Black and White Journey

[aries67]

My last thread (Close Up) got me thinking about my love for black and white images and I thought to use this thread to post my process in learning to convert to bw.

Today I sat down and went thru my entire library and filed all my bw images in one folder. I was disappointed to see that I have only converted a small percentage of my photos to bw. Hopefully this thread will see me grow in my bw.

This shot was taken with a Konica Minolta Z10 3.2mp camera, my first "serious" camera. Harley is my brother's cat. He was hit by a car when he was a kitten and had to have his mouth wired to heal. Now it doesn't close properly. He has 666 tattooed somewhere under all that fur - if you pat him he's likely to rip your arm off! So I was surprised to see him sitting under the table. I'm sure he knew I was trying to photograph him and kept turning his head! But eventually patience won out.

This was taken in bw mode on the camera and hasn't been touched at all. I have to admit it's one of my faves.

Harley:

http://i16.tinypic.com/4uvnyhi.jpg

[aries67]

I was allowed to bring home a whole tank of geckos from work to try and get some good pics. I had the glass tank on the kitchen table and was only set up with overhead light and tripod. I took so many crappy photos! Finally went handheld and pretty much stuck my head inside the cage trying to capture the little beast as he sidled away from me! In the end these three handhelds turned out to be my favourite! They were originally colour...

Gecko 1
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s263/aries67/gecko2.jpg

Gecko 2
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s263/aries67/gecko3.jpg

Gecko 3
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s263/aries67/gecko4.jpg

[purplerose]

I really love "Harley." I think a better crop and a bit more contrast would help it "pop" more.

The gecko photos are really nice; they would make an awesome triptych. :)

[aries67]

Thnx purplerose! I've played with the contrast on Harley since and have ended up with a better pic but I've always loved the original crop of the image showing how far his whiskers go!

I really like triptychs but when I've played with them it always seems that I should use one photo and cut it up or take three photos almost exactly the same (like different keys on the same hook on the same wall sort of thing).
Would you make the geckos a vertical triptych? And would you crop? How would I go about it?

[purplerose]

I think they would make a nice horizontal triptych with the head image on the end, keeping the same crops.

Like this: [Gecko 1] [Gecko 2] [Gecko 3]

So, maybe you can travel along the length of the body and say "hello" to the head?? :)

[aries67]

Okay my triptych skills are a little wanting but here goes:
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s263/aries67/gecko-triptych_resize.jpg

I've picked up some triptych templates from magazines but none of them were for landscape-horizontal so I had to make my own here. I only ended up placing the pics on a black layer and giving them a keyline. I much prefer simple but artistic borders and I tried using a few brushes on this one before I finally gave in. The absolute black in the corners of the pics were my undoing! Anybody got any triptych tips for artistic borders?

[aries67]

Reading photography magazines have been my biggest teacher and when I saw an article on leaving a bit of colour in a bw image I decided to give it a go...

My mum liked this one so much she got it for Christmas last year:
Wet Leaf:
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s263/aries67/bw_colour_leaf2.jpg

Fair Clown:
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s263/aries67/fair_clown.jpg

[ivy'sgrandkid]

I found your thread weee keep updating add everything you have over at vox on here hehe

[JazzW]

Coool!! I love that cat and the wet leaf!! Though, for Wet Leaf and Fair Clown, try getting in closer to the edges where grey becomes colour! It'll look even more...is "believable" a good word? Well, something like that. Good stuff!!

[Mr. Mu]

Hi there,

all of the Gecko-images are great. Composition, DOF, subject, focus (speaking of storytelling, here) and toning.

The tryptich that purplerose suggested is working really fine. As concerns frames: you got a lot of black (or near black?) in those images... maybe just use the same tone in the background with no frame at all?

[aries67]

Thnx Mr Mu :o) I haven't done much with triptychs so I wasn't sure if you're supposed to "not" use frames!

I recently found a great addition to my mono treatment and these are my first two goes at it...

