Burnt By the Sun

[Fig 1] Solarised image, created in Photoshop using a Curves adjustment layer

A CAPSULE HISTORY

Solarisation is one of the oldest effects applied to photographic film or prints. The simplest description is an image that ‘is wholly or partially reversed in tone. Dark areas appear light or light areas appear dark.’ [Wikipedia] This means much more than a simple inversion of an image.

On a negative, solarisation was the result of extreme overexposure in the camera: in scenic photographs, for example, the sun turns grey or black (hence solarisation, from ‘sol’, sun). An additional, distinctive effect is the white line that is laid down along sharply contrasting edges – this is called the Sabatier line.

Although the effect was seen as early as the 1840s, it is Man Ray’s photographs that are most often called to mind. He applied the effect in the darkroom rather than in-camera, and it was his assistant Lee Miller who in fact accidentally discovered the effect, when she turned on the light in the darkroom while a print was being developed.

Portraits of Lee Miller by Man Ray, c 1930

[Fig 2] Curve graph (used to create the solarised effect in Fig 1)

DIGITAL METHODS

While I remember experimenting with this technique many moons ago (pardon the pun) as a high school photography student, today it is much easier to apply the effect digitally, and with far more control. There are various approaches, starting with the default Solarisation filter in Photoshop, where you might look first. This gives you zero control. Another simple method is to set the mode of a layer to Difference or Exclusion, but a far more useful technique is to use a Curves adjustment layer, which is entirely customisable (see Fig 2). The various examples here show the differing results of the two methods. 

I much prefer the look of black and white or duotone images, finding the colour images far too gaudy and brash for my liking. However, I did manage to create a subtle version (Fig 4) using a normal colour photo at the base, duplicating that layer, and then setting it on Exclusion mode at 85%. (Check out the original image here.)

[Fig 3] This image was created using the Solarisation filter in Photoshop CS4, with a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer on top to create the dark sepia tone. Click image for larger version.[Fig 4] This image was created using a normal colour image that was duplicated, with the top layer set to Exclusion, on an opacity of 85%. Click image for larger version.

Since I always love to make ‘new’ photos look ‘old’, I’ve added an antique viewfinder complete with dust and scratches in black, using onOne’s software PhotoFrame 4.0.

Here is another example below, showing the great dissimilarities between solarisation using Curves (Fig 5) and Photoshop’s default solariastion filter (Fig 6).

Scroll to the bottom for resources.

[Fig 5] This image was solarised using adjustment layers: Black & White and Curves, with tonal values adjusted until the desired result was achieved. A sepia tone was applied over the top using a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.
[Fig 6] This image was solarised using the default filter in Photoshop CS4, with a sepia tone applied using a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.

RESOURCES

Read a bit about the history on Wikipedia or the University of Washington’s helpful article; view a gallery, and check out a step-by-step tutorial. (I used a single Curves adjustment layer, and did not use such a severe curve; nor did I do any dodging or burning – it is a completely subjective decision.)