Digital BW, The Print

On Dec 21, 2009, at 9:08 PM, pr_roark wrote:

> With B&W I've always tended to increase contrast and do quite a bit  
> of dodging and burning.  I think this is contrary to the usual color  
> printing style and may make a difference in whether the automated  
> HDR approaches are useful to us.

We see in color, so color processing tends to be about making things  
like "right" or "realistic"... we don't see in B&W so we have the  
luxury of optimizing B&W files for artistic impact. Without the colors  
to carry the contrast role, that usually means increasing B&W global  
contrast, then localized contrast within the image, plus opening  
shadows (which we clogged with the contrast bump) and other related  
functions such as noise reduction.

Much of this is done with a digital paint brush, and makes us feel a  
bit more like artists. Replacing that handwork with HDR, which can  
produce a more automatic result that offers somewhat similar increases  
in local contrast with low noise, makes some photographers feel like  
they are losing the hand produced effect, and their personal skills  
are being replaced by automation. Not to mention that much (I'm  
tempted to say most) HDR work is overdone to a degree where it  
resembles nothing but overdone HDR work. You end up seeing, so to  
speak, the makeup on the girl, not the girl the makeup was supposed to  
enhance.

HDR restricts other forms of creativity as well, by demanding multiple  
originals, thus a tripod, and a frozen subject matter; reminiscent of  
the old masters of landscape (which can be a good thing, or  a bad  
thing, depending on what you do with it). HDR-like filters and tools  
are bringing that carbon-singed, soot-edged HDR look to single,  
handheld images as well, these days, for those who long for that  
effect in their less deliberate images.

C. David Tobie
Global Product Technology Manager
Digital Imaging & Home Theater
CDTobie@...


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