Alternative
Digital
Photography
John G. Blair
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“The most beautiful thing we can
experience is the mysterious.
It is the source of all true art and science.”
—Albert Einstein, 1930
For Mom and Dad,
who taught me that making mistakes is
always part of the learning process
iv Alternative Digital Photography
Acknowledgments
In every book project there is a group of
people working behind the scenes to make this all happen. My agent, Carole
McClenden of Waterside Productions, was the one who first suggested that I write a
book on alternative digital photography after we had kicked around a few ideas. For
those not familiar with an agent’s duties, they include coaching, advising, and counsel-
ing in addition to the more mundane business side of things. Carole proposed the idea
to Megan Belanger, acquisitions editor at Thomson Course Technology PTR, who we
had worked with on an earlier project. Megan really liked the concept and carried it
through along with having a baby part way through the process just to add in some
extra special excitement. Jenny Davidson was the project editor and her hard work
shows throughout. Lensbabies, LLC. and Life Pixel Digital Infrared Conversion
Services provided products and services to enable me to write the chapters on Selective
Focus and Digital Infrared. Randy Smith of HolgaMods.com speeded up my order of
a Holga lens so that I could meet deadlines for this book. I appreciate their generosity.
Finally, a special thanks goes to my parents, Mary and Bud, to whom I dedicate this
book. They taught me it takes plenty of mistakes to learn and grow. I can directly
trace my love of experimenting back to them, allowing me to fail without shame and
to get up and try again. I love you, mom and dad.
About the Author v
About the Author
John G. Blair began writing and photographing in elemen-
tary school, publishing and selling his own newspaper at age 10. He has been a profes-
sional photographer for nearly 40 years. He has written earlier books including Digital
Boudoir Photography and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom published by Course Technology
and A Glossary of Digital Photography. He is experienced in boudoir, portrait, wedding,
commercial, editorial, stock, and fine art photography. He has worked in various
aspects of digital photography since 1991, starting in Photoshop 2.5! His boudoir
photography and scenes of him at work were featured on the French television pro-
gram, This Crazy World.
He has taught courses, presented seminars, and lectured on photographic and business
topics to groups of all ages from middle school children to professionals. He has pre-
sented a number of boudoir and makeup courses to professional photographers as
well. John’s award-winning work has led to his being named Photographer of the Year
twice in five Northern California counties. He has received a number of awards and
honors from the Professional Photographers of California. His studio is located in the
redwood forests of Northern California, which he shares with his wife and three large
dogs. In his spare time, he is a volunteer firefighter.
Contents vii
Contents
Introduction xii
How to Use this Book xv
Chapter 1
Creating Black and White from Color 1
Lesson 1.1—Creating Black and White with
Photoshop Grayscale 3
Lesson 1.2—Creating Black and White with
Photoshop Desaturate 4
Lesson 1.3—Creating Black and White with
Photoshop Lab Color Mode 6
Lesson 1.4—Creating Black and White with
Photoshop Channels 7
Lesson 1.5—Creating Black and White with the
Channel Mixer 10
Lesson 1.6—Creating Black and White with Lightroom 13
Lesson 1.7—Creating Black and White with Aperture 16
Comparison of Different Conversion Techniques 20
Gallery of Black-and-White Images 23
Chapter 2
Creating Sepia from Black-and-White
or Color Images 27
Lesson 2.1—Creating Sepia with Photoshop, Method 1 28
Lesson 2.2—Creating Sepia with Photoshop, Method 2 32
Lesson 2.3—Creating Sepia with Photoshop Elements 33
Lesson 2.4—Creating Sepia with Lightroom 35
Lesson 2.5—Creating Sepia with Aperture 38
Gallery of Sepia Images 40
viii Alternative Digital Photography
Chapter 3
Hand-Colored Black and White 45
Lesson 3.1—Starting with a Color Image in Photoshop,
Method 1 46
Lesson 3.2—Starting with a Color Image in Photoshop,
Method 2 47
Lesson 3.3—Starting with a Color Image in Lightroom 49
Lesson 3.4—Starting with a Black-and-White Image in
Photoshop 52
Gallery of Hand-Colored Black-and-White Images 56
Chapter 4
Hand-Colored Sepia 59
Lesson 4.1—Starting with an Image in Photoshop 60
Lesson 4.2—Starting with a Color Image in Lightroom 63
