DSLR Photography Forum

This is an oilseed rape field that I go past some mornings near Kingscote, Gloucestershire.
Handheld with the 50mm f1.4, 1/60s at f11 + polariser.

Wonderful 2D composition - with excellent attention to exposures, details, and attitude. Beautiful!

I would never have expected to see a B&W image from a subject that must have had very strong colours. Bold choice, and well done.

Very strong image Zig.

fantastic tones and composition Zig

I love this. I have a hard time shooting the color of rapeseed. This is a perfect solution.

Very beautiful picture Zig...

Thank you all.
I agree, Don: if colour is a problem, get rid! Good man; my way of thinking entirely!
Seriously, yes, I know what you mean: intense yellows can often "blow out" or clip....Canons can easily clip intense yellows and reds, even when the whole shot is "correctly exposed". A whole field in the sun will generally underexpose, so one can always add a stop or so of compensation. My own solution is to allow the underexposure to occur, thus capturing the sky; I then try and dodge the highlights back in with a large, soft brush...
...or, as you suggest, working in monochrome! Underexposure is the key here too, I've found: adding a red/orange/yellow filter to darken a blue sky can also lead to blown highlights, as the colour you're letting through with the filter is actually the one you don't want to blow out. Underexposure keeps this to a minimum as well as facilitating the capture of those rich skies.
Actually, here is the colour version, just so you can have a look and make your mind up. Me, I prefer the mono, for the simple reason it is perhaps more unexpected.

There appears to be much more detail in the sky in the B&W version, but having grown up in an age where black and white was the only option (as colour film was priced out of the common mans range) , I still prefer colour.
For me it is progression. B&W is a backward step, akin to bringing out Vera Lynns records.

Vera! Vera! What has become of you?

Tough choice, Zig. The subtlety and nuance of the B&W is great, but I'm a sucker for primary colours in bold graphic arrangements. I do appreciate what you mean by the unexpectedness of the mono treatment; it would never occur to me to try it, and it does work very well.

Rapeseed flowers have this intense greenish yellow which photos almost never capture. This yellow is whimpy compared to the real thing.