Mastering Monochrome

[moopy goops]

There's been a lot of posts regarding B&W photography, discussions about 'seeing in B&W' etc and I have been reading them all (though not commenting due to a lack of knowledge), and have been very interested and inspired.
I've been looking at a lot of respected photographers' work and trying to understand why a good B&W shot works, so I thought I'd give it a go and see what you, the most discerning bunch of critics around, think.






Please be as honest as you feel, this is not about my ego it's about my learning curve.

[batmura]

Good shot. I really like the sky. You could increase the contrast a tid to more punch maybe.

[Mike Buckley]

Your image explains why black-and-white works. Great job!

[dabhand]

Mat - I agree with Murat re the contrast and if you were to do that you may also be able to highlight the mist a little better.

I don't quite see what has happened to the hill on the right hand side - it is very 'milky' in appearance and is that a bit of snow on the top - both I find detract from the overall mood of the image.

Otherwise I think you've got a good starter.

steve

[mknittle]

Nice shot Mat. the composition is great but like Murat and said it is a little light and could use some contrast. Just my opinion though. I like black and white a lot but to my tastes the darker "moody" skies stand out.
Like I said that's just me

The question is what do you think?

[flashback]

Mat,

I think you proved the point about B&W, without even seeing the color version I'm pretty confident that it would have only been an *average* shot. B&W does this image justice.
I agree about maybe a bit more contrast to bring out the sky and that hill on the right is bothersome, is that SOOC or did you PP that hill for some reason?

[moopy goops]

[QUOTE=dabhand;371005]Mat - I agree with Murat re the contrast and if you were to do that you may also be able to highlight the mist a little better.

I don't quite see what has happened to the hill on the right hand side - it is very 'milky' in appearance and is that a bit of snow on the top - both I find detract from the overall mood of the image.

Otherwise I think you've got a good starter.

Steve, thanks for your comments, I was concerned by the milky hillside and the weird white area too, they were both the result of bad editing on my part ! I have eliminated them and upped the contrast as you and Murat (Thank you too for your input) suggested. I was worried that it would all become too black and white and I would lose all the subtle greys, which I felt added depth and tone. Whats your verdict on the MK 2 ?

[moopy goops]

Mat,

I think you proved the point about B&W, without even seeing the color version I'm pretty confident that it would have only been an *average* shot. B&W does this image justice.
I agree about maybe a bit more contrast to bring out the sky and that hill on the right is bothersome, is that SOOC or did you PP that hill for some reason?

Jack, I tried to lighten the hillside to separate it from the tree which i felt was a wee bit lost against the dark background but I did a awful job !
I had been thinking about B&W shots all night and then this morning I was handed this wonderful view with a great sky and I thought YES THATS MY B&W !
It was actually quite a good traditional shot too IMO
Thanks for your words of wisdom

[rpcrowe]

BTW: These are several editing programs which have quite nice monochrome conversion abilities. Of course, you can still do wonderful conversions using Photoshop:

Photoshop Elements, NIK Silver Efex Pro, and the onOne Perfect Photo Suite, Perfect BW

[moopy goops]

BTW: These are several editing programs which have quite nice monochrome conversion abilities. Of course, you can still do wonderful conversions using Photoshop:

Photoshop Elements, NIK Silver Efex Pro, and the onOne Perfect Photo Suite, Perfect BW

Just been looking online for info re NIK silver efex and there's a package of programs for $ 149 which is about £90 and includes stuff like colour efex, Viveza, analogue efex,dfine and sharpener pro.
Does anyone have any opinions about these and does the price seem to be falling or has it been at this level for ages ?
Thinking about buying but not sure if all the add-ons are worth it. Thanks

[Karm Redland]

Mat, I use Nik products with Lightroom. Together they make a nice combination of processing tools. Color efex and their monochrome conversion tool are both excellent.

karm

[Mike Buckley]

Mat,

NIK was purchased by Google not too long ago. Soon after, they released the entire collection for the cost that you now see. That was a huge reduction, so I don't expect much of a reduction below the current price any time soon.

[dabhand]

Mat - 2nd version is better but there's still a milky cast on that rhs hillside.

Like Karm, I make use of NIK plugins - there are some good Youtube tutorials http://www.youtube.com/user/NikSoftwareLessons would get you started and the is a good book by John Batdorff - Plug In with Nik - who also has some stuff on Youtube; overall I'd say NIK is a worthwhile investment.

steve

[moopy goops]

Mat - 2nd version is better but there's still a milky cast on that rhs hillside.

Like Karm, I make use of NIK plugins - there are some good Youtube tutorials http://www.youtube.com/user/NikSoftwareLessons would get you started and the is a good book by John Batdorff - Plug In with Nik - who also has some stuff on Youtube; overall I'd say NIK is a worthwhile investment.

steve

Thanks Steve, think i may be about to buy it !