Shoot Like Ansel Adams

[@TeddyCavachon]

I used Adams Zone system with B&W film in the 1970s and 80s. What most today don’t realize was that the contrast of the B&W negative could be adjusted to different ranges of contrast between shadows and highlights in scenes. The same scene on a clear day might read 10 stops between textured shadows and solid white non specular highlights, but on a cloudy day it might read 8 stops and in overcast only 6. What Adams did to capture his stunning range of tone and texture was always base his exposures off a Weston IV meter reading off a Kodak 18% gray card to ensure the shadows were exposed with enough light to put density on the negative in the textured shadow, then develop the sheet of film for the time his testing and experience showed was necessary to match the highlight densities of the negative to the dynamic range of the #2 grade print paper he always used. When he started using Hasselblad camera he had different film backs he would switch depending on the contrast of the lighting which he developed for different times. By the time I started using his system 1° spot meters had been invented. Instead of metering off a gray card for shadow exposure I could meter directly off the non-void shadow areas of the shadows where I wanted detail on the print then read the brightest non-specular highlight to precisely determine the range of the scene in EV values / f/stops to know how to develop the film. Calibrating the system was just matter of shooting tests of a subject wearing black and white clothing under different lighting conditions, measuring the range between the black and white clothing, then shooting 4-5 sheets or rolls of film which were developed for different times. When the test negatives were contact printed on #2 grade paper the development time needed for that f/stop range of scene contrast was obvious because the print from the negative with the ideal time looked just like a full-range Ansel Adams print. His system was front loaded, measuring the variables exposure and lighting contrast, so the back end processing of film and making full range prints was a no-brainer. Finding iconic subject matter to reproduce that way was of course the greater challenge for someone like me living in the tabletop flat midwest 😂 The problem with trying to emulate the tonal range of a Adams print with digital is that the dynamic range of most sensors is not long enough to reproduce both highlight and shadow details in contrasty, sunny cross-lighting seen in many of his iconic scenes. That is why the practice of “exposing to the right” using the histogram became the norm with digital because viewer of the photo are less likely to notice the loss of detail in the shadows if they are small and insignificant. It is possible to duplicate Adams Zone System using a digital camera histogram by taking two exposures; one exposed “to the right” to record detail in the brightest textured highlights and a second exposed “to the left” to record shadows, blending them in post processing either automatically or using layers and masks and opening the “shadow” exposure layer where detail is desired in the shadows which is missing in the “highlight” exposure. Those trying to duplicate his dark brooding skies and glowing foliage need to understand that with panchromatic B&W film that was done at capture with yellow, orange or red filter over the lens at capture to darken the blue sky and green and blue filters to make foliage and red rocks appear lighter. That can be simulated in Photoshop by manipulating the RGB balance in the B&W conversion.

[@michaelricco81]

Thank you so much for this comment. It was much more enlightening than this video.

[@ronpaula8499]

Ansel was my mentor and he did do some work in color exposuring some 5-6K sheets of film. I have a sign book of his color image besides signed books of his BnW work. I also have 14 signed prints hanging on my walls. Also he didn't always use a red filter in his work!

[@RayLombardi]

Ansel Adams' book trilogy(The Camera, The Negative and The Print) taught me black and white photography and darkroom processing, to the point that esteemed photographers, with a lot more experience than me, complimented my darkroom work. I still apply His technique in the digital era, albeit adapted accordingly. Thoroughly enjoyed the video. Thanks.

[@chriscard6544]

awesome video

[@ThePhotoShow]

Thank you for watching. Have fun, Dave

[@SvTilburg18]

great tutorial we had this as a school assignment and this was the tutorial our teacher send us

[@ThePhotoShow]

Hi Sven, wow! I am really flattered, that's amazing. Please thank your tutor on my behalf. hank you for watching, stay safe, Dave.

[@gprice1978]

Brilliant!!!!

[@JeffStudley]

"I'm not Ansel Adams so that's a big factor in all of this" had me rolling! Been looking at vids for shooting/processing techniques to get that tonal contrast Adams had. Best so far. I used to print Ansel Adams posters, etc. in the late '80's. Best job ever! We used a duo tone using a high tack black and "Ansel Adams Grey" + high gloss varnish. Did I mention this was the best job ever?

[@ThePhotoShow]

Hi Jeff, thank you especially as you have experience with the printed images. Does sound like the best job ever! Stay safe, Dave.

[@iamaktewari]

Thanks. Grt explanation

[@shumyinghon]

we could achieve more than the great Ansel Adams in technique, at least, by the gift of the advance gears we have today - but it all boils down to the individual pair of eyes and the cultivated mind

[@trevorwright6165]

hello dave a that was very interesting and well done as well a beautiful photo thank you so much for sharing it all the best from trev

[@ThePhotoShow]

Hi Trevor, thank you, I am glad you enjoyed it. All the best, Dave.

