I often receive requests to show some “before and after” images to help people understand how much of my work is done in camera and how much is done in Photoshop.  I’d say it’s generally about 50/50 but that can vary by image with some images almost ready right out of the camera and many requiring extensive processing in Photoshop.

Lone Man No. 20 is a good example of a 50/50 image.  As you can see, the image I started with and the final image are both quite similar and yet quite different.  The original shot has all of the important elements; the composition, the long exposure of the water, the clouds and the lone man, but it doesn’t have the dramatic effect of the final image.

Probably the first change you’ll notice in the final image is that the severe vignetting has been repaired.  I was shooting with an extremely wide angle lens and I had two stacked neutral density filters on my lens, as a result a great deal of the filter was included in the photograph.  To repair this I first cropped the image and then I used the clone tool to fill in the missing corners.

Next you’ll notice that the sky in the original image has very low contrast and is quite bland.  To bring out the sky detail I split the image into two halves, upper and lower, and converted them to b&w differently.  In each conversion I used Photoshop’s “Channel Mixer” but in the upper half I used some blue channel to improve the contrast and detail in of the sky.  Next I used some pretty aggressive dodging and burning to bring out the definition and detail in the clouds, this information was in the image but it was almost hidden to the eye.  As a rule you can generally recover image detail as long as you have not over-exposed the image to the point that you have blown out the highlights.

Note: one of the side-effects of using blue channel in the conversion and dodging and burning is that the image can get very grainy.  When using this technique you must carefully balance the good-effects with side-effects.

Next I converted the lower half of the image to b&w, darkened the image and greatly enhanced the contrast.  This dark and contrasty approach is the look that I like and it often has the effect of making daytime look like night time.  The March/April issue of Photo Technique Magazine featured an article on my work and they used the phrase “Darkness at Noon” to describe this look.

All of this produced a basic final image, but it still didn’t have the dramatic impact I was seeking and that I had pre-visualized before I captured the image.  So my final step was to dodge and burn to bring out the highlights and selectively darken blacks to locally enhance contrast.  As I did this I carefully monitored the histogram below:

This histogram shows that I have a good black and a good white, something your eye cannot always discern when looking at the image on the screen.  Monitors are often out of adjustment and our eyes can be fooled, but the histogram never lies.  People often complain to me that what looked good to them on screen, often prints flat and muddy.  Generally the problem is revealed in their histogram; they lack a “true” black and good contrast. 

As you can see from my final image, it does not represent reality.  Reality is not my goal but instead I strive create images that reflect how I see the scene through my vision.  That is why I advocate that photographers work just as hard on developing their vision, as they do on their technical skills and equipment.  The image begins and ends in your mind’s eye.

Here’s a video from the opening night of “The Ghosts of Auschwitz and Birkenau” at The CACHE Gallery of Photography.

View the Exhibition Opening

Cole

Dear Abby;

I’d like to get into digital photography, but I’m afraid.

Afraid because there seems to be so much to learn about Photoshop!  Profiles, curves, masks, adjustment layers, RIP’s, and etc.  I’ve been reading the manual for 4 hours a day for a month now and I still feel like I know very little.

Please help!  Signed “Reluctant in Rochester.”

~

Dear Reluctant;

I feel your pain!  Technology can be overwhelming and the size of the manuals today, Oy Vay!

But there’s good news, you don’t have to read the manual before you start using Photoshop and you certainly do not need to use all of it’s features to produce wonderful images.

My close friend and FANTASTIC photographer Cole Thompson (smile) says that he generally only uses the contrast tool, and dodging and burning.  He uses the same techniques in Photoshop that he used in the darkroom, it’s a very simple and effective approach.

In fact, a few years back Popular Photography did an article on him entitled The Photoshop Heretic.  They said of him:  “Cole Thompson breaks every rule in the book, but he makes digital black-and-white prints that will take your breath away.  Just don’t try this a at home.”  (I think they were just kidding about not trying this at home though)

An approach Cole favors is to just jump in and try something, and once you get stuck, then look up the answer.  He says that he only uses about 2% of Photoshop’s features anyway, so don’t be intimidated by all of them!

Go ahead, give it a try, it’s not as complicated as you think!

Signed, Abby Thompson

~

Click Here to Read the Photoshop Heretic

A friend recently wrote me and said that I had come a long way, and asked “What in retrospect could you share with me about your journey?”

