DPP Solutions: Proper Contrast In Black-And-White

Been struggling somewhat with a B&W image conversion tonight, stumbled on this article written by Rob Sheppard over at Digital Photo Pro Magazine.

Contrast is critical to a properly printed black-and-white image. There’s no color to define and structure a photograph. It all must be done in the monochrome tonalities from black to white.

Contrast is no simple thing. Ansel Adams spends a lot of time talking about it in his classic book, The Print. Early in the book, he makes a statement that’s quite appropriate to today’s digital photographer, “Some photographers stress extreme black and white effects with very strong print contrasts … [while] others work for a softer effect … their power lies in the ‘seeing’ and the balance of values.”

Adams goes on to say that some photographers use contrast for contrast’s sake, regardless of the needs of the subject or scene. His point is simply that contrast shouldn’t be an arbitrary tool, but that there’s an optimum contrast that comes from the vision of the photographer connected to the needs of the image.

Here’s my original conversion to B&W of the image I was working on tonight:

After reading the article, I really didn’t come up with much better… maybe I am on the right track.

Check out how to use Proper Contrast In Black-And-White over at Digital Photo Pro Magazine.

Tags: ansel adams, B&W, black and white, contrast, digital photo pro, dpp, magazine, rob sheppard, Tips

Ansel Adams Photographs - Records of the National Park Service

Stumbled upon this cool archive earlier today. I love Ansel Adams, he is one of my favorite photographers…

In 1941 the National Park Service commissioned noted photographer Ansel Adams to create a photo mural for the Department of the Interior Building in Washington, DC. The theme was to be nature as exemplified and protected in the U.S. National Parks. The project was halted because of World War II and never resumed.

Check out the photographs over at The National Archives. Be sure to check out The Ansel Adams Gallery as well.

Tags: ansel adams, national archives, national park service