 better. the by Nevertheless, still. better is which High-end cameras record in 12 bits or 14 or bits 12 in record cameras High-end an to measure bits 12 channel. per bits channel means that there are just 256 just are there that means channel tones. the reproduce to which with levels the final delivery of an image, is accurate accurate is deliveryfinal the image, an of per bits 8 part1 only pixel. per 256 in to capacity to render a range of tones. 8-bit tones. of range a render to capacity for acceptable perfectly although color, A higher bit depth, which for most of us of most for which depth, bit higher A more has bits, 8 than rather bits 16 means controls, runs this risk. risk. this runs controls, major processing changes, such as those as such changes, processing major one using by or contrast, or brightness to local-contrast common increasingly the of a low bit depth, as in cheaper cameras, cameras, cheaper in as depth, bit low a image, any for And effect. this display can ISO 100 HIGH-ISO ORIGINAL CROP A night shot, of a Christmas “cabalgata” in Spain, taken In close-up, the noise is expectedly disturbing in color, at the extremely high ISO of 25,600. but less so in black and white when the chrominance component is removed. Looking at each individual channel, the noise is strongest in most images in the blue channel, least in green.

BLACK AND WHITE RED CHANNEL

76

GREEN CHANNEL BLUE CHANNEL NOISE FILTERING The Black & White Tradition Noise can be filtered out during processing, but at a price. Compare these three Photoshop versions, the first with default noise reduction (0% Luminance), the second at 50% Luminance reduction, and the third at 100% reduction. The more you reduce, the softer and more “plastic” the effect.

DEFAULT NOISE REDUCTION DIGITAL MONOCHROME

NOISE REDUCTION 100

77 Creative Choices

NOISE REDUCTION 50 8-BIT AND 16-BIT COMPARISON

Original 78

Black and White

Reds: 120%

Yellows: 105% PRE-PROCESSING Greens: 40% To demonstrate the

Cyans: -150% importance of using a high bit depth for major Blues: -124% adjustments, a detail of this image is first converted Magentas: 80% to black and white.

Conversion settings The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME DIGITAL MONOCHROME 79 39% 44% 43% 57% +30 +20 30px 0.01% 0.01% 200px

Shadows/Highlights Radius Radius Amount Vibrance Saturation Tonal Width Color Correction Midtone Contrast Black Clip White Clip Shadows Highlights Adjustments 8-bit after Shadows/Highlights 16-bit after Shadows/Highlights 8-bit after curve 8-BIT changes are made to an 8-bit image, tonal when exactly the same However, the histogram. information is lost, as evidenced by the toothcomb appearance of 16-BIT changes. through both remains intact image, the histogram to a 16-bit When applied 16-bit after curve Infrared

onochrome infrared represents with film. The sensitivity of the human eye Mone of the most creatively useful ranges from about 450nm to about 700nm technological breakthroughs in photography. (from violet to red), and peaks at 550nm, Used sensitively, it takes the tonal which is yellow-green. Neither silver-halide qualities in photography further from film nor, as we’ll see, sensors, capture the realism than any regular black-and- same range. Silver halides capture much white process, and brings an exciting more violet and blue than does the eye, unpredictability. Infrared photography but stop short of about 525nm. Special has been around since 1910, but was held color dyes need to be added to film to extend back as a creative medium by two things: its sensitivity even to visible light, and more the limited choice of film emulsions, and are needed to extend the range into the the difficulty in planning an exposure. near infrared. Infrared films are thus Digital infrared has changed both of these sensitive to visible light and near infrared. completely. Not only are there several ways To photograph in infrared only, the visible of shooting in these longer wavelengths, light needs to be eliminated, and this calls each with its own visual characteristics, for a visually opaque filter, typically but the software processing allows a huge a Wratten 89B or Hoya R72. This makes range of control. Moreover, the result is exposures long and means viewing and instantly viewable on the camera’s LCD composing before fitting the filter over screen, making results more predictable. the lens. We could do the same with First, let’s take a look at the principle a digital camera, but infinitely better of infrared photography and how it worked is to have the sensor doctored.

80 SENSOR CONVERSION Professional sensor conversion in progress at ACS, a British specialist company (www.advanced cameraservices.co.uk). The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 81

MYAKKA RIVER MYAKKA An image of palm Myakka trees in Florida’s River reserve, shot on black-and-white Kodak’s infrared emulsion (now discontinued). The pale vegetation and contrasty sky are typical, as are the pronounced grain and soft halation effects. sensor Unfiltered sensitivity Daylight extends well into the infrared, but human well into the infrared, but human Daylight extends in short. Unfiltered digital sensors peak vision stops just their suitability for this conversion), the infrared (hence to filter limits the sensor response and an infrared cut light. longer wavelengths of visible infrared by blocking Wavelengths The reason I’m stressing the creative up infrared emissions that during value of infrared is that if you agree manufacture they are fitted with an IR with the argument that black and white Cut Filter (ICF) in front, also known as a releases creative potential in an image hot mirror filter. Remove this, which is part by stepping away from the assumed of the process of converting a camera for realism of color, then infrared does this infrared photography, and the infrared to an even greater degree. Certainly, emissions come flooding in. The visible there are some well-known hallmarks wavelengths, of course, continue to be of infrared monochrome, such as white recorded at full intensity, so that the foliage against inky black skies, but second part of conversion is to fit a sharp- it is not even necessary to invoke these cut filter that restricts most, or even all, of extremes. Because surfaces and objects the visible wavelengths. The most popular reflect infrared wavelengths in ways that filter cuts at around 720nm, which allows are unfamiliar to our eyes, the tonal scale just enough visible light in addition to and balance are unexpected and different the infrared to enable color infrared throughout. This alone makes infrared photography. And while our interest here a new visual world to explore. is black-and-white infrared, the mild color At the shorter end of their range, response can be used to advantage by infrared wavelengths begin at around later applying hue adjustment, as we’ll the point where the human eye loses see on the following pages. For a pure sensitivity, which is at about 700nm. monochrome infrared response, a filter To put this in perspective, the eye’s that cuts at about 839nm is an alternative. sensitivity ranges from around 400nm One more thing needs to be done to 700nm, peaking near the middle in to the camera, which is to reset the focus. 82 the yellow-green part of the spectrum. As the infrared wavelengths are longer Thermal imaging is at very much longer than those of visible wavelengths, they wavelengths. It is because we are simply focus at a different point. This turns out not familiar with what things look like to be more varied and complex than you at wavelengths longer than 700nm, might think, as different lenses refract that infrared images have a strange infrared differently, but the bottom line appearance. That they can be imaged, is that the adjustment that needs to be but not seen directly is because film’s made is to extend the lens a little forward, sensitivity extends beyond that of the as if focusing closer. The amount is small, human eye into infrared. The situation typically around a third of one percent, is similar in digital photography: a silicon but the effect can lose acceptable chip is naturally sensitive across a range sharpness at wide apertures. In the from around 400nm up to about 1200nm, conversion process, the camera is peaking at around 1000nm. Indeed, reprogrammed, but even so, as most camera sensors are so good at picking people choose the 720nm conversion, The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 83

Now, even though here our soleour here though even Now, well contained, meaning that clipping clipping that meaning contained, well usual.than fewer are issues the infrared, black-and-white is interest While important. be still can settings color have you if desaturated, as process can you the most part within the handheld range. partmost the range. handheld the within 100, ISO at day sunny a on example, For the in speeds shutter expect could you in Also, ƒ/8. at second 1/200 of order is range dynamic the situations, most In practice, what does this mean for for mean this does what practice, In accurate), and exposure settings are for for are settings exposure and accurate), screen (and if the color is often way off, off, way often is color the if (and screen reassuringly is information exposure the You can see what you are doing, are you what see can result a You LCD the on instantly sorts of available is shooting? In comparison with IR film film IR with comparison In shooting? easier. infinitely becomes life photography, least ƒ/8 for safety. safety. for ƒ/8 least which combines infrared with some visible, some with infrared combines which at to down stop to precaution wise a it’s are both strongly evident. film grain, and also less halation. Here, in this view of a de Santa Marta, the Sierra Nevada valley in Colombia’s pale green vegetation and atmosphere-cutting effects INFRARED, COMPARED INFRARED, Digital infrared has less noise than the equivalent IR INTERPRETATIONS The value of oversaturating a color version of the Raw file during Raw conversion is that it lets you use black-and-white hue adjustment to considerable effect. Here, the color contrast between sky and the eucalyptus leaves allows several alternative monochrome interpretations.

Raw infrared file

the ability to adjust the color balance an infrared profile, as shown here. This and saturation, this gives you extra room is my preference, as it saves time when 84 to play with hue adjustment. In order to shooting. Then, once you have a more-or- do this, however, we need to be able to less neutralized image, any features that neutralize any color cast. Because most are stronger in, say, blue or yellow, can be of the recorded information is into the red manipulated in the usual way when doing and away from the blue, typical infrared a hue adjustment (see page 108). files, as you shoot them, appear suffused There is always some unpredictability with red and magenta, and need major when shooting in infrared, as the reflectivity white-balance adjustment. This is often of surfaces at this end of the spectrum can more than most cameras allow, hence differ from the way they look—all part the importance of shooting Raw. Even so, of infrared’s charm. Vegetation appears Photoshop’s ACR, for example, has a left- very light, almost like snow, because the hand limit of 2000K for color temperature. chlorophyll in the leaves fluoresces strongly One solution is to pre-set the white balance in the near-infrared range, around 700nm. to a surface that responds strongly to This effect is actually least noticeable in infrared, such as grass. Another is to create healthy, mature leaves and strongest in The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 85 Monochrome interpretation 2

dark, contrasting strongly with the pale skin. pale the with strongly contrasting dark, what may not always be attractive in attractive be always not may what record to tend portraitseyes the that is wavelengths penetrate it to some distance, some to it penetrate wavelengths lighter appears skin that is result the and time,same the At light. visible in than something of a cliché. Human skin alsoskin Human cliché. a of something infrared these as appearance, its changes against a clear blue sky; while this isthis while sky; blue clear a against becoming of danger in also is it dramatic, light. Probably the most typical infrared infrared typical most the Probably light. grass and tree green-leaved a is all of shot atmospheric haze. Both of these are due to to due are these of Both haze. atmospheric visible to relative scattering of reduction a Another effect is that clear skies record very record skies clear that is effect Another of penetration veryis good there and dark, young, growing ones and in dying leaves. leaves. young,dying in and ones growing Monochrome interpretation 1 Untitled Recipe Color Tables Tone Curve Color Matrices Options Chart

Red Primary Hue 0

Saturation 0

Green Primary Making a Profile for Infrared Hue 0

Saturation 0 One issue with an infrared conversion is Blue Primary the white balance, which after conversion Hue 0 typically falls below a Raw converter’s color Saturation 0

temperature limit (for Photoshop’s ACR white Balance Calibration and Lightroom, for example, this lower Temperature 0 Tint 0 limit is 2000K). Here is one way of bringing the white balance back into range, using Adobe’s DNG Profile editor. 2. Select the Color Matrices tab.

Untitled Recipe Untitled Recipe Color Tables Tone Curve Color Matrices Options Chart Color Tables Tone Curve Color Matrices Options Chart

Base Profile: ACR 7.0 (Nikon D600) Color Table: 6500 K 86 Red Primary R: --- L: --- H: --- Hue 0 B: --- a: --- S: --- G: --- b: --- L: --- Saturation 0

Green Primary Hue 0

Saturation 0

Blue Primary Hue 0

Saturation 0

Hue 0 white Balance Calibration Saturation 0 Temperature -100

Lightness 0 Tint -46

1. First, make a DNG file from the Raw, using the Raw 3. Lower the color temperature and adjust the tint with converter, and then open it in DNG Profile Editor. the White Balance calibration sliders. In this case, the temperature needed to be taken to the limit. The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 87

ACR 7.0 ACR 6.0 Adobe Standard beta 2 Camera D2X Mode 1 beta 2 Camera D2X Mode 2 beta 2 Camera D2X Mode 3 beta 2 Camera Landscape beta 2 Camera Neutral beta 2 Camera Portrait beta 2 Camera Standard beta 2 Camera Vivid beta 2 Nikon D600 IR_ex19095_02 ✓ Back to Photoshop, open an infrared image in Back to Photoshop, open an infrared 7. ACR and select the saved profile. Chart Save Save +75 -20 -81 +46 -28 0 -100 -46 Options Cancel Cancel Red Primary Blue Primary Green Primary Color Matrices Untitled Recipe

white Balance Calibration

Tint Hue Saturation Hue Saturation Hue Saturation Temperature Tone Curve Save Profile Recipe Save Profile Color Tables Export DNG Camera Profile... Nikon D600 IR_ex19095_02.dcp IR_D600_ex19095_02.dcpr Where: CameraProfiles Where: 19095 Save As: Save As: Go to File > Save Profile, too. Go to File > Save Recipe in order to save the work so Adjust the other hue and saturation sliders to taste Adjust the other hue and saturation 6. that you can edit later if necessary. 5. will give you extra control later when making a will give you extra control later when the processed TIFF. black-and-white conversion from (there is no realism with infrared, so it depends entirely (there is no realism with infrared, images will be in on you). If the final result for infrared at this stage black and white, stressing color contrast 4. Your Processing Workflow

here are now so many digital a good DSLR. The amount you can adjust Tprocessing possibilities and decisions by depends on the sensor, the subject and that it is important to plan a logical the original exposure settings, and is hardly workflow that suits the way you shoot. ever up to the theoretical maximum of two In the new workflows, there is a trend stops up or down; however, you could toward concentrating as much of the normally expect a useful half to one stop processing as possible into the Raw range of adjustment. Note that this only conversion, which offers you the additional applies to processing Raw images, not to choice of making the conversion at that JPEGs or TIFFs, which have already been stage or later, on a 16-bit TIFF. There is processed in-camera and reduced to 8 bits. plenty of conflicting advice on the workflow You can distinguish between those sequence, but in reality, there are no truly processing procedures that always have compelling reasons for doing any particular to be considered for every image, and procedure first, or last, or wherever. The the special procedures that certain images purpose here is to present the basic might need to solve problems (such procedures and show how you might as over- or underexposure, brightness, consider sequencing them. contrast, and so on). Processing workflow The underlying assumption here is also varies according to the way you shoot, that you are shooting Raw, which gives and indeed what you shoot. At one end the maximum opportunity for controlled of the scale are photographers, artists or processing. Not the least advantage is that enthusiasts, who are prepared to spend there is some latitude to adjust the actual an infinite amount of time on one special exposure. This is because of the extra image; at the other are those who will dynamic range offered by the higher bit regularly process dozens at a time. 88 depth of 12-bit and 14-bit capture in

Essential and optional steps Basic processing decisions that need to be considered for any image: • Adjust exposure if Raw; if necessary, set black and white points • Decide contrast • Set hue adjustment

Processing refinements either to taste or to help solve problems: • Highlight recovery • Shadow lightening • Local contrast tone mapping • Toning/split toning The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 89

-1 -5 -3 +8 +6 +8 -16 -22 +4 -11 -20 -24 -28 -18 +12 +17 Auto Default HSL / Color / B&W Convert to Grayscale Auto ✓ Black & White Mix

Red Blue Aqua Reds Green Blues Purple Yellow Aquas Orange Greens Magenta Purples Yellows Oranges

Grayscale Mix Magentas

LIGHTROOM Adobe Lightroom uses the same Raw converter as Photoshop, but integrates it with all its other processing functions. PHOTOSHOP Raw converter (ACR) offers a grayscale Photoshop’s sliders. An alternative conversion that makes use of hue is to process in color at this stage, and convert later from the TIFF. RAW GRAYSCALE CONVERSION OPTIONS CONVERSION GRAYSCALE RAW ✓ Black & White ✓ Color Reds 30% Hue: 0.0 Greens 59% Sat: -3.4 Blues 11% Lum: -44.7

APPLE APERTURE Range: 1.00

On the surface, Aperture’s Monochrome Mixer offers Hue: 0.0 only a limited choice of hue adjustment, restricting Sat: -3.4 the selection to percentages of red, green, and blue. Lum: -44.7 This conversion works in a similar way to Photoshop’s Channel Mixer, and acts like placing a colored filter Range: 1.00 on the lens. However, having made an initial black- and-white conversion, you can use the Color Brick Hue: 0.0 to target and adjust specific tones. Sat: -3.4 Lum: -44.7

Range: 1.00

Hue: 0.0 Sat: -3.4 Lum: -44.7

Range: 1.00 Hue: 0.0 Sat: -3.4 Lum: -44.7

Range: 1.00

Hue: 0.0 90 Sat: -3.4 Lum: -44.7 Range: 1.00

NIKON’S CAPTURE NX Black and White Conversion Nikon’s Capture NX performs its hue adjustment by means of a hue selector along a scale, then strength, Filter Hue brightness, and contrast. 0 360 60 ° Color Filter Strength

0 100 40 % Brightness -100 100 0 % Contrast -100 100 0 % The Black & White Tradition BLACK & WHITE CONTROLS Color Sensitivity Split Tones ✓ Enable Black & White COLOR BLACK AND WHITE

Red -100 TONALITY Yellow -55

Green -4 Film Agfa APX™ 25 Cyan 11 Blue -50 Intensity 100 Magenta -100 FILTER

Filter No Filter CAPTURE ONE TONING Capture One used to provide only a series of black- and-white preset profiles to choose from. More recent Black and White versions of the software, however, include a black-and- Toning DIGITAL MONOCHROME white conversion panel that allows you to adjust six Intensity 100 specific color tones.

