From Oz to Kansas: Almost Every Black and White Conversion Technique Known to Man [Paperback]

Vincent Versace (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 7, 2012 | ISBN-10: 0321794028 | ISBN-13: 978-0321794024 | Edition: 1

The ability to create a stunning black and white image remains one of photography’s greatest and most aspirational skills. Being able to "see" in black and white is an enviable capability, and a well-crafted black and white photograph remains the finest of the fine arts. Master photographer Vincent Versace has spent his career teaching the art of perception and how to translate it into extraordinary black and white images.

In From Oz to Kansas: Almost Every Black and White Conversion Technique Known to Man, Versace discusses digital black and white photography–with a nod to traditional film-based techniques. As Versace states, today the goal is "to use what was right and good about silver photography, leaving behind what was limiting, and use what is right and good about digital photography, while avoiding its pitfalls. This is what this book is all about."

The reason you must learn "almost every black and white conversion technique known to man" is because, depending on the image–and your goals for it–there are many paths you can take in order to arrive at your final destination. Working through Versace’s techniques will give you the essential knowledge you need, as well as the ability to select the appropriate conversion technique for any image, allowing you to create a black and white image that best and most accurately reflects what you felt at the moment that you pressed the shutter.

Foreword by Dr. Richard Zakia, Professor Emeritus, Rochester Institute of Technology

Afterword by John Fraser, Chef and Proprietor, Dovetail Restaurant, New York

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Vincent Versace is a recipient of the Computerworld Smithsonian Award in Media Arts and Entertainment, the Shellenberg fine art award, a four-time nominee to the Photoshop Hall of Fame and is the author of the best selling book Welcome to Oz, the first edition of which was chosen as Shutterbug magazine's best how to book of the year. Versace is a member of the Epson Stylus Pros, a Nikon Legend Behind the Lens, an Xrite Colorotti, Lexar Elite Photographer, and an American Photo Magazine Mentor Trek and Master Class instructor.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: New Riders; 1 edition (September 7, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321794028
• ISBN-13: 978-0321794024
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.6 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,719 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Black & White

More About the Author

Vincent Versace is an award-winning fine-art digital photographer whose work has appeared in museums and galleries throughout the world. In addition, he teaches regularly at Photoshop World and lectures widely at photography and digital imaging conferences and conventions.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Educational and Inspirational title from Vicent Versace September 6, 2012

By Mike Wong

Format:Paperback

I still remember the first time I attended one of Vincent Versace's classes at Photoshop World on his Black and White Conversion technique. Then, as now, I was blown away by his vision for the conversion as well as his approach. So much so, that at the next three Photoshop World's that I attended, I always made a point to attend his class to get a better understanding of his approach and technique as well as try to pick up just one more tidbit.

Now, with From Oz to Kansas: Almost Every Black and White Conversion Technique Known to Man, it's like having his seminar on my desk for reference anytime I need it.

I've always been in awe of Vincent's photography. His color photogrpahic art has always amazed me, but it's his black and white art that I believe he will be best known for years and years from now. His approach is like none other and I've been fortunate enough to sit next to some of today's best known photographers and Photoshop experts and watch their techniques.

What is so refreshing about From Oz to Kansas: Almost Every Black and White Conversion Technique Known to Man, is that Vincent tirelessly explains not only the HOW of each black and white conversion technique, but more importantly, the WHY of each technique. In any pursuit, it is worth asking WHY. We should never just accept a technique because an instructor that we've paid to see says so.

You may, in the end, decide on a technique that gives you the look you want at the expense of throwing away 2/3 of your image data. But you should make that decision KNOWING what you're doing, not just because someone told you or because the Photoshop Action you've downloaded does it. Vincent's book doesn't tell you that his preferred method for conversion is the best. Hardly.... Instead, his book lays out for you, how you use each conversion method, along with why and when you should consider it.

This book is about helping you, as a photorapher interested in Black and White as your art form, becoming better at achieving your vision.

Vincent says in the Last Words section, "To reiterate - technique does not define your image; you define it. Once you have determined that definition, then you decide upon which techniques best suit the requirements that you have for that image so that it expresses your voice."

