I recently received a few questions from a student on controlling exposures and using ND filters. Here are his questions and my responses – keep in mind these are very general answers and books have been written on these topics. I highly recommend “Understanding Exposure” by Bryan Peterson for anyone who wants to dive into this head to toe. Now for the questions…
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“Heron Marsh Trail”
Canon 1Ds Mk III, 1/4 sec @f/14, ISO 400, 17mm (EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II)
CREATIVE NOTES “Heron Marsh”:
This image was pretty straight forward from a technical standpoint, and a good example where any mode except manual fails miserably to make a proper exposure. A careful balance between shadows and highlights is crucial in terms of conveying the depth I felt as i walked along this trail and the forest opened up to the marsh. The feeling of moving into the open space is what the image is about, yet I didn’t want to give away what was beyond these last few trees, so the element of mystery is also at play. I used higher than normal ISO in order to minimize movement in the trees, and was very careful with the corners in order to avoid any distractions. Sure I could have used HDR, but the deep shadows and very soft light is the effect I was after, not an exposure where every part of the image leaves nothing to the imagination.
“Buck Pond at Dawn”
Canon 1Ds Mk III, 1/25 sec @f/11, ISO 400, 16mm (EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II)
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Final print
Ansel Adams once said “the negative is the score, and the print is the performance“, and for me, the print is what drives my motivation and all of my creative efforts as a landscape photographer.
I love this quote because it really captures my thinking process, especially coming from a music background where everything I did was focused on producing the best final mix. I’d spend countless hours selecting sounds, arranging all of the various elements to create balance and harmony, and finally adding the lead vocals; the melody. The final mix brought everything together in a cohesive, balanced, and focused experience for the listener.
It always amazes me how many of these concepts transfer to photography, and printing in particular. Regardless of what went into creating an image, the viewer only experiences the final “performance” or print in this case. For this reason, I place great importance in selecting a paper that best presents what I think are the strongest features of a given photograph. This might be color, detail and texture, or perhaps strong contrast in an evocative black and white image. The point is that the image dictates the paper I choose, which hopefully provides the best possible experience for the viewer or collector.
Full size proof print
Trial and error is really the only way to learn this, which is why I built my own print studio where I print, mat and frame all of my work. The learning process is frustrating at first, but eventually the payoff is in the end result. It is not uncommon for me to print an image three to four times to get it “just right”. With practice, this happens less frequently than it used to, but the point is that I will not make any compromises when it comes to the final print.
With that said, here are my current favorite papers and some personal notes on each.
In general, these papers provide a rich artistic quality that I prefer for many of my color landscapes. They also feel great to the touch being cotton based, and provide a nice dimensional texture.
Based on traditional dark room fiber papers, these papers provide the feel of matte papers but with the richer blacks that gloss papers offer. I tend to use these for images that have lots of dark tonalities I want to separate as much as possible, and also for black and white images.
Canvas with a wood floater frame
I only started to print on canvas at the beginning of this year, but it has quickly become a customer favorite, both residential and corporate/office. The unique texture adds a painted look to color landscapes, and combined with the total lack of glare, is perfectly suited to places where lighting is not ideal. I tried many different brands and weights, but have finally settled on just one supplier.
I really enjoy making prints, and hope that the time and effort I put into achieving the best possible “performance” brings something extra to those who have one of my prints in their home or office.
I’d love to get your questions about paper or printing in general – there’s never a question that’s too basic, it’s where we all got started.
Learn fine art printing in-depth in my Digital Printing Workshop.
Resources:
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