BASIC SETTINGS

CHANNEL MIXER

Red -100 Yellow -55

Green -4 Cyan 11 Blue -50 Magenta -100

91 Creative Choices DXO DxO FilmPack 3, like Capture One, offers both a number of presets—which in the case of FilmPack 3 are designed to replicate the look of 24 popular black-and-white films from the past—as well as six color controls to fine tune the monochrome conversion. Silver Efex Pro

Silver Efex Pro 2 Compare Zoom (100%) Nik Software Presets Custom SILVER EFEX PRO 2

Preset Categories GLOBAL ADJUSTMENTS All Classic Modern Vintage SELECTIVE ADJUSTMENTS Favorites Search Results (12)

Add Control Point

Control Points

026 Dark Sepia

Control Point 1 20 Control Point 2 20 Control Point 3 20

Control Point 4 20 028 Cool Tones 1 Control Point 5 20 Control Point 6 20 Control Point 7 20 Control Point 8 20 Control Point 9 20

030 Film Noir 1

COLOR FILTER

FILM TYPES

FINISHING ADJUSTMENTS

032 Film Noir 3

Toning

Vignette Off

034 Antique Plate 1 Burn Edges All Ed

Image Borders Typ

Size

Spread

Clean

0 Vary Bo

LOUPE & HISTOGRAM

Add Preset Import

HELP SETTINGS CANCEL OK

ll processing software offers black- SILVER EFEX PRO A and-white conversion, but one Nik’s Silver Efex Pro features an attractive and intuitive plugin currently stands out for its interface. To the left of the large preview window is a devotion to mono and its powerful tools. strip of 38 presets arranged into categories: All, Modern, Classic, and Vintage. It’s also a simple process to create 92 This is a rare case where I will devote these two pages to a specific program or import your own personal presets using the buttons at the bottom of the preset panel. The preview window (other than the ubiquitous Photoshop). itself can be viewed in a variety of ways, including as a As a Lightroom, Aperture, or Photoshop single view, split, or side-by-side. To the right of the plugin, it works after the Raw processing, preview is the main control panel. We’ll look in more and there is no disadvantage to this if the detail at the individual controls over the next page. image has been saved as a subtly graded 16-bit TIFF. In addition to the usual controls offered by all processing software, including hue adjustment, Silver Efex Pro has its own selective method as an alternative to emulations of traditional dodging and burning. Under their proprietary name U-Point Technology, The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 93

PRESETS a Silver Efex Pro provides and good number of black of white presets, many with which are usable little or no further adjustment required. 000 Neutral All Presets(38) Also notable is film emulation, which emulation, film is notable Also 001 Underexposed (EV–1) System (pages 166–71), there is a useful a is there 166–71), (pages System loupe. magnifying the below scale 11-zone area affected vary. Here, Nik Software has has Software Nik Here, vary. affected area developer’s the in which algorithm, own its contrast the “increases/decreases words the increasing without object an inside a of structure the (e.g. contrast outside which tree, the of outline the not but tree effect).” halo a cause could that in most than comprehensive more is structure, grain just not offer choices the by accompanied also, response tonal but shown were These curves. characteristic Zone the of followers For 60–65. pages on

000 Neutral All Presets(38) 001 Underexposed (EV–1) Classic Vintage 000 Neutral All Presets(38) 001 Underexposed (EV–1) All Modern Favorites Preset Categories pixels—the algorithms for selecting the selecting for algorithms pixels—the on a relatively small scale by taking by scale small relatively a on of neighborhood local the account into contrast control. While this is now a fairly a now is this While control. contrast contrast procedure—adjusting common calls Structure. Structure is this software software this is Structure Structure. calls local of kind a for term application’s offered are Brightness, Contrast (both self- (both Contrast Brightness, are offered manufacturer the what and explanatory) be increased or decreased to change change to decreased or increased be Point, particularthe of Control reach the adjustments standard three the and This automatically reads Red, Green, Green, Red, reads automatically This can Size location. and values Blue and You add a Control Point by clicking on clicking by Point Control a add You adjust. to want you that area or object an introduced in Capture NX, the official official the NX, Capture in introduced follows. as works this processor, Nikon which this software developer first developer software this which Recommended Workflow Before you can edit your image, you need to launch it in Lightroom, Aperture GLOBAL ADJUSTMENTS or Photoshop, since it is a plugin. From Brightness 0 % then on, the software manufacturer’s 2. Adjust the overall recommended workflow for best results image brightness, Contrast 0 %

is as follows. contrast, and structure. Structure 0 %

Tonality Protection

Shadows Highlights

1. See if one of the presets in the Preset panel is appropriate.

Preset Categories

All Classic Modern Vintage Favorites

94 All Presets(38)

✓ CONTROL POINTS 000 Neutral

3. Make selective ✓ Control Point 1 12% adjustments by adding control points to elements and areas in the image that may need it. 001 Underexposed (EV–1)

001 Overexposed (EV–1) The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 95 95 Neutral Kodak ISO 32 Panatomic X Ilford PAN F Plus 50 Pro 100 APX Agfa Fuji Neopan ACROS 100 Ilford Delta 100 Pro Kodak 100 TMAX Pro Ilford FP4 Plus 125 125PX Pro Kodak Plus-X Agfa APX 400 Ilford Delta 400 Pro Ilford HP5 Plus 400 Ilford XP 2 Super 400 Kodak 400 TMAX Pro Kodak BW 400CN Pro Kodak Tri-X 400TX Pro Fuji Neopan Pro 1600 Ilford Delta 3200 Pro Kodak P3200 TMAX Pro FILM TYPES Agfa APX Pro 100 ISO 32 ISO 50 ISO 100 ISO 125 ISO 400 ISO 1600 ISO 3200 G S T Choose a film type Choose a film type When you’re happy 5. preset if desired. 7. click with the preview, Save in the bottom right-hand corner. Orange Filter Use the Finishing COLOR FILTER apply a variety of effects, including vignettes, burned edges, and borders, as well as a good selection of preset tones, such as Cyanotype, and Selenium. Copper, 6. Adjustments panel to 0 % 0 % 0 % 0 % 0 % 0 % 0 % 0 % 50 % 30 ° 50 ° Rectangle Off Off Off

Choose a color filter for Choose a color filter FINISHING ADJUSTMENTS FINISHING hue adjustment. 4. Place Center Size Transition Amount Place Center Amount Circle Size Balance Paper Hue Paper Toning Silver Hue Silver Toning Strength Image Borders Burn Edges Toning Toning Basic Processing

he increasing sophistication of Raw solution is to spend more time learning Tconverters, with more controls and what all the controls do and what effects special algorithms being added, can you can see from them, but you can make easily obscure the basic principles. a very effective start by thinking clearly We can do more to bring out the best about the priorities. There have always in the original capture than ever before, been a few basic principles in optimizing and that can only be good news; but an image, back to the days of wet film faced with perhaps a dozen sliders, each processing and printing. While the names of which will have an impact on the others, of these may have changed, the core where do you begin? Ultimately, the needs remain the same.

Optimizing in Lightroom

Make sure that the shadow and highlight clipping warnings are activated. Then do the following: 1. Set mid-tones using the Exposure slider. Don’t worry if highlights or shadows clip at this stage. 2. Adjust Contrast to personal preference.

3. Use Highlights and Shadows sliders to bring back This shot of a Zen Garden exhibits strong contrast detail in the shadows and highlights regions. By this between the covered section and that open to the sky. 96 stage, most clipped regions should be fixed. 4. If necessary fine tune the black and white points Midtones were set using the Exposure slider, resulting using the Whites and Blacks sliders. in blown highlights. 5. Go back to any of the sliders to finalize the image. Tone Auto Exposure +1.75 Contrast 0

Highlights 0 Shadows 0 Whites 0 Blacks 0 The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 97 0 0 0 -61 -70 -65 +38 +40 +60 +38 +1.75 +0.75

Tone Auto Tone Auto

Blacks Blacks Whites Whites Contrast Contrast Shadows Shadows Exposure Exposure Highlights Highlights

Finally, as the gravel region still looked too bright, as the gravel region still looked Finally, the mid-tones were darkened with the Exposure Blacks sliders were and the Shadows and slider, increased to compensate. Adding Contrast gave the final image more punch. however, each of these is Theyadjustable. these of each however, canone Moving interdependent. also are argue you if even that so another, affect in priority, takes three the of one that it to return to need still may you practice in Nevertheless, others. the adjusting after look let’s view, clear a keep to attempt an alone. adjustments basic these of each at following the in see to on go shall we As of each tackle you which in order the pages, Shadows are opened up further using Shadows. 0 0 0 0 0 0

-61 -68 -61 +38 +1.75 +1.75 Tone Auto Tone Auto

Blacks Whites Blacks Whites Contrast Shadows Exposure Contrast Shadows Highlights Exposure Highlights

Reduced to the simplest level, simplest the to there Reduced Highlights slider. The blown highlights were recovered using the the Whites slider. the Whites slider. The brightest highlights are darkened using settings. Contrastdepend range tonal and on the scene. Whenprocessing, to comes it using a reflector), you can influence just influence can you reflector), a using exposure the choosing by these, of first the contrast, and tonal range. When you shoot, you When range. tonal and contrast, unless you exercise external of kind some orit, lighting (by scene the over control are just a for qualities image basic three brightness, photography: monochrome the three key adjustments varies depending Optimizing in Photoshop on whether you’re working with a Raw or processed file. Note also that contrast is 1. Drag the black-point Input slider on the left to a term that has been, and continues to be, the right as far as the first group of pixels in used in conflicting ways. In the days of film, the histogram. To check for accuracy, hold down the key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows) as well. it was customary to use it to refer to the ⌥ dynamic range as well. With the black-point slider, the image will be pure white until you reach the first pixels; in Tonal Range other words, it will show at what point you clip the shadows. Now do the equivalent for the Standard processing usually attempts to white-point slider on the right, dragging it to the left. Hold down the key (Mac) or Alt key fit the tonal range of the image to the full ⌥ scale available. This means, in effect, that (Windows), and you will see white pixels appear the very darkest tones in the image are a out of black. The aim is to close in just up to the fraction short of pure black, and the very point of clipping. lightest tones a fraction short of pure white. 2. Click the black-point dropper to activate it, then This is absolutely not compulsory, but the find the darkest shadow in the image and click truth is that the majority of black-and-white on that. You can find the darkest shadow using photographs tend to look best like this. one of these methods: The histogram is the key display, a. By first dragging the black-point slider with / ⌥ whether you are looking at it in a Raw Alt key depressed as in step 1 (above). converter (like ACR), or in Levels or in Curves with it superimposed. In the terminology b. Going to Curves and using the eyedropper on the of film and wet printing, when the tonal image, while seeing where each tone is located on the curve. 98 scale of the image just fits the scale of the histogram, you will have a fully scaled image. c. Running any cursor across the image while Now, if the scene you photograph just fits seeing the results in the Info palette. the range of the sensor, from dark to light, Do the equivalent with the white-point dropper. and if your exposure is accurate, then the tonal range should fit the histogram perfectly. 3. Click Auto in the Levels dialog, or go to Image > If the scene is flatly lit, meaning that the Adjustments > Auto Levels. dynamic range is less than that of the camera sensor, then the image as you captured it will be underscaled, and a candidate at least for expanding its range. More common, however, is a scene with a higher range than the sensor can cope with, so that the shadow end or the highlight end of the tonal range— or both—are squashed up against the ends The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 99 255 255 244 /Alt key to ⌥ 1.00 1.00 1.00 21 24 21

The final settings and image. Drag in the left slider, holding down the Drag in the left slider, you just see display shadow clipping. Go in until is none. clipping, then pull out until there The final black point setting. 239 1.00 21 clipping warning appears, then pull out. Do the same at the highlight end; close in until the histogram. Just a glance shows that there is room at histogram. Just a glance shows that both ends to close up. Here is the TIFF, not yet optimized, together with the not yet optimized, together with Here is the TIFF, TAJ MAHAL The starting image.

of the scale. The more serious problem the values higher or lower, typically using is highlight clipping, which is why the safe a slider, or by dragging a control point on exposure decision for most high-range a curve. There are several ways of doing subjects is to hold the highlights. Nevertheless, this, depending on the processing as the Raw example here shows, there software, but what they all have in 100 is some extra exposure latitude that you common is that they affect the values can usually recover in the Raw converter. within the tonal range, and leave the end points alone. This is why traditional digital Brightness procedure is to set the black and white points first, then work on the overall While there are real differences between brightness. The situation became rather luminance, luminous intensity, brightness more complicated with Raw converters, and lightness, from the point of view of because of the possibility to adjust the what looks satisfactory they are, frankly, exposure itself. As explained earlier, if your academic. For appearance, which is what camera sensor captures in 12 bit or 14 bit, most photographers are concerned with, and your final destination is an 8-bit brightness is a perfectly adequate term. image, then potentially you have some It is, indeed, not precisely measurable, exposure room for maneuver. because it is perceived luminance. With an already-processed image, altering brightness is a matter of dragging The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 101 DARK TONES DARK Lightening that favors the darker tones. Lightening from the Lightening mid-point—the default. DEFAULT

leaving the black and white points more or less untouched. If highlights or shadows do become clipped, these are now recovered using the Highlights or Whites, sliders or the Shadows and Blacks sliders, respectively. However, more recent versions of Lightroom more recent versions However, (4 and beyond) utilize the new PV 2012 adaptive processing algorithm and have dispensed with the Exposure control with the new Brightness slider, high enough (and shadow clipping also in the on the opposite direction). The Brightness slider, other hand, works within the upper and lower limits, and so avoids, for the most part, clipping. Exposure vs. Brightness vs. Exposure is converters, altering the exposure In some Raw settings at the very close to changing the exposure and so will clip highlights if raised time of shooting, lighter tones. LIGHT TONES that favors the Lightening Brightness/Contrast

Brightness 20

Channels Paths Contrast 100

RGB

STEP 2 Enhance this selection by increasing contrast.

ORIGINAL IMAGE In Photoshop, clicking on this small icon in the Channels palette automatically selects the lighter 50% of tones. contrast. The reverse—lowering the value of the brighter parts and raising those of the shadows—gives you a lower contrast. Contrast However, contrast no longer needs Contrast has become less easy to to be applied globally. You might, for define since the invention of processing example, have an image which is well algorithms that work locally, meaning separated spatially into two areas, darker within a small area. Also, it was regularly and lighter, as in the example of the misused in the days of film to take in the woman in a doorway here. What if you 102 total dynamic range. One thing that digital preferred to adjust the contrast of each processing has forced is a more accurate of these differently? A straightforward way of thinking about image qualities such manual way would be to make a selection as contrast. So, if you look at an image as a of each area, and then apply a contrast- whole, its contrast is the ratio between the enhancing S-curve to one area, and darkest tones and the brightest. But not a contrast-reducing reverse S-curve to the necessarily the very darkest and brightest, other. however, as these may simply be outliers Simpler still is using one of the several that sit apart, such as tiny specular highlights. local contrast tone-mapping algorithms The traditional way of manipulating that work by searching around each pixel contrast is with a curve. Take one point to look at its neighbors, and so do a in the upper part and drag it brighter, then similar thing, adjusting the contrast a second point in the lower part and drag in a local area. Photoshop’s Shadows/ it in the opposite direction, and you have a Highlights was one of the first of these classic S-curve and an increase in the overall (Image > Adjustments > Shadows/Highlights...). The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 103 15% 33% 10% 20% +20 +20 30px 0.01% 200px 3D

⌘A ⌘D ⌥⌘A ⌥ ⇧⌘D ⇧⌘I

Analysis

Shadows/Highlights

Filter Radius Radius Amount Black Clip Vibrance Saturation Tonal Width Color Correction Midtone Contrast Shadows Highlights Adjustments

ALTERNATIVE Instead of all the steps, use the Shadows/Highlights adjustment to achieve a similar result. STEP 4 STEP tones. Invert the selection to select the darker All Layers Deselect Layers Similar Layers Color Range… Edge… Refine Modify Grow Similar Transform Selection Edit in Quick Mask Mod Load Selection… Save Selection… All Deselect Reselect Inverse Select darker tones with a curve. STEP 5 STEP Raise the contrast in these STEP 3 STEP with a curve. Lower the contrast in the lighter tones Colors into Tones

ossibly the greatest leap in creative its cone receptors come in three varieties: Ppotential that digital has brought to red-sensitive, green-sensitive, and blue- black and white is total control over how sensitive (it is the absence of one of these each individual color reproduces. that leads to color blindness). When added You want that red to be lighter, or that together, the total sensitivity peaks in the green darker? Well, you can have both at middle, which is yellow-green. The result the same time if you want. Or any other is that we see colors as having different color darker or lighter. This is the extent values. German poet and playwright J.W. von of post-production possibility with digital Goethe who attempted to put a measure to shooting. The principle is not new— this, and suggested the following relative serious landscape photographers using values: yellow 9, orange 8, red and green 6, film, for instance, have made use of blue 4, and violet 3. colored filters for decades in order to In other words, shooting in black and darken skies, lighten vegetation and more. white involves an expectation of how colors What is new, however, is the ability to be should reproduce as a plain tone. We expect completely precise, and to do it in post- a clear blue sky to be fairly dark, we expect production so that you can see exactly Caucasian skin to look pale, green leaves what the effect will be on screen, without and grass to look fairly light, and so on. losing the color the original either. None of this is precise, but we sense when Two things come into play here. One the tones appear not quite right. The blue- is the sensitivity of our eyes to different sensitive and orthochromatic films in the wavelengths—or colors, as we call them— early days of photography characteristically and the other is the relative brightness produced images in which blue skies of different hues. These two factors come appeared white and Caucasian skin tones 104 together to create a scale of brightness-by- too dark. The development of panchromatic color that seems natural to us. We think film was aimed at “correcting” just this of yellow as bright and purple as dark, by unexpected result that the eye and mind default. The human eye sees color because intuitively found “wrong.”

