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Thread: Initial exploring in Black and White

  1. #1

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    Initial exploring in Black and White

    I posted this image in the Project 52 arena. It didn't quite work but I thought I would use it for my initial foray into making an image In Black and White. Any thoughts would be most welcome.

    Cheers for now

    Gary

    Initial exploring in Black and White

  2. #2
    Moderator Donald's Avatar
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    Re: Initial exploring in Black and White

    Gary

    I do like this sort of composition, with that very low angle. It gives a sense of mystery as to what is out beyond. And I think the idea of the sun coming at you and sending those shadows towards you is good.

    I did wonder of we have just a bit too much grass on show. When I open it up in my browser, I could see enough of the image that made it almost a 16:9 crop image. But then I scrolled down a bot and the feeling was 'Oh, there's more grass'. So the idea of keeping the top and sides, but cropping a bit from the bottom?

    And, like someone just said about one of mine that I posted, maybe a bit more Local Contrast Enhancement (LCE) to gove it a bit more 'pop'. But not much. You don't want to overdo it.
    Last edited by Donald; 26th March 2012 at 02:52 PM.

  3. #3

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    Re: Initial exploring in Black and White

    Thanks for your reply Donald. I think it was the long shadows that drew me into the picture. On reflection I should have also tried moving in a bit closer and having something to compare with. I do feel that cropping can become a process of diminishing returns whereby you lose what you captured. So, I guess it should be a case of taking more images in the field to be able to compare results back home.

    Other initial thoughts are that I think you have to have the intention of making a B+W image from the outset. This particular image was an afterthought and I think that is why it doesn't totally work. By just converting a colour image to B+W doesn't bring instant results. I feel that you need to have the mindset of B+W from the start of the process i.e. when you start thinking about the subjects you are going to use.

    I had a look around and I understand that in Lightroom and the Nix software that the LCE is controlled by the Clarity and Structure slider/sections respectively?

    Cheers for now

    Gary
    Last edited by oldgreygary; 28th March 2012 at 05:03 AM. Reason: Additional thoughts

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