In2SciFi

I try to keep an eye on any commentary about Ansel Adams because I consider him an inspiration. Today, I found a blog entry labeled ‘“Moon Over Hernandez” An insight into Ansel Adams’ about my favorite photographer. Imagine my delight to find it was a video of an interview with his son from a blog entry ‘ A Visit to Ansel Adams’ Home’ which was published last year at silberstudios.tv. How I missed it, I don’t know, but I’m glad to have found it.

Don’t expect any profound revelations, they’re not here, but do expect some interesting insight into Ansel’s work on one of his most famous photographs, ‘Moonrise, Hernandez , New Mexico‘. One of the interesting insights provided by his son, who was there when the picture was taken, was how much work Ansel did to create the masterpiece we see. He shows how the photo looked when printed straight as well as Ansel’s notes about how he modified the image in the darkroom. Looking at the difference just heightens my conviction that Ansel Adams would have taken wholeheartedly to the Digital Darkroom and would have been a master at it, setting the standard for craftsmanship.

For me, one of the major points here, illustrated by the video, is the mastery of every phase of the process. Many people I’ve talked to seem to be under the impression that Adams never did anything more than minor touch up work, that the images were complete in the camera except for necessary spotting and such. This video shows clearly how this isn’t the case.

The original, unmodified print makes it clear that ‘Moonrise’ started with an image that in itself wasn’t very impressive. Once in the darkroom, Adams worked on the image step-by-step until he was able to produce the image he wanted. The video doesn’t address it, but it seems clear that Adams visualization of the image was far more than what you can see on the bare print.

I’m sure Adams would point out that you can’t take just any image and turn it into a masterpiece, but even a masterpiece evolves through a process that brings out the potential through craftsmanlike handling of the artist’s tools. What’s more, his notes about what he did could serve as guidelines to reproduce what he did in making additional prints. Even with all of our automated tools available to us, a plain, old-fashioned notebook can still provide useful insight to help us learn from our mistakes or to reproduce what needs to be done.

I have to admit that my personal favorites among Adams images are mountains such as his photos of the Tetons:

but I can’t think of any of his images that I don’t admire. I can get lost in his images, always finding something new.

One of my favorite pastimes is trying to ‘visualize in reverse’, a habit Adams suggested. Starting with a photograph, I try to see the scene as the photographer saw it, then try to re-visualize it for myself. How would I have visualized the scene and captured it to realize my visualization? Adams himself advocates doing that as one of the many ways of learning to visualize.

We ignore Ansel Adams at our peril. Many people I’ve spoken to see nothing in Adams work remotely comparable with Digital Photography, yet if you take the time to read his works on Polaroid Photography, you’ll quickly come to understand that it was the instantaneous result that most impressed him and made ‘Instant Photography’ an important tool in his arsenal.

Adams book ‘Polaroid Land Photography’ is an excellent treatise on the use of instant photography. Both Adams and Minor White saw the potential in instant photography as early as the 1950’s and worked extensively with it from that time forward. The book was originally published in 1963 and focuses on the role of craftsmanship in the use of Polaroid materials. Much of what he wrote could be rewritten with ‘Digital Photography’ substituted for ‘Polaroid Land Photography’ without loss of meaning. For example, in his chapter on Visualization on p75, we might take

“Obviously, using Polaroid Land films calls for adjusting our image visualization to accommodate the process”

could be rewritten as

“Obviously, using Digital Sensors calls for adjusting our image visualization to accommodate the process”.

It’s my feeling that not only would Ansel Adams have taken to Digital Photography in a big way, but he would have shown us that the Zone System is applicable to Digital photography as well.
I’ve read many authors claiming the Zone System just isn’t applicable to Digital Photography. Michael Freeman in his book Perfect Exposure says: “While the Zone System, as invented, is fairly pointless for digital photography, and completely pointless when shooting Raw, the principle of analyzing scenes and images in zones is a good one.” (P134) Certainly it wouldn’t survive as exposure control tied to a set of chemical processes, but I think Adams would have shown us that it IS applicable if you go back to the conceptual basis for the Zone System itself.