COLOR PROPORTIONS The proportions of primary and secondary colors that conform to our normal perception, balancing stronger against weaker values.

Orange / Blue Orange / Green / Violet The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 105 40% 60% -29% -55% -49% 122% Black and White

Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas:

Yellow / Red / Blue Yellow LOW RED LOW The sliders are adjusted for the darkest rendering of the pomegranate. DESATURATED is applied across the Straight desaturation board, equal for all channels.

Yellow / Purple Yellow HIGH RED The sliders are manipulated for the lightest rendering of the pomegranate. 40% 198% 114% -55% -105% 19% Black and White

Magentas: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Reds: Yellows: Red / Green The original color image, in which the only The original color distinct color is the red of the pomegranate. JIA NAI YUN

Default Conversions

very digital image-processing software Eoffers a simple, no-thought, single- click method of turning a color image into monochrome. Some offer more than one. What is important to realize is that every one of these involves a decision as to how to do it. There is no such thing as a standard, “correct” method. Even the seemingly most innocuous and decision free, which is desaturating each channel, tacitly assumes that treating each channel equally is somehow even-handed. Now that channel mixing is widely available, and we will come to that on the following pages, it should be clear to everyone that there is an open choice of how bright or dark different colors will translate APERTURE to monochrome. With this in mind, the CAPTURE ONE best ways to use your software’s default conversion are as a quick preview and/or as a reference point against which to start channel mixing. Here, for comparison, are a variety of defaults offered by different processing 106 software. Note also that some offer presets with a bias toward certain effects, such as lighter, darker, higher contrast. The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 107 107 ADOBE CAMERA RAW CAPTURE NX LIGHTROOM DXO COLORMODE DXO Hue Adjustment

hings have come a long way since Tthe introduction of the Channel Mixer, which was basically a one-stop dialog window for adjusting the relative strengths of grayscale conversion for each of the three channels: red, green, and blue. Although the Channel Mixer persisted into Photoshop CS3, it was made largely redundant by the Black and White dialog, which expanded the number of channels available for adjustment to include cyan, yellow, and magenta. Also, for anyone shooting Raw, this hue adjustment was available within the Raw converter. Now hue adjustment can be made for eight COLOR ORIGINAL hues, either in the Raw converter, or later The color original of a Spanish Colonial cathedral. in post-production. The color spectrum is divided into Reds, Oranges, Yellows, Greens, Aquas, Blues, Purples, and Magentas, which should be enough to satisfy most monochrome photographers. In truth, there are several ways of adjusting hues while converting to 108 grayscale. Some predate the simple all- in-one Photoshop method, and involve copying channels into layers, then blending those. Using layer masks and adjustment layers increases the options, and also the complications. There are a few examples here of do-it-yourself hue adjustment and channel mixing to give you a sense of the range of techniques, but frankly, if you are working within Photoshop, its eight-hue slider approach is all most people could ask for. Other processing software offers similar choices, though packaged in a different way. The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 109 GREEN Green Filter preset. YELLOW Filter preset. Yellow Blue Filter preset. BLUE BLACK AND WHITE BLACK Black and White default settings. Photoshop’s Reversals of Brightness

s a demonstration of how powerful With this simple image, we need only the A hue adjustment can be, if you have yellow and blue sliders, and neither affects the an image with definite and contrasting other. First, we raise the yellow tone. A level of colors, it’s possible to prepare two 100 is as bright as we can get without clipping opposite interpretations of tone. highlights, but this is a good perceptual Usually, the aim of hue adjustment match for a strong yellow. Second, we take the is to produce a monochrome version that blue down. How much is a matter of taste. more-or-less equates with the original Note that the arrow and lettering have more color image. But this is not a rule, and one cyan in them, and so they remain readable. of the reasons for going monochrome is Next, the reverse. Interestingly, we don’t to have greater freedom of expression. need to lower the yellow slider very much Obviously, when the original colors are before the tone goes dark. Raising the blue strong and pure, they react the most to hue is next, but in order to retain some legibility adjustment, so for this example we’ll take a in the lettering, the cyan slider also needs striking contrast—a freshly painted Parisian to be adjusted. Juggling the blue and cyan mailbox. For the human eye and brain, sliders together took a few tries. yellow is always bright, never dark (darken it and it becomes a different color to our senses: ochre). So the natural expectations PARIS MAILBOX for converting this image would be a bright The color original. yellow and a medium-dark blue. What happens with a neutral, unadjusted conversion? Two things. A disappointing lack of contrast, nothing like 110 that experienced in the color image, and the yellow darker than we would expect. If you came across the monochrome version with no reference to the color original, few people would imagine that the main color had been yellow. Before moving on to a high-contrast version, let’s prepare by finding the settings that will come as close as possible to making the yellow and the blue equal in tone. As these colors are quite pure, and the hue sliders are sharp-cut, it turns out that adjusting the blue alone does the trick. Now for a conversion that maximizes the difference, with yellow as bright as possible. The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 111 % % % % % 50% 19 50 96 213 50 Black and White

Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans:

% % % % % 58 50 50 105 50 50% Black and White

Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: EQUAL TONE EQUAL as Adjustments used to get as close possible to matching the two tones. MINIMUM YELLOW The maximum reasonable reverse contrast.

% % % % % % % % % % 50 50 50 50 50 50% -23 50 100 50 50 50% Black and White Black and White

Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens: Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds:

BLACK-AND-WHITE TOOL TOOL BLACK-AND-WHITE VARIATIONS The maximum reasonable contrast with bright yellow. MAXIMUM YELLOW MAXIMUM desaturation, has all the sliders at their midpoint. desaturation, has all the sliders at NEUTRAL CONVERSION of A neutral conversion, the equivalent Using Hue to Control Contrast

he traditional way to adjust contrast technique becomes particularly useful in Tin an image is to drag the lighter outdoor photography in situations where values one way and the darker values in there is a color contrast in natural lighting. the opposite direction. The classic case is clear weather and bright A subtler and more satisfying method sunlight. Without haze there to soften the is to take advantage of the contrast of effects, anything exposed to direct midday color within the original scene. If there are sunlight will be lit by “white” light (around two important colors in an image that are 5000-5500K), but anything in shadow will in opposition, such as red and green, or be lit by a much bluer light coming from blue and yellow, then adjusting the hues the sky, at anything from, say, 7000 to in the conversion to monochrome will 10000K). Now, the sky and shadows will easily do the trick. Raise or lower the tonal respond precisely and obviously to either value of one color, and its opposing color the blue slider or its opposite, which is a will naturally go in the opposite direction. combination of red and yellow. Increasing There are some obvious, but very red and yellow, and/or decreasing blue, specific examples, such as an orange will not just darken sky and shadow, but photographed against a blue sky, or a also raise the overall contrast, seemingly tomato resting on green lettuce. These changing the weather. Do the opposite depend on the precise scene, and the and you will reduce the contrast. The example here shows what can be done. maximum conditions for this are a clear Taking careful decisions in the hue atmosphere, high altitude, and a low sun adjustment can make it unnecessary to (which has a lower color temperature and deal with contrast later in the traditional so a redder light). The minimum conditions way. Even more to the point, this are haze and overcast. 112

JUENING TULOU Color original. The mild contrast of cool, bluish hues and warm, orange ones can be exploited to enhance the contrast in the conversion to black-and-white. The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 113

lowers the cooler ones. cooler hues and lowers the warmer ones. HIGH CONTRAST RED Also increasing the contrast, though not by quite as much, is the preset High Contrast Red, which raises the warmer hues and DESATURATION A straight desaturation reproduces the original contrast quite faithfully. HIGH CONTRAST BLUE One of the Photoshop Black-and-White conversion presets is High Contrast Blue, which raises the values of the VARIATIONS % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % 50 19 50 96 213 50 50% 120% -50 120 120 -10 -50 -50% - 150 150 -50 150 Black and White Black and White Black and White

High Contrast Red Filter High Contrast Blue Filter

: :

reset reset P P Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans:

Using Hue for Depth & Atmosphere

ne of the most valuable hue controls The first, on the opposite page, is a Oin black-and-white photography sunrise view over the ancient city and ruins is altering the sense of depth in a of Pagan in central Burma—actually taken landscape shot. The technique, as old from a balloon. I’ve chosen this because as panchromatic film, relies on passing of the distinct blue that suffuses the or blocking blue, which increases with atmosphere and it includes wraiths of depth of atmosphere. morning mist hanging between the trees. The reason the blue hue is blocked This, coupled with the reddish brickwork is the selective scattering of light by the and gold leaf of the temples, is a color atmosphere; as the bluer wavelengths are contrast that will certainly respond shorter, they get scattered more easily by strongly to hue adjustment. But a point particles in the atmosphere, and so are to note is that most landscapes are not more visible. by nature super-saturated, and if they There are two ways to go: compressing have a significant amount of vegetation, aerial perspective by darkening the blues the colors can be complex. Greens in and so clarifying distant parts of the particular are very rarely a rich green, and scene,;and expanding it by lightening the can contain yellows and even reds. When blues to give a greater sense of depth. The doing this kind of atmosphere control, traditional filter way was to use a red filter vegetation greens are often the joker in for the first (or orange, or even yellow for a the pack and need to be watched carefully. milder effect), and a blue filter for the second. We’ll see more on this in a few pages when The digital version follows the same we look mainly at vegetation. principle, but offers more control and, more The first version aims to remove any importantly still, the chance to decide which sense of mist and haze, and the starting 114 route to take later during processing. point is the High Contrast Red preset in Given choice, most people seem to Photoshop’s Black and White conversion have a natural reaction toward heightening tool. From this, the red slider is taken up contrast, probably because it has the even further until just before the lightest effect of making images appear clearer, reddish hues would clip to pure white. The even sharper. Of course, this can be result is a quite spectacular clarification, valuable and effective when converting with almost no trace of the morning mist to black and white, but it would be left, and high visibility all the way to the a mistake to treat it as a default. Going distant hills. Whether it is successful or in the opposite direction—expanding not, however, is open to question. The the aerial perspective—can also expand opposite direction aims to enhance mist the sense of scale in a landscape, and and haze, so the blue slider is the first is generally a more delicate result. We control to use. The limit for its final setting can compare the two alternatives in is the reaction of the sky in the upper- two different landscapes here. middle section of the frame—this needs The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 115

red response. PLUS BLUE lighten to settings Custom the blue, while integrating the varying shades of green in the trees. VARIATIONS to bottom: Top ORIGINAL Color original, with early morning shade adding blue to the atmosphere and the mist. RED HIGH CONTRAST High preset Photoshop’s Contrast Red, adjusted to further lighten the % % % % % % % % % % 58 127 90 120 -10 -50 -68 120 43 73 187% 16% Black and White Black and White

Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens:

COLOR ORIGINAL

to be held below clipped pure white. Next, For the compressed landscape version, the red and yellow sliders are adjusted blue and cyan were taken far down (the downwards to increase the silhouette image is much less saturated than the effect of the temple, particularly the previous example from Burma, and so the largest, by darkening them. The treetops hue response more sluggish). Also, I decided in the lower half of the frame are a little it would be more effective if the tone of the problematical, because they contain grass was raised to match the distant hill- 116 cyan and some blue. Plenty of control slope tones, so that there was no shading is available, but the final settings were of tone from foreground to background. chosen to fade the tones of the trees from The effect has punch, although the dark in the left foreground to mid-gray hovering tern in the near-middle distance in the middle distance. does not stand out particularly well. The second image is lower in color Moving on to the opposite version, saturation, but covers a depth of a few there is not a great deal to do to improve miles and has mountains in the distance on the default desaturated result. Lowering that make a substantial part of the scene. the blue, however, removes the shading In both versions, handling the whites of in the cliffs on the left and lowers the the clouds and snow was crucial, and the contrast overall on the hills, thus flattening danger of clipping set limits to a number the distance. The blue sky is also rendered of the sliders. As a reference, I first made a a little paler. Finally, to enhance the default desaturation result, which already foreground-to-background transition, shows an expansion of aerial perspective. I darkened the grass. The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 117

% % % % % % % % % % 153 200 -118 -148 50 162% 34 77 192 120 80 107% Black and White Black and White

EXPAND EXPAND ATMOSPHERE Depth is expanded by raising blue and cyan. COMPRESS COMPRESS ATMOSPHERE Depth is compressed by lowering blue and cyan and raising red. strongly, VARIATIONS DESATURATION A straight desaturation made for reference. BLACK-AND-WHITE BLACK-AND-WHITE Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues:

Using Hue for Vegetation

sing a Hue adjustment to control darken the pagoda in the distance. This is Uthe tones of vegetation is not as only moderately successful, as the foliage straightforward as dealing with skies and and pagoda are too similar in tone. depth in landscapes. Let’s see how far we can lighten the One reason it’s so difficult to balance hue greens. This particular green carries a high adjustment when shooting plant life is that proportion of yellow, so by concentrating vegetation greens are usually anything but on the yellow slider to achieve the desired saturated, and include yellows and sometimes lightening, we not only get a lighter result even reds. Also, a variety of vegetation can overall on the foliage, but we also now involve different hues and different overall have a valuable contrast of shading within tones. Usually, an amount of juggling and the greens. To accentuate the contrast trial and error is involved. To focus on the with the pagoda, cyan and blue are taken niceties of green hues and tones, I’ve to their minimum. Compare this with chosen a single picture to work on. As a first Photoshop’s Infrared preset. This too relies step, let’s see what a default desaturation on lightening the greens and yellows looks like. Not at all successful; the trees (to mimic the response of chlorophyll to are darker than the eye expects them to be, infrared), but is more exaggerated. and show none of the separation from the Finally, having seen that varying the rest of the scene that they do in color. What yellow and green sliders can increase we should aim for is a lighter rendering, contrast within the foliage, let’s see how keeping contrast with the other elements in far this “internal” contrast can be taken. the picture. The first version uses the green Striking, certainly, but a little odd. All in all, slider alone to lighten the foliage, while the second version is the most successful. moderate reductions to red, cyan, and blue 118

THE COLOR ORIGINAL In the original the green weeping willows stand out clearly, while the other leaves have more mixed tones. The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 119

CONTRASTY As an experiment, maximum contrast is set within the greens. LIGHTER For a lighter rendering, with use the yellow slider, blue and cyan taken to their minimum. % % % % % % % % % % -139 101 142 50 144 276% -57 -101 -100 80 207 -81% Black and White Black and White

Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows:

DEFAULT result The desaturated dark, has the leaves too with and the trees merge everything else. VARIATIONS % % % % % % % % % % 235 -38 -35 80 53 44% 144 -68 -3 -107 235 -40% Black and White Black and White

Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues:

“Infrared” conversion. INFRARED preset Photoshop’s SIMULATED SIMULATED and cyan are lowered. RAISE GREENS Here, the green slider is raised, while red, blue, Skin Tones

hen most people refer to skin tones, think of what we call rosy cheeks, or an Wthey mean the shades of color. Here olive complexion. Color complicates the we’re being literal—the actual tonal conversion to monochrome, because value, the brightness of skin when the of the huge choice in hue adjustment. image is converted to monochrome. Here, it will pay to take a more analytical Skin colors are among the strongest approach to the image, and before making “memory colors,” meaning that we are so the conversion from an already processed familiar with and sensitive to the way they TIFF, I want to measure the individual should appear that the “correct” appearance colors and the average brightness. Let’s in a photograph is embedded in our take three contrasting examples of skin: memory. Even without necessarily being one white, another brown, the third black. able to identify in which way the balance The original three images were processed is skewed, most of us can immediately with very little alteration to the overall sense whether or not skin color in an exposure and brightness. To all intents and image looks correct. The same thing purposes they are as shot, meaning that happens with a black-and-white image. they closely resemble the original If we know the person, or at least have impression (confirmed by the camera’s LCD an idea of where they come from, we preview at the time). This is important for have a feeling for the “right” tonal value. this exercise as we need to take these This, of course, varies greatly with originals as a reliable starting point. Also ethnic group, and is not simply to do with important is that I chose all three for darker versus lighter, but also involves the being taken under cloudy diffused light, general color cast. As distinct examples, which has a reliable color temperature.

120

DIFFERENT TONES In a world with a wealth of different skin tones, it is important to know how to handle each one. The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 121

+15

-15 +15 has been The face only, lightened by 15%. Desat

Color R: 234 B: 220 G: 218 CAUCASIAN SKIN COLOR TO BLACK BLACK TO SKIN COLOR CAUCASIAN AND WHITE of pink. The bar above Pale Caucasian skin shows a hint as the sample area is the same color and brightness in the red box.