Lesson 4.3—Using Photoshop to Create a Sepia Image 67
Gallery of Hand-Colored Sepia Images 69
Chapter 5
Abstract 73
Lesson 5.1—Defocusing 74
Lesson 5.2—Shadows 76
Lesson 5.3—Silhouette 79
Gallery of Abstract Images 82
Chapter 6
Pleinart 87
Lesson 6.1—Using a Brush in Photoshop and Elements—
Example 1 88
Lesson 6.2—Using a Brush in Photoshop and Elements—
Example 2 90
Gallery of Pleinart Images 95
Contents ix
Chapter 7
Mosaic 99
Lesson 7.1—Creating a Panoramic Image in
David Hockney Style 101
Lesson 7.2—Creating an Entire Image 103
Lesson 7.3—Creating a Wide Format Panorama Image 109
Gallery of Mosaic Images 113
Chapter 8
Fresco 117
Lesson 8.1—Applying a Single Filter 119
Lesson 8.2—Applying Multiple Filters 123
Gallery of Fresco Images 126
Chapter 9
Photoimpressionism 129
Lesson 9.1—Photoshop Filters 131
Lesson 9.2—Photoshop and the Smudge Tool 132
Lesson 9.3—Photoshop Liquify Filter 134
Gallery of Photoimpressionism Images 137
Chapter 10
Sequences 139
Lesson 10.1—Sequence Example 1 140
Lesson 10.2—Sequence Example 2 144
Gallery of Sequences Images 148
x Alternative Digital Photography
Chapter 11
Digital Pinhole 153
Lesson 11.1—Making Your Own Digital Pinhole Camera 154
Lesson 11.2—Using a Commercial Pinhole Attachment 157
Gallery of Digital Pinhole Images 161
Chapter 12
Digital Infrared 165
Lesson 12.1—Making Your Own Infrared Filter 167
Lesson 12.2—Using a Glass Filter 168
Lesson 12.3—Using a Customized Infrared Camera 172
Lesson 12.4—Simulating Infrared in Photoshop 173
Comparison of Different Infrared Techniques 179
Gallery of Digital Infrared Images 180
Chapter 13
Neosymbolism 185
Lesson 13.1—Neosymbolism—Creating in
Lightroom 190
Lesson 13.2—Neosymbolism—Creating in
Photoshop 192
Gallery of Neosymbolism Images 197
Chapter 14
Selective Focus 201
Lesson 14.1—Photoshop and Blurring 203
Lesson 14.2—Lensbaby 2.0 and 3G 206
Lesson 14.3—Lensbaby Original 208
Gallery of Selective Focus Images 211
Contents xi
Chapter 15
Neomysticism 215
Lesson 15.1—Photoshop Techniques 216
Lesson 15.2—Using a Holga Lens 220
Gallery of Neomysticism Images 224
Chapter 16
Digital Toy Cameras 227
Lesson 16.1—Dealing with Toy Camera
Characteristics 230
Gallery of Digital Toy Camera Images 235
Chapter 17
Color Negative 239
Lesson 17.1—Color Negative with Photoshop 241
Lesson 17.2—Color Negative with a Digital Camera 244
Gallery of Color Negative Images 248
Appendix A
Glossary 251
Appendix B
Resource List 275
Manufacturers and Suppliers 275
Websites 276
Suggested Reading 277
Index 281
xii Alternative Digital Photography
Introduction
What is “alternative digital photography” anyway? That is the num-
ber one question people asked when this book idea was first being discussed. Perhaps
this is on your mind as well. To some, the term conjures up visions of strange lifestyles
involving macabre subjects. Actually, in this book, “alternative” simply means mysteri-
ous and out of the ordinary in terms of equipment and results. In day-to-day life
many photographers tend to get into a rut with their photography. They need a few
ideas to get the creative juices flowing again. That’s where Alternative Digital
Photography comes in. This is a book of lessons and ideas that should help you get
excited about your photography and move you in new directions.
This book has its roots in film photography techniques that were around long before
digital photography and Photoshop came about. Bored photographers looking for
new vistas were cross-processing their film; using strange combinations of color filters;
etching on negatives, prints, and Polaroids; interrupting the processing of prints with a
flash of light; using unusual films; hand coloring and painting black-and-white prints;
painting with light; and trying unusual ways to expose film such as using pinhole
cameras. This led to solarization, Polaroid transfers, Polaroid manipulations, slide film
processed in the wrong chemicals, Polaroid slide film, black-and-white film push
processed in a Dektol print developer, the use of the famous Holga and Diana plastic
cameras, and many more experimental techniques. Digital photography entered the
scene in a big way over the past few years. At first digital is a lot of fun. After awhile it
seems to become a bit mechanical, sterile, and left-brained. Many photographers yearn
for some of the fun and unexpected results that film-based techniques could provide.
The purpose of this book is to bring back that fun by suggesting digital reproductions
of the old techniques such as digital pinhole cameras, digital toy cameras, and digital
infrared. It also suggests some new ideas such as Fresco and Neosymbolism.
