Assignment 5: in the style of an influential photographer; final submission, Ansel Adams.

Choosing my images for this assignment, processing them and converting to black and white was only half of the challenge.  The second part was the printing.  I thought printing in monochrome would be easy, but not so.  With my new printer and the use of ICC profiles printing in colour was becoming  reasonably straightforward.  When I researched black and white printing with the new Epson 2880 I discovered that I shouldn't use ICC profiles but allow the printer to manage the process choosing the Advanced Black and White option in the printer driver.  This opened up another window which allows the choice of how the printer will print the image.  There are several presets that can be used: for colour tone neutral, cool, warm or sepia can be chosen; tone can be light, normal, dark, darker or darkest.  There are also sliders to control brightness  contrast, highlights and shadows as well as a tone wheel that allows a seemingly infinite fine choice of tone and colour.  Rather than use one of the presets I experimented with the tone wheel until I achieved a result with which I was satisfied and which I felt gave a print similar to Ansel Adams rich black and white images.  I have chosen to print my photographs on Permajet Oyster paper as I felt that it had the smooth textured quality that Ansel Adams looked for and also responded well to the rich black and white format.  I experimented as well with Fotospeed Platinum Gloss but was not so happy with the results.

As mentioned in a previous blog for Assignment 5, the research of Adams' work for my critical review for Assignment 4 gave me a clear idea of his style which I repeat below.

 An important aspect of his style, certainly after he had rejected the Impressionistic style of photography and embraced the new Modernist style, was that images should be pin sharp from front to back. They were free of grain and printed on smooth papers. His images varied from close-up intimate landscapes full of detail to expansive wide- angle shots. As he developed his style he gradually lowered his horizons and made the most of dramatic skies, even making them the subject of the photograph. He liked to photograph water in all its forms, especially crashing waves and surf and mountain rapids and dramatic waterfall. He also liked to take really close-up images of nature with a great amount of detail. There were rarely any people in his landscapes. I have, therefore,chosen images that fitted the following criteria.

• wide-angle landscapes sharp from front to back, possibly with a high horizon
• images with a much lower horizon and a dramatic sky
• photographs of water such as breaking surf and rapids using short exposures to freeze the motion
• more intimate landscapes
• close-up shots of nature full of intricate detail 

 Wide-angled landscapes, sharp throughout and with a high horizon.

Winter conditions on Derwent Edge, Derbyshire. I converted the picture to Black and White in Lightroom and next used an ND grad to reduce the exposure in the sky by 1.5 and also reduced the highlights further. I also slightly increased the contrast and the clarity. I then used the adjustment brush to reduce the exposure on the ice on the path in the foreground. Finally I adjusted the sliders in the Black and White mix until I achieved a result that I was happy with.

Winter on Worlaby Carrs, Lincolnshire. I used a wide-angle of 24 mm and f16 to achieve maximum depth of field. A tripod, mirror lock-up and cable release were used to assure sharpness with the 1/40 second shutter speed. Conversion and adjustments made in Lightroom. I used an ND grad to balance the exposure in the sky.

Earl Crag, Upper Airedale. Taken with a Canon G10. 6.1mm @ f8

Images with a much lower horizon and a dramatic sky.

Lincolnshire Wolds from Bonby Carrs. I was out photographing birds down Carr Lane, Bonby when I noticed that some wonderful clouds were building up over the Wolds. I realised that this would make a suitable image for this project. I took both horizontal and vertical formats placing the horizon low in both. Although the vertical shot made more of the lane leading the eye into the shot I felt that this one made more of the sky. Conversion was done to Black and White in Lightroom and adjustments made as described above.

One late afternoon last autumn I visited Tetney Marshes to look for some landscape opportunities as the light was particularly good and the location is very close to home. I watched these huge cumulo nimbus clouds build up and decided to make the sky a subject of the photograph and so placed the horizon very low in the shot. Conversion and adjustments made in Lightroom 4.

Barn and Sky, Lincolnshire Wolds. I found this barn whilst out looking for suitable images for this assignment. As the sky was really dramatic, I framed the shot with a low horizon to make the most of it. Again Black and White Conversion and adjustments made in Lightroom 4.

Photographs of water such as breaking surf and rapids using short exposures to freeze the motion.

Breaking Waves, Mallorca. On this particular day the sea was particularly rough following an overnight storm. Watching the waves crashing onto the rocks at Calla San Vincenti, I realised that it was a great opportunity for a short exposure shot and set the shutter speed to 1/4000 second to freeze the motion. Ansel Adams had to wait for the 'Decisive Moment' to fire his shutter; I was fortunate to be able to use High Speed Continuous drive.

I took this shot on the Watkin Path up Snowdon. The waterfall was impressive as the river was full with flood and meltwater. I framed the image so that the upper part of the fall led the eye up to the south ridge of Snowdon in the background and also down to the boiling water in the foreground. As Adams did I exposed for the water to ensure that I retained as much detail as possible. I used a shutter speed of 1/640 sec in order to freeze the water and an aperture of f8 to keep everything reasonably sharp.

More intimate landscapes.

Light shining through trees in a local Woodland. Sky excluded. Conversion and adjustments in Lightroom 4.

Light shines through beech trees in a local woodland. Conversion and adjustments in Lightroom 4.

Close-up shots of nature full of intricate detail.

Wall Detail, Derbyshire. I liked the detail in this wall in Derbyshire at New Year and thought that it would make a pleasing Black and White in close-up. My inspiration was the Surface and Texture images in From The Mountains to the Sea Exhibition.

I was attracted to this dead Umbellifer head during the cold weather in early January this year. I chose my specimen carefully and found one that had a dark background and was backlit. I was pleased with the detail in the head and on the stem.