If I want the sky or parts of the clouds not to be white, I meter them, and place them in zone 7. Sometimes, though, this causes everything else in the scene (on the ground) to look sort of flat, because all the values are compressed.
I also sometimes use a yellow filter, which helps the clouds stand out a bit, if there are clouds. Example:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shannonstoney/486979767/
I didn't have to burn this in; it just was. This was a very uncontrasty scene and it needed extra development (actually more than it got).
The yellow filter also makes a plain blue sky look more dramatic and darker. Sometimes it looks a bit too dark, and too unnatural. Example:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shannonstoney/452987039/in/set-72157600059985188/
--shannon
I had purchased "Edge of Darkness" by Barry Thornton a few years ago. Great book BTW. It's the book you should read _after_ Adam's trilogy. It's well written and well laid out. A little anal in spots though.
But what interests me most in his book is his images. They really are fantastic. What most strikes me is his skies. I can remember back to when I was a teen and in high school (back when Jesus was still a cowboy) and my art teacher laying into me because I never painted in the entire paper. I always left the skies white.. unpainted.
Well, so many of my landscapes are like that.. the skies are white. I try to burn it in.. The clouds are there on the negs but after a while, I'd give up. Burning in skies is such PITA.
So my question is, what do you do to get real skies on your prints ? Do you use red filters ? Do you N+3 to get your skies ? Or do you burn the living daylights (literally) to get your skies on your prints ?
Thanks
J
--
Justin F. Knotzke
jknotzke@xxxxxxxxxx
http://www.shampoo.ca
