Tezenas style - processing

[JanCderidder]

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How does Ambroise Tézenas process (most) of his images, as you can see here: Photography by Ambroise Tézenas | 設計•香港 I think they are wonderful but haven't a clue as where to start doing this.....

[01af]

I think it is not so much the result of sophisticated post-processing but the look you will naturally get from shooting at very long shutter speeds (several seconds up to a few minutes) in the dark. Also see the pictures from Peter Bialobrzeski in the LFI Gallery and the LFI Magazine 2/2010.

[JanCderidder]

Thanks for the LFI Link, some really amazing images to be found there ....

 

Peter Bialobrzeski' images aren't what I'm looking for actually, they are nice,but not a style I would like to pursue upon.

 

It seems like there are a lot of "Hopper'esque" images being now (edward hopper) I really like that stayle and found some of it in the Tezenas gallery. Now browsing through the LFI I have found dozens more, not making it any easier, but enhancing my time on the internet...

 

Again, thanks for the link.

[01af]

It seems like there are a lot of "Hopper'esque" images being now (edward hopper) I really like that style and found some of it in the Tezenas gallery. Now browsing through the LFI I have found dozens more ...

I think the "Hopperism" mostly comes from the choice of subject and composition, not from the processing. Shooting at dusk or at night helps, too.

[sanyasi]

Having looked at the photos, I share your admiration for the style. I don't think any of the photos are HDR. In many cases, I think he may have reduced the color temperature, at least that is a hypothesis worth considering.

 

I like night urban photography and one thing I have noticed is that all the street/tungsten lighting in cities has a tendency to place a yellow or orange cast over the entire photo rather than just those lights. In processing my own stuff (not suggesting it is on par with Tezenas;)), I find myself reducing the color temperature to reduce the yellow and orange. Another thing to try (but it can have an effect on parts of photo you don't necessarily want to impact) is to reduce the luminance and saturation for the yellow and orange channels. I am working in Lightroom.

 

I have found the M9 to be very good for night photography when coupled with a tripod. You can set the ISO low (160), close down the aperture for more DOF, and auto bracket 7 shots. I have experimented with HDR, but I would say more often than not, I end up printing one of the exposures w/o applying HDR. Of course, if you are leaving the lens open for 32 seconds (which is what happens), you do have to accept or deal with ghosting artifacts, etc., but I am a big fan of ghosting and streaks so I don't mind.

 

I have tended to do landscapes, but the Tezenas photos have inspired me to try alleys and other tighter spaces.

 

If you figure it out, please repost.

 

Jack Siegel

[Guest WPalank]

Since external links don't work on the iPad anymore in the LUF as about 2 weeks ago unless they are direct links to the Forum, I had to google the gentleman and this is what I came up with:

Ambroise Tézenas Photography - mashKULTURE

 

His work seems to be less about pp and more about controlling the light either through artificial sources or selection of time of day/night. In post he might be bumping up the Saturation slightly while putting a negative value in Vibrance at a very subtle level. Plus a slight bump in temperature.

 

The first image of the car at night is very possibly a large external source such as a HMI light used on external movie sets.

 

In the image of the bicycle being lit by the kiosk, probably a hot light or multiple powerful studio strobes giving the illusion of a natural light source within the confines of the shed.

 

As far as the Hopper analogy, I agree with olaf and really don't see the connection unless you mean Dennis Hopper RIP who's work I'm really not that familiar with. But if Edward, to me, his work is more about isolation/loneliness even with the proximity of others.

[sanyasi]

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William took the words right out of my mouth. I looked at the series of photos last night, inviting my wife to join me. She agreed with me that the car in London #01 looks like it is lit with an external light source. The shadow of the car looks too well defined to be simply from a street lamp. Although less obvious, the lighting of the wall and the foreground in Beijing #05 also look too purposeful, concentrated, and different than the lighting surrounding the larger building towering in the background. Could be portable lights.

 

On the other hand, there is a street lamp to the center right in Hong Kong #03 that looks similar to the ones we have in Chicago. The light strikes me as too white to not suggest that the color temperature has not been adjusted in post production.

 

Hong Kong #04 shows some concentration or control of the lighting in the street opening between the two buildings. This could be how the light actually existed, but I suspect there was some post production in #04 rather than the use of external lighting by the photographer. Given the fact that photographer was located in a building above the scene and the lighting covers the streets running in both directions, I suspect he did not have artificial lights on the ground. Too complicated and hard to control unless you were making a movie and controlled the streets.

 

I suspect that Mr. Tezenas uses a combination of post production and artificial lighting to achieve his pleasing results.

 

Jack Siegel

[sanyasi]

I have sent Mr. Tezenas an email, pointing out the interest in his work and asking him whether he would like to comment on this thread.

 

From my standpoint, this is a more useful thread than "which lens or case should I buy." Others may disagree, which is fine.

 

Jack Siegel

[plasticman]

fwiw I'm finding I have far fewer color-cast problems shooting with film in mixed lighting than I do with digital. This is strange, as I'd recalled that the opposite had been the case.

 

Many of those images are very haunting and beautiful - especially the long exposures that people a busy street with 'ghosts'.

 

Possibly the 'Hopper' style that the OP mentions refers to this image - though it doesn't appear to be totally characteristic of his work. Thanks for introducing me to this photographer - wonderful.

 

btw - no-one seems to have listed his website:

 

http://www.ambroisetezenas.com/

[sanyasi]

Prior to digital, my experience with film was as a traveler who shot Kodak or Fuji drugstore film using a Canon EOS. From what I have read, there are many different films, each having different characteristics. I recall reading that films will handle light conditions (besides ISO) differently. So I assume Mr. Tezenas can achieve in the film world what we can achieve in the digital world through post processing temperature adjustments through his choice of film.

 

Any comments on that statement?

[esquire53]

JanCderidder,

 

Thanks for the very useful thread and thanks "sanyasi" and "WPalank" for their very useful comments.

 

I love night photograhy, but all I can do is with available lights. I started with film and later slides and scan with post processing.

I have not found the right processing technique for my M8 and M9.

They are both phantastic for night work. Thanks for the inspiration.

 

Uwe