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Henri cartier-bresson, the master of catching that decisive moment and Bill Brandt have always been two photographers whose work has fascinated me. Both photographers use composition and strong contrasts in their photographs to protray mood and atmosphere in a breathtaking way.

This use of contrast is something I’ve always aimed to produce in my own photographic work especially during my university years when I studied Photography as part of my course. I remember the opportunities that were opened up to me when I first started to realise the strength of the results that could be achieved in the darkroom by using traditional developing techniques such as choosing the type of paper grade, burning and dodging areas of the print during its exposure to produce rich darks and light focal points.

Following my university years and the lack of access to darkroom facilities my passion for taking black and white photography wained until soon after the purchase of my beloved Nikon D50. The digital age has brought with it the ability to instantly see the photograph’s you take. It allows you to then adjust settings, recompose and re-shoot the images. Transferring these photograph’s onto a computer, you can then manipulate the image as you would do in a darkroon.

I’ve found the computer an essential tool for producing the type of photographs I once loved to take, develop and print myself. Is it cheating I often ask myself, I feel like it is but then again I don’t think it is so. Technology is constantly developing and to avoid getting left behind you need to move with the times. There is no hiding from the digital age. It is here to stay.

Below is a photograph of mine which I took on Porthgwidden Beach, St.Ives in Cornwall. St. Ives was bathed in sunshine while across the bay there were thick, black rain clouds. The actual colour print I took was slightly underexposed as I had to shoot from the hip to capture the seagull as it flew past. Here is how I took this image and developed it digitally into a black and white masterpiece which I’m quite proud of.

Step1
In Photshop go to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate. This removes the colour information from the photgraph and gives you a plain grey version.

Step 2
Add a levels layer by clicking on the icon (the circle, half black, half white). Move the left slider to select your black point and then do the same with the right slider to select your white point. If need be move the centre slider to adjust the mid grey tone (gamma) do so. Click OK.

Step 3
Now click the half black/half white circle icon again and add a curves layer. Add two points evenly across the diagonal line and drag the left point down slightly the the right point up slightly. This will create a slight ’s’ curve. This will increase contrast further while keeping the mipoint fairly stable.

Step 4
Add another curves layer and add a point 2/3 of the way across then drag it down to make a steep curve. OK the dialog and then invert the mask.

Step 5
This is now your burn layer. Select the layer mask itself and by using a soft white paintbrush, paint in the areas you wish to darken.

Step 6
Add another curves layer (as per step 4) and do the oppposite of to produce your dodge layer for lighter areas.

Step 7
Sit back and admire the results.

Tags: D50, Nikon, Photography

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 18th, 2007 at 9:59 pm and is filed under Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.