Point Peron
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s263/aries67/point-peron.jpg

Grain Terminal
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s263/aries67/grain-terminal-jetty.jpg

[purplerose]

Nice couple of photos. :) I love the mood and composition in "Point Peron." In "Grain Terminal," I think your highlights are a bit dull though, thus flattening out your photograph; it could use a little help in the contrast area.

[Morbid]

'Wet Leaf', makes me thirsty. Looks like Fanta (dunno if you have Fanta in Australia, I know in the USA they don't). Good job on the Cat and the Gecko also.

[aries67]

Nice couple of photos. :) I love the mood and composition in "Point Peron." In "Grain Terminal," I think your highlights are a bit dull though, thus flattening out your photograph; it could use a little help in the contrast area.

Thnx purplerose. You're right the images are a little dull. They probably weren't the best images to start off with but I was really keen to try this new conversion method! Both pics were taken last Friday and it just rained and rained ...and rained!!! It was completely overcast with no sun whatsoever, the rain was causing a haze and my lens was most likely wet! But I will most definitely try this conversion method again!

[aries67]

'Wet Leaf', makes me thirsty. Looks like Fanta (dunno if you have Fanta in Australia, I know in the USA they don't). Good job on the Cat and the Gecko also.

They don't have Fanta in the USA!? It's my fave soft drink! LOL

Thnx for your comments!

[purplerose]

We have Fanta soft drinks in the U.S....

[Morbid]

They don't have Fanta in the USA!? It's my fave soft drink! LOL

Thnx for your comments!
Mine too!

We have Fanta soft drinks in the U.S....

You didn't when I was over there in 2000. I asked for it but noone had heard of it. :S
Or maybe it just isn't as common?

[purplerose]

It's been here since at least the 60's. You came before they made all of the Fanta commercials around 2001/2002. It's grown in popularity since then.

[Morbid]

It's been here since at least the 60's. You came before they made all of the Fanta commercials around 2001/2002. It's grown in popularity since then.

Oh, ok. Good for you americans. :)

[aries67]

We have Fanta soft drinks in the U.S....

LOL! My bad! :bashful:

[purplerose]

lol, it's cool. Now, less Fantas and more photos... :D

[eazym]

i like some of these close-ups, I;d like to see more before I write anything resembling crits though.

[Mr. Mu]

Point Peron looks like a book cover...

What new conversion method are you talking about? Did you use the channel mixer, to convert to b/w, actually?

Just wondering...

As concerns Fanta... it is one of those "drinks" that make you thirstier than you were before...

[aries67]

Like a book cover? Wow!

I've been using channel mixer to convert my bw's for a while now but I knew there was something else out there that can make your bw's pop. A latest (UK) photog mag had instructions on its cd where you add a second bw layer and change the blend mode to linear burn and reduce the opacity. Then if you want to tint add a Solid Colour adjustment layer and set its blend mode to colour. Practice a bit of dodging on the highlights and ta-da!

[aries67]

Todays pics.

I love the personal journey of photography. Finding your likes and dislikes, your style, even though these things change over time.

One of the things I've noticed that I like to shoot is rural scenes, so much so, that my besties call me Barbie coz I'm always shooting barbed wire! I live only an hour from the city but right down on the outer edges of the southern suburbs where city meets rural. Seem to spend more time in the country than the city!

Country Fence
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s263/aries67/fence-post.jpg

Heart Or Twist
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s263/aries67/heart-or-twist.jpg

This is an early one when it was a straight desaturate.
Barbie Star
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s263/aries67/PICT0393_resize.jpg

[purplerose]

Yeah, it's pretty cool and weird to see what you take a liking to photographing the most.

Nice work with "Country Fence." I like the mystic feeling the sky gives the photograph. Just a nitpick, but the piece of wire in the top right corner is a little distracting.

[Mr. Mu]

I really like Country Fence and Heart or Twist - very silent images.

The last one is compositionally weaker, kind of... of course the contrasts are not as good as in your newer photos, but it's also kind of the wrong angle or something. To lazy to figure it out right now, LOL.

