Hi Shel,
I neglected to address the point regarding my grand daughter's pic in
the last post. On my monitor this shot doesn't show any highlights that
are totally out of range. Some of the window light is quite bright. One
might call it zone IX if we were discussing BW. And some areas in the
folds of the paper are almost that bright. I placed these areas at that
level intentionally. I like the feel of the bright window light
splashing on the curtain and floor. And the highlights in the paper
help define the folds. None of those areas are pure white. With film it
would have been extremely difficult to place those highlights with any
accuracy. It would certainly have required some burning in. A skill
well beyond the limits of most of today's color labs.
On Sep 7, 2005, at 9:53 PM, Shel Belinkoff wrote:
I wasn't referring to specular highlights, but to areas like you noted
on
the dress in Bruce's photograph, (Sorry Bruce, not picking on you or
the
photo specifically, just using it as an example), which, BTW, he
explained
in the detailed response he sent earlier.
What I'm seeing with digi are more and more fried highlights in more
and
more pics, and Jens' comment seemed to indicate that it was
acceptable. I
noticed bright areas in the photo of your grand daughter that seem to
be
acceptable to you and to others (at least no one commented on them),
that
I'd not find acceptable and which would probably (note the qualifier)
not
have appeared had the photo been made with film, or perhaps with
greater
care or attention to detail (again, not to be picking specifically on
you).
The test photos I made in the garden showing the tree leaves that were
shot
raw and presented unaltered, showed the difference that 1/3 stop of
exposure could make. Overall, I'm seeing a decline in what many
photographers and editors consider acceptable quality. Is this a
result of
digital? I suspect that it is to a degree. I also attribute it to
other
factors.
However, I'd like to see more photographers taking greater care with
the
photos they present, learning more about what makes a good photo (at
least
technically), and spending more time correcting small details. I'm
disheartened to see what I perceive as an overall decline in the
quality of
photography.
Shel
"Am I paranoid or perceptive?"
[Original Message]
From: Paul Stenquist
Subject: Re: SV: PESO - The Bridge
Burnt out highlights are certainly acceptable in some compositions.
For
example, specular highlights on water that are out of the range can be
quite beautiful. In the case of the bride photo, however, I would have
liked to see detail in that part of the dress. I was wondering if this
started out life as a RAW digital file. If so, was there an attempt to
pull the exposure level down and restore the midtones with the
brightness slider? That strategy can bring back a stop or more on the
high end.
Shel Belinkoff wrote:
Are burnt out highlights becoming acceptable these days?
Shel
[Original Message]
From: Jens Bladt
Beautiful photograph. And hardly any burned out high lights
http://www.daytonphoto.com/PAW/bullock_0109.htm