[@EdSaenzDrums]

Ansel Adams. My favorite photographer. Next to Jerry Uelsmann. Learned about them in high school photography class. And were my inspirations for B&W film photography.

[@timbaleman]

Ansel Adams.....G.O.A.T

[@mywildlifestories3793]

Team, we need more such videos. Please have a similar one for wildlife as well taking David yarrow images as an example. Looking forward.

[@dudepersonvids]

This video was all about editing, not shooting...That's kind of frustrating because I was hoping to learn more about framing, composition, exposure, and choosing a vantage point like Ansel Adams...

[@jasonzayas5487]

Totally agree. He missed the point entirely.

[@abbydees8612]

Though in fairness, a huge part of Ansel Adams' technique was darkroom manipulation. I think he shot very much with an idea of what would take place later on through painstaking printing.

[@buskman3286]

The two photos clearly demonstrate the importance of the scene to start with. The Adams photo with the clouds provides a far more dramatic image, regardless of how much processing is done on the "new" image.. As the old saying went, all you need for a great photo is "F8 and be there [at the right time/place]"

[@markroberts6971]

Shoot or edit?

[@GamingLoadown101]

great vid, learnt alot

[@ThePhotoShow]

Hi Josh, Thank you, stay safe, Dave.

[@Traveljournalist]

very interesting. is Silver Effects really useful ? it seems that all of these functions already exists in LR or PS .

[@ThePhotoShow]

Hi Travel Journalist, I really like Silver effects, I have used all the other method in both PS and LR for b/w but Silver effects gives great results with lots of options. Thank you for watching, stay safe, Dave.

[@Traveljournalist]

@@ThePhotoShow thanks for your answer, I’ll try it !

[@bsh_korea]

in your photo of tunnel view, may i know what mm lens you were using and f number ??

[@kylemccourt663]

Oh snap!!!! I just need photoshop and lightroom to shoot like Ansel Adams. My years of zone system knowledge is all for nothing!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA

[@thomaswood1738]

Really appreciate this and interested in trying much the same. One critique. I think your methodology is backwards. If you' want to shoot and print like AA, your first move should have been the red BW filter. That would have given you a starting point similar to what he'd have had in camera. As it stands you did so many adjustments before going to red that, of course, the red then felt extreme. If you began with red, all the rest would have been more subtle.

[@infinitum5425]

I think the biggest problem in digital is that no way can it match the quality of 5x4 50 ASA film no matter how many pixels in the sensor & with Adams he used dvelopment to control zones - he often, I believe, overexposed for shadow detail & then pulled the dev in the darkroom to retain highlights before they blocked out ( refer to H&D curve ) . There just isnt that mechanism of control in digital!

[@jasonzayas5487]

Digital photographers just don't get it.

[@saint.adrian]

I think red filter before the other adjustments would be much better

[@razzdad6787]

I don’t think Ansel Adams ever said he “shot” a picture

[@MykeWinters]

He always said he makes photographs

[@132indo]

digitally you won't be able to create the delicately feathered and seamless burning and dodging that Adams accomplished in the darkroom. He mapped his D&B plan with seconds in each area, creating a special tool for each negative. on digital manipulation you will have to use masks and they will have edges.

[@k1k2lee]

Ansel didn’t have a computer 😄

[@henrymessi4243]

why just 3 coment?

[@ThePhotoShow]

Hi Henry, some videos get instant views and some just take more time! Thank you for watching, stay safe, Dave.

[@youtubeaddict1]

Dodge and burn anyone 😊

[@ThePhotoShow]

Hi Yeinhorn, amazingly it was one of Ansel Adams great skills! Thank you for watching, stay safe, Dave.

[@dps6198]

Your not shooting anything! The title of your video is false and misleading. Photoshop is not a substitute for talent. I want to see what a real photographer does with a film camera, a red filter and a little bit of creativity.

[@giuliobonasso3663]

And you are missing the point of the video. As explaind in the video Ansel Adams was a master of the darkroom, Photoshop is the darkroom of today. There are almost no "real photographers" that doesn't use Photoshop and Lightroom. They are not substitute but they are tools, and they are indeed very hard to use the proper way. You sound like someone in 800' saying that photography is not real art, "real artists use canvas and paint".

[@tirtahahaha]

"Photoshop is not a substitute for talent" Lol, I got your point is about the correlation between the title and the actual content. But that statement sounds like a reflection of the lack of ability to do photo processing using present technology. Even Ansel ditched the old pictorialism and moved on to modern straight photography. If Ansel is living in this present day, I'm sure he would use processing software as a part of his workflow.

[@Jerry10939]

Ansel Adams also dodged and burned his images.

[@dalex60]

Why spend so much effort and expense trying to copy an established photographer, instead of developing your own style? Sad.

[@nagenhoj]

You learn from a master, then develop your own style!!Thats why

[@christianferrare1916]

STOP TO DO LIKE...!!!

[@philipadam7870]

Ansel Adams didn’t shoot anything, nor did he take photographs…. Ansel made photographs.