First try at B&W

[jonjdoe]

[jonjdoe]

And.......a second try.
Thanks for any comments.

[Geoff F]

You have a difficult scene there, John, but I think the second one works well. It was a better shot all round to start with.

The only thing I would change is on the left edge where there appears to be someone in the bushes holding up a golf club.

Or perhaps it is a distant light. I would clone it out.

[Donald]

And.......a second try.

And two good starts.

How are you doing the conversions?

I wonder if, in the first one, there is too much separation between the main arch of the bridge and the side lamps that we see at the left-hand edge. I think they (the lamps) and the bridge are not really 'linked' and my eye keeps getting pulled from one to the other. I'd maybe think about cropping them out, or re-shooting from a different viewpoint.

On the second one, you've put the sky very much over the edge in terms of whiteness. You might have gone for a very high key look, but I wonder if it's a been pushed a bit too far? But that's a matter of taste. The composition on this one is, I think, much stronger than on the first one.

[jonjdoe]

Thanks Geoff and Donald. I've removed the golf club Geoff....it WAS distracting. Donald, the conversion was done in Raw (removed the sat., tweaked the contrast (maybe too much?), upped the black a touch, and played with the exposure some.) I also appled USM after changing the size, too much you think?

[Donald]

Much better all round - in my opinion.

tweaked the contrast (maybe too much?)

Mmm? Again, matters of personal taste. I wouldn't have gone as far in the second one, but then again, many people would have gone further in the first one.

I also appled USM after changing the size, too much you think?

Not to my eye. They look good.

[jonjdoe]

Thanks Donald. Valuable suggestions. I'm learning a lot! Is there a better way to do the B&W conversions?

[Donald]

Thanks Donald. Valuable suggestions. I'm learning a lot! Is there a better way to do the B&W conversions?

There are lots and lots of ways of converting.

If you're seriously considering getting into B & W, I would strongly recommend that you read one book which you can read about here. Freeman has been my guru ever since I started really getting in to B & W.

I currently use NIK Software's Silver Efex Pro 2 software for B & W conversion. But if you use Photoshop, then Freeman's discussions on using the B & W dialogue in that software will open up new horizons to you.

[jonjdoe]

Thanks......I'll get the book. I'm using Elements 10.

[EDGE1]

Hi John,

I like the second picture more than the first, purely for is content. It's nice. Once concern for me would be the white sky, but as Donald pointed out, it's a matter of taste. One more thing; I don't think the street light at the bottom right-hand corner would be missed if it were to be removed.

Donald: Thanks for the book suggestion, I'm on it.....

Rob