Digital BW, The Print

As a long time film user, I lived and breathed the 6 step zone system.  Does anyone have any information on the details or mental changes needed for the 5 step digital zone, or how HDR can reproduce the 6 zone spread?  Even think pieces would be useful for me.

Thanks.

The most important thing to remember in digital is "expose for the
highlights, and 'develop' for the shadows". The exact opposite as it is
for film. Instead of exposing for the shadows and putting them on III,
expose for the highlights and put them on VII.

I'm trivializing it, of course, but I don't like HDR at all (whenever
I've seen it -- and indeed, that's the key, I don't *want* to see it),
so I prefer to choose my exposure more carefully when I first take the
photograph, rather than layer multiple photographs together.

Andrew

On 10/11/2009 04:48 PM, Iric S wrote:
>  
> 
> As a long time film user, I lived and breathed the 6 step zone system.
> Does anyone have any information on the details or mental changes needed
> for the 5 step digital zone, or how HDR can reproduce the 6 zone spread?
> Even think pieces would be useful for me.
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> 

-- 
http://andrewsharpe.com

On Oct 12, 2009, at 12:22 AM, Andrew Sharpe wrote:

> I'm trivializing it, of course, but I don't like HDR at all (whenever
> I've seen it -- and indeed, that's the key, I don't *want* to see it),
> so I prefer to choose my exposure more carefully when I first take the
> photograph, rather than layer multiple photographs together.

Many people feel that way. Multiple exposure HDR, as well as having a  
somewhat artificial look, also serves to limit photography in much the  
same way slow to set up large format cameras did: you tend to only  
shoot that which is not moving or changing. If you learn to work with  
single RAW exposures from a high dynamic range camera, the world of  
subject matter available to you is much, much larger. I'd suggest  
getting a SpyderCube to assist in your initial "zoning" choices.

When Richard Wolfson finally decided to take the leap into digital, he  
purchased a Canon full sensor camera, and arranged to spend a week or  
so in Santa Fe with me for his first shooting trip. I convinced him  
that, before that, he needed to do a day shoot to be sure he had the  
right equipment, bags etc, with him. So he came to Portland Maine and  
shot with me there. You could see him forming vistas, pondering  
perspective lines, and making all sorts of decisions before ever took  
the lens cap off. He looked as me like I was a lunatic as I did what I  
thought of as typical streets shooting, and kept my camera out after  
we went into a coffee shop, to shoot little still-lifes of things  
behind the counter, and a shot straight down on top of my latte, to  
catch the pattern they had created on it. Afterwards Richard thanked  
me, not just because it had pointed out some flaws in his packing  
plans, but because it had pointed out that these digital cameras were  
a not just a replacement for larger format landscape equipment, they  
were a Leica in the bargain, and could be used for so much more than  
just landscape photography.

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


  ----------



Datacolor
www.datacolor.com/Spyder3





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]