LUMINOSITY & CONTRAST – A New Reality: By Alister Benn

[josh.reichmann]

https://luminous-landscape.com/luminosity-contrast-a-new-reality-by-alister-benn/

[digitaldog]

The article states: Seeing the world not as things, but as a spiders web of interconnecting luminosity and contrast changed my relationship with the world for the better.

Luminance (Luminosity) is a measure of the total radiant energy from a body. It has nothing to do with what a human perceives but rather describes the total radiant energy, such as watts/second of a source (the surface of a radiating object like a display). If the luminance of a viewed light source is increased 10 times, viewers do not judge that the brightness has increased 10 times. This isn't a new reality. 
Bottom line:
Luminance - measured amount of light (only property that can be measured, candelas per square meter)
Brightness - perceived amount of light (from self-luminous things)
Lightness - perceived reflectance of a surface

[josh.reichmann]

The article states: Seeing the world not as things, but as a spiders web of interconnecting luminosity and contrast changed my relationship with the world for the better.

Luminance (Luminosity) is a measure of the total radiant energy from a body. It has nothing to do with what a human perceives but rather describes the total radiant energy, such as watts/second of a source (the surface of a radiating object like a display). If the luminance of a viewed light source is increased 10 times, viewers do not judge that the brightness has increased 10 times. This isn't a new reality. 
Bottom line:
Luminance - measured amount of light (only property that can be measured, candelas per square meter)
Brightness - perceived amount of light (from self-luminous things)
Lightness - perceived reflectance of a surface

Interesting take.
I can’t speak for the author, but people generally aware of the attributive language of physicalized events are happy to ALSO use words interchangeably as both accurately descriptive and also poetic devices, if they “feel” right. Especially when writing about that subjective thing called experience- which while a conglomerate of the senses - is also beyond tethering to simply mechanistic conventions.
The “luminosity” of “life” as an experience - organic, or indeed even the activity of consciousness and its interplay with both the material and “etheric” (as we can see in consciousness/awareness and the meaning sets thus generated), seems an apt word.
Before writing “word salad Josh!” ... read it again and feel free to ask questions.

Also ... aren’t the images AWESOME?

[digitaldog]

As the Chinese proverb says: "The first step towards genius is calling things by their proper name."
You can call a lens f-number ”the lens light hole”  but I recommend using the proper name.
Again, part of the article concerns reality....

[josh.reichmann]

As the Chinese proverb says: "The first step towards genius is calling things by their proper name."
You can call a lens f-number ”the lens light hole”  but I recommend using the proper name.
Again, part of the article concerns reality....

Yeah. We need conventions. Agree.
But... I appreciate his larger sentiment. It gets a big pass in my books.

[digitaldog]

The images are outstanding and speak for themselves, even if some of the language is ”technically iffy”.

[David Sutton]

Fine article Josh.
"I was becoming more like everyone else and less like myself" is the quote of the year for me.
David

[RMW]

Very worthwhile article.
Be glad to see more like it.

About tech nomenclature: It's useful to be as precise as possible. I agree with Rodney wholeheartedly. But there are experiences in photography that are both technical and personal and to 'untwine' the two is often without any meaningful reward.

When Lady MacBeth can't get the blood off her hands we don't question her powers of observation (or personal hygiene). Instead, we feel the force of her madness in that bloody metaphor. That's great art. And it's present in some ways in these fine fotos.

Richard

[Alan Klein]

Luminous Landscape sounds better than Brightness Landscape.

[digitaldog]

Luminous Landscape sounds better than Brightness Landscape.

Ah, if you only examin the difference between the use Luminous and Luminosity in the physics of photography:

adjective
full of or shedding light; bright or shining, especially in the dark.
"the luminous dial on his watch"
Similar:
shining
bright
brilliant
radiant
dazzling
glowing
gleaming
coruscating
scintillating
lustrous
luminescent
phosphorescent
incandescent
vivid
intense
resplendent
lighted
lit
illuminated
lambent
lucent
refulgent
effulgent
candescent
luminiferous

PHYSICS
Luminosity is defined as the condition of being bright or having light. An example of something with luminosity is the sun. (astronomy) The rate at which a star radiates energy in all directions. ... (physics) The ratio of luminous flux to radiant flux at the same wavelength; the luminosity factor.

