Photo Share Assignment & Discussion - Black & White Photography
Black & White Photography is only one type, or style, of many categories of photography available to photographers.
Please share any of your photos which fall in this type of photography. For this photo share thread, please include any black and white photos you have taken. Discussion within the thread is also encouraged.
It seems that Black & White (or Monochrome) might be described as the essence of a scene - the lighting, texture, line, shape, and form. This image was captured in colour, in St Albans Verulamium Park on a sunny December day, 28/12/2015, and converted to mono on the PC:
[ Pentax K-5 IIs; Av Mode; ISO 160; Tamron 17-50 zoom at 45mm; f/8; 1/100s; a JPEG from the camera converted and adjusted in PaintShop Pro X8 ]
I look back at my old black and white photographs with fondness, and recently have begun producing more. The original colour image has to either have a prominent forceful sky, or shout "monochrome". Here is one of the latter.
Dimage Z3, 1/100 sec, f4.5, ISO 80, 420mm lens equivalent.
Ask yourself, "What's most important for the final image?".
A wedding a few years ago, was colour, converted.
Don't have Live View, can't use it anyway, just as I was taking it, someone moved in front of me, raised camera above head, tilted down a bit, this is as taken, no cropping, fortunate. Ed.
(Feb 2, 2016, 05:20)EdMak Wrote: A wedding a few years ago, was colour, converted.
Don't have Live View, can't use it anyway, just as I was taking it, someone moved in front of me, raised camera above head, tilted down a bit, this is as taken, no cropping, fortunate. Ed.
Treated myself last week to a subscription to Photoshop CC. Have never taken a B+W image so decided to attempt a conversion utilising Lightroom and a 2013 jpeg of the Forth Bridge. This was during my first year into Photography using a Nikon P500 Bridge. I think the resulting image is described as duotone. There are probably plenty of errors within this image, but I would welcome any advice from Members.
Nikon P500 1/1000 f4.6 ISO 160, probably Auto.
These days, most of us convert colour images to black and white. There are very few digital images which are captured solely as monochrome. They are maybe taken with that in mind, but usually the colour data is captured as well. With regard to your image, it is a good conversion, but lacks a bit of sparkle. There are no real blacks and whites in the image. Two essentials for a good monochrome image.
Ask yourself, "What's most important for the final image?".
With John on this one Mike, also turn a bit clockwise. Landscape would have been a better choice, although you will be aware of this now. Great start. Ed.
I like the angle of the composition, giving depth to the image, but for me it needs a few easy tweaks:- a 2:3 crop to reduce the foreground water; colour desaturation to remove the tint; a decrease in brightness (about 15% should be OK) and an equal increase in contrast, to enhance the structure of the bridge.
Cheers.
Philip
(This post was last modified: Feb 2, 2016, 16:22 by MrB.)
A much improved image, Mike. I tend to look at the sky, in an image, before deciding if it will make a good B&W rendition. Here is my take on our glamorous old lady, also converted from colour using Silver Efex Pro 2.
Nikon D80, 1/200 sec, f11, ISO 200, 27mm lens equivalent.
And talking of sky. This is what I mean by the sky influencing my decision to convert.
Nikon D80, 1/400 sec, f10, ISO 200, 75mm lens equivalent.
Ask yourself, "What's most important for the final image?".
Thanks for the advice and comments guys. As you will be aware, the dark patch at the top right was a patch of blue. I have obviously moved the Slider too far to the left, with the resulting distracting patch. Thanks for pointing it out.
Also your conversation regarding observation of the sky when picking a subject for conversion is very interesting. I can see from the images that you have posted just how effective that tip can be.
Regards, Mike.
I actually got my tape measure out for this one Ed. As best as I can make out, The water line on the right of the image is approx. 0.5 - 1.0mm higher than on the left.
This constitutes definite proof of an experienced eye. The effect I think is exacerbated by the greater volume of water in the right third of the shot.
Then again, being in Scotland, it is possible that the Firth of Forth flows uphill.
Cheers Ed,
Mike
This is probably obvious, but I'll write it anyway - although spectacular skies can contribute to a mono image of an outdoor subject, they are just one consideration among other factors.
This example, Kingston Lacy (Dorset) was given 20 out of 20 by an independent judge in the mono print competition at our club on Monday. In my view, there is so much in the form, line, texture and detail of the subject, that a sky such as that in Post #18 isn't needed:
(Recommend viewing at the larger size.)
[ Pentax K-5 IIS at ISO 160; 21mm prime lens; M Mode - f/8 and 1/640s; JPEG edited in PaintShop Pro ]
Cheers.
Philip
(This post was last modified: Feb 3, 2016, 08:06 by MrB.)
![[Image: normal_Bridge_Duotone.jpg]](http://www.shuttertalk.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14587/normal_Bridge_Duotone.jpg)
![[Image: 2nd_Attempt_28229.jpg]](http://www.shuttertalk.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14587/2nd_Attempt_28229.jpg)