Something I sometimes do to enhance the b/w values is to add a copy of my image as a new layer set to multiply and then add a layer mask where I partially erase the effect of the layer mode - either with a brush and manually or (with landscapes especially) with a gradient ranging from white to black which leaves parts of the layer gradually transparent.

[eazym]

I can see why your friends call you Barbie! I wonder if the sky was a little darker in country fence, if the image would look more menacing. That's kind of the way I read it anyway. really like the tilts here, the tree and the sky acting like counterpoints to the post. makes it pleasing to look at

[aries67]

Just a nitpick, but the piece of wire in the top right corner is a little distracting.

Hehe! Quite right! I never noticed that before! Isn't it funny how you can look at the same pic over and over and not notice something until new eyes come along and point it out!!!

[aries67]

I wonder if the sky was a little darker in country fence, if the image would look more menacing.

Do you know I actually took this just after sunrise! There were really flat clouds in the sky and there was no "magic" morning light! I was soooo disappointed coz I don't often get the opportunity for a dawn shoot with a family to look after! When I converted to bw I tried really hard to get some contrast in that sky!

[aries67]

The last one is compositionally weaker, kind of... of course the contrasts are not as good as in your newer photos, but it's also kind of the wrong angle or something. .

From memory I think this one looked better in colour. The coloured background gave it more of a sense of proportion and location (if you get what I mean!). Might go back to the original pic and see what I can do in bw again.


Something I sometimes do to enhance the b/w values is to add a copy of my image as a new layer set to multiply and then add a layer mask where I partially erase the effect of the layer mode - either with a brush and manually or (with landscapes especially) with a gradient ranging from white to black which leaves parts of the layer gradually transparent.

Now this sounds interesting! Might give it a try!

[Mr. Mu]

Hi aries,

I forgot to add that the main advantage here of the multiply layer mode is that it leaves white areas (i.e. those areas with a channel value of 255, if we're in 8-bit mode) totally untouched which means that your whitest whites stay what they are while the rest gets slightly darker (according to the opacity you set for the whole layer)

have fun!
:yayca:

[aries67]

Mr Mu - when you do your landscapes do you use the gradient white to black to get contrast in cloudy skies or to boost your foreground? Also with your landscapes do you add the extra layer set to multiply AND the layer mask AND the gradient? Can you show me an image that you've used this method on - I would love to see it in action.

[Mr. Mu]

do you use the gradient white to black to get contrast in cloudy skies or to boost your foreground?

always depends on what you want to do with an image. Sometimes I do both on separate layers!


Also with your landscapes do you add the extra layer set to multiply AND the layer mask AND the gradient?

yes. The duplicated layer is set to multiply, then I add the layer mask and fill the mask with a gradient.

On a mask everything white leaves the contents of the layer opaque while everything black is fully transparent. Grey is in between.

Or I use a brush set to either black or white and do it manually. I use a tablet which is much easier to use for manual work like this than a mouse. The pressure sensitivity of the tablet can be set to influence various aspects of the brush you chose in your photo editing app like for example opacity, size, hardness a.s.o.




Can you show me an image that you've used this method on - I would love to see it in action.

this one I slightly darkened the sky which made the road textures pop. First a selection with paths along the edge of the road, then (to soften the transition between light and dark) an additional gradient on the layer mask.

http://www.muratkayi.de/cpg/albums/userpics/10001/normal_CDF_LOFI.jpg


with this I edited the mask manually to spare the lamp post and parts of my body from the darkening of the multiply layer. I did the same with a layer that I completely sharpened and then used the mask of that layer and a brush with its opacity set to pressure sensitivity to gradually wash away the sharpness and keep it only on the main focal point or areas.

http://www.muratkayi.de/cpg/albums/userpics/10001/normal_IR_5_editedLOFI.jpg

bigger version in my thread... didn't want to spam yours.