My answer was:

1.  I stopped thinking like a photographer and started thinking like an artist.

2.  I quit looking at other photographer’s work; it lead to imitation and limited my imagination.

3.  I stopped listening to other’s advice on my work; it was sincere advice but it came from the perspective of their vision, not mine.

4.  I strove and am striving, to find my own style.

I am certain there will be those who disagree with these points,  but remember I do not offer them as advice, but only share what worked for me.

Cole

I just drove down to Las Cruces, NM for an exhibit of my work at the Preston Contemporary Art Center.  I was there for a week and had a fantastic time; the Preston Center is new and UNBELIEVABLY nice, the town is small, friendly and warm (it was 68 degrees one day) and it’s extremely affordable.

I had some good luck with my art while there and think I might have added a couple new images to my Harbinger series.  Above is an image I created of a Pecan orchard at dusk.

If you’d like to get away for a few days this winter, consider Las Cruces.  I think it’s about to be “discovered.”

Cole

I just returned from a trip to Southern California and Death Valley.  I created a few images and had the best luck in Death Valley.  I hadn’t been for years and what a treat to travel there in the low season, there were extremely few people and mild 70 degree days.  It was a treat!

The image above was taken at Zabrinski Point, perhaps the most photographed location in Death Valley.  I’ve seen photographs of the photographers at Zabrinski point and they are packed in like sardines waiting for the sunrise.  When I was there, there wasn’t a single soul there, photographer or otherwise.

What impressed me most about Death Valley is how time stands still there.  The tentative title of the image above is “Time No. 1″

More images are coming from this great trip, so watch for the newsletter.  If you’re not receiving it, you can read past issues or sign up HERE.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Cole

Well folks, it looks like this blog has evaporated into cyberspace.  Sorry about that!

Crista Dix at the Wall Space gallery in Seattle believes that great photographic art should be affordable.  And so she has assembled a great collection of limited edition art, at affordable prices.  This is from the Wall Space website:

55 artists from across the country are in the gallery this month. Discover creative work by new artists, each with a unique vision of photography. We wanted to provide an opportunity for new and established collectors, as well as aficionados of the photographic image to see and purchase new works at a price we can all afford.

Each of these creative images is priced under $200, a reasonable investment for anyone who loves top quality work from local and national artists who we think are creating really inventive, imaginative and uncommon works.

Limited creations – once in a lifetime images. Connect visually, emotionally. So many artists. So many ideas. Surround yourself with something beautiful that touches you. Challenge yourself, question your ideals. Look at it everyday and find something new. Collectible is art that fits. Fits your wall, your budget, your conscience.

Please visit Wall Space’s web site and take a look at these wonderful images.

View the “Collectible” collection.

Primordial Soup – Bullard’s Beach, OR – 2008

I consider this my best image from the Bandon, Oregon trip.  It’s a 30 second exposure of the ocean and a swirling pool caught on the beach.  When using long exposures, you have to try a variety to get that exact right look.

This was taken using my Canon 1Ds Mark III and using my Vari-ND 8 stop filter along with a stacked Mor-Slow 5 stop ND filter.  These 13 stops of Neutral Density (ND) allow me to shoot at 30 seconds under the brightest conditions.  There are many challenges however, including holding the camera still for that long and people walking into your image.

View the other Oregon images

This is the Angel Gabriel.  I met him on the Newport Beach pier as he was eating French Fries out of a trash can.  He was homeless and hungry.  I asked him if he would help me with a photograph and in return, I would buy him lunch.

The pier was very crowded and I wanted to take a 30 second exposure so that everyone would disappear except Gabriel.  We tried a few shots and then Gabriel wanted to mess up his hair and hold his bible.  The image worked and the only people you can see besides Gabriel are those “ghosts” who lingered long enough for the camera.

Gabriel and I then went into a restaurant to share a meal; he ordered steak with mushrooms and onions.  When it came, he ate it with his hands.  I discovered he was Romanian and so am I, so we talked about Romania.  He was simple, kind and a pleasure to talk with.

I asked Gabriel how I might contact him, in case I sold some of the photographs and wanted to share the money with him.  He said I should give the money to someone who could really use it; that he had everything that he needed.

Then the Angel Gabriel walked away, content and carrying his only two possessions: a Bible and a bed roll.