-15 The face only—not the background—has been darkened very slightly by 15%.

11 pixel average. We’re taking the sample from taking We’re 11 pixel average.

×

Default conversion using desaturation. CAUCASIAN SKIN CAUCASIAN a slight tan, while the same small increase verges on a slight tan, while the same small matter the “right” value is a But ultimately, high-key. of taste. it to make a selection. What is interesting is that just it to make a selection. What is interesting the impression of the small reduction of 15% gives However, as an experiment, see what visual difference However, of overall brightness. there is from just a small change painting a mask over Here, I’ve selected just the face by expect, and the conversion uncomplicated. expect, and the conversion uncomplicated. overall pinkish cast, this has only a very mild bias. The this has only a very mild bias. overall pinkish cast, rather than conversion is neutral, using desaturation as most people would a mix of hue sliders. The result is we can see that the overall brightness is high at 92%. the overall brightness is high at 92%. we can see that expect white skin to have an Also, while you would the forehead, which has no shadows across it. The Info has no shadows across it. The the forehead, which first set to show RGB readings in the palette has been in the second, and from the latter column and HSB square is the sample area, taken in Photoshop using area, taken in Photoshop using square is the sample an 11 CAUCASIAN SKIN CAUCASIAN The red end of the scale. much at the pale This is very BROWN SKIN The girl shown here is from Eritrea. Disregarding the leaf that she has stuck on her forehead (it is reputed to have healing properties), we take the sample from close by. This is directly comparable with the Caucasian-skin sample, but what a difference. The brightness is below average at 44% (though it would be higher from the cheeks), and red figures strongly. Note also the low blue value, which helps desaturate the overall color to brown. The monochrome conversion is again a straight desaturation, and I’ve supplied the same variations as before—up 15% and down 15%. Here, in contrast to the Caucasian skin, there seems to be a more acceptable latitude because this mid-to-dark toned skin is not close to either brightness limit—there are no obvious benchmarks of tone by which to judge it. Now we could take a different approach to adjusting Color R: 57 Desat -15 +15 the brightness by manipulating the hue sliders, but G: 45 for the purposes of comparison with the other two B: 33 skin types, we’ll leave that particular exercise for the example of the two windswept male faces on pages 124–125. BROWN SKIN COLOR TO BLACK AND WHITE

MEDIUM-TO-DARK BROWN SKIN 122 DEFAULT DESATURATION -15 +15 Default conversion using The face only, darkened by 15%. The face only, lightened by 15%. desaturation. The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 123 +15 +15

-15 -15 +15 lightened by 15%. The face only, Desat Desat R: 57 B: 33 R: 88 B: 74 G: 45 G: 75 Color Color BLACK AFRICAN SKIN COLOR TO TO AFRICAN SKIN COLOR BLACK AND WHITE BLACK

-15 darkened by 15%. The face only, DEFAULT DESATURATION DEFAULT Default conversion using desaturation. Showing highlight reflections. DARK SKIN DARK of tonal value with pale skin than with dark. of tonal value with pale skin than different than the other two examples, and one of the different than the other two examples, in interpretationlessons here is that there is less latitude red, blue, and green as the pale Caucasian skin, althoughred, blue, and green as the pale Caucasian non-light-reflecting slightly more saturated in the darker perceptually less areas. The brightness variations are of the nose to 10% in the under-chin area. The color is of the nose to 10% in the under-chin difference betweenlimited, actually with about the same of this range, and shows a brightness of 35%, but a shows a brightness of 35%, but of this range, and on the cheek goes second sample from a darker area from 60% at the tip down to 22%. The full range goes lighter skin, and the result is a higher contrast across the result is a higher contrast across lighter skin, and sample is somewhere in the middlethe face. The forehead in this case is Dinka, whose skin is at the dark end of whose skin is at the dark end in this case is Dinka, the things that happens visually one of the scale. Now, than black skin is that it reflects more with pronounced between ethnic groups, especially in southern Sudan especially in southern Sudan between ethnic groups, was taken. The ethnic group where this photograph BLACK AFRICAN SKIN AFRICAN BLACK in tone differences are actually huge Here, there ORIGINAL DEFAULT Two faces show a relatively strong red component. Default conversion using desaturation.

124

USING HUE ADJUSTMENT FOR DIFFERENT EFFECTS These two faces are Caucasian, but windswept (the two men are archaeologists, so are out in the open air a great deal). These conditions give a strong red component, and we can use it to make quite subtle changes to the monochrome tone. With a straight desaturation for comparison (with the reddish areas of the faces typically a little too dark in monochrome), there are two other versions, one raising the red channel, the other raising the yellow channel for lightening. While both have the same approximate effect, note that raising the red channel reduces the contrast across the faces in comparison to using the yellow channel. This can be useful for fine-tuning shading. The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 125 % % % % % 50% 50 50 75 50 50 Black and White

Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas:

YELLOW UP YELLOW Raising the yellow channel to lighten the skin. % % % % % 75% 50 50 50 50 50 Black and White

Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds:

lighten the skin. RED RAISED Raising the red channel to Specific Colors

different kind of approach is called Afor when there is one significant color in the scene. Its importance can be due to all kinds of reasons, including the nature of the subject, the fall of lighting across the scene, or the special qualities of an uncommon color. The image I’ve chosen here is of lavender fields in Provence, in the south of France, and this annual crop is clearly the main subject of the shot—at least in the color version—despite the old abbey in the grounds where it grows. The methodology for this kind of dominant-color image first involves deciding whether its importance as a color will even translate into monochrome; then deciding what sort of tonal relationship it should have with the other elements in the frame (the degree of contrast COLOR ORIGINAL or similarity, and how eye-catching); Lavender field in Provence, France. and finally, the methods of isolating and altering that particular hue. In this shot, the special nature of the lavender hue than the surroundings (which includes the 126 becomes meaningless in black and white, sky). This will draw maximum attention to but its growing in distinctive busy rows them. The sky, in particular, will need to be remains just as significant. In other dark, so as not to compete for the viewer’s words, it still warrants being the center attention. As usual, my first step is to make of attention, but for its form and what it is a default conversion as a reference—a rather than its color. It still needs to be an base against which to work. This default is eye-catching part of the picture. The next the Photoshop version, slightly different decision is how to make it stand out, and from a straight desaturation. This is fine as the obvious aim is to have the lavender far as it goes, but not if we want to favor rows contrast with as many of the other the lavender as much as possible. elements as possible. We can reject making The first step is to isolate the lavender it darker, which would simply look weird. hue and lighten it. It is made up of blue, The hue adjustments applied here magenta, and red. At the same time, are in several steps, but all with the aim of however, we want to do this without making the sunlit rows of lavender lighter affecting the sky, which is blue. Now, the The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 127 % % % % % 136% -62 185 -200 43 300 Black and White

Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans:

as dark as possible. MAXIMUM LAVENDER MAXIMUM Adjustments to maximize contrast—with the lavender being light and all other elements looking % % % % % 60 40 60 20 80 40% Black and White

Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens: DEFAULT default conversion. Photoshop’s as the rest of the crop. Raising green does green Raising crop. the of rest the as the out evens yellow lowering while this, greens. the within lightness mixed in with the purple of the lavender, lavender, the of purple the with in mixed light as it make to is here decision my so lavender and sky. And it does. Raising red red Raising does. it And sky. and lavender green is There contrast. this enhances latter to its maximum maximum its to latter between contrast maximum give should loweringits to former the the raising and minimum, sky contains some cyan cyan some contains sky so magenta, no and

Handling Opposites

otentially, controlling the tonal without appearing white. This means Pbehavior of opposing colors is the striking the right balance between red and easiest of all. yellow when raising those sliders, as both Provided, of course, you want them are part of the cheroot color. As for the to contrast with each other in the black- painted shelves, lowering the blue is the and-white version (lightening or darkening obvious approach, but note that the sunlit both together would involve merging two parts contain more cyan. Here, the cyan versions of the image). By opposing colors has been reduced to remove them—not I mean complementaries, as already shown necessarily a good thing for the picture, on pages 104–105, and these do not have but done here to show that it is possible. to be so strong and saturated as the Now, one of the features of opposing swatches there in order to react well colors in an image is that it is nearly to the hue sliders during conversion. always possible to make a reverse contrast The example here is relatively conversion—the contrary, that is, of what unsaturated, but still distinct in the color the eye expects to see. We already saw contrast between the yellowish cheroots this in action on pages 110–111. Here, in in a Burmese street stall and the blue more subdued color circumstances, it is shelves. The default conversion in fact does still a valid possibility. Certainly, it looks a good job of maintaining the color contrast strange and unexpected if you already and giving an expected result. Nevertheless, know what the original colors were, but let’s see what can be done to enhance the to a viewer coming to the monochrome contrast. Here, the key light tone chosen image alone, it works. Still, between these is the front end of the largest bundle of three versions, the choice is down to taste. cheroots, which I want as bright as possible 128

COLOR ORIGINAL Blue Burmese street stall. The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 129 cheroots darker. HIGH RED Adjusted to exaggerate the color contrast, with the cheroots made lighter. HIGH BLUE The reverse adjustment, exaggerating the color contrast, but making the % % % % % % % % % % 90 62 -12 29 80 136% 14 254 127 80 30 -36% Black and White Black and White

Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: RED AND BLUE EMPHASIS COMPARISON EMPHASIS RED AND BLUE

same as those on page 127). DEFAULT settings are the Photoshop default conversion (the Handling Adjacents

hen an image has groups of can take a judgment on the neutral default Wimportant colors that are similar settings—as expected, but not enough to each other, but ones you want to tonal separation between cups and table. separate tonally in the monochrome So, the next step is to darken the red of the version, hue adjustment can be at its table. Here, I’m cheating a little because most delicate and demanding. I can guess in advance that the orange Changing one affects the others, so slider will be needed to lighten all except there are always compromises to be the gold highlights (which are strongly made, and the procedure calls for some yellow), so we can take the red down a fine distinctions to be made between little darker than we will eventually want. component colors. In other words, do not The next step is to raise the highlights expect a quick fix with images similar to the on the gold cups, using the yellow slider. examples here and on the following pages. This affects hardly anything else. Finally, The first example is an exercise in for the hue adjustment, the orange is handling the warm sector of the color raised; this lightens everything slightly circle—reds, oranges, and yellows. The and, more importantly, re-emphasizes the image features a table by designer dappled reflections on the side of the table. Maarten Baas, with two gilded cups on it. As a last touch, once the image has been While there is distinct red in the table processed into a TIFF, the background is and yellow in the gold cups, they both cleaned up by first selecting it using the share orange. In fact, to some extent, they Quick Selection tool, then applying a share all three hues available as sliders. lightening curve. As this will be a delicate operation, let’s take color samples in the same way that 130 we did for skin tones. This confirms that the yellow slider will be important in raising the value of the gold. For a change, we will do the hue adjustment in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR)— the Photoshop Raw converter (previous conversions have been done on already- processed TIFFs). One good reason for this is that currently, ACR has an orange slider, which its Black and White converter does not. And we will need it. To begin, the image is fairly accurately exposed and color balanced as shot, but we’ll choose the standard Auto setting. Next, moving to the Grayscale window, we R: 130 R: 155 Y: 100% Y: 65% B: 5 B: 100 The Black & White Tradition

R: 160 Y: 72% B: 65 DIGITAL MONOCHROME

ORIGINAL FINAL IMAGE The color image The final monochrome processed with default result after ACR. (See settings, and three pages 132–33 for sample areas analyzed. step-by-step stages).

131 Creative Choices RAW CONVERSION

Camera Raw: Basic STEP 1

Temperature 3700 White Balance Custom Auto color settings applied

3700 in Photoshop’s ACR. TemperatureTint -7

-7 TintExposure 0.00

Auto Default Highlights 21

Exposure 0.00 Fill Light 0 +45 Contrast

Blacks 2 Highlights -21

Brightness +55 Shadows 0

WhitesContrast +45+55

Blacks -2

HSL/Grayscale STEP 2 Reds 0 In the Grayscale

Oranges 0 window, the default, neutral, settings. Yellows 0

Greens 0

Aquas 0

Blues 0

Purples 0

Magentas 0 132

HSL/Grayscale STEP 3 Reds -30 Using the red slider to

Oranges 0 darken the table.

Yellows 0

Greens 0

Aquas 0

Blues 0

Purples 0

Magentas 0 The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 133

histogram, which is of the background only), a lightening curve is applied. STEP 6 STEP Having made a selection of the background with the Quick Selection Tool (note the compressed STEP 4 STEP slider Raising the yellow to lighten the highlights on the gold cups. slider to lighten table and cups overall. STEP 5 STEP Raising the orange +28 +79 0 0 0 0 0 0 +79 0 0 0 0 0 -30 -30 HSL/Grayscale HSL/Grayscale

Oranges Yellows Greens Aquas Blues Purples Magentas Reds Oranges Yellows Greens Aquas Blues Purples Magentas Reds

RAW CONVERSION RAW MEASUREMENTS Samples of blue, cyan, and green extracted from Handling Adjacents five areas of the image.

or the next example of an image (even though there is absolutely more, Fwith similar colors that need to be 70–90%) in the stronger, higher regions. separated, I’ve chosen this panorama There is also a strong cyan presence in of the First Bend of the Yangtse River. the higher reflections of the sky in the The sky is an intense blue, but shades river, meaning that the cyan slider will 134 in brightness toward the horizon, and the also affect these. Additionally, there is water contains a mixture of desaturated a strong presence of green in the water. colors. The water, nevertheless, is one Blues and cyans both work to lighten element that we might want to adjust the sky, but favoring the blue over the cyan for contrast. As with the previous image, evens out the sky overall, which can be we can start by analyzing the key colors. useful here. See also the effect of the cyan For this, the Info palette in Photoshop on the reflections higher up in the water. is useful, particularly if we open a second The lower part of the river, closer to the measurement in CMYK. This gives us bottom of the frame, contains green, and a cyan measurement, even though raising the green slider to the maximum the units are different from the RGB lightens the river more, which relates to (percentage instead of levels from 0 to the light treatment of the sky. An alternative 255). Two sky samples show that cyan is to darken the green for a stronger is relatively higher in the paler regions contrast with the sandbanks—also valid. The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 135 % % % % % 40% 60 -200 131 164 80 % % % % % % % % % % 60 40 131 164 80 60 300 131 164 80 40% 40% Black and White

Black and White Black and White Black and

Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds:

Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds:

STEP 3 STEP Lowering green darkens the water for contrast with the sandbanks.

the water. STEP 2 STEP Raising green lightens

blue, lightens and evens out the sky. Raising blue and cyan but favoring together, Top to bottom: Top 1 STEP RAW CONVERSION RAW Handling Subtleties

he hue adjustment examples and contrast curves and tweaking local contrast Tissues that we’ve looked at so far (for example, Photoshop’s Shadows/ have all involved colors that were either Highlights method). distinct, or at least obviously important Here is just such an example, an image to control in some way. that relies on structure and form much If you look back at many of the more than color—hence the decision previous examples, they feature strong to render it in monochrome. The default colors that can be interpreted in wholly conversion is perfectly acceptable, but it different ways using relatively extreme can still benefit from tweaking. One of the adjustment slider settings. Many more potentials in this image is the geometric picture situations, however, simply contain pattern of highlights; the backlighting gives subtle colors that can be exploited to an edge not only to the wooden fencing fine-tune the image. This could be an alternative or a complement to the usual COLOR ORIGINAL tonal adjustments, such as applying The original rural view.

136 The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 137

DEFAULT DESATURATION DEFAULT for comparison. A straight desaturation conversion stages to the (See pages 138–39 for step-by-step final conversion) the contrast of the buffalo and farmer. farmer. and buffalo the of contrast the separate own, their in located are they As gradientsimple a frame, the of region mode), Mask Quick the (using selection S-curvean apply that to easy it makes them lightens and contrast their increases more them make to is effect The slightly. more the from distinct and tone in similar foreground. lit strongly Bringing all these edge lights together together lights edge these all Bringing this. What remains is to selectively increase increase selectively to is remains What this. is the key to the processing of this image. image. this of processing the to key the is toward way some gone has adjustment Hue more closely to the other edge lighting. lighting. edge other the to closely more farmer (they reflect skylight) also give an give also skylight) reflect (they farmer them relate and them, raise to opportunity little separation in these highlights. The highlights. these in separation little andbuffalo the on highlights bluer softer, highlights on the wood and the calf—late calf—late the and wood the on highlights the At warm. is light this afternoon, the in a give to down taken is red the time, same and the farmer. A first step is to raise the raise to is step first A farmer. the and the lighten to order in component yellow and structures, but also to the two animals two the to also but structures, and PROCESSING

Black and White Reds: 10% STEP 1

Raising yellow and Yellows: 101% lowering red strengthens contrast on the parts of Greens: 40% the wood that are directly Cyans: 60% lit and lit by reflection.

Blues: 20%

Magentas: 80%

STEP 2 Raising blue and cyan lightens the soft edge lighting on the buffalo and man. For the sake of demonstration, it’s shown here as a separate Black and White operation from the red Reds: 40% and yellow adjustments.