As I see it, what the Zone system is all about is very simply being able to create the print you visualize when you’re standing in front of the scene getting ready to make an exposure. It’s about knowing EVERY step between visualization and print so well that you can accurately see the result in your minds eye when you click the shutter. It doesn’t matter whether the processes are chemical or digital or something else, what matters is that you have such a command of your tools that you can visualize the result and produce it when it comes time to print.

Ansel Adams speaks about “careful craftsmanship” frequently in his books. For him, craftsmanship is basic to good art because you must have command of your tools, whether they’re paint, pencils, camera, or photoshop. You need to know exactly what the effect of each tool is and how one can manipulate it. He’s quite explicit when on page 72 of ‘Polaroid Land Photography’ he says: “Our ability to achieve the desired image will … be limited by our mastery of craft. … craft is the thorough understanding of the process and the facility of expressing this understanding with intuitive efficiency.”

I believe Adams would have embraced digital photography and become an expert in Photoshop. His philosophy was one of total control from the exposure to the final print, and he would have applied that to digital photography by mastering the tools include Adobe Camera Raw, Photoshop, and any other tool he found of interest. He was looking forward to the experience when in 1983 he said:

“I am sure the next step will be the electronic image, and I hope I shall live to see it. I trust that the creative eye will continue to function, whatever technological innovations may develop.” (quote from photoquotes.com)

Unfortunately he died in April, 1984 before he could see Digital Photography really flower into the tool it has become.

To get a feeling for how Ansel would have worked with Digital Photography, I think the best example is Polaroid Land Photography. I’ll be taking some time to see what he has to say later.

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One of the best ways to learn to control your tools is to experiment with them. This picture was a set of fairly dull picture taken of some trees during a rainstorm. I stitched together 4 pictures from the bottom to the top of the trees, then applied a curves layer experimenting with the curves to see the impact of local adjustments in specific contrast ranges. Playing like this is what helps you to learn your tools.


Color Experiment

How much do you REALLY see when you set out to take a picture? Do you ‘see but not observe’ to paraphrase Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle, ‘A Study in Scarlet’)? Ansel Adams spends some time talking about the difference between what you see and what the camera sees. “The eye has enormous selective power.” (’Camera & Lens’, p17). Our visual system can take in an enormous amount of detail and without any conscious thought, can focus on parts of what we see, adjusting for lighting conditions and isolating a subject from the surroundings. We have an amazing visual system, but that wonderful visual system is the enemy of good photography.

“ … Our lens does not share our excitement and selectivity; it merely records - with faithful observance of the geometric rules of perspective, image size, etc.” (’Camera & Lens’, p17). How many times have you heard someone say how disappointed they were with a picture because it wasn’t what they SAW? It happens especially with landscapes, a view that strikes you and causes you to take a picture but only to find that the elements that were so impressive seem to have lost their grandeur when captured on film.

Visualization, as Adams explains it, is seeing as the camera sees with all of it’s limitations. George DeWolfe in his book ‘Digital Masters: B&W Printing’ puts it like this: “The fundamental error in what both the sensor of a camera and the retina of the eye see is that it is not what is perceived in the brain as visually real.” (B&W Printing p35). He goes on to say that:

1. “We need to see like the camera sees in order to capture an accurate two-dimensional luminance image.”
2. “… we need to manipulate the luminance image to conform to our perception of the subject or scene …”

(B&W Printing p35)

As I starting thinking through what I wanted to say here about seeing, a very good post made it online at the Digital Photography School web site called 4 Practice Techniques to Develop Photographic Observation by Christina N Dickson. The focus of this post is that we ALL need to practice observation (or seeing or in Adams terms Visualization). Dickson’s advice boils down to:

1. Analyze - look at an object in depth and notice everything about it that you can
2. Exhaust Perspective - take as many pictures as you can of a single object from as many different perspectives as you can
3. Evaluate your Locations - analyze the location you’re shooting at in depth, take nothing for granted
4. Take Pictures in your Mind - create images in your mind from what you see around you, visualize whether you have a camera at hand or not

Many years ago, I started to draw more seriously. I didn’t do this because I had any talent. I don’t. My motivation was to force myself to SEE what is actually there in front of me without the normal processing the Human Visual System imposes on everything we see. Just recently, while reading DeWolfe’s book, I found this advice about learning to see: “In order to take good photographs, we first have to see two-dimensional space, the space of the retina and camera sensor. … The easiest way I know to learn to see two-dimensional space is through the art of drawing.” (B&W Printing p36).