Not all of the ideas in this book will appeal to everyone. That is by design. Some of
the lessons are easy and take a minimum of equipment. Others require purchasing
special tools or software. Use the ideas that fit within your interests and budget and
ignore the rest, or save them for another day.
And now on to the book… I suggest that you start with “How to Use This Book”
and then randomly try out some of the lessons. Good luck with your journey. Feel
free to contact me at www.johngblair.com if you have any questions or suggestions
along the way.
Introduction xiii
xiv Alternative Digital Photography
Introduction xv
How to Use This Book
This book is broken into chapters that are groups of lessons. Each group of lessons is
designed to create a particular style of image. The chapters contain various lessons that
will help to create similar types of images in different ways. The easiest way to use this
book is to glance through the table of contents and look at the small images with each
chapter heading. If a particular style of image looks interesting to you, then flip
through that chapter for more example images. Still interested in that image style?
Then read the lessons and try a few. Perhaps following those lessons will lead you in
another direction and provide even more discoveries. Please feel free to share those
new discoveries with the author.
It is not expected that all lessons will appeal to all photographers. The book and the
lessons are designed that way on purpose. They are designed to stretch your defini-
tions of what a photograph is and can be. They were created with the idea of remov-
ing some limitations in thinking. Some of the techniques are easy and require very
little equipment. Others require the purchase of specialized equipment or the modifi-
cation of existing equipment and may be beyond the budget or interests of some read-
ers. Some of the image styles are quite unusual and don’t necessarily appeal to all tastes
either. Have fun with them.
Although nearly anyone can use these ideas in expanding their photography and cre-
ativity, the book assumes a basic understanding of digital photography. It is assumed
also that the reader has mastered his particular digital camera and has his camera man-
ual available to look up the answers to basic questions that may come up. If that is not
the case, pick up a basic digital photography book (one is listed in Appendix B,
“Resource List”) to get up to speed. The ideas in this book took years to gather and
develop. Don’t expect to master them overnight. Enjoy the experience of trying some-
thing new.
Chapter 1
Creating Black and White
from Color
The creation of black and white, more properly now called
“grayscale,” images has nearly always been popular with photographers. There is just
something special about them. The way black and white can change a scene and focus
attention on form, shape, and shadow is part of their appeal. In the past, photogra-
phers had their favorite black-and-white film that they had to use if they wanted qual-
ity black-and-white images. Using a normal black-and-white enlarging paper with a
color negative or even using a special black-and-white enlarging paper designed for use
with color negative films did not give the highest quality results.
Today, using different digital techniques, beautiful black-and-white images can be cre-
ated from color digital files. There are many different ways to do this. The lessons
below are just a few of the more popular ways that are possible. Besides Photoshop,
there are a large number of software solutions that offer varying degrees of control
over the process. For the Mac there is iPhoto, Aperture, Lightroom, Graphic
Converter, Photoshop Elements, GIMP, and many more. For PC there is Picasa,
Lightroom, Graphic Converter, Photoshop Elements, Photoshop Album, GIMP, and
others. All of these should be investigated if you love black and white and don’t
already have one of the other software programs. There is also a wide variety of plug-
ins for Photoshop as well. It would take an entire book just to cover all of the different
ways to convert a color image into a black-and-white one. The following lessons
should get you started.
2 Alternative Digital Photography
We will start with a color digital image of three colors of tulips against a black back-
ground as shown in Figure 1.1. This will help to make the differences between differ-
ent types of black-and-white conversions stand out more clearly. None of the methods
are inherently better than the others, although many photographers have their
favorites. You may use one type because it is quick and you are in a hurry to get a
rough idea of what a black-and-white image would look like. You may use another
type of conversion because it gives you better control over the mapping of various col-
ors into various shades of black and white even though it takes longer.
Figure 1.1 This is the color image we are starting with for the following lessons.
Creating Black and White from Color 3
Lesson 1.1—Creating Black and White
with Photoshop Grayscale
This is one of the easiest lessons. Simply open the image in Photoshop and then select
Image > Mode > Grayscale as shown in Figure 1.2 for Photoshop CS and Figure 1.3
for Photoshop Elements 3. That’s all there is to it. It is fast and easy and produces a
decent black-and-white image, as shown in Figure 1.4. Move on to Lesson 1.2 for
another “one-step” example technique that produces a different result.
Figure 1.2 Converting a color image
into a black-and-white or grayscale
image by using the Grayscale command
in Photoshop CS.
Figure 1.3 Converting a color image
into a black-and-white or grayscale
image by using the Grayscale command
in Photoshop Elements 3.
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