DSLR Photography Forum

Firstly, let me qualify the image: I'm in no way exhibitionistic and don't regard myself as photogenic; I'm even more uncomfortable with the idea of any part of me being publicly visible below the face.
I was taking some naff pics of myself for a forthcoming holiday, then just decided to take my shirt off on a couple of spare frames, basically because I wanted to investigate a possible digi-version of the time-honoured darkroom/filmmakers' technique of bleach-bypassing.
This darkroom technique, lately retro-contemporary (!), basically involves developing the film without the bleaching process, leaving the silver to degrade. A more simple explanation is the "Saving Private Ryan" look: gritty, grainy, contrasty and under-saturated. With monochromes, one can get a contrasted, chiselled...almost metallic look that is quite striking in male portraiture.
I decided, with myself as guinea-pig, to give this a go in CS2: a trimmed-down modus operandi would be contrast-boost, gamma messabout, grain layer and/or layered desaturation perhaps in overlay mode. The best that this can hope for is "reasonable-faux", as with the real darkroom deal there are subtle changes in shadow areas.
Now, I realise Nik's do a reasonable version of this technique(and their grain is really well done)...but I can't justify spending over a ton(GBP) on Silver FXPro, particularly as I've enough nous and bits in CS2 to do it myself.
Here's my own version.
In order to start off with as much detail before "degradation", I banged the contrast as low as possible in my initial raw-tiff conversion.
Here I deliberately pushed things to the extreme in terms of darkness and contrast; as details disappeared, I helped them along with a soft black brush.
This was actually taken in my garden, with 10 secs on the timer, the 70-200 set to about 120mm, in early evening, with the focus a total guess.
(Sorry: that's 111mm, ISO 800 and not a 10 sec exposure of course)

Bold, striking, and, methinks, quite effective. I can't compare the results to the original technique, having never heard of it before, but I'd say that it enhances the photo instead of standing in its way.

I can also appreciate the photogenics issues; I share your concerns for myself, but your results come out quite well. I'd call The Look as something between Charlton Heston as Moses and the contemporary Iggy Pop.

What will the neighbours think?
Interesting technique. My comment, not the neighbours.

Interesting. I'm not convinced that is how I would want my own self portrait to look - but the technique is sound - I can see using it on CD packaging for the metal band I sometimes work with. I assume that when you say helping with a soft dark brush that you are referring to painting in extra shadows, yes?

I am very happy that you brought this topic up Zig.
I have a technique in my post processing that I see, it is very similar to this one. I always thought that many people could take it as wrong because I keep a lot of detail in the dark area but I love it.

I hope you don't mind if I show you. Mine comes with a greenish hue. I do it all in LR. I would appreciate a lot Zig, if you had any thought about my post processing you would tell me. I'd love to improve my technique.



Thanks a lot!

Bless you all for your considered replies. Despite my "online humour" I am still in 2 minds as to whether to have posted this shot at all. Ahwell, get over yourself Shaun.
Irma: thank you. Do you know, the thing that challenges me, is that when I look at many other examples of this processing style, how often they are unafraid to really increase the contrast. I always feel I am going to blow out the highlights, and that this somehow must be avoided...BUT, I confess, actually going ahead and doing so, really does help! One can also then add/layer some diffusion to the highlights in Photoshop. I think, Irma, we maybe get too used to doing things on a computer! That is, we look for the whitest spot we can, call that our white point, then are too careful to conserve highlights. In the real examples I've seen, the creator has been again unafraid, considering the whole look of the image rather than concentrating at the pixel level.
There is nothing to criticise in your shot here, I'm sure: that shadow softness and detail IS very stylish...and low-key gives a moodines and emotionality all of its own.
One thing to add, is that "real" (darkroom) toning, particularly split-toning, gives different hues to the shadows and highlights. Usually the silver in the emulsion is replaced by another element, selenium say; one process will tone the shadows, another the highlights. Consequently, one's final shot might contain more sepia in the shadows, blue in the highlights, leaving the mids neutral and chemically untouched: hence, "split" toning, as one tone targets shadows, another highlights.
The thing about the bleach-bypassing, is that when the highlight detail is degraded, these areas obviously become more "blown out": now, of course, what happens is that you then have the actual texture of the paper revealed, which with fine art papers(along with the film's grain) gives the most interesting textures.
Yours technique is really effective here, truly: that lovely cool green shadow revealing the warmer highlights...I'd think this would be gorgeous for female portraits too, to be honest.
The thing is, there are so many different darkroom/film techniques, all with their own chemical reactions on different parts of the emulsion: dyes do one thing, toners another, etc; the combinations in digital approximations are I'm sure endless, with some more successful than others.
Nothing is wrong, in a sense...apart from when something comes out unexpectedly and one doesn't like it!
Matthew: that made me LARF! I shall pass this comment on to all my remaining friends.
NT: good point: I strategically placed a 20-foot hedge between myself and prying eyes for the duration of the shoot. The only sound was the thump of falling blackbirds. :/

Thanks a lot Zig for your explanation.

Yes, you are very right. To this very same treatment, I turned the toning as you said sepia for shadows and blue for highlights and I got a really nice effect in dark sepia. I will play a bit more with this setting...

Lovely!
I'd love to see the results!

I like the "Saving Private Ryan" look: gritty, grainy, contrasty and under-saturated".

While your example doesn't really strike me as having that exact look (probably the lack of background) it's definitely compelling and it works.

I salute your bravery as a model, too.