[Alan Klein]

No wonder I got a B. 

[digitaldog]

No wonder I got a B.

From whom? Or self-grading? 

[Alan Klein]

From whom? Or self-grading? 

Well, in German, I first got a D, then an F.  So I dropped out and joined the USAF which is what I wanted to do in the first place.

[digitaldog]

Well, in German, I first got a D, then an F.  So I dropped out and joined the USAF which is what I wanted to do in the first place.

Ah, that makes sense.... No wonder you got a B indeed. 

[Michiel_M]

Wonderful story of what can be found "...miracles in their own right, perfect in their own form"  when someone decides to break free by hunting down "the tired old beliefs I had lived for years".

To me the article's strength lies is Alister Benn's personal account of how his self-enquiry is a way to free his perception, his life and his work as an artist.
I feel that the accompanying/resulting images modestly amplify his story of discovering insights that lead to -and come with- a fuller, joyful life. 
After reading the article I visited Alistar's web site,  well worth the visit if you enjoyed the read here on The Luminous Landscape.

[Alan Klein]

Ah, that makes sense.... No wonder you got a B indeed. 

Coincidentally since this is a photo forum, I wound up doing duty in Japan for two years where I bought my first "real" camera - a Nikon F Photomic T with 50mm f1.4 and 135mm lenses.   Top-of-the-line for a 35mm SLR at the time. I paid around $250 equivalent in Yen which was a sweet deal. Up to that time I had a cheap twin lens and a hand winding spring running 8mm movie camera with 3-lens turret that I still have in the attic somewheres.  The USAF base had a photo lab for the airmen that was fully furnished with enlargers, drums to wash the negatives, etc. 

[Alan Klein]

Wonderful story of what can be found "...miracles in their own right, perfect in their own form"  when someone decides to break free by hunting down "the tired old beliefs I had lived for years".

To me the article's strength lies is Alister Benn's personal account of how his self-enquiry is a way to free his perception, his life and his work as an artist.
I feel that the accompanying/resulting images modestly amplify his story of discovering insights that lead to -and come with- a fuller, joyful life. 
After reading the article I visited Alistar's web site,  well worth the visit if you enjoyed the read here on The Luminous Landscape.

He has  ebook called Luminosity and Contrast for BW editing in Lightroom and a companion video called Creative Black and White Processing (using Lightroom).   Seems like overkill to get both.  Anyone have recommendations which is better for someone like me whose familiar with Lightroom.

[Michiel_M]

...Luminosity and Contrast for BW editing in Lightroom and a companion video called Creative Black and White Processing....Anyone have recommendations which is better for someone like me whose familiar with Lightroom.

I don't know either of these publications.  I did find a PDF sample of the Luminosity & Contrast e-book.  Perhaps it helps you decide if L&C is -by itself- worth obtaining for you.
Here's the link: https://expressive.photography/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Luminosity-Contrast-Sample.pdf

[Alistair]

Luminosity and contrast. In photography. Who would have thought.

[BAB]

Bottom line:
Luminance - measured amount of light (only property that can be measured, candelas per square meter)
Brightness - perceived amount of light (from self-luminous things)
Lightness - perceived reflectance of a surface

None of this is relevant unless your comparing it to equal conditions, ie atmosphere, through  the same piece of glass (lens) Light is just a disturbance it doesn’t move.
Bottom line:
Getting a human reaction from an image presented in a space where the viewer can gain a sense of emotion could be a great image depending on the viewers level of knowledge of a great image.

Luminance, Brightness and Lightness help focus the viewers attention to a part of the image but the measurement of those properties won’t make an image.

I think the photographer was speaking about his quest to make great images and his journeys that shaped his route.