DeWolfe goes on to recommend Betty Edwards book ‘Drawing on the Right Aide of the Brain’ as a good resource if you’re learning to draw. That and her workbook ‘The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Workboo’k a more than enough to help you SEE better.

I started with Edwards book ‘Drawing on the Artist Within’ which I found first, but the first two books are the best, at least for me.

Personally, I tried dozens of books and always felt that they didn’t really help me. They seemed to assume a talent I lacked. Edwards’ books were different. I found them enjoyable and they helped me to really SEE. As bad as I still am at drawing, it has immeasurably improved my photography by making me more aware of what is REALLY there.


Waiting for a Plane at the Houston Airport

Working late in my room

Practice makes perfect when it comes to seeing like a camera. Adams talks about ‘Dry Shooting’ (Camera & Lens, pp 15 & 35-37). “The photographer should constantly practice ’seeing’ images, establishing shape relationships; exploring relative scale of subject and space, avoiding mergers of edge and shape, etc., in the world about him.” (’Camera & Lens’ p37).

Adams describes ‘dry shooting’ like this: “ … select something that presents both an opportunity and a problem: visualize, setup the camera, compose, focus, read the luminances, determine exposure and related development, etc. - But you do not actually make the picture!” Based on Adams writings about Polaroid Photography and it’s use as feedback, I feel sure that if he were writing today, he’d actually recommend taking the digital picture and then spending some time comparing it to your visualization. However far you carry it, it’s good practice. For myself, I try to think like a camera every day, whether I’ve got a camera with me or not (actually, I’m rarely without some means to taking a photo … more on this some other time). I try to look at something and see it as a photograph.

Digital cameras make it so easy to capture a picture, any picture, that there is almost no excuse for not having an image to review. During a return trip from Southern California, I had only my TREO 600 cell phone with me, but I loved the view of Mt Shasta visible from the rest stop at the Weed Airport northwest of the mountain. With no control, no choices, and a fixed lens, I still wanted to capture the mountain as I saw it in it’s surroundings. Handholding my phone, bracing against my car, I took a series of pictures back and forth across the mountain then stitched them together in Photoshop to create the image I ’saw’ in looking at the mountain. I’ve come back with proper equipment and done this picture several times, but none of my attempts pleases me as much as this flawed image which still makes me feel as awed by the mountain as I have always been.

Mount Shasta from the Weed Airport Rest Step Northbound

Space, and the twelve clean winds are here;
And with them broods eternity—a swift, white peace,
       a presence manifest.
The rhythm ceases here. Time has no place.
       This is the end that has no end.

from Tietjens, The Most-Sacred Mountain
also quoted in Robert Heinlein, ‘Lost Legacy,’
a 1941 novella included in the book
‘Assignment in Eternity’

Been thinking about and reading widely on how people think about the Zone System and what Ansel Adams has to say and I was wondering ‘Why bother with Ansel Adams at all?’ The answer for me is very simple, it’s about craft.

As defined at Answers.com, it’s ‘Skill in doing or making something, as in the arts; proficiency.’ For me, that’s what Ansel Adams is about, not all the specifics that I see books written about. As I thought about it, it seems to me that this is overlooked by nearly everyone talking about Adams photography.

What Adams wrote about was taking the time to master photography as a craft As he says in the Foreward to Camera & Lens, ‘ … emphasis on technique is justified only insofar as it will simplify and clarify the statement of the photographer’s concept.’ But you must have a ‘ … fundamental understanding of both technique and mechanics … ‘ to turn out top quality work reliably.

