Ed, I use the Power Retouche plugin (note the final "e") to convert from colour to B&W, and one of the features is the ability to add filters of various colours and strengths. A BLUE filter might be just the thing to suppress that over-bright yellow shirt. You can try the plug-in free (Windows only, I believe).
Roger - He was wearing an incredibly bright, shiny yellow shirt that would have required a lot of burning-in even on a traditional print. And his skin is very dark, so there was quite a tonal range to work with. Lighting was a single monolight behind a 4x4 ft. white paper screen.
Dirk - Yes, I still prefer medium format film for prints, but I get some jobs that don't require prints. This shot, for example, would be used for CD's or posters, printed on a press, and modified by a graphics artist. For those kind of jobs, digital sure is easier. For portrait jobs where the final product is a print to hang on the wall, I still prefer medium format film. (And I really hate to shoot 35mm film).
At this size, the rendering of the textures (skin, hair, straw hat) is good enough to look like MF, but there's an overblown look about the highlights on his jacket that whispers "digital" to me. Quite apart from the technical aspects, though a lovely portrait...
He, Ed, I must say, your digital work is very close to your medium format shots, however when you blow this picture up you would a be better of with a medium format negative, what's your thought? Regards, dirk.
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{K:86139} 9/7/2005
