JDMvW Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 It is not often that we are in at the beginning, my fellow P.netters, but this is one of those times. I think we have witnessed a beginning here, at long last, of a name for a method, frequently practiced without acknowledgment here in pictures posted on photo.net. Hashim at that post also acknowledged this new day. namely, Sanford Gerald in another post on Ansel Adams said: >>I use the "Ozone System". I underexpose the photograph and then use "Highlight/Shadow" in Photoshop to bring out the details in the darker areas.<< He may have been joking, but this is clearly beyond a mere jest. For those of us who are serious users of this method, I only suggest that the defaults in Photoshop for this are too high on both the shadow and highlight lines. Set them considerably lower, and the result won't have so much of that distinctive "glow" around the objects in the picture. ;) Here are examples of the Ozone method the top is the original scanned slide, the middle is Highlight/Shadow overdone, and the last is a version of the technique with the values dialed down from the original defaults in PS Even at the defaults, there is typically an "edge" effect, and overdoing it even more produces a very flat effect.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDMvW Posted September 23, 2008 Author Share Posted September 23, 2008 And yes, that is a ca. 1963 Dodge Dart (of Cartalk fame). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petemillis Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 The original "non-ozone" is best - it's got "real" depth and drama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDMvW Posted September 23, 2008 Author Share Posted September 23, 2008 Pete, I quite agree, but the bottom one would be of more "documentary" value as a picture to display in class to show the actual conformation of the mounds. This is, by the way, taken at the Moundville site in Alabama -- a 13th c Mississippian mound site (in fact, the second-largest one). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Interesting. This is the first time I hear about the Ozone System. In your post you metioned the key is to underexpose and then correct with highlight/shadow Lately what I've read regarding exposure is to (expose to the right) since the lighter end of the histogram contains most of the information and the least amount of noise. I have a bit of a hard time going to the right side since my eyes seem to like images on the darker side. So I'm working hard at shooting to the right concept. It will be interesting to see what other people have to say about it. Regards, Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mendel_leisk Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 JDM, I think the last version is a big improvement, without being obviously manipulated, very natural looking. I use Adobe Camera Raw similarly, I forget what the sliders called: it's on the first tab, deals with recovering shadow detail. I find whatever percent I raise it by, a corresponding percent increase in the "contrast" slider makes the effect very seamless and natural looking. Did you raise mid-tone contrast in the above? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photo_dark Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 personally, I think somewhere between #1 and #3. I like the drama in #1, but it's nice to have the larger dynamic range and detail in #3... so it's a toss up. I find that if I try bringing out all that detail that I end up reverting (basically) to #1 anyways by clipping the blacks slightly. I guess it's all personal preference. I like darks to be dark... usually anyways.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iliafarniev Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 IMO the ozone system is milked dry by pros long ago and most of amos can't realy use for as much as one single shot but, hey lets hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDMvW Posted September 26, 2008 Author Share Posted September 26, 2008 Yes, there is another path to the "Ozone System" if you shoot RAW. Then the sliders for "exposure", "fill light", and some others have the same effect in manipulation of the RAW image, that the Shadow/Highlight does in jpgs. I haven't yet tried scanning in RAW from slides, but need to look into doing it. Of course, I was, as is my wont, being partly ironic, as was Sanford Gerald, but this really is a very useful tool, and I wanted to point out that the default settings in PS CS3 overdo the process for most pictures. It's wonderful for "rescuing" scans of old Kodachrome slides where the shadow detail "was lost, but now is found". ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDMvW Posted October 20, 2009 Author Share Posted October 20, 2009 <p>AND STILL LATER FOR THE ARCHIVES:</p> <p>You can open ordinary jpgs in Adobe Camera Raw from Bridge by right clicking on the thumbnail and choosing "open in Camera Raw". I recommend option clicking on the save which "opens a copy" and the original jpg will be left unmodified, and you can save the altered file by saving as.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James G. Dainis Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Zone system - Expose for the shadows; develop for the highlights. Ozone system - Expose for the highlights; convert for the shadows. James G. Dainis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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