12 InfraRed Photography

WARNING several things to consider when shooting infrared:

1. Keep infrared film cold.
2. Load infrared film in complete darkness.
3. Use a filter when shooting infrared film.
4. Photograph in early or late day light, never at night, or mid-day.
5. Choose landscapes, live things for your subject.
6. Consider the sky- dramatic clouds look amazing.
7. People look creepy- pale, eyes are black and veins are pronounced. 

In infrared photography, the film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the spectrum used is referred to as near-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermal imaging. Wavelengths used for photography range from about 700 nanometre to about 900 nm. Film is usually sensitive to visible light too, so an infrared-passing filter is used; this lets infrared (IR) light pass through to the camera, but blocks all or most of the visible light spectrum (the filter thus looks black or deep red). ("Infrared filter" may refer either to such a filter or to one that blocks infrared but passes other wavelengths.)

When IR filters are used together with infrared-sensitive film or sensors, very interesting "in-camera effects" can be obtained; false-color or black-and-white images with a dreamlike or sometimes lurid effect mainly caused by foliage (such as tree leaves and grass) strongly reflecting in the same way visible light is reflected from snow. There is a small contribution from chlorophyll fluorescence, but this is marginal and is not the real cause of the brightness seen in infrared photographs

This is a BW Infrared project, but you are welcome to try digital infrared, but it seems that you need specialized/adapted camera equipment.

Here is an Infrared Photography site to check out: http://www.infraredphoto.eu/Site/GentleIntro1.html

12- Zone System Analysis

Choose one of the Ansel Adam's Landscape photos and identify the zones. You should have at least one of each of the zones: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, there likely will not be zones O or X. You can either save the image and indentify this in Photoshop, or on Word... Illustrator... then post to your Journal.

12 Zone System

Your camera’s metering modes are built to give you a correct reading under most average situations. But when you’re faced with an exceptional situation, your camera’s metering can easily be fooled, thinking a scene is brighter or darker than it actually is. This is where knowledge of the zone system can save you a lot of trouble, and help you capture not only correct but also intriguing exposures every time.

 

Although calculations for the zone system were originally based on black and white sheet film, the Zone System is also applicable to roll film, both black and white and color, negative and reversal, and even to digital photography.

 

The Zone System’s Key Concepts
The zone system divides a scene into 10 zones on the tonal scale (though there are variations of 9 and 11 zones). Every tonal range is assigned a zone. Every zone differs from the one before it by 1 stop, and from the one following it by 1 stop. So every zone change equals 1 stop difference. Zones are identified by roman numbers, with the middle tone (with 18% reflectance) being a zone V which is zone 5.
Photographers, usually are only concerned with zones III through VII (zones 3 through 7). The darkest part of a scene would fall into zone III, while the brightest part of a scene would fall into zone VII. Anything darker than zone III would render as pure black with no detail (under-exposed), while anything brighter than zone VII would render as pure white with no detail (over-exposed).
If you point your camera at an area with average reflectance and obtain the correct meter readings (a zero on the light meter), that area would be rendered as average. If you open up your lens or slow down your shutter speed by one stop, that area will become over-exposed by one stop. If you close down your lens or increase your shutter speed by one stop, that area will become under-exposed by one stop.
An average tone is naturally placed into zone V. If you over-expose it by one stop, you’ll be placing it in zone VI (zone 6), causing it to render brighter than it actually is. If you under-expose it by one stop, you’ll be placing it in zone IV (zone 4) causing it to render darker than it actually is.
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The Zone System is a photographic technique for determining optimal film exposure and development, formulated by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer in 1939–1940. The technique is based on the late 19th century sensitometry studies of Hurter and Driffield. The Zone System provides photographers with a systematic method of precisely defining the relationship between the way they visualize the photographic subject and the final results.

 

 

 

0-I-II-III-IV-V-VI-VII-VIII-IX

 

Zone Scale
0 Pure black

 

I Near black, with slight tonality but no texture

 

II Textured black; the darkest part of the image in which slight detail is recorded

 

III Average dark materials and low values showing adequate texture

 

IV Average dark foliage, dark stone, or landscape shadows

 

V Middle gray: clear north sky; dark skin, average weathered wood

 

VI Average Caucasian skin; light stone; shadows on snow in sunlit landscapes

 

VII Very light skin; shadows in snow with acute side lighting

 

VIII Lightest tone with texture: textured snow

 

IX Slight tone without texture; glaring snow

 

X Pure white: light sources and specular reflections

 

The relationship between the physical scene and the print is established by characteristics of the negative and the print. Exposure and development of the negative are usually determined so that a properly exposed negative will yield an acceptable print on a specific photographic paper.

The Assignment

1. First- find an image by Ansel Adams an identify all of the zones.
2. Then you are to go out with a grey card and a roll of Black & White Film and take portraits and landscape photos around the area.  Take an overall reading from your light meter in your camera and take that photo.
3. Then point your camera at a middle grey card set your exposure to that setting and then take the photo of your scene. Note if there is a difference in exposure.
4. Bracket your photos at least one up and one down for each photo.
5. Print a contact sheet and one 5 x 7 evenly exposed and contrasted print.