steve george Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 Hi there I've read a lot of posts on here over the past few months but am looking for a particular question / answer I can't find anywhere... Why is it that some photo's seem totally saturated with color - in particular I've been looking at the Daryl Benson website and the pictures are amazing - the blues are so blue, the whites have hundreds of shades, the greens are vibrant and the contrasts are amazing. Is this film based saturation? Filter aided? Have taken a few nature pics I'm happy with but nothing like that level of color detail. Am going on a big trip in August and any tips would be very gratefully received! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_hohner Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 <ul> <li>Wait for good light <li>Use slide film, maybe one of the saturated ones (Fuji Velvia) <li>Expose correctly <li>Process film in good lab <li>Use good lenses (good contrast, little flare) <li>Use lens hood (reduces flare even more) <li>Try using polarizer </ul> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve george Posted June 13, 2003 Author Share Posted June 13, 2003 Hi Michael Thanks for the swift response - I have been using Velvia and a polariser - and pretty much all of the other things you mention too...bracketing to ensure a good exposure range taking, paying attention to the light, and so on, I've read a lot about yellow / blue polarisers too and plan to invest in one of these too. I just thought maybe there was something I was missing..! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightcraftsman Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 Steve, what time do you get out of bed to go take photos? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guytal Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 A lot also depends on post-processing. Someone who knows their way around color correction, contrast masking, dodging and burning etc. can usually produce images with a lot more impact than someone who just scans their chromes and throws them on a web site with no additional work. <br><br> Guy<br> <a href="http://scenicwild.com">Scenic Wild</a> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_bald Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 <a href="http://www.darylbenson.com/">Click here</a> for the site Steve is referring to - Daryl Benson's web site. Gorgeous images there. <p>I see why Steve was struck by the colors. They're terrific, without being ridiculously saturated. To my eye, it looks like the photographer used a good slide film (maybe Provia) or an exceptional DSLR (maybe the Canon 1Ds), and there was some skilful color enhancement done in Photoshop (maybe with the Nik color filter plug-ins?). <p>I'm right with you, Steve. I'd like to learn how to get such strong, pleasing colors in my images. Actually, my curiosity about Daryl's images got to me, so I sent him an email message to ask How did you get such vivid colors? Of course, it's a beautiful June day so he's probably out shooting somewhere, not sitting in an office cubicle as I am :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve george Posted June 13, 2003 Author Share Posted June 13, 2003 My best have always been sunrise - insomniac so that's not too hard! Winter sunrises have been particularly fruitful, though a few shortly before sunset have come out ok too. Don't know why, but I just can't get that level of color saturation that I see in pics like the Daryl Benson ones. Thanks to all of you for replying so quickly - I thought I'd be lucky to get even one or two let alone so fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_bald Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 Michael had a good list - I've found those to be important factors in making good images, but I haven't been able to achieve the color saturation I see in Daryl Benson's images on his site. To get those colors, he's got to be either using filters on his lens or using an image editor to enhance the colors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gauthier Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 All the advice above is good, especially about using the most saturated slide films: Velvia, Provia, E100 VS... But you must also find a colorful scene. Spring is good because it's usually rainy - everything is young, lush and vivid in color. Summer is comparatively dry - lots of not so attractive yellows - but a week worth of rain can do wonders. Learn to shoot after storms. Colors are good and the light is often very nice, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilkka_nissila Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 You could try rainy days ... the colours really pop and there's a great contrast. Use a warm & saturated film, e.g. E100GX. You could also try E100VS ... but you still need to get great light to get great pictures ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lyndon Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 While a lot of DB's stuff is nice, some of it comes across as overly saturated, in my opinion anyway -- and that from someone who shoots 90% Velvia! Whether it's on-camera filtration (as would be my guess based on the evidence of other filters like the soft filter on the cows, for example) or post- production in Photoshop, he obviously has a look that he is going for that comes down to personal preference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_roberts Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 Steve, Aside from the usual ie. sunrise/sunset shooting, Velvia or VS, Benson is famous for the extreme use of filters.He shoots mostly medium format. He uses color, polarizer, split grad, etc.Also, pushing(especially VS) can yield some interesting colors.Another thing to remember is the image you see on a website might not look anything like the transparancy. Cibachrome prints can also give supersaturated images. If you like Benson's stuff he has some books out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_bald Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 Another photographer, one of my favorites, who has images with great vivid colors is Michael Busselle in the UK - <a href="http://www.michael-busselle.com/"><b>click here</b></a> for his web site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hique Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 I don't think the colors from Benson's site is anything unique. It's the common look from a contrasty, saturated film like velvia, scanned and a bit photoshopped. Easily achieved. His compositions are his strength. Those non-tele animals close-ups are terrific. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Crowe Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 The kids are playing games on my computer so I am stuck on their slow one! I could only spend a very short time trying to go through the site you referred to. The photograph of hay bales on the St. Lawrence looks like it was heavily photoshopped while others just look like saturated film. Film size makes a huge difference with medium format and 4x5 being much better than 35mm. Not sure what the photographer was using. With respect to 35mm cameras themselves, there is an extremely wide range of lens quality available. Do not depend upon polarizers to save your images, they actually create problems of their own. They reduce shadow detail and reduce contrast. They can give a very flat appearance to the subject. Since I started replacing okay glass with exceptional glass, 15 years ago, I have not touched a polarizer. Exceptional glass increases contrast and colour rendition. Good luck and keep shooting!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmi Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 Check out the colors on this site: http://www.hanselmannphotography.com/Thumbnail%20Pages/All%20time%20favorites%201.html Very nice images! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claire_curran1 Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 DB has a book out called "A Guide to Photographing the Canadian Landscape." In it he describes his rather extensive use of filters and use of Photoshop. He is also a frequent contributor to Outdoor Photographer. His articles for the magazine are usually about filters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catherine_l Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 Hello, I havnt been here befor, what an awesome site! This is the first question i wanted to post! So i did a search and vola... How do they do it??!! I'm into portraiture and I feel all my images (i guess not just the portraits) are lacking that special something.. it's driving me nuts!! i'm not just talking about the colour, it's the amazing depth and tones everyone ELSES images seem to have.. (eg Barry Thornton http://www.barry-thornton.co.uk/zone.htm) I was thinking maybe the zone system may have something to do with it.. Does anyone know what I mean, simply check out the "Top Photos" on this site and you will see what I mean.. Beautiful.. Even the simpliest have this quality about them..gorgeous colours and depth! I feel theres nothing wrong with my basics, I must be missing something?? Also, (i know, i dont ask for much huh!) I was wondering what it is you do to get an image with people in the foreground in focus AND the background in focus as well.. is it simply a wide lens and a smaller aperture? Thanks! (I have studied photography for 2yrs and feel like a total waste of time!) Catherine catherinelowe1402@hotmail.com (i dont know if im supposed to put my email there.. but anyhow, if ya wanna email me go for it!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now