Dodging and Burning

When we "dodge" part of a print, we are removing light from that part of the print by using our hand or a piece of cardboard to block light from hitting the light sensitive paper. The opposite is "burning" part of a print, in which we add light to that part of a print by blocking light everywhere else from hitting the light sensitive paper. Obviously these are two sides of a coin.

To determine the necessity for dodging and burning, you must evaluate your print and your negative after going through the steps of making a good "straight" print. Where the shadows (blacks) are too deep to show detail, consider dodging. Where the highlights (whites) are blown out and show no detail, consider burning. A print may need both to be successful.

Ansel Adams said "the negative is the score and the print is the performance", putting photography into musical terms. What he means is that the negative is the starting point for creating a print, but as you work on the print you must "interpret" it in order to bring out the subtleties.

In the example we made in class, the straight print (made in 2002) used a 2-1/2 filter for 12 seconds at f/8 (good thing I wrote it down, because I sure wouldn't remember). The straight print is on top, with my interpretation notes written in. I dodged the rocks in the lower right for 3 seconds (-3), withholding light so more detail would show. I then burned in the sky for an additional 12 seconds (+12) to bring out the clouds, which are totally absent in the original print.