I’ve mentioned before that sometimes color plays no role in an image. When this is the case, look to desaturate:
Nightscene during lunar eclipse
This was created during the lunar eclipse, and referred to in this post. Completely orange in the original due to tungsten lighting, but it somewhat works in black & white. It’s not an earth-shaking image, but I do like the contrasts of the organic & mechanical, as well as the deep dark of the sky.
Post processing with Silver Efex Pro.
Pulled off my first full 2x push on TMAX the other day. I’m sure my perspective is a bit off due to lack of familiarity with the film, but my initial reaction is positive. I’m surprised at how much detail survived. Take a highly extreme snow image:
'Twas a snowy day
(image straight off the scanner)
For the last couple of weeks I’ve barely picked up my digital cameras. All on film, on a 100% manual camera – no exposure meter, even. The Graflex Graphic 35 is what I’ve been using. Images of the exact camera:
This would be the German-built series, and it does pretty well. There have been a few situations where a light leak has cropped in, but all salvageable images. And beautiful grain, relative to digital.
Scanned and somewhat saved with Photoshop:
Everything and the Kitchen Sink
Click through to view the large size – you can see the grain on it in full detail.
Technical details:
Interestingly, I found that I can’t do much in the way of sharpening on these guys. It sharpens grain more so than edges…
Campground Outhouse
My Father-in-law visited once, many years ago, from overseas. While travelling around, he marveled at the rest and camping areas – so civilized, not even smelly. Shoot, even clean, with toilet paper that’s not immediately stolen!
Despite the worldwide recession, I’m finding that this is still the case. We must be rich – people aren’t stealing the TP (reality: it’s usually locked up pretty well – you’d have to be fairly motivated).
Last month, we went camping. As usual, the restrooms were surprisingly non-smelly, and the exteriors were… surprisingly clean. Of all the photos that weekend, this was my favorite.
Along the lines of yesterday’s post: another pair of pictures that bear comparing between the color and B&W versions. I trust you can tell the difference:
Rolling Kohala Hills
Rolling Kohala Hills, B&W
Look at the two images below and compare. They’re from the same image, but rendered in a slightly different manner.
Schoolyard Abstract, Color
Schoolyard Abstract, Black & White
The first is full color (despite appearances). The second has been converted to B&W with Silver Efex Pro. Any preference?
I personally lean toward the full B&W version – I find that the appearance of selective color distracts a bit due to the proximity to cliche.
Young ferns, fighting through the recently-cut grass in our backyard
Sometimes it’s hard to be motivated. For me, this usually means that I’m too busy – working long hours, not enough time away from the computer, and not sleeping enough. When I get to that point, I go numb. The world is flat and uninteresting.
I can usually snap out of that by doing something new and interesting – going to someplace new, or finding a new perspective. Witness the rooftop pic I took recently – that was inspiring.
Today? Not so much. It’s drizzling, but not heavily. The mosquitoes are out, and I’m itchy. It’s not warm, kinda dank and grey. I’ve fought my way to the end of a tough week, but I haven’t had my normal opportunities to exercise. I’m tired and somewhat cranky.
So I’m fairly unmotivated. How to get around that? Shift perspectives! Yesterday I decided to find something that would come out decently in black & white. Witness the ferns to the right (click for a larger pic – the larger one is much better!).
Details on this: completely manually focused. In the flat, grey light it’s pretty uninteresting, but by boosting contrast in photoshop, the fronds begin to stand out. Shift to black & white with NIK Silver EFex, work in some grain & add to contrast & you have this.
Not bad for 5 minutes of work.
Well, for now. The same day that I took the photo of the mountains across Turnagain arm also yielded the photo below. This one didn’t come out as well as I would have liked, but it does have something of that light, old-timey feel. I like that.
In post-processing, I did actually do a bit of burning to the shadows of the trunk, and dodged the details back in to some of the branches. When working in black & white, I usually stick to that – I feel it’s closer to the original techniques in the darkroom.
Bird Creek Tree in B&W
Despite taking photos for years, it’s been only recently that I’ve actually started converting them to black and white. I’m starting to like it, though – in some situations, that is. Such as this fence, which (with the high structure & contrast) somewhat reminds me of some work by Ansel Adams.
Gate to Fence, B&W