People focus on the Zone System as defining what Adams had to say, but if he were still alive, he’d have modified the Zone System to suit the technology available today. His books talk about the mechanics of using Dektol, testing printing papers, and so on, but those are minor matters. The thing to learn from Adams books is what motivated him to focus on these chemical techniques and how that applies to the digital world.

As I see it, Adams focuses on 3 areas:

1. CAPTURE - exposing the image to provide the raw material for the print as visualized
2. POST CAPTURE PROCESSING - working with the exposure to prepare it for the final print
3. PRINTING - realizing the visualized print on real materials

In the digital age, more of this is concentrated in Post Capture Processing, but it doesn’t for one moment invalidate the idea of treating photography as a craft. Adams focused on landscapes which are generally not grab-shots. They’re best done with consideration and with time enough to capture the image right. However, even action shots such as sports or children playing can be treated from the craft viewpoint. If we treat photography as a craft, then we must:

• Become as proficient as we can at capturing the image with the highest quality possible
• Become so comfortable with our equipment that we can operate it without looking in the dark if need be
• Become proficient with Photoshop or whatever photo editing software we choose to use, so proficient that we can reliably create whatever we visualize
• Learn how to match camera, scanner, software, and printer to make the results reliable and predictable

Treating photography as a craft means a commitment to producing the best image every time. This is a journey with no end. At every step along the way we’ll be better than before, but we’ll never be perfect.

Adams concern was to create a print that communicated his view and his feelings about what was in front of him. All of this is 100% applicable to the digital age.

Mother’s Day

My goal with this photo was to produce a photo for my wife’s computer desktop. However, the background was busy so much of the post-capture processing was devoted to selecting the arrangement and eliminating the background, then sizing it so it would look good on her desktop. It was shot with a Kodak Z730 and processed in Photoshop with only slight enhancement to enhance the colors.

I love reading Ansel Adams. Even today, his books are loaded with useful, practical insights that we need to be focusing on as we take pictures and process them. For example, in the forward he points out that “ … the ultimate objective in photography is the picture … “.

If the ‘ultimate objective’ is the print, then the ultimate starting point is in your mind. You may have taken an hour to set up the picture or only a millisecond, but however much time you took, there was an idea in your mind, some reason WHY you pressed the shutter. Even BEFORE previsualization, there is an idea, a something, a reason, or something that starts the process. Something that catches your eye that causes you to take the picture. I think this is true even for snapshots. Even Adams took snapshots though his most casual shots beat most anything I see others trying to do! Pressing the shutter release is not a reflex action, it’s not preprogrammed or automatic in any way. You press the shutter because for some reason, you want to capture something that you see.

At the other end of the process, that ‘Ultimate Objective’ still exists even in the digital age. It could be on a web page or in a presentation slide or in an electronic picture frame, but whatever form it takes it is still ‘The Print’. Between pressing the shutter and displaying the picture, you’d like to be sure that you not only captured what you wanted so that other people can see it, but you’d like the picture to present what you felt when you decided to press the shutter.

Too many pictures don’t achieve either objective because most people think the process is complete when the picture is taken. What I believe Ansel Adams is about, at least what he’s about for me, is learning to achieve both objectives using those tools available as well as you can.

Adams said “A certain simplicity of approach is essential.” In essence, it’s better to have fewer tools that you are thoroughly comfortable with than the latest, greatest available in the photographic arsenal. We have an absolutely wonderful selection of tools available today, not only cameras with capabilities that were considered impossible only 20 years ago, but software and photographic printers capable of results considered impossible only a few years ago.

Despite the wealth of technology, simplicity beats technology every time. The best technology can’t make up for a poorly conceived or exposed image.

Stevens Pass Snowscape

My Stevens Pass Snowscape was taken with what is basically a point-and-shoot camera (Kodak Z730) and processed in GIMP. No special processing was applied beyond the black & white conversion filter. In other words, I tried to make it as simple as I could because it was part of a series of Black&White conversion experiments I was doing using GIMP, Photoshop, and Paint Shop Pro on Mac, Windows, and Linux platforms.