If you are a photographer who is searching for a way to better achieve and reach your vision, then I highly recommend adding this book to your collection. You will not be disappointed. Your black and white prints will be better as a result. Read more ›

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Vincent Versace - From Oz to Kansas September 6, 2012

By Ed Fritz

Format:Paperback

`From Oz to Kansas: Almost every black and white conversion technique know to man' is nine chapters of Versace's passion to discuss, teach, quote, and inspire the reader about photography and to provide guides on how to optimally use the digital darkroom to create black and white Images.

This book is a repository for black and white information for the technical, the intellectual and the artist. It is amazing to read and to be entertained by his writing style, how-to screen shots, rich illustrations and timely quotes from Einstein to Haas. I found that my own creative workflows were challenged and a new inquisitiveness was engaged in revelations based on a master artist's fundamental knowledge of the digital medium. The how to of his why is your pathway to exploration, and to quote Jay Maisel, 'Think in terms of revelation'.

Here is a sample sentence of a Versace term called Chromatic Grayscale, `Everything on your journey toward understanding the art of science and science of the art of creating a chromatic grayscale image from a full-color one is about to be applied in this next technique'.

There is a section on dynamics range, the zone system, exposing to the right ..But Vince has put them all in a comparison context of a historical baseline to today's current technology. You are not reading a book released based on last years technology. This book is replete with an early adopter's technology understanding of D4 hardware and CS6 software.

Vince goes thru the history of digital black and white conversions, when to use and not use desaturation, what the impact and limitation of LAB conversions are. It's really amazing to find out what your current B&W conversion is really doing to your image and why that B&W look has eluded you.... Your journey of education ends up in Chapter Seven, where he provides you with the keys to Kansas, How to use RGB channels separately on a channel mixer and adjustment layer.

The book also provides links to free NIK plug Ins, which work with Vincent's free actions, and downloadable ZIP files of his Images to practice workflows. In the end, this book is a practical guide for all levels of photographers and it should become the definitive book on digital B&W and conversion techniques.

more at: [...] Read more ›

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Watch out for errors! October 15, 2012

By D. Kosiur

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

It's a good book, covering many techniques, but look out for errors. A copy editor should have caught the numerous times the author misspelled Lightroom as "Lighroom".

More importantly, the author got caught in changes in the newer versions of Nik Software's Color Efex Pro 4 and of Adobe Lightroom 4.

For example, the sidebar on "How Protect Shadows and Highlights Works" on page 25 may be technically correct, but it refers to an earlier version of Color Efex Pro, since the the Protect Highlights and Protect Shadows sliders have been relabeled and appear in a different location of Color Efex Pro 4 than the screen shot indicates.

And I've found at least one spot (page 74) where the author refers to selecting Exposure vs. Brightness in Lightroom 4, but the Brightness slider not longer co-exists with the Exposure slider since they're associated with two different raw rendering options in the latest version of Lightroom.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The most complete book on Black and White Conversions September 7, 2012

By T Michael Testi

Format:Paperback

In this book Vincent Versace shows how a well-crafted black and white image remains the finest of the fine arts and how the skill to create one is one of photography's most aspirational skills. I have read a number of books on converting to black and white and to me "From Oz to Kansas" is one of the most complete treatise on the topic.

"From Oz to Kansas" is not a manual that tells you what to do and why to do it - rather it is more of a guide that gives you the foundation for learning how to walk into a scene or an image and know just what to do, as well the reason why you would want to do it. Each lesson builds on the previous so it is meant to be followed in progression to obtain the fullest benefit.

While I think that anyone with a reasonable knowledge of photography and Photoshop can work with this book it is really geared for the intermediate to advance level user. It is well written and, with time and practice, will improve your black and white imagery. Through each chapter, he takes you on a logical progression building on the techniques that you learned before. Occasionally he will take you down a path that you may not use very much, but will give you insight on how Photoshop works in relationship to converting images.

There is a lot of detailed knowledge and information about digital processing as well as analog film with regard to where we have come from and how we need to work to recreate that look to photography. There are even a lot of inspirational interludes sprinkled throughout that are meant to make you think....

"From Oz to Kansas" is a great book if you want to learn how to recreate the black and white work of the classic film age in your digital work, if you want to become a better black and white photographer, or even if you are still one of the late comers to digital photography and want to learn more about the relationships between the two mediums. Read more ›