Monochromatic HDR Photography: Shooting and Processing Black & White High Dynamic Range Photos - Softcover

Davis, Harold

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415831458 ISBN 13: 9780415831451

Publisher: Routledge, 2013

Synopsis

Update: The Kindle version of Monochromatic HDR Photography: Shooting and Processing Black & White High Dynamic Range Photos currently available for sale has been corrected and updated to address formatting issues.

Monochromatic HDR Photography is the first book intended to show photographers how to work at the intersection of two up-and-coming trends that are at the forefront of the digital revolution: Black & White and High Dynamic Range imaging.

The book explains techniques for extending dynamic range, monochromatic conversion methods and best practices where the two technologies intersect. Since successful digital monochromatic image creation generally requires using the color information inherent in RAW exposures, most case studies will be presented in full color.

In addition, Monochromatic HDR Photography provides extensive coverage of the creative vision required to successfully create monochromatic HDR images and the workflow necessary to make art prints from this specialized image making technique.

About this title

Review

Images and details from Monochromatic HDR Photography, by Harold Davis

Pyramide. Paris, France. I shot this image of the glass pyramid in the central court of the Louvre. As explained in my book, creating this image required shooting a bracketed sequence and using automated software to seamlessly blend the exposures.

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Sunset in the Headlands. San Francisco, California. I wanted this image to imply the sense of beautiful color using high-dynamic range black and white, almost as if I had sketched the sunset in pencil rather than using color paints. More details on implying color with black and white can be found in my book.

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Crown of Thorns. Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France. I was struck by the ornate nature of this northern spire. To dramatize the stark and detailed outlines that make a parallel with a literal crown of thorns, I knew I needed to enhance and extend the dynamic range of the image. How did I do it? Read Monochromatic HDR Photography to find out.

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Ancient Bristlcone. California-Nevada border. To capture the full definition of the textures and swirls in the ancient wood of this Bristlecone, I used a bracketed sequence of eight exposures at shutter speeds ranging from 5 seconds to 1/80 of a second. More details on how I processed the image and converted it to monochrome can be found in my book.

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A Letter to Amazon.com Readers from Harold Davis

Dear Amazon.com Reader:

I am writing this letter to tell you about my book, Monochromatic HDR Photography. If you are thinking about purchasing my book, it might help you to know how I came to create it, and what you’ll find in it.

The first thing you should know about Monochromatic HDR Photography is that it is a book about digital black and white photography. From the very beginning of photography, practitioners have attempted to extend the dynamic range of their imagery. With digital photography, it has become easily possible to extend the range of lights and darks captured using techniques that fall under the rubric of HDR, which is short for High Dynamic Range.

While HDR techniques can enhance many color photos, overuse of HDR can result in garish imagery. But color isn’t everything! The HDR techniques of extending lights and darks in an image can also be applied to black and white photography. This avoids any problems with typical over-processing of color images in HDR, and is a really great technique for creating compelling black and white photographs. Monochromatic HDR Photography stands at the intersection of two hot trends in digital photography: black and white, and HDR.

My book presents flowcharts and a detailed workflow for shooting and processing black and white HDR imagery. A complete step-by-step case study is shown using an image of the ceiling of a cathedral. This is a fine example of what you can do with monochromatic HDR: Inside the cathedral, with bright sunlight shining through stained glass windows, and dark corners masked in shadow, the scene in front of the camera contains huge variations in the dynamic range from the lightest whites to the darkest blacks.

In Monochromatic HDR Photography, the key topics you will learn in the context of creative image-making include:

1. What subjects work in black & white
2. Shooting sequences in the field to extend dynamic range
3. Working with multi-RAW processing
4. Using hand-HDR techniques
5. Using LAB for color and dynamic range enhancement
6. Using HDR software to create monochromatic imagery
7. Tools, techniques and best practices for monochromatic conversions
8. Printing monochromatic HDR images

This is a unique and beautiful book that provides a practical workflow for photographers seriously interested in extending the tonal range of their digital black and white photographs. I truly hope you will enjoy Monochromatic HDR Photography as much as I’ve enjoyed creating the photos in it, and detailing how I made them.

Best wishes in photography,

About the Author

Harold Davis is a legendary photographer and digital artist whose work is widely collected. He is the author of many bestselling photography books, including Photographing Flowers, Photographing Waterdrops, and The Photoshop Darkroom, all published by Focal Press.

Harold has been recognized as a Moab Master for his hand-crafted, fine art prints. His popular workshops are often sold out. You can find out more about Harold and his work at his website, www.photoblog2.com.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0415831458
• ISBN 13: 9780415831451
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208