Yellows: 60%

Greens: 40%

Cyans: 185%

Blues: 122%

Magentas: 80%

138 COMBINED ADJUSTMENTS The two sets of adjustments shown together. The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices DIGITAL MONOCHROME 139 selection gives a good contrast boost. STEP 4 STEP A curve applied to the

The final black-and-white result. FINAL RESULT WITH SELECTIVE CONTRAST FINAL RESULT select the upper left part of the frame. The gradient tool used in Quick Mask mode to STEP 3 STEP CREATIVE CHOICES

Possibly the greatest difference between photographing in color and photographing in black and white is in expression. There are, of course, all kinds of ways of treating color, made all the easier with the range of software processing available, but by far the most accepted standard is the aim for “realism.” The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 141

the expression and and expression the … Added to this, and stemming partly stemming and this, to Added have done for decades (see the image by by image the (see decades for done have not will it and chapter), this in Brandt Bill for latitude The wrong. look necessarily is words, other in expression, creative white. and black into built harsh, contrasty harsh, variable. infinitely almost is treatment black-and-white a that fact the is it, from greater much to treated be can image key) and contrast in as (such extremes just As image. color typical a than usual the consider this, of example one with image, color a for limits processing being clipping shadow and highlight beyond slipping Not considerations. major an even rule, a becoming fast is limits the try But processing. digital in obsession, limits shadow and highlight the exceeding photographers film as white, and black in

ithout getting philosophical about philosophical ithout getting in the context means what realism This might seem an obvious point obvious an seem might This

an image in almost any manner. It could could It manner. any almost in image an soft, delicate, rich, airy, bright, somber, be creative. This frees up a whole imaginative imaginative whole a up frees This creative. interpret to choose can you and process, important—all the choices about how to to how about choices important—allthe are process and shoot, scene, a visualize to make, but it implies something implies it but make, to photographer’s idea of how a scene can a scene how of idea photographer’s gray. in shades of look does not, cannot, pretend to be “real,” “real,” be to does not, cannot, pretend and the startingpoint is the individual Black and white begins with quite a begins with quite Black and white It seen. we’ve as premise, different most people’s color photography are are photography color people’s most image of which in terms a result get to the original scene. faithful to are quality W normal aims of the photography, of Thinking in Black & White

he Bayer filter, with its mosaic of grew up shooting black and white, and Tgreen, red, and blue, preserves color so “spent years trying to avoid” the information from the scene in front temptations of colorful scenes. To succeed of the camera by separating it into in monochrome meant being able to see three channels. in advance what would work without Nevertheless, underneath, the sensor color. Eliot Porter, who as we saw moved itself is purely monochrome—it reacts permanently from black-and-white to color only to the total quantity of multi- without acquiring the dogmatism of the spectrum “white” light falling on it from converted, said that “When Ansel Adams different surfaces and light sources in photographs something, he sees it as a the scene. This means that, unless you black-and-white image right away and so drastically and expensively remove the he photographs it that way.” That comes filter, you always have a color version of from years of training. the view even if you are fully committed From the early and mid-twentieth to creating black-and-white imagery. century American school, artists like The easiest approach to digital black- Sieglitz, Weston, and Adams took this and-white, therefore, is to shoot first and further than the practical. Adams stressed later review the images to select those the importance of visualization—deciding which might work better in monochrome. at the time of shooting how the final print Absolutely nothing wrong with that, and should look. Adams reiterated Alfred for obvious reasons of illustration, many Stieglitz’s well-known dictum that the of the images in this book were chosen final image (always a monochrome print and processed in this kind of workflow. in those days) should reveal “what you saw However, “full” B&W photography means and felt.” “Once you admit your personal anticipating, selecting, and composing perception or emotional response,” he monochrome right from the start. And wrote, “the image becomes something the only way to do this is to train one’s more than factual, and you are on the self to think and see in black and white. doorstep of an enlarged experience.” All There are optical aids, as described here, of this combined visualizing in black and but these are really tricks to fool the eye white, with the emotional level of how the into ignoring the color in a scene for a scene should feel. short while. More effective long term is A minority of photographers shifted at constant practice and experience in some point in their careers between black mentally filtering out color information. and white and color, among them notably This is not at all fanciful. For many Eliot Porter, Joel Meyerowitz, and Harry years, serious photographers trained Callahan. As you will experience for themselves to do just this. Edward yourself, moving from one camp to the Weston, as quoted earlier, was one of other heightens awareness of the mental 142 the generation of photographers who processes involved. Sometimes, it is easier The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 143

reproduction of texture are of the of are texture of reproduction importance.” utmost MORNING SUN Early morning sun just beginning to filter through fog creates an atmospheric distribution of tone that black and white helps emphasize. the of more demands photography shooting simply than photographer black with Compared film. color with a only not requires color white, and different a also but technique, different the monochrome, In seeing. of way the and shade, and light of massing

A Concise History A Concise , Helmut and Alison and Helmut , In their classic classic their In Gernsheim declared that, “Good color color “Good that, declared Gernsheim of Photography of black and white. Some of the pictures I I pictures the of Some white. and black been have well as just could color in take white.” and black in done you see it. I see it as a color image right right image color a as it see I it. see you some do still I because always, away—not it was to look for color rather than form, form, than rather color for look to was it it— for look to have don’t “You replied, he forms much more than you do in color.” color.” in do you than more much forms important how of question the Answering rocks, the approach is entirely different, different, entirely is approach the rocks, the see you white and black in because think it’s entirely different from black and and black from different entirely it’s think like subjects photographing When white. white in comparison to what goes on with with on goes what to comparison in white “I wrote: Porter Eliot photography. color to define the skill of seeing in black and and black in seeing of skill the define to The Range of Light: Adams & the Westons

here is a common aesthetic running shooting, and that this final image—first Tthrough a great majority of Ansel in the mind, then on paper—should be Adams’ prints. personal to the photographer. As Weston It is apparent as a desire to capture put it, “the ultimate end, the print, is but a the full range (Yosemite and the Range duplication of all that I saw and felt of Light, a mild pun, was indeed the title through my camera,” although the word of one of his books) and a leaning toward “but” is unduly modest. Brett, his son, drama, with rich blacks balanced against continued in the same tradition, with just-discernible high-value textures perhaps even more emphasis on tonal in snow, clouds, and the water spray. drama, while never pushing the limits of Edward Weston, a friend of Adams who full black and empty white. shared many of the same views about rich tonality and an “honesty” to both form and content, worked primarily with large MOON AND HALF DOME negatives and contact printing. His best- Opposite: Ansel Adams known images span much the same full TONAL RANGE AND BIT DEPTH range as those of Adams, although the Below: Digital sensors have gradually latter felt compelled to write that “Edward achieved the exposure range enjoyed by Weston’s prints are much ‘quieter’ than Adams’ large-format film, but can still many realize.” They both agreed on the exhibit banding across large areas of need to envision the print at the time of smooth gradations, such as this sky.

144 The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 145 The Long Range of Gray: Paul Strand

hile in no way suggesting Unexpectedly, two of Strand’s best- Wthat Adams and Weston paid any known images, Wall Street from 1915 and less attention to the central mid-tones White Fence from 1916, are full of strong than to the ends of the range, other contrasts and are not at all typical of the photographer-printers dwelled much bulk of his prints. He drew back from this more on the grays, from dark gray to dramatic approach, and his many portraits light gray. have almost all the attention concentrated This reflected both their preferred in the middle range. The skin tones of his subject matter and an aesthetic in which subjects are noticeably well modulated. subtle nuances between gray tones, well The reason for this change is linked to distinguished from one another, were the materials he used, for Strand began highly regarded. One of the exemplars with platinum printing, as did many of this approach, at least for the majority photographers of his generation. The of his long career, was Paul Strand—one tonal quality of a platinum print is so of the twentieth century’s most famous different from the silver bromide printing and best recognized photographers. that succeeded it and which became the Strand’s work covers 60 years, from known standard for black and white, that 1914 until his death in 1976. He made it represented almost a unique medium all his own prints until the very end, in its own right. Dating back to the 1830s, when he took an assistant to work platinotypes, as they are also called, have under his guidance. a deposit of platinum that sits mainly on

PAUL STRAND: THE FAMILY, LUZZARA, ITALY 1953

146 The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 147 % % % % % 112 64 80 -161 40 86% Black and White Black and contrast further. CURVE A reverse S-curve reduces the

BLACK AND WHITE BLACK AND Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens:

While there is no satisfactory way of of way satisfactory no is there While ideal the image, digital a in this simulating range tonal long a and separation good of pursued. be still can amount of detail is visible in the shadows. shadows. the in visible is detail of amount REDUCING CONTRAST and raising raising red slightly, Lowering the yellow, blue and cyan all reduce the contrast.

The original is a good starting point for a mono The original is a good starting point conversion targeting mid-tones. DINKA BOY DINKA appear particularly expanded, and a large particularlyappear large a and expanded, in technical terms), the tonal separation separation tonal the terms), technical in Mid-tones remarkable. is range the within lies in a gelatin coating. While the deepest the While coating. gelatin a in lies those as black as not are blacks platinum D-Max, higher a has (which print silver a in the paper’s surface, as opposed to a silver silver a to opposed as surface, paper’s the silver image-forming the which in print apply a traditional contrast-reducing curve overall. use hue adjustment to bring tones closer together (for example, see what lowering the yellow does to the out-of-focus background at upper right), and then to lower the contrast. Visually this forces more attention to the mid-tones. The methods used here are first to When converting, as here, it helps the effect not to close up both black and white points, and then to Mid-tones

id-tones define themselves, but it’s subject image, a clear subject of attention Mimportant to remember that this is tends to look “right” when it is rendered a common-sense definition and does not in mid-tones. Most of us follow this so lend itself to precise figures and levels. naturally that it seems too obvious to Mid-tones simply mean the usually mention, but it is fundamental. And it is large middle of the brightness range, even more true of a monochrome image everything except the shadows and than one in color, as a striking hue in the highlights. For more precision we the highlights or shadows can catch the need to go to the Zone System, but the attention, deliberately or otherwise. A rich significance of the term “mid-tone” lies in sunset, for example, draws more attention the way we see and perceive. The human to the highlights in a color image. eye adapts wonderfully and rapidly to There’s no need to be obsessive when changes in brightness, but within any you are setting the limits, and as both the one range of tones, will tend to settle on examples here show, many images resolve the middle. Metering systems, and most themselves easily into shadows, mid-tones, photographers unconsciously, do the same and highlights. In the case of the cheetah, with exposure. In a straightforward, single- the animal is so obviously the only subject

EXPLODED LAYERS VIEW Exploded layers separate this image into shadow, mid-tone, and highlight.

148 The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 149

be perfectly acceptable. perfectly be without looking “wrong.” In a case like this, this, like case a In “wrong.” looking without would highlights and shadows in clipping seen elsewhere, black and white allows allows white and black elsewhere, seen color, than processing extreme more exist only for the composition—details composition—details the for only exist we’ve As irrelevant. be would them within that the shadows (the darker recesses of of recesses darker (the shadows the that background) (the highlights and tree) the Typically, mid-tones coincide with the main subject mid-tones coincide Typically, of interest, especially in monochrome. CHEETAH Contrast High

lack and white lends itself to high- color image is workmanlike, it seemed Bcontrast treatment much more so to have potential as a high-contrast image than color for two reasons. in black and white. In particular, there is One is that monochrome is not held the play between the black and white of in check by the expectation that it is a the foreground cow, the correspondence faithful and realistic version of things, as between the curve of its shoulder and we saw on pages 58–61. The other is that neck and that of the other animal’s horns, increasing contrast is a particularly good and the skin of the young cowherd. way of emphasizing structure and form— However, adjusting the hues offer two and these are key qualities in opposing contrasts. In one, the first here, black-and-white photography. lowering yellow and maximizing green, The traditional S-curve that raises cyan, and blue gives the highest contrast the lower highlights and lowers the mid- with the out-of-focus background. The shadows is the standard tool for raising second choice, maximizing yellow and contrast globally across the image. By red, gives the greatest contrast in the choosing how high or low to put the lower half of the frame. One possibility, points that you drag, and by adding more therefore, was to do both separately, and than two points, it can be fine-tuned for then blend the two versions manually, subtly different results. Nevertheless, in as shown here. Broad strokes, erasing the face of newer processing tools and one layer over another, are sufficient. more time-consuming methods, it is a Following this, a fairly strong use of little crude. This is fine for many, even Photoshop’s Shadows/Highlights the majority of images, possibly, but by control increases local contrast. no means always the ideal. Here, we look at a more considered way of selectively increasing contrast, using a variety of tools on two images. The first, on these two pages, is at a Dinka cattle camp in southern Sudan. While the

ORIGINAL 150 Color original. The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 151 7% 8% 35% 76% +20 +52 54px 30px 0.01% 0.01%

Shadows/Highlights Radius Radius Amount Tonal Width Color Correction Mid-tone Contrast Black Clip White Clip Vibrance Saturation Highlights Adjustments Shadows BLENDED The finished manual blend. STEP 3 STEP Shadows/Highlights settings to emphasize mid-range contrast.

Raising yellow and red tones. STEP 2 STEP STEP 1 1 STEP and lowering warm ones. Raising cool colors % % % % % 300 300 51 -62 300 -31% 20 80 100 198 40 60 Black and White Black and Black and White

Magentas: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Reds: Yellows: Magentas: Cyans: Blues: Reds: Yellows: Greens:

ORIGINAL In the original, the bus is a striking red.

This image has been chosen to make go for a bright red, so although there are a direct comparison between two ways of few cool tones in this late afternoon scene, heightening contrast. The overall results we can take cyan and blue down to their are similar, but the specifics are very minima. Next, we raise the red slider until different. The scene is a bus terminal just before the side of the bus goes to in Cartagena, Colombia—the sunlight featureless white—we still want some strong and low, the color red! The aim, hint of detail. The result is high contrast in converting to monochrome, is to to the same degree as with the S-curve, convey this intensity in the absence of but with a different distribution of tones— the rich red. Step one is to make the strange if you knew the starting point usual default conversion as a benchmark, was red. and work from that. We can also go for the opposite The standard method would be conversion, a dark red. Lowering the red to apply an S-curve, as shown here, slider does this, but also, because the and the result is good. But now let’s try entire scene is diffused with warm sunlight, and achieve the same overall degree of it darkens everything. The solution is contrast in a different way—by adjusting simple—raise the yellow slider to lighten 152 only the hues. The obvious approach is to overall while still leaving the red dark. The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 153

ALTERNATIVES CONVERSION CONVERSION LOW RED 1 LOW Lowering red for maximum dark rendering. HIGH CONTRAST HIGH CONTRAST CURVE A conventional S-curve and the high-contrast result. an overall lighter look. LOW RED 2 LOW The red is the same as “Low red 1” above, but the yellow is raised for HIGH RED Red is raised as high as possible without clipping. % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % 200 80 60 40 -200 155% - 40 60 20 80 60 40 60 20 80 220 -100% -100% Black and White Black and White Black and White

Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows:

Contrast Low

ontinuing the interpretation theme One way of reducing the contrast Cin which black-and-white imagery further would be to lower the red slider, can be given a wide range of treatments, given the reddishness that suffuses the certain classes of scenes respond well original color images, from the just-risen to a low-contrast approach. sun. Or, there is always the temptation to Of course, any scene can be lowered close up the black and white points, as in contrast, and it ultimately depends on shown here. This really is a matter of taste, the vision of the photographer, but some and many people would prefer this, though picture situations are obvious candidates. not me. This deserves a warning—digital Fog, mist, rain, indeed any softening effect practice has introduced photographers from the atmosphere, has a certain degree to technical tools such as the histogram, of evocative appeal, and maintaining it adjustable curves, black and white points, means keeping off the black and white which is all to the good, but it has also points. The histogram accompanying the created some automatic responses, that are as-shot image of trees in Dedham Vale, not ideal. Most careful photographers check England shows just how much space can the black and white points in an image, typically be found on either side of the but the unthinking reaction of closing them tonal range. Low-contrast images like this up exactly to just below clipping does no tend to sit well inside the scale, with no favors to a photograph that deserves to be blacks and no whites. This gives a great deal delicate and nuanced. of latitude for exposure and key, meaning that increasing exposure by about a stop LOW-CONTRAST SCENE would simply shift the histogram to the Limestone peaks and pillars glimpsed through shifting right without any clipping, and decreasing clouds around the summit of Huangshizai in Hunan are by the same amount would do the reverse. typical of the landscapes that inspired generations of Chinese artists working with brush and ink.

