October 29, 2011

3

Editorial/Journalism, Gavin Seim, HDR Photography, Lighting, PPS Photography Tips, ProPhotoShow

Why You NEED the Zone System for Digital…

And How it Can Change Your Life in 15 Minutes.

by Gavin Seim: Original article from Gavin’s f164 journal. (updated 11/15/11).

This may be the most valuable piece I’ve written on photography. In the last year, I’ve started working with 4×5 film and digital side by side. I’ve also explored extensive exercises in tonal control, truly learned to visualize, and implemented key parts of the Zone System that was developed by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer, both in my film and my digital work, in color and black and white.

The idea of visualizing and using Zones is not promoted heavily today. It seems much of the industry, including many of its educators, arrived at digital and decided that the past 150 years of photographic knowledge were somewhat irrelevant. What I’m about to show you is not taught much, but understanding it WILL change your photography forever. I’m not kidding; once you get this, you’ll never see light the same way again. And I hope you’ll share it with others.

Sunsets Hidden Falls. Yosemite, 2010 - A general look at where I placed the scene elements in relation to the Zones. Each arrow leads to what I see as the zone on the scale.

I’m going to stay simple because these concepts are essentially simple. I have not come up with a new digital based zone system, a stripped down version, or an article full of nerdy equations, white papers, or complex systems. This is not hard, and you can start putting it to use TODAY for film or digital. Since most of us are in the digital world, I’ll focus on that. I’m going to show you how to use the core of the Zone System to make you a vastly better photographer. I’ve also brought along some examples for analyzing the Zones.

To those of you who already know this, kudos. But I challenge you to review and analyze whether you’re really using it, or just buzzing along in digital bliss and fixing things later. Excuse my bluntness, but this is happening to the best of us. We need to get back to basics, visualize, control tone, dynamic range, and image quality.

Originally, the Zone System was a complete approach that included everything from the initial exposure to the final print. Now we don’t use darkrooms much these days, so I’ll focus on the pivot point of the Zone System: the Zones themselves. That said, I would encourage you to study the whole process even if you don’t use film. It will help you gain a better understanding of light and photography. Not only that, but old books like Fred Picker’s Zone VI workshop, deal with it quickly and effectively and can often be had for mere pennies.

1. The Zone Scale.

The Zone Scale lies at the core of the Zone System. It consists of eleven squares that span from clipped black (Zone 0) to clipped white (Zone X). Each square represents a change of one stop. The first part of using Zones starts before you release the shutter. Truly visualizing your image is like nothing else. Once you master it, you see the image you plan to make, including your edits and refinements, in your mind before you ever take the photo. It changes everything about how you photograph and how refined the resulting images become.

Brilliantly simple, the Zone scale allows us to visualize all our light from complete black to complete white in one stop increments.

To begin, look at your scene. What’s outside your window right now? Visualize what zones in which the things around you fall. Then imagine you’re taking a photo. Imagine where the zones would be if the image came out exactly as you wanted. It does not have to be what you “see” but what you “visualize” for the finished image. How do YOU want to make it?

Think about what Zone levels on various objects in this scene would most complement your main subject as well as your supporting cast of elements. Sometimes it helps to begin by trying to visualize a scene in black and white, even if your final image is going to be color. Thinking in terms of only tones can be helpful, especially early on in the process.

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October 28, 2011

5

Gavin Seim, news, ProPhotoShow

A Camera Makes You a Photographer? the Panasonic Fail

by Gavin Seim: Panasonic seems to be making a statement with this ad they released earlier this year before infamous Nikon Page Fail. I’m seeing a pattern in the industry. The Lumix spot insults skilled photographers everywhere & mislead consumers into thinking skill and experience is irreverent as long a you have a good camera.

Perhaps it’s meant to be funny, perhaps it’s creatively done, but if you understand photography and how much work it took you to master it, I think you’ll know how insulting this this really is. But it’s not just this ad. It’s the whole mindset and it’s part of the attitude that is breaking down this industry. Watch it, then lets talk.