Hope it helps!

bye
Mu

[eazym]

how did you get the contrast in the sky, if you dont mind me asking

[Mr. Mu]

Hi eazym,

I assume you are talking about the sky in my colour photo example.

The basic contrast in the sky was established by using a grey gradient filter. As the lightest light in the sky (the sun) and the darkest dark in the ground reached over too wide a contrast range to be captured on film I needed to separately darken the sky in order to avoid underxposing the ground (or, by exposing for the ground, to blow the highlights in the sky).

I use a cokin grey gradient filter 121S (soft transition) which takes away roughly 2 F-stops, IIRC. The square ones are better than screw-in ones as you can adjust the horizon line, duh!

Sorry, aries, didn't mean to hijack your thread...:bashful:

[eazym]

oops, sorry, that was a bit confusing. I was actually still talking about "Country Fence" on the previous page, since Aries said he tried very hard to get the contrast in during the bw conversion.

but thanks, Mr Mu, yes, gradient filters have helped many landscape photographs

[Mr. Mu]

hrng,

I feared as much...

*gnaws on his foot

[W.Irving]

Okay my triptych skills are a little wanting but here goes:
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s263/aries67/gecko-triptych_resize.jpg


What immediately struck me here was how much brighter the third frame was relative to the other three - I think the triptych would work a lot better if you darkened it up a bit. Other than that, absolutely amazing work!

[aries67]

What immediately struck me here was how much brighter the third frame was relative to the other three - I think the triptych would work a lot better if you darkened it up a bit. Other than that, absolutely amazing work!

You're quite right W.Irving! Looking at the brightness values of each image in the triptych I can see what you mean. That's something I'll look out for in future. Ta!

[aries67]

I can spend hours on the computer converting my images to bw. But I think there's a line that every photog draws for themselves. In-camera v post processing. I try to take the best pic I can in-camera. But as I'm a huge bw fan and you're not supposed to take the pic bw in-camera coz you don't record as much information, I have to post process my colour pics. But now I'm starting to feel like I'm a computer geek instead of a photog! That's what PS actions are for aren't they? Pssst! I kinda feel like I'm cheating! But I don't want to spend so much time on the computer so I can spend more time taking photos! I'm trying to convince myself here.

I've only just discovered actions after doing things manually for so long. But I figure it's better to know how to tweak the layers or adjustments in your action if you actually know how to use them in the first place (it's that cheating feeling I get, again).

Obviously I've heard of plugins. Not really been impressed by any I've seen so far until now. This is is the first time I've used one - and I'm really impressed! Psst! I feel like I'm cheating again!

Here's a couple of examples:
Footy Training - this one is a straight plugins filter with no extra tweaking:
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s263/aries67/a-optik.jpg

Industrial Flight - extra grain and contrast on top of the filter:
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s263/aries67/fly.jpg

[aries67]

oops, sorry, that was a bit confusing. I was actually still talking about "Country Fence" on the previous page, since Aries said he tried very hard to get the contrast in during the bw conversion.


I'm sorry Eazym - I remember fiddling with this one for ages but I can't remember exactly what I did! :[

[aries67]

bigger version in my thread... didn't want to spam yours.

Hope it helps!
I'm going over to visit! I got a bit lost with your explanation! :) You're not such a noob after all! :)

[purplerose]

Nice work on Footy Training.

[samsite999]

Footy Training > its a very nice image and i realy do like the crop you took with this one. you have a lot of unusual shots and crops on this thread, the one thing i will say is though.... do more B&W!!!!

[aries67]

Fun with a Zenitar fisheye and a new plugin:
Giggles
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s263/aries67/giggle_resize.jpg

Sneakers
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s263/aries67/sneakers_resize.jpg

Play Girl
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s263/aries67/zenitar_g_resize.jpg

Boardwalk
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s263/aries67/boardwalk_resize.jpg

[Mr. Mu]

wonderfully clean compositions and you don't actually realize it's a fisheye that's been used for the shots (which is a good thing to say about a fisheye).

Post 'em bigger, though. Or make those links, so loading the page does not take forever.