154 The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 155

LOW RES LOW Reduced red component further reduces contrast. CONVERSION DEDHAM VALE The color original, bathed in the warm tones of sunrise. LOW-CONTRAST LOW-CONTRAST % % % % % 60 20 80 60 40 -49%

Black and White

Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens:

points closed in, as indicated beneath the histogram. CONTRAST-ENHANCED the This is the default conversion (which the histogram matches) with The default conversion. DEFAULT Shadow & Darkness: Brandt & McCullin

very different aesthetic of printing Newcastle that they “looked to him as Afrom the essentially “straight” and if they might have been built of coal.” “pure” style promoted by Edward Weston It also tended to fit quite well with his and the other Californians is the sombre obvious liking for strongly geometrical low key of heavily inked images, with compositions—these normally lend mid-tones pushed down so that most of themselves to high-contrast treatment. the detail has to be read in low values. Don McCullin recognizes in his dark, The reasons for wanting to do this heavy printing a reflection of his childhood vary from a love of the richness of heavy and career, writing, “[M]y eyes had grown blacks to trying to match the mood of accustomed to the dark. All I saw seemed serious, even threatening subject matter, to echo my childhood and the scenes of or even reflecting the mood of the deprivation, dereliction, death and disaster, photographer. Two photographers in smashed minds, and broken bodies, that particular stand out: Bill Brandt, who I had witnessed in other countries.” This photographed Britain from the 1930s preference has been transferred to his through the 1960s, creating a number current landscape photography of his of iconic images; and Don McCullin, best home in Somerset, in the south-west of known for his war photographs from England. In an interview with broadcaster Cyprus to Beirut, but who then turned John Tulsa, he said, “I look forward to the his attention to landscape. evening light and the naked trees when I In both cases, there seems to have go out; and I live in this Arthurian world of been a progression over time toward Somerset.” In many ways, McCullin’s later printing darker. In the case of Brandt, his work exemplifies the idea of the expressive wife said of his pictures of buildings in print, full of personal feeling.

SHELTER PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN IN LONDON, NOVEMBER 1940 156 Bill Brandt The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 157 DARK SKIN Low Key The color original, with brown in the skin and some cyan and blue in the white beard. hile a darker key can be applied to Wany image, according to the mood of the photographer, certain kinds of lighting and scene lend themselves more readily to this treatment than others. Ideal conditions occur when: a large area of the frame, even most of it, is in shadow; most of these shadow areas carry no essential detail; and when there is a structure of lighter tones to make a contrast. Indeed, contrast, if only on a finely detailed scale, contributes greatly to the success of many low-key images. But, as with all special treatments, from infrared to high key, simply following a Normally with an image we would pull formula of “this is a low-key kind of image” back from this to avoid clipping, but in this misses the point. What matters is how you, case some solid black is exactly what is as an individual photographer, see the wanted. In order to keep the mid-tones more scene and the potential in it. or less as they were, it helps in this case to This example is reasonably raise the mid-point slider by approximately conventional for low key—the setting is the same amount as the black point has a dark interior, with weak side-lighting been closed in—from 1.00 to 1.20. that reveals enough of the subject to This is as far as we need to go, but make it obvious, and a background that there is still plenty of room for adjusting can easily go to black. And probably should the white point or the mid-point to taste. go to black in order to keep attention on And, of course, there is always the option the texture of the skin and beard. The of using the hue sliders to alter tonal histogram that you can see when we relationships and contrast. Here there are make the Levels adjustment is typical two alternative versions: one to maximize of a mainly dark image with low-key the contrast between beard and skin; the potential. The first step with this image, other to minimize it. By now, the procedure in order to strengthen the low-key effect, should be predictable and straightforward. is to make the background as black as For the former, lowering red and yellow possible, but without losing important darkens the skin, raising cyan and blue shadow detail on the man and his hat. whitens the beard. For the opposite effect, In Photoshop Levels, holding down the doing the reverse makes it possible to /Alt key as you click on and drag the black blend the beard in with the skin until ⌥ point slider shows the amount of clipping, it is almost unnoticeable—if that is the 158 and updates it as you adjust the slider. desired effect. The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 159

/Alt ⌥ Closing in the black Settings to lighten point, which invovles holding down the key to view clipping as you adjust the levels sliders. BEARD EMPHASIZE Left: the beard and darken the skin. BEARD KNOCK BACK Settings to blend the beard tones into those of the skin. SHADOW CLIP SHADOW Above: % % % % % % % % % % 120 80 -14 40 122 16% 40 -150 -152 80 110 116% Black and White Black and White

Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows:

DEFAULT conversion. The default High Key & Graphic: Callahan & Hosoe

f style can be pushed toward darkness One important area of decision is Iand shadows, as we have seen on the whether or not to allow the edges of the previous pages, it can also go in the extremely pale image to bleed into the other direction. surrounding paper. At one extreme, this In the dark room, high key meant effectively makes the image borderless, rationing the light from the enlarger which can make for an interesting and, in order to accentuate the few parts discussion in itself. The more traditional of the image allowed to remain in what approach has been to hold the brightest is essentially a field of white, applying tone a noticeable level darker than pure extensive local control—that is, dodging paper white, in order to hold the limits and burning. The digital equivalent of this of the image, but the balance is a fine takes pace in image-editing programs such one because too far below white runs as Photoshop, but a custom profile for the the risk of looking muddy. This issue printer can also be made to accentuate the extends to mounting and framing, as the contrast and whiteness. eye of the viewer is inevitably affected by Harry Callahan, 1912–99, is known the difference in tone. One of Callahan’s for his frequent use of high-key printing. solutions to this was to frame the image Callahan’s work changed direction after he in black—either the black of the film met Ansel Adams in 1941, following which rebate or a printed-in black edge. he adapted some of Adams’ ideas. From Japanese photographer Eikoh Hosoe, this point on he added to his repertoire born in 1933, has made particularly strong high-key abstractions, such as “Weeds in use of dodging and burning-in to create Snow,” and certain portraits of his wife his expressive prints that are frequently Eleanor (there were many, in different very high in contrast. His frequent use of styles) in which her skin is rendered white areas of pure white, notably in his series and, in one instance, appears in silhouette of close-ups of the bodies of men and emerging from almost-white water. For women juxtaposed and in images taken high key to work visually, it demands high for the book Kamaitachi, have a direct contrast with the few remaining dark connection with the tradition of the tones, and this inevitably leads to a Japanese woodcut. In traditional Ukiyo-e graphic style. By this I mean imagery prints, a proportion of which is erotic, men in which lines and points—the rawest are often depicted with dark skin and graphic forms—dominate, while tonal women with white for deliberate contrast. gradation is suppressed. This in turn creates often-puzzling abstractions. Clearly, this aesthetic appeals to a certain kind of personality in which content is subordinated to form. 160 The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 161 famous “Eleanor” shot. VERY HIGH KEY VERY This shot uses a curve to exaggerate the already high-key shot to the point that its tone is reminicient of Harry Callahan’s This portrait is exposed so is exposed so This portrait detail that almost all the of the is in the right half in the histogram, showing light gray tonality. HIGH KEY High Key

s we saw from the previous pages, a At this time of day, the mountains and Ahigh-key treatment depends on a sky in the reflection are bathed in blue, large area and high value of whiteness, and so can be lightened and darkened, and on high contrast. while the low mist is more white. Simply, More fundamentally, for high key to raising the blue strongly, with cyan and red work well, there usually needs to be some to a lesser degree (both are present in the smaller, darker elements that are integral bluish cast), whitens the image overall to the image. Raising the brightness and without affecting the rowing boat. In one contrast throws emphasis on whatever stroke, we already have a high-key effect. smaller darker areas remain. Both of the The histogram is typical and the reverse of examples here, in different ways, rely on the low-key one on page 158. But we can this feature—small key subjects in an take this further by closing in the black expansive white setting. and white points to enhance the contrast. This first image, dawn over the Simply doing this operation, however, also Altausseer lake in Austria’s Salzkammergut lowers the mid-tones, and to keep them region, works well in color. Nevertheless, high, the mid-point slider can be raised it lends itself to an effective high-key here quite strongly from 1.00 to 1.70. treatment. Critical to the image is that the Finally, there is always the option to fisherman in his small boat is seen against go to a high-key extreme by clipping some only the reflections of the mountains in of the whites. This would normally never the still water, not against the mountains do in color, nor in normal black-and-white themselves. The boat’s position and size processing. The result is a matter of add to the delayed reaction in seeing it, opinion, but valid in that it draws even consequently resulting in the “inversion” more attention to the man in his boat. of the landscape. Making a high-key version, we should keep this in mind.

ALTAUSSEER SEE The color original, suffused in the blue light of dawn.

162 The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 163 236 235 222 1.00 1.70 1.85 60 57 60 EXTREME An extreme version, deliberately clipping highlights. CLOSING UP CLOSING Raising the mid-point keeps the image white. with space remaining on the right. remaining on with space CONTRAST Closing up the end-points heightens the contrast. INITIAL CONVERSION INITIAL version. high-key The monochrome, the blues. to whiten Hue adjustment but high-key histogram, The typical % % % % % 40 81 203 81 57 64% Black and White Black

Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds: Yellows:

HIGH-KEY COMPARISONS

COLOR ORIGINAL The color original, quite low in contrast on an overcast day.

This second example, twigs in snow, However, beginning with hue adjustment, could have been tailor-made for a high- the straw-colored twigs contrast with the key conversion. bluish hint to the snow, so that pulling Here, hue adjustment will be integral, the hue sliders in opposite directions but to demonstrate the point, let’s begin quickly gets us to a high-key result with with the more standard method using strong contrast. The Photoshop preset Levels. The dead twigs and flowers are High Contrast Blue is similar. yellow, and so quite pale—not really much of a shot in color. Nevertheless, closing in the black and white points at 164 least gets us to a very white image. The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 165 244

3.01 40 % % % % % 21% 40 -85 118 131 80 Black and White

High Contrast Blue Filter

:

reset P Reds: Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Closing in the white point and strongly raising Closing in the white point and strongly with just the mid-point gives a high-key result moderate contrast. Photoshop’s High Contrast Blue settings do much the High Contrast Blue settings do much the Photoshop’s ones in this case. same thing as my “High contrast” HIGH-CONTRAST BLUE HIGH-CONTRAST

% % % % % -85 40 118 131 80 21% Black and White

Yellows: Greens: Cyans: Blues: Magentas: Reds:

warm tones and raising the cool tones arrives directly warm tones and raising the cool tones high-contrast result. at a high-key, HIGH CONTRAST lowering the Starting again from the color original, The default conversion, with histogram, shows that shows that The default conversion, with histogram, at both ends of the there is still room for adjustment scale, hence not strongly high key. DEFAULT

HIGH-KEY COMPARISONS Digital Zone System

nsel Adams et al’s Zone System never pulling the development. I use the term Aseems to go away, despite the fact pushing to mean forcing development, that it was invented for a specific kind to give something similar to the result of photography that very few people of using a higher ISO film. Pulling means ever practiced—namely black-and-white the opposite, reducing development. The sheet film over which the photographer techniques are unimportant here, but could ponder without being in a rush. they generally involved raising or lowering Such is the power of belief in old the temperature of the developer, and masters. The fundamental question for increasing or reducing the development using it in digital photography is not how time. More important was that altering but why. I’ll admit that I’m treating it here the development also alters the contrast. out of a sense of duty, and also because Crudely put, pushing increases contrast, if you are a committed black-and-white pulling flattens it. photographer, you will expect to see it In practice, this meant that, in the here. Nevertheless, it has little value in terminology of the Zone System, you its original intended way, which was not chose your important tone and placed it simply to place a key tone in a particular in a particular zone. All the the other tones zone and then see how the other tones then fell into various zones. If that created would fall, but rather to then adjust the a problem, such as shadow areas that exposure and processing if needed. This were too dark (in too low a zone), you was perfectly possible with a single sheet would adjust the development to expand of black-and-white film, usually impractical or compress the contrast. This adjustment with a roll of film, and pointless with of contrast through development is digital capture. meaningless for digital photography. That said, it is a useful way of assessing It was also meaningless for most 35mm scenes and images. This is all to the good, or roll-film shooting, as the altered as I suspect that many photographers development would affect every other believe anyway that it is just a tool for frame, and was designed for sheet film. analysis, and either skip or have never Now, as all of this is unnecessary in heard of its practical use in developing digital photography where the processing a negative. It’s worth reviewing this in tools are much more sophisticated and order to put the Zone System in proper flexible, it remains to treat the Zone System perspective for digital shooting. The basic as an evaluation system. In this, it continues procedure involved first measuring the to shine. The table opposite is crucial range of brightness in the scene, then because it assigns meaning to tones. And choosing a key tone, then seeing how while every tone has some importance, everything else would reproduce relative certain zones are typically critical, to that key tone, and then making the particularly Zones III (textured shadow), 166 exposure in anticipation of pushing or V (mid-tones), and VII (textured brights). The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 167

brightest acceptable highlight. Solid white, 255,255,255 in RGB. Acceptable for specular highlights the white point goes here. In digital photography, only. Textured Shadow. A key zone in many scenes and images. Texture A key zone in many scenes and images. Texture Shadow. Textured the folds and weave of a and detail are clearly seen, such as dark fabric. landscapes. shadow value, as in dark foliage, buildings, Typical an 18% gray card. mid-gray, Mid-tone. The pivotal value. Average, Dark skin, light foliage. Caucasian skin, concrete in overcast light, shadows on Average snow in sunlit scenes. concrete. Brights. Pale skin, light-toned and brightly lit Textured photography, digital In colors. light obviously other and pinks, Yellows, the point at which detail can just be seen in highlights. the The last hint of texture, bright white. In digital photography, Solid, maximum black. 0,0,0 in RGB. No detail. In digital photography, No detail. In digital photography, Solid, maximum black. 0,0,0 in RGB. the black point goes here. No discernible texture. In digital Almost black, as in deep shadows. almost solid black. photography, Mysterious, only just visible. In First hint of texture in a shadow. the point at which detail begins to be digital photography, distinguished from noise.

ZONE VII ZONE VIII ZONE IX ZONE IV ZONE V ZONE VI ZONE II ZONE III ZONE 0 ZONE I I II 0 V III An alternative version of the Zone System has 11 zones instead of the ten shown here, and yet another has zones instead of the ten shown here, of the Zone System has 11 An alternative version with an added texture. here, one of solid tones, the other show two versions of the scale nine. Note that we and so easier to judge. closer to the reality of a scene, holds that textured zones are One school of thought THE ZONES IX VI IV VII VIII Digital Zone System

In this image, of the Temple of Luxor at examples are not strictly necessary, but sunrise, we can make an initial at-a-glance included here to avoid any confusion), the assessment. For me, this would be that the dedicated Zone System photographer can overall range of sunlit sandstone should then hold it at arm’s length against the be lighter than a mid-tone, simply on the scene, and try to match key zones on the grounds that the eye expects a certain scale to those in the scene. degree of brightness from clear sunlight. This procedure is represented here. Also, the sky needs to be a touch less than My first concern has to do with the pure white—there would certainly be no shadows, because while the mid-tones excuse for clipping it to blank white. Also, in general will need to be fine-tuned, they all the shadow areas other than the very can more or less take care of themselves deepest small ones should “read,” with in any reasonable exposure. As the statue discernible detail. is the first focus of attention, the shadow In many situations, this is all that there areas below the knees and on the side of is time for, but assuming that the camera the face, assume a particular significance. is framed and locked down, and nothing I want them to read, but not obviously. unexpected is about to happen, we can From the zone scale assessment, they assess further in the true Zone System should be somewhere between Zone II–III. manner. To simplify matters, I’ve converted Next, we can check the sunlit areas the scene into a version in which each of sandstone. Moving the scale over them, solid block of tone is approximately one we can see that they cover three f-stops stop different to the next lighter or darker of tone. Because they are lit by sharp tone. Note that at this stage (supposed to sunlight, I think they should overall appear be at the time of setting up the camera), brighter than average in the final version, the actual values are not set and can be so a reasonable and safe way of deciding shifted higher or lower. Later, digitally, they this is to find the darkest area of sunlit can also be changed relative to each other stone and place that at Zone V. With this during processing, an action that was not decision taken, all the other zones fall anticipated by the inventors of the Zone into place satisfactorily. The Zone System System, and which invalidates the system proves useful in analyzing the scene and as a practical processing tool (though not reaching this decision, but were there as an evaluation tool). to be any relative adjustments, such as The classic procedure is to have already raising a shadow area without raising made and printed your own zone scale, everything else, I would do it with any of from solid black to pure white. This is the several digital procedures that we’ve easy enough to do with a digital printer, looked at already; the Zone System would although achieving a dense black is a have no part to play in this. This image was challenge. Armed with this scale (the chosen, naturally, for its not needing any 168 numbers printed on it shown in the special processing. The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 169

BLOCKS into For convenience, the scene translated blocked-in segments. FINDING 2 Looking for Zone V—mid-tones. FINDING 1 Finding Zones II to III. the focus of attention falling on the sunlit areas of stone, notably the seated figure. ZONING at sunrise, a full-range scene with of Luxor The Temple BRIGHTNESS SEGMENTS At the chosen exposure, these are the brightness measurements for the average of each segment.

ZONES Above right: The brightness of each segment translated into numbered zones.

ORIGINAL IMAGE 170 For reference. The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 171

EXPOSURE RAISED EXPOSURE Exposure raised by one stop from the default. pagodas, and is about one zone (one stop) darker than zone (one stop) and is about one pagodas, it as we would expect white, which is the highest brights.” In the default Rawto be: Zone VII—“textured Photoshop, the highest white is aboutprocessing using raising than it needs to be. However, half a stop darker whitesthese stop shows how fragile the exposure by one loss of highlight detail, withare—there is a serious in the if instead we raise the contrast clipping. However, and brightness leaving the exposure Raw processor while in one stroke just the right whitealone, we achieve highlight and an expanded separation.