  • The photography world is inundated with the idea that experience is not necessary and it’s breaking it down. This promotes that and that promotes the idea that a photograph is of no value. Anyone can do it.
  • It’s not true. A great photographer cannot be clueless about how they made a photo or how their equipment works. That’s a snapshooter. Understanding shutter speed, aperture and beyond are the most basic essentials to consistent quality. People who don’t understand the basics often think it’s not critical because of marketing like this. They are wrong.
  • Photographers that have spent years and even decades mastering their craft are shown in this ad as irreverent. As if their saying “Those skills don’t matter as long as you own a good camera.
  • The man here is portrayed as doing a showcase to his peers. He’s the expert. Yet in the real world you won’t get accolades by snapping photos that are only as good as your camera can make them. Anyone can do that.
  • Great is no longer great when everyone else is doing it. A camera can have good quality, but without skill you just have quality snapshots. That’s what everyone else, including many so called pro’s, are making today.

So this is targeted consumers. What’s the big deal right? Wrong. This is also targeting would be photographer, but that aside this mindset is a big problem right now and it’s really hurting this industry. People are believing this stuff, and those that do are being mislead into thinking that a camera makes a photograph and not a photographer. Some have told me their are great photographers who have no idea how they make their images. I have yet to have one shown to me.

I know this is extreme, but imagine an ad for a scalpel that says “it’s so good, anyone can do surgery”. Imagine a world where everyone claimed to be a surgeon, airline pilot, etc and you did not even know how to find one that was actually experienced. Photographic skills have not really changed over the past 150 years. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you won’t make great images. You’ll just be making images like the droves other consumers and even pros who have bought into the idea that cool gear makes you good. The problem is, it’s not great when everyone else is doing it. That defies the meaning of the word. We need to Raise the Bar.

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October 25, 2011

0

beauty, f164, Fine Art, National Park, Nature, signature, silver

Song of a Dreary Day – Mount Rainier National Park

Song of a Dreary Day - Upper Tipsoo Lake, Mount Rainier National Park, Sept 2011, by Gavin Seim.

Mountains are something that never quite grow old. But they don’t always cooperate with my whims. Clouds and mists and empty skies,this was one of those days. Sort of.

We headed up the mountain around sunset. A group of photographers and I were out camping that weekend for an event I had organized. I was hoping for one of those radiant late summer sunsets, but not today. Oh, it’s beautiful and peaceful and all, but that does not mean the light was doing exactly what I wanted.

Still, even on the days that seem less than perfect, there is light. Light that has a subtle beauty all it’s own, especially if you catch it at the right time. Well, there was light on those peaks, and there were even dramatic clouds mixed in with that sky that at a glance appeared a bit boring. They kept peeking out as they blew past the peaks, and I waited for them. I think there was a song in that light after all.

Release details: Prints available. Contact the gallery. Learn more about prices. Available prints…

 

For photographers. How it was made…

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October 24, 2011

41

f164, journal, musings, technique

Why You NEED the Zone System for Your Photography!

And How it Can Change Your Life in 30 Minutes.

By Gavin Seim (updated 01/13) – This may be the most important piece I’ve written on photographics. Because no matter what you photograph, once you see in Zones, you’ll never see the same again. You’re on your way to truly mastering light.

I started photographic study when I was twelve. But in recent years I’ve started working with 4×5 large format film and digital side by side. I’ve explored endless exercises in tonal control, “truly” learned to visualize, and implemented the Zone System that was developed by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer, both in my film and my digital work, in color and black and white. Zones are the language of light and they’ve changed everything about how I see.

Master Zones & Exposure Dynamics – Get Gavin’s Workshop Series.

The idea of visualizing and using Zones is not promoted much today. It seems much of the industry arrived at digital and decided that the past 150 years of photographic knowledge were somewhat irrelevant. Maybe it’s that many never took the time to understand Zones to begin with. Which is a shame because it’s so brilliant. What I’m about to show you is not taught much, but understanding it WILL change your image making forever. I’m not kidding; once you grasp this, you’ll never see light the same again. You’ll probably want more after this, so check out the links at the bottom for further reading. Also you can get hands on in my annual 3 day Lights & Shadows workshop. And check out my video series, EXposed which gets deep into Zones. OK lets dig in.

Sunsets Hidden Falls. Yosemite, 2010 – A general look at where I placed the scene elements in relation to the Zones. Each arrow leads to what I see as the zone on the scale.

I’m going to stay simple because these concepts are simple. I’ve not come up with a new digital based zone system, a stripped down version, or an article filled with nerdy equations, white papers, or complex charts. This is not hard and you can start putting it to use TODAY. Since most of us are in the digital world, I’ll focus on that. I’m going to show you how to use the core of the Zone System to make you a vastly better photographer. I’ve also brought along some examples for analyzing said Zones.