As the new year is fast approaching, I’ve been thinking about projects to take on. One that appealed to me is ‘Project 365′ which many people are doing … taking a picture every day and posting it. Interesting idea. My problem is that rarely a day goes by already that I’m not taking pictures. But then I came up with an idea that appeals to me even more. Updating Ansel Adams to the digital age.

Before I start, I want to make it clear that I’m not an expert and I don’t claim to be in anything like an Ansel Adams category of photographers. I’ve had training and experience, I attended Community College Classes in creative photography, I did a correspondence course at one time, and I’ve done semi-professional, freelance photography. I’ve done portraits, little theatre, product and advertising photography, and quite a bit more. My father got me interested many years ago and I got personal attention from an art teacher who taught me the creative side to photography. In short, I’ve learned a lot over time, but I don’t hold a candle to the people who do it every day for real. This is a learning experience for me and I hope other people will join in to make it bigger and better.

For my project, I plan to go through Adams’ Basic Photography Series and his Polaroid Land Photography book to try to understand what he’s written in digital terms. I’m working from my older copies of his books

Updated versions of the 1st three books are available from Amazon. I’ve never read the updated copies, so I don’t know how much has changed. I’m pretty sure they predate the digital photography revolution. According to the listing on Amazon, they were published in 1995.

The other three books I plan to go through don’t appear to have been updated, but I don’t really know.

Much of what I’ve seen written about Ansel Adams and the Zone System suggests that it’s only useful as an exposure evaluation system, and even there not as good as more modern approaches. My plan though is to look deeper and see if I can drag something more out of this material. This is a personal exploration of the guidance from one of my heroes. Expect it to be random. The structure will be provided by the books.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ansel Adams in the late 1960’s when I was a student in Monterey California. I used to attend exhibitions at the Friends of Photography center in Carmel and remember meeting him at an exhibit of his photographs. At the time, I also remember that I didn’t really appreciate who I was meeting. In later years, I’ve considered this a lost opportunity. As I got interested in larger formats (4X5 on an old Speed Graphic and finally a View Camera), I came to appreciate Adams more and more and see the opportunity I had missed. I’ve applied the Zone System both formally and informally since that time and found it exceptionally useful. I’d like to do better and that’s what this project is all about.

This isn’t going to be an every day affair online. I plan to report on my progress regularly, but I’ve got a lot of material to go through. I’m hoping to get feedback and help online, that’s why I’m using the blog format. I also plan to include some of my own photos here, some I’ve taken new and some I’ve done just for a specific blog entry. This photo was taken during a trip to Mt St Helens with a small point-and-shoot digital camera (Kodak Z730) and processed in Photoshop and Lightroom.

Happy Square Root Day!

Today is 3/3/9 … 3 X 3 = 9 … √9 = 3

Square Root day and other mathematically oriented dates happen occasionally. There was 2/2/4 and there will be 4/4/16 coming up and more through the end of the century. There’s even a contest associated with the day run by a teacher in Redwood City with a prize of $339 to the winner.

Dates can be fun and not just in the mathematical sense, but math itself is an old pastime that always helps to keep me thinking. Square Root day is just another way to remember how much math means to me.

I’m finally back online and able to post again, so I’ll be starting again in the next several days as I catch up with things. What amazes me most while I’ve been offline is the volume of spam posts there have been to the blog. So many attempts to get something posted! All of the attempts were so obvious, yet they keep coming in. I sometimes wonder why, but I’m sure I know. It doesn’t require any effort. Adding one posting address to a list and everything else is automatic. What a waste.

” … the rotten tree-trunk, until the very moment when the storm-blast breaks it in two, has all the appearance of might it ever had.”

Isaac Asimov, Foundation, Bantam Dell, 2004, p36.

A quote for our times:

“It amounts to a diseased attitude - a conditioned reflex that shunts aside the independence of your minds whenever it is a question of opposing authority.”

Isaac Asimov, Foundation, Bantam Dell, 2004, p87.