The default conversion of the color original. DEFAULT is the light shadow that appears on the far left of theis the light shadow This tone also left-hand pagoda, just below the center. and right rows ofappears in the middle of the center photograph, and from the Zone System needs to be Zone the Zone System needs to be photograph, and from tone texture.” The next most important VIII—“last hint of image is a key skill, and Zone System thinking canimage is a key skill, inexample of whitewashed pagodas help here. In this white is the key tone in the Burma, the sunlit Mandalay, the highlights are critical in many, maybe most, images. critical in many, the highlights are the top values in an accurately assessing Certainly, KEY BRIGHTS to light, linear response of digital sensors’ Because black-and-white conversion. MAXIMUM CONTRAST MAXIMUM Maximum contrast applied to the default HDR in Black & White

igh Dynamic Range photography Capture H(HDR) has rapidly achieved a Capturing a full range of brightness popularity way beyond early expectations. means keeping the camera completely The original techniques were invented still, ideally locked down on a sturdy as a means of capturing the full range tripod. Nevertheless, HDR creation of tones in scenes containing both deep software is nowadays good enough to shadows and the light source itself (for be able to deal with slight movements example, the sun). The results can be between frames, (and copes with small anything from naturalistic to surreal, and areas of moving objects through a process it is this range of possibility that attracts known as “deghosting”). so many photographers. The ideal spacing of exposure settings First, the basics. High Dynamic Range between frames is two stops, but don’t simply means a higher range of brightness worry if you’re camera’s automatic than a normal camera can handle, and bracketing goes no higher than one involves scenes that can be captured in stop—the important thing is shoot the their entirety only by taking a sequence of number of frames necessary to capture frames at different exposure settings, and the full brightness range. Aim for the then combining them. A high-end digital following: the darkest exposure shows SLR has a dynamic range of around 14 no highlight clipping—but only just— stops, while an into-the-sun shot is more while the lightest exposure should have likely to have a range in excess of 20 stops. the darkest shadows as mid-tones. In practical HDR photography there Provided that you use the camera’s are three steps. First is capture, using a on-screen highlight clipping warning and sequence of shots. Second is combining the histogram, calculating the settings is this sequence of images into a single HDR easy. Remember, though, that the only image file that contains all the brightness adjustment to the exposure settings levels, more than can possibly be seen on required is to the shutter speed, not the a standard monitor or in a print. Step three aperture, because this will change depth is a software process of compressing all of field and so interfere with registering this information into a viewable form— the images later. in other words, an 8- or 16-bit image. This If you’re working manually, begin with last step is the most demanding and most the darkest exposure. A couple of trial- varied, and involves a software processing and-error shots should get you to the procedure called “tone mapping.” More on exposure. Find the setting at which there this in a moment, but interestingly, tone is just a tiny amount of highlight clipping mapping can also be applied to regular, warning, then reduce by 1/3 or 1/2 stop non-HDR image files, with equally from there. This sets one end point of the interesting results. sequence. For the second shot, open up by 172 The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 173

and take some precautions to minimize minimize to precautions some take and whatever use tripod, a Without movement. supportand to find can you surface auto- camera’s the Use brace. you help bracketing,mode shooting the set and possible. rate frame highest the to HDR THEATER A fully processed shot of this theater creates a picture with detail to explore everywhere. is this and movements, slight with cope knocks minor for net safety a just not possible it makes also it tripod; the of careful are you handheld—if shoot to

That is all there is to it. As mentioned, As it. to is there all is That most HDR software today has content- has today software HDR most usually can that algorithms recognition frame to have no blacks whatsoever, and whatsoever, blacks no have to frame mid-tones. as appear to tones darkest the common mistakes is not continuing the continuing not is mistakes common last the want You enough. far sequence If in doubt, over shoot, as you can always always can you as shoot, over doubt, in If most the of One later. frames delete sequence until the left-hand edge of the of edge left-hand the until sequence scale. the of middle the in is histogram shots, keep the histogram displayed on displayed histogram the keep shots, the continue and screen, camera’s the until the on-screen image looks almost looks image on-screen the until later these For overexposed. completely example, from 1/500 to 1/125 second. second. 1/125 to 1/500 from example, frame, subsequent each with same the Do two stops on the shutter speed, for for speed, shutter the on stops two Generating the HDR File There are now several software applications that will accomplish HDR file merging, and each one has its particular method, but for simplicity we will stick to three popular ones: Photomatix Pro, HDR Efex Pro, and Photoshop’s Merge to HDR Pro. From the user’s point of view, Adjustments- _MG_9582.tif merging the source images is the simplest Process: Tone Mapping Exposure Fusion step in the operation and needs little or Method: Details Enhancer no intervention. Choosing the option to PHOTOMATIX Strength 100 align images takes longer, but is safer. Photomatix is one of If there was movement in the scene, and Color Saturation 50 the best-selling HDR if the option is available, choose to remove Luminosity +6.0 programs. Its local tone-mapping operator, it. Once the merging to HDR is complete, Detail Contrast +6.0 Details Enhancer, gives you will have a single file with 32 bits per Lightning Adjustments Medium Natural Surreal excellent control. channel instead of the usual 8 or 16 bits. Lightning Effects Natural+ Surreal+ ✓ Even within this one It is, of course, impossible to view this Hide More Options Smooth Highlights 38 application, however, range of detail on a normal 8-bit monitor, there are many different and it will look unpleasantly contrasty, but White Point 0.500% effects, according to this is irrelevant. A good step here is to Black Point 0.030% Strength, Luminosity, and save the image in one of the available Gamma 1.00 Lighting Adjustments in particular. The five distinct HDR formats. For most purposes, it does Temperature 0 Lighting Adjustments not matter what you choose, but the most Hide Advanced Options settings have the greatest common is Radiance (.hdr), and the most Micro-smoothing 3.0 effect on the realism of economical in file size is Open EXR (.exr). Saturation Highlights 0 the image; the setting It is not essential to save the HDR image, Saturation Shadows 0 chosen here gives

and you can instead proceed directly to Shadows Smoothness 0 excellent recovery of

the third step, tone mapping. However, Shadows Clipping 0 detail, contrast, and structure in the cloud, if you are likely to want to revisit the 360° image and especially in the HDR for an alternative tone mapping, you Reset: Default would then need to go through the HDR Presets: Default shafts of light spreading Save and Re-import out from the top. generation again. In this case, saving the HDR can save time. The most accurate HDR generation is, as you might expect, directly from Raw images, and this is always recommended. However, if you are aiming for a black-and- 174 white HDR result, you are likely to find The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 175 Import Classic Vintage 08 Structures Skies 11 Monochrome, Co... 12 Monochrome, Soft 13 The Old Cottage 09 Vibrant Textures 10 Vibrant Details &... All Modern Favorites Add Preset Preset Categories HELP SETTINGS place Control Points anywhere on the preview image and make localized adjustments place Control Points anywhere on the preview image and make localized to brightness, contrast, structure, and so on. Pro offers a good level of control, and, also like Photomatix, numerous presets. Pro offers a good level of control, and, also like Photomatix, numerous which allows users to U-Point adjustment technology, Unique to Efex Pro is Nik’s HDR Efex Pro is another popular HDR program, more recent than Photomatix. HDR Efex Pro is another popular HDR program, more recent than Photomatix. Photomatix HDR Developed by the successful software company Nik, Efex Pro, like HDR EFEX PRO that you have more creative control if you a pleasing or realistic result. All of the convert the Raw images to monochrome useful tone-mapping operators, as the before tone mapping. The alternative, software is called, employ a method to going all the way through the process in take into account the local neighborhoods color and then finally converting to black in an image. For example, the extremely and white, is perfectly viable, but the bright edges of a backlit cloud are likely creative choices during tone mapping are to need a different scale of compression quite different between color and black than the shadows under a dark tree. The and white. The easiest way is to convert solution, mathematically complex, is the Raw sequence to monochrome in a called “local tone mapping,” and involves Raw editor before exporting to the tone- calculations that search around each pixel mapping software. to see what tones its neighbors have. It’s possible to spend a great deal Deghosting of time and energy getting to grips with Once merging is complete and before the details of tone mapping, but knowing proceeding to tone mapping, you may more does not necessarily help in what is need to run a deghosting algorithm to for most photographers a mainly creative address any issues of objects moving process in experimenting with effect. Each between frames. Depending on the tone-mapping program has its own quirks software you’re using this may be fully and procedures, so familiarity with results or semi-automated, but should always be is actually more useful than an in-depth straightforward. Results vary between understanding of the mathematics applications, but are improving all involved, which can be very involved the time. at any rate. One of the characteristics of HDR tone Tone Mapping mapping is a kind of halo around the This is where all the work, and the fun, border between strong contrasting tones, takes place. The algorithms, however, are such as a roofline against a bright sky. complex and vary greatly from software The width of the halo can usually be to software. It helps to have some degree adjusted with the tone-mapping controls, of understanding of what goes on in tone and making the width high is one way of mapping in principle. This is the stage reducing its appearance. Essentially, in the procedure in which the software haloing is a failure of the software to attempts to squeeze the huge dynamic recognize and deal with sharp tonal range in the HDR image into a much boundary edges; from a purist point of smaller bit depth so that it can actually be view, this is a fault. However, from the viewed in a normal way, on a screen or in a point of view of creative interpretation, print. Simply compressing all the tones haloing can produce effects that many 176 toward the middle equally will not produce people like. The issue is contentious, but The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 177 177 73 px -79 % 1.00 2.32 -2 % 1.20 30 % Corner 81 % Output

85 % Curve Edge Glow Edge Tone and Detail Mode: 16 Bit Local Adaption Remove ghosts Radius Strength Gamma Exposure Detail Shadow Highlight Input Preset: Default processing options. Compared with dedicated software, such as it still feels less intuitive and Photomatix and HDR Efex Pro, however, getting the result you want often seems to be a case of trial and error. on the source sequence. The more recent Merge to HDR Pro version is on the source sequence. The more recent Merge to HDR Pro version much improved and offers much more in the way of control and Previous versions of Photoshop’s tone-mapping command, Merge to HDR, Previous versions of Photoshop’s won few admirers. It lacked control and results were variable depending PHOTOSHOP CAPTURE SEQUENCE On a tripod, spaced two stops apart.

1/2 second, ƒ/22 2 seconds, ƒ/22 8 seconds, ƒ/22 30 seconds, ƒ/22

one of the interesting qualities of black out of many show the contrast between and white is that it can absorb haloing an approach geared to revealing detail better than color. A broad halo is, after all, and an approach aimed at reproducing simply a tonal gradient, and with color atmosphere (which includes the glow— removed from the equation this is by no actually flare—from the spotlighting). means always objectionable—even to people for whom a halo is an artifact.

Interpretation Tone mapping can be as much about skill, taste, and style as technicalities. With so many adjustable tools, and many quite different algorithms invented by software developers, there is no such thing as a standard procedure. In particular, each image has its own characteristics, and even experienced HDR users are unlikely to be able to predict exactly which settings will produce a desired result. Tone mapping calls for experimentation. In this example of a church interior (one of the classic 178 HDR picture situations), two versions The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 179 Concentrates on recovery of detail. on recovery Concentrates VERSION 2 a more This version balances detail with feeling. photographic, flare-and-shadow VERSION 1 VERSION Tone Mapping without HDR

he tone-mapping procedures that are Probably the most-used tone- Tso necessary when shooting HDR can mapping method is Adobe Photoshop’s also be applied to ordinary, non-HDR Shadows/Highlights adjustment. This images, and we can treat it as its own method is radius-based and allows form of post-prouction. lightening and contrast control of In fact, tone mapping has crept into shadows, darkening and contrast control most processing software suites, although of highlights, together with contrast it is not always identified as such. The adjustment of the mid-tones in between value is that it offers a different kind these two zones. While I have no intention of control for recovering detail and for of giving a tutorial on this method here adjusting contrast in local areas of (there are other sources for that), it is brightness or shadow. Just how these worth promoting an exploration of effects compare with the classic curve- what it can do as part of the post- based methods deserves experimentation, production workflow. not least because aggressive use of tone- But there are also ways of using HDR mapping produces artificial-looking tone mapping. The starting point is to images that may seem to lack traditional export a single Raw file from your Raw “photographic” qualities. converter to an HDR application.

Shadows Shadows/Highlights Shadows 1. Amount: Strength of lightening, Amount 8% modest here 2. Tonal Width: 30% 1 tonal width extends lightening to Tonal Width 76% this shade of gray 3. Radius: High 2 radius because shadow areas are

Radius 54px extensive 4 Highlights 5 Highlights 6 4. Amount: Strength of darkening, Amount 35% just a little, otherwise highlights would be flat5. Tonal Width: Width

Tonal Width 7% covers just the torso tones 6. Radius: Lower radius for 3 7 Radius 30px highlights because their extent is less than that of the shadows Adjustments Adustments 8 Color Correction +20 7. Color Correction: No color correction needed for

Mid-tone Contrast +52 monochrome 8. Mid-tone Contrast: 3 A slight amount of increased Black Clip 0.01% 180 White Clip 0.01% contrast to the middle grays The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 181

Enhancer, quite a different look is created, which is less quite a different look Enhancer, “photographic” and has more local detail visible. DETAILS ENHANCER DETAILS Details local tonemapping operator, Using Photomatix’s With shadows opened, torso highlights moderated, and highlights moderated, opened, torso With shadows of contrast in the mid-tones in between.a slight increase background has been kept rich. The base shadow to TIFF 16-bit a convert Alternatively HDR the of one in it save then and 32-bit if fact, In Radiance. as such formats, the simply Photoshop, within stay you to access you gives 32-bit to conversion algorithms tone-mapping Photoshop the The mode. 16-bit to return you when TIFF processed a uses here example OpenEXR to Photoshop in converted Photomatix. in mapped tone then and THE FINAL IMAGE THE FINAL “Normal” processing was used in this photograph taken in a ruined Khmer temple in Banteay Chhmar. STANDARD CONVERSION STANDARD Adding Tints

rom very early in the history of All of these are easily reproduced Fphotography, it was realized that digitally, either by manipulating bathing the developed print in certain individual channel curves, or by taking chemical solutions could do two things: advantage of the presets that several improve the stability of the image and/ processing applications offer. A further or add a colored tint. development is “split-toning,” which For the purpose of adding a tint, chemically could be the result of a wide toning was generally used according range of processes, including imperfect to how the printer (very frequently the fixing. Typically, contrasting tints, such as printer was also the photographer) felt yellowish against bluish, are present in the the image would respond. same image, most usually split according Sepia, selenium, gold, and platinum to density. Thus, the shadow areas can toners were the most widely used. Each be one tint, the highlights another. Again, worked by replacing the metallic silver this can be done digitally by using present in the print (which gave black) curves or making alternate highlight and with another compound or metal. Sepia shadow selections, or by using split- toning uses a sulfide compound; selenium toning sliders in some processing converts silver to silver selenide, with a red- software. brown to purple-brown effect depending on the strength; platinum and gold are TWO VERSIONS OF SPLIT-TONING metal replacements, with gold giving a Contrasting hues are applied to darker and lighter areas blue-black tint. using the plugin Silver Efex Pro.

182 The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 183 37 34 60 246 +85

Split Toning Shadows Highlights Hue Hue Balance Saturation Saturation

PHOTOSHOP DUOTONE PHOTOSHOP Duotone command features a staggering Photoshop’s some of which are, number of presets to choose from, here. And if none strictly speaking, tritones, as shown of the presets is right for your image, you can choose your own colors and even determine how they display in the image by using a Curves adjustment. OK OK Cancel Cancel ✓ Preview ✓ Preview Duotone Options Duotone Options Black PANTONE 527 CVC Black PANTONE 165 CVC PANTONE 457 CVC Custom BI 165 red orange 457 brown : : Overprint Colors... Overprint Overprint Colors... Overprint Ink 4: Ink 2: Ink 3: Type: Duotone Ink 1: Ink 4: Ink 3: Ink 1: Ink 2: Type: Tritone Preset Preset shadows meet using the Balance slider. shadows meet using for the highlight and shadow regions, and set the saturation for each. and shadow regions, and set the for the highlight highlights and also adjust the point at which In addition, you can LIGHTROOM SPLIT TONING LIGHTROOM a separate color you to choose pane allows Split Toning Lightroom’s Old Process Effects

ne of the services that digital was despised. These are both, however, Ophotography and broadband sharing matters of judgment, and I don’t intend has performed has been to stimulate to pass mine here. The argument for interest in all aspects of photography. simulating old processes is that these Now more than ever there are revivals historical techniques threw up styles of old photographic processes—or at least of imagery that were interesting in in their visual effect if not in the actual themselves, and that digitally we now processing. While the goal of most digital have the opportunity to learn what caused photographic technology is perfection of them, and to recreate them—the visual image quality, processes like the cyanotype result rather than the process. and the calotype offer atmospheric Processing software and plugins have qualities that for some photographers preset effects, and applications such as have more resonance. Lightroom, Silver Efex Pro, and even HDR The whole question of simulation Efex Pro, among others, have between is a disputed one. The objections tend them a good selection of these old effects. to fall into two camps: one, that simply These are displayed here. approximating an effect by digital manipulation is false, and two, that it veers toward pictorialism, which for a large part SILVER EFEX PRO’S ANTIQUE PLATE II of the American history of photography Featuring fading, vignetting, and discoloration.