To those of you who already know this, kudos. But I challenge you to consider whether you’re really using it, or just buzzing along in digital bliss and fixing things later. Excuse my bluntness, but this is happening to the best of us. We need to get back to basics and visualize, control tone, dynamic range, image quality and presentation

The Zone System was a complete approach that included everything from the initial exposure to the final print. Now we don’t use darkrooms much these days, so I’ll focus on the pivot point of the Zone System: the Zones themselves. That said, I would encourage you to study the whole process even if you don’t use film. It will help you gain a better understanding of photographics. Not only that, but old books like Fred Picker’s Zone VI workshop deal with it quickly and effectively and can often be had for mere pennies.

1. The Zone Scale.

The Zone Scale lies at the core of the Zone System. It consists of eleven squares that span from clipped black (Zone 0) to clipped white (Zone X). Each square represents a change of one stop. The first part of using Zones starts before you release the shutter. Truly visualizing your image is like nothing else. Once you master it, you see the image you plan to make (including your edits and refinements) in your mind before you ever take the photo. It changes how you photograph and how refined the resulting images become.

Brilliantly simple, the Zone scale allows us to visualize all our light from complete black to complete white in clear one stop increments.

To begin with look at the Zone scale. Now look at your scene. Now back to me 😉 What’s outside your window right now? Visualize what Zones the things around you fall within. Then imagine you’re taking a photo. Imagine where the Zones “would” fall if the image came out exactly as you wanted. It does not have to be what you “see” but what you “visualize” for the finished image. How do YOU want to make it?

Think about how Zone levels on various objects in this scene would complement your primary subject as well as your supporting cast of elements. Sometimes it helps to begin by visualizing a scene in black and white even if your final image is going to be color. Thinking in terms of tones can be helpful, especially early in the process.

All nine detail Zones photographed with digital. Metering was based on the brightest area here, but we could have metered meter any element and uses the system to place that element in any of the time values but simply moving exposure up or down (click for larger view).
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October 10, 2011

1

Gavin Seim, Lighting, PPS Photography Tips, ProPhotoShow

5 Essential Keys of Amazing Photographs.

By Gavin Seim

Simplicity is key to a great photograph. It turns even complex scenes into stunning beauty by controlling elements, light, and tone.

It’s not about how much is in a photograph. It’s about how we showcase our subject in relation to that supporting cast of elements. Now I’m not suggesting the images I show are “perfect.” It’s rare that I get everything dead on, and I can always find something I should have done better. But truly understanding and mastering these elements WILL raise the bar on our images and allow us to see in a new way.

1. Visualize.
Everyone says they’re doing it, but few actually are. You should truly “see” the scene in your mind’s eye; not what’s in the viewfinder but the finished image after the exposure, even after editing. You should see the image you want after the process is finished. It’s fairly simple, but in the rush we often fail to slow down and think carefully about the lines, elements, and tones in our scene. That’s one reason why I love working with a tripod. It takes my focus away from holding a camera and puts it on the scene in front of me.

Ansel Adams said, “The whole key lies very specifically in seeing it in the mind’s eye which we call visualization.”

Sunsets Hidden Falls, Yosemite 2010, Gavin Seim - I used a layer based HDR process on this, processing my light and dark frames as silver and layer blending in Photoshop. I spent a good deal of time on the composition and tonal control to try and keep the scene simple while still showing all the elements. You can see the stone faces on Zones 6-7, with the foreground elements falling drastically all the way down to Zone 1, keeping them as supporting cast from becoming too distracting.

 

2. The Light & The Zones.

Expose for what you want in your image, not what the camera sees. This goes right along with visualization, and the Zone scale is the best way I know of, both to visualize and to control values. It allows us to see in our mind’s eye the Zones in a scene and place them where we want, using exposure, and finally tonal edits. For more on detailed tonal value control, see the counter article to this one, 3 Critical Elements of Controlling Tonal Values.

The Zone scale from 1-10. Middle grey is Zone V (5). This shows the darkest dark to the lightest light and is invaluable for simple visualizing and exposing a scene. Each step represents a stop, making it easy to move your exposure up or down and place an element in a given zone.

 

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