8/19/2008 – HDR Image Blurb Added, Below
Just when you were beginning to think that I am an old film fuddy-duddy ....
8/15/2008 – Annotated Guitar Gallery Up
8/9/2008 – Top and "About" Pages Updated
8/9/2008 – "Minato Mirai" Gallery Up
8/5/2008 – Film Blurb Added, Below
8/3/2008 – Leica M8 Meets Nikon D700
8/1/2008 – New Essay Up
7/24/2008 – Photo Gear Page Up
7/22/2008 – Music and Writings Pages Up
Welcome to kent-media.com, website of media creator* and long-term far-east observer/resident Kent Ibbott.
* Media creator? In this case that somewhat nebulous moniker refers to the crafting of words, sound, and/or images in the service of communication, for commercial purposes as well as good old entertainment and philosophical enrichment. Much of that communication occurs across the cultural boundary between Japan and English-speaking countries.
To preempt the possibility of being seen as a bit of a film troglodyte (not entirely
untrue), I thought I'd better put in a good word or two for digital imaging. In addition to the
speed, convenience, and accuracy of digital imaging for documentation and illustration, the digital
workflow offers a tremendous amount of scope for manipulation that would not have been easy or even
possible in the traditional darkroom. The image to the left is one example. It is an HDR (High
Dynamic Range) image that is produced by combining multiple exposure-bracketed frames that capture
the full dynamic range of the scene – from details in the deepest shadows to the most delicate
highlight subtleties. The resulting range of tonal values is far too broad to be handled by any
current monitor or printer, so it is carefully "tone mapped" to fit within the
capabilities of today's display and output devices. If done subtly you'd hardly notice ...
except for the extra shadow and highlight detail. But if pushed a bit further the result is a
distinctive look that is somewhat reminiscent of the Superrealist paintings that became popular
in the 70's: photographic and unreal all at the same time.
So what does it all mean? Yup, I'm working on an HDR gallery that will be up ... sooner or later.
For pure expediency digital imaging has clearly outmaneuvered film in the last few years.
But film has a beauty that digital still can't quite match, even though current digital is darn
good. I will go as far as to argue that medium and large format film deliver resolution and
gradation that result in a visual depth that transcends digital, even after scanning and digital
delivery. Of course it has to be exposed right, and processed right, and scanned right, and ...
frankly it's a pain, but the results are worthwhile.
I'm currently planning a little article that will go into this subject in a bit more detail, with
examples to back up my claims (if this forecast disappears quietly from the site at some point
... never mind).
In the meantime, the photo on the left was shot with a Hasselblad 503Cx on Fuji Pro 400 film,
scanned at a paltry 1200 spi on a flatbed scanner.