184 The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome

CREATIVE CHOICES 185

Despite the faded Despite the faded LIGHTROOM’S LIGHTROOM’S PHOTO AGED left: level tones retains a good of detail. Another Lightroom preset, this time recreating the SEPIA PRESET above: famous sepia toning that has an enduring quality.

Successfully produces the blue tones that Like its cousins edges and vignetting. right: Antique Plate II, this also exhibits fading HDR EFEX’S COLORS VINTAGE were closely associated with this once popular process. LIGHTROOM’S CYANOTYPE PRESET LIGHTROOM’S CYANOTYPE above: Glossary

ADJUSTMENT LAYER BLOWN OUT CLIPPING A layer in a Photoshop image Containing no detail, usually An absence of detail in image that adjusts the appearance referring to overexposed parts areas because the brightness of layers beneath it, and keeps of an image. values record either complete editing adjustments separate black or pure white. from image data. BRACKETING A method of ensuring a correctly CMOS (COMPLEMENTARY ALPHA CHANNEL exposed photograph by taking METAL-OXIDE A grayscale version of the three shots; one with the SEMICONDUCTOR) image that can be used with supposed correct exposure, An alternative sensor technology to the color channels for saving one slightly underexposed, the CCD, CMOS chips are used in a mask or selection. and one slightly overexposed. ultra-high-resolution cameras from Canon and Kodak. APERTURE BRIGHTNESS The opening behind the camera The level of light intensity. One of CMYK (CYAN, MAGENTA, YELLOW, KEY) lens through which light passes the three dimensions of color in the on its way to the image sensor HSB color system. See also Hue The four process colors used for (CCD/CMOS). and Saturation printing, including black (key).

COLOR GAMUT ARTIFACT BYTE A flaw in a digital image. Eight bits. The basic unit of desktop The range of color that can be computing. 1,024 bytes equals one produced by an output device, BACKLIGHTING kilobyte (KB), 1,024 kilobytes equals such as a printer, a monitor, The result of shooting with a light one megabyte. or a film recorder. source, natural or artificial, behind COLOR TEMPERATURE the subject to create a silhouette or CCD (CHARGE-COUPLED rim-lighting effect. DEVICE) A way of describing the color A tiny photocell used to convert differences in light, measured in BIT (BINARY DIGIT) light into an electronic signal. Used Kelvins and using a scale that The smallest data unit of binary in densely packed arrays, CCDs are ranges from dull red (1900 K), computing, being a single 1 or 0. the recording medium in most through orange, to yellow, white, digital cameras. and blue (10,000 K). BIT DEPTH CONTRAST The number of bits of color data CHANNEL for each pixel in a digital image. Part of an image as stored in The range of tones across an A photographic-quality image needs the computer; similar to a layer. image, from bright highlights eight bits for each of the red, green, Commonly, a color image will to dark shadows. and blue channels, making for a bit have a channel allocated to each

depth of 24. primary color (e.g. RGB) and CROPPING sometimes one or more for The process of removing unwanted BLENDING MODE a mask or other visual effects. areas of an image, leaving behind The calculation that controls how the most significant elements. one Photoshop layer is composited 186 with another. Digital Monochrome The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices 187

A map of the distribution of tones in an image, arranged as a graph. The horizontal axis goes from the darkest tones to the lightest, while the vertical axis shows the number of pixels in that range. by fine dust, high humidity, or by fine dust, high humidity, pollution. Haze makes a scene paler with distance, and softens the hard edges of sunlight. RANGE HDRI (HIGH DYNAMIC IMAGING) A method of combining digital images taken at different exposures to draw detail from areas which would traditionally have been over or underexposed. This effect is typically achieved using a Photoshop plugin, and HDRI images can contain significantly more information than can be rendered on screen or even perceived by the human eye. HISTOGRAM GRADATION GRADATION of one The smooth blending or from another, tone or color into in a tint. transparent to colored for instance, filter, A graduated lens one side, fading might be dark on to clear on the other. GRAYSCALE An image containing pixels with brightness value only on a black-and-white scale, and with no color data. HAZE The scattering of light by particles in the atmosphere, usually caused

image, expressed as the steepness of the characteristic curve of an image. FRINGE In image editing, an unwanted border effect to a selection, where the pixels combine some of the colors inside the selection and some from the background. GAMMA A measure of the contrast of an The range over which a camera or The range over which a camera or lens is able to focus on a subject (for example, 0.5m to infinity). FOCUS The optical state where the light rays converge on the film or CCD to produce the sharpest possible image. selected pixels for some kind of visual effect. FOCAL LENGTH The distance between the optical center of a lens and its point of focus when the lens is focused on infinity. FOCAL RANGE aperture diameter, expressed as aperture diameter, etc. ƒ/2.8, ƒ/4, ƒ/5.6, FILTER transparent (1) A thin sheet of material placed over a camera lens or light source to modify the quality or color of the light passing through. (2) A feature in an image-editing application that alters or transforms F-STOP F-STOP length to the The ratio of the focal DPI (DOTS PER INCH) DPI (DOTS The standard measure of resolution. lighten part of an image. A photographic darkroom and digital image-editing technique to recorded by a device. DODGE The minimum density—that is, the brightest tone—that can be by a device. DMIN (MINIMUM DENSITY) The maximum density—that is, the darkest tone—that can be recorded and softboxes. DENSITY) (MAXIMUM DMAX cloud cover, and can also be cloud cover, simulated using diffusion sheets resulting in a softening of the light resulting in a softening of the light and any shadows cast. Diffusion occurs in nature through mist and DIFFUSION material, by a light The scattering of program, for entering settings to complete a procedure. DIALOG BOX BOX DIALOG part of a An on-screen window, in which the scene remains in acceptable sharp focus. The distance in front of and behind The distance in front the point of focus in a photograph, DEPTH OF FIELD DEPTH OF FIELD In Photoshop, a method of mapping In Photoshop, a method values to the pixels’ brightness are output. value at which they CURVES CURVES HSB (HUE, SATURATION, LUMINOSITY PIXEL (PICTURE ELEMENT) BRIGHTNESS) The brightness of a color, The smallest units of a digital The three dimensions of color, independent of the hue image, pixels are the square screen and the standard color model, or saturation. dots that make up a bitmapped used to adjust color in many picture. Each pixel carries a specific image-editing applications. LUX tone and color. A scale for measuring illumination, HUE derived from lumens. It is defined PLUGIN The pure color defined by position on as one lumen per square meter, or In image-editing, software the color spectrum; what is generally the amount of light falling from a produced by a third party, intended meant by “color” in lay terms. light source of one candela one to supplement a program’s features meter from the subject. or performance. INTERPOLATION The addition or deletion of pixels MASK PPI (PIXELS PER INCH) when Photoshop resizes an image. In image editing, a grayscale A measure of resolution for a template that hides part of an bitmap image. ISO image. One of the most important An international standard rating for tools in editing an image, it is PROCESSOR film speed, with the film getting used to limit changes to a particular A silicon chip containing millions of faster as the rating increases. ISO area or protect part of an image microswitches, designed for 400 film is twice as fast as ISO 200, from alteration. performing specific functions in a and will produce a correct exposure computer or digital camera. with less light and/or a shorter MID-TONE exposure. However, higher-speed The parts of an image that are RAW FILES film tends to produce more grain in approximately average in tone, A digital image format, known the exposure, too. falling midway between the sometimes as the “digital highlights and shadows. negative,” which preserves higher JPEG (JOINT PHOTOGRAPHIC levels of color depth than traditional EXPERTS GROUP) MONOCHROME 8 bits per channel images. The Pronounced “jay-peg,” a system Describes an image that uses image can then be adjusted in for compressing images, developed shades of only one color. software—potentially by three as an photographic industry stops—without loss of quality. standard by the International NOISE The file also stores camera data Standards Organization. Random pattern of small spots including meter readings, aperture on a digital image that are settings and more. In fact, each LAYER generally unwanted, caused camera model creates its own kind In image editing, one level of an by non-image-forming of Raw file, though leading models image file separate from the rest, electrical signals. are supported by software like allowing different elements to be Adobe Photoshop. edited separately. PERIPHERAL An additional hardware device LUMENS connected to and operated by the A measure of the light emitted by a computer, such as a drive or printer. 188 light source, derived from candela. Digital Monochrome The Black & White Tradition Creative Choices 189 A digital camera control used to balance exposure and color settings for artificial lighting types. A file format for bitmapped images. A file format for RGB, and It supports CMYK, with alpha channels, grayscale files and it can color, and lab, indexed compression. It is use LZW lossless now the most widely used standard for good-resolution digital photographic images. WHITE BALANCE TIFF (TAGGED IMAGE FILE IMAGE TIFF (TAGGED FORMAT)

The addition of one or more tones to a monochrome image. focus and composition. SPLIT TONE image via a mirror to the film and get ensuring that you viewfinder, exactly what you see in terms of SLR (SINGLE LENS REFLEX) A camera that transmits the same to light during an exposure SHUTTER SPEED The time the shutter (or electronic switch) leaves the CCD or film open for manipulation or movement. In image editing, a part of an on-screen image that is chosen and defined by a border in preparation SELECTION The purity of a color, going from the The purity of a color, lightest tint to the deepest, most saturated tone. SATURATION SATURATION The primary colors of the additive The primary colors of the additive model, used in monitors and image-editing programs. RGB (RED, GREEN, BLUE) GREEN, RGB (RED, inch (in a half-tone image, e.g. inch (in a half-tone 1200 dpi). The level of detail in a digital The level of detail in pixels (e.g. image, measured or dots per 1,024 by 768 pixels), RESOLUTION RESOLUTION Index

A CaptureOne 91, 106 Curves 96, 99 gamut 23, 34 ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) Cartier-Bresson, Henri 23, cyan slider 110, 118 GEO magazine 34 84, 86, 89, 96, 107, 130 25, 34, 38, 46 geometry 23, 32, 46, 136 adjacent colors 130–35 Caucasian skin 120–25, D global contrast 54, 150 adjustment layers 108 167 desaturation 68, 84, 106, grain/graininess 60–61, Adobe 86 channel mixing 48, 106, 116, 118, 121–26, 63–64, 74, 92 Aperture 90, 106 106, 108, 143 132, 143 graphic style 160 art history 10 chemistry 23, 42 detail 74, 152, 158, grayscale 9, 24, 107–10 artifacts 44, 74–75, 177 chromogenic film 64 167–68, 171, 174, green slider 118 cinematography 22 178, 180 grisailles 10 B clarity 96 dimensionality 42, 44 backlighting 175 classic S-curve 54, 102 documentary photography H balance 42 clipping 54, 67, 72–73, 22–23, 38 handheld shots 173, 177 banding 48, 74–75 82, 96–97, 100–101, dodging 92, 160 haze 84, 112, 114 bandwidth filters 106 110, 114, 116, 143, drama 23, 144, 146, HDR (High Dynamic Barnack, Oscar 22 148, 154, 158, 162, drawing 44 Range) 172–81 Basic Color filters 106 168, 171, 172, 177 DSLRs 88, 143, 172 High Contrast 114, basic processing 180 close-ups 160 dynamic range 60, 82, 96, 150–51, 164 Bayer array 20, 68, CMYK color 132 102, 172–81 high key 54, 121, 158, 140 collodion process 17 160–65 E bit depth 48, 74–79, 88, color blindness 104 highlights 54, 67, 70–72, edge lighting 136 92, 100, 172, 174–77, color cast 84, 120–23 96–97, 101–2, 110, editorial photographers 180 color circle 106, 130 130, 136, 143, 148, 34 black point 96–100, 154, color filters 106 171, 172, 180, 182 etching 10 158, 162 color proportions 104–5 histograms 71, 96–97, events photographers 26 black skin 120, 124–25 color subtraction 42–43 154, 158, 162, 172–75 exposure settings 172 blue slider 110, 112, color temperature 84, 86, Hollywood 23 114, 116 hot-mirror filter 82 112, 120, 202 F borrowed landscape hue adjustment 67, 82, color wheel 108–11 fashion shots 23 118 84, 92, 108–12, 112, colored filters 20, 67 fast film 61, 64 bracketing 172–75, 177 114, 118–21, 125–26, complementary colors 106 film emulation 92 brightness 50, 54, 60, 130, 136, 146, 150, 164 composition 23, 26, 30, film filters 106–7 67–68, 70–72, 88, 92, 46, 80, 148 film photography 9, 67, I 96, 100–101, 104, 110– compression effect 70 70–72, 74, 80, 82 infrared photography 13, 120–25, 132, 148, contrast 42, 44, 46, 54, filtering 68, 82, 106–7, 80–87 162, 166, 168, 171, 60, 64, 68, 70, 72, 74, 114, 142 inks 10, 30 172, 180 88, 92, 96, 100, 102, fine art 10–15 interpretation 54–59, 150, brown skin 120, 124 106, 110, 112–16, 118, flat-grain technology 61 177–80 burning 92, 160 125–26, 128, 132, 136, focus 82 ISO settings 74, 82, 166 143, 146, 150–53, 158, C foliage 118, 167 160, 162, 164, 166, J camera shake 172 frescoes 10 Control Point 92 Japan 30, 34, 160 Capa, Robert 38 cool colors 46 G JPEG images 71, 75, 88 Capture NX 92 190 cubic grains 61 gamma 70–71 The Black & White Tradition Digital Monochrome Creative Choices , , 74 , , , , 154 , 114 92 , 52 46 , 86 114 – 140 156 75 49 102 , 148 , , , – – 100 , 60 50 104 84 – , 93 96 , 48 92 110 46 – 172 83 152 96 44 , 84 – , , 88 112 42 168 21 73 174 162 180 130 , , 100 , – , – , 158 151 118 166 96 172 118 warm colors weather white balance white point wide-angle lenses workflow XYZ yellow slider Zone System tonal nuance tonal range settings tonal structure tonemapping 198 traditional frames tripods U U-Point Technology V vegetation volume W war photography , , , , , , , , 50 , , 130 184 , 74 , 150 82 84 104 143 , , 80 102 136 67 , 26 88 , , , , , , , , , , , , 54 42 , 152 30 25 , 64 112 92 80 84 , 84 167 47 , 71 –9v, –9v, 67 – 54 48 , , 71 , , , , , , 108 , – , 102 , 114 38 , , 22 92 , 68 , 61 97 74 74 67 112 82 64 46 – 54 120 , 158 34 72 48 – , , – , , , 114 160 142 , , 182 , , 72 , 24 , , 106 , 20 , 64 – 85 60 64 70 96 20 74 , 48 42 48 30 – , , , , 110 , 104 54 , 23 13 112 158 140 175 168 152 120 , 22 55 61 61 72 99 72 , , 100 , , , – , , , 20 182 – , , , – – – 84 52 92 70 106 146 92 108 60 168 148 110 150 60 104 70 121 texture TIFF images tints tonal compression skin software spectrum speed split-toning sports photography structure studio shots sunlight sunrise/sunset T research 198 resolution reversals of brightness reverse S–curve S S-curve sensitivity shadows side-lighting SilverEfex Pro skies , , , , , , 64 86 , 75 80 – 168 175 , 180 , , , , 180 71 104 86 112 , , – , , , , – , 33 54 106 104 , 84 120 , – 75 , 100 74 31 92 100 77 , 121 132 160 , 116 77 70 74 160 , 142 , – , – – , , , – , 108 108 – , , 48 30 118 , 75 , , 103 98 , 67 74 88 , 99 106 48 182 84 – , , – 168 130 180 130 158 174 , 118 , 114 174 , , 46 15 84 140 71 , , , , , , 96 114 – 96 84 72 96 96 71 44 160 23 9 , , , 92 – , , 164 108 154 108 128 150 171 114 91 75 92 38 , 108 , , 71 , , , 92 , 42 , – – , , – , 34 88 101 74 96 152 104 68 88 126 136 164 production 89 102 reportage photographers Raw images red slider reflectivity reflectors presence presets previews processing R Raw conversion Photoshop CS3 Photoshop CS4 plug-ins point portraits post-processing/post- P painting panchromatic film paper types perception perspective Photomatix Photoshop orthochromatic film orthochromatic film overcast conditions , , , 10 96 , – 162 , 92 49

180 59 , 42 , , – , , – 52 16 , 104 164 107 71 55 34 , , , 74 , 68 167 162 158 – , – 34 , 106 148 180 , – 150 , 158 46 , 70 142 120 , 89 , , 75 , 70 22 , 158 , 54 , 92 , 130 79 154 16 , 172 166 126 156 – 54 23 30 160 146 86 177 , 136 , , , 99 – 106 , 90 , , 74 148 , , 110 , 12 22 46 112 29 87 75 162 120 116 96 68 , – – , – 102 , , 67 22 , 42 128 184 158 172 96 112 114 orange slider old-process effects opposing colors O Nik Software Nikon NX noise N Niepce, Nicéphore midday mid–tones memory colors metering mid–point slider M memory cards low contrast low key local contrast LightRoom line linear capture lighting Levels Life magazine light probes Leica lettering landscapes Kodak L K Kodachrome Picture Credits

p11: Digital image 2010 © MOMA, New York/ Scala, Florence p22: Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images p24: © Condé Nast Archive/Corbis p29 & p31T: Library of Congress, Washington D.C. p63T: Courtesy of The Artist p145: © Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust/ Corbis p146: © Aperture Foundation, Inc., Paul Strand Archive p157: Ministry of Information Photo Division/ IWM/Getty Images

192192