sunlight on brickwork

[sandman]

After playing about with that church i thought i'd better go out and find something more suitable for conversion , here are 3 images taken this morning

[sandman]

NO2

[sandman]

NO 3 no shadows this is for Linda G

[es136]

Originally posted by sandman
NO 3 no shadows this is for Linda G

OK. Then i'll take number 2.:)

Eddie

[Linda G]

*GASP* did you buy them off?

Great shots, all three! Don't know what it is, but I like the way you handle b&w. Want to send my stuff to you, have you convert it and see if it looks as good.

Your first one, with those windows and the texture behind makes me feel like I'm walking, right there/

Thanks, Brian, tell Lynda hi. :)

[chaser of light]

Hi Brian,

I like all three, but then Im a B&W fan.
I must admit that I have tinkerd with conversion too, but still dont have the knack of it. Would you care to share some of your technique?

Chaser.

[sandman]

thanks
Theres not much i can say about how i convert , it's a gut feeling ,either i think it will , or it won't .
Take that church i did'nt think it would convert well ,again just a feeling and i think i was proved right, i know some of you liked it ,but thats personall taste, i thought it was too dark and busy ,and grass does not convert well IMHO.
My technique ,well it's really easy , first i have to feel it will convert ,something with a lot of whites and contrast normally will , then i open the levels get those right and then open the red channel in levels (remember i only have ELEMENTS)
then just lift the whites untill they turn a light pink . i then de-sat and go into contrast / lightness and play around with very small incriments untill it looks right .
At this stage i must say the image can't be overexposed at any point , slight underexposure is best so you don't loose any detail in the whites when you up the contrast . if the whites blow out i either come down a bit on the contrast or if i can't get the whites ,white without blowing them out . ...i ditch it and admit it won't convert .75% of my conversions are ditched before you see them . thats why you only see the good ones not the ones i've given up on .

There is also a little bit of dodging and burning on some , not all ,but thats my old darkroom days coming out.

So to sum up how i do it . a gut feeling , a light touch , and a bit of TLC. and a lot of luck..... bit like marriage but not as expensive.


Brian

[HulaMike]

You certainly have a way with conversion, contrast and tone Brian!

Can I ask a stupid question? Why don't you just shoot in B&W to begin with? I find that the thought process in composing for B&W is much different than when shooting color. You're forced to eliminate the psychological power that color brings to an image and tend to look at things in terms of pure light and composition more, at least I do.

[sandman]

Mike the answer to that one is easy . the less i have to think about the better. just looking at the composition and exposure settings wears me out , let alone trying to think about changing settings on the camera. so shoot ,
get home , post process and think about it with a baileys in my hand .:D

i'm joking of course . but part is true i can't decide in the field whether colour or B&W. so i convert afterwards , i've tried the B &W setting and i can't see much diffence to the de-sat in photoshop , someone will disagree i know , but i've tried it .
and if i like the result it's justified .

Brian

[chaser of light]

Thanks Brian, I will put your advice to practice and see how I fair.
Mike has a point about shooting in black and white in the first place, but like you I cant see myself fumbling with settings in the field......It might be an idea to deticate a whole day of shooting to one form or the other....dont know how practical it would be? its just a thought!

Chaser

[sandman]

I quite like a fumble in a field , but thats another story.

Chaser have a go , by the exposure in your colour shots you've certainly got the knack, and all those white adobe buildings in greece should give you some wonderful oppertunities for some great contrasty images , go for it , make me jealous.

Love the hat.


Brian

[HulaMike]

Originally posted by chaser of light
Mike has a point about shooting in black and white in the first place, but like you I cant see myself fumbling with settings in the field......Chaser

Chaser, all you'd have to do is toggle from color to B&W on the function screen. All other exposure / metering settings would likely remain the same. One of the great things about digital is not being married to whatever roll of film you loaded in the am.

[Serge]

"After playing about with that church i thought i'd better go out and find something more suitable for conversion , here are 3 images taken this morning"


Brian,

nothing unsuitable here, whereever two or three are gathered ;)



#2 does it for me, dappled lighting is difficult to handle at the best of time, you've captured it beautifully :righton:

PS thanks for the B'day message

[Andre]

Originally posted by HulaMike
Chaser, all you'd have to do is toggle from color to B&W on the function screen. All other exposure / metering settings would likely remain the same. One of the great things about digital is not being married to whatever roll of film you loaded in the am.

If he's shooting RAW, I don't believe that setting does anything, does it?

[HulaMike]

You're right Andre, he can select B&W in his converter but setting the cam to B&W allows a chance to view the image as B&W in the field.

[chaser of light]

When shooting B&W, would there be any advantage in raw as opposed to tiff ?

[chaser of light]

Brian,
A fumble in the field is always a welcome thing......I would never alow the S2 to spoil that:D

[HulaMike]

Originally posted by chaser of light
When shooting B&W, would there be any advantage in raw as opposed to tiff ?

Chaser, there's always an advantage to a RAW file. The TIFF setting in camera is a ludicrous waste of memory. Think: RAW file = Diogital Negative.

[sandman]

Originally posted by HulaMike
You're right Andre, he can select B&W in his converter but setting the cam to B&W allows a chance to view the image as B&W in the field.

Mike
I've got no problem with anyone else trying B & W straight from the camera , so no arguements there , but mono is all about little subtle changes in light ,ala my first shot here, you could never see that on that tiny screen in sunlight . You might be an experianced anoth photographer to ''see'' a black and white shot and know it , i'm not , i need to get them home and study them before making an opinion. that is the main reason i shoot colour , for the option .
As for RAW again i agree , but post processing drives me nuts , so unless the lighting is really tricky , and/or i'm doing it for someone else i'll shoot fine jpg at 3024.
There are times the lighting conditions do catch me out and when i get that ''gut'' feeling about a shot and i'm not sure i'l shoot both jpg and raw to make sure . the church window in the original ''simon says '' was an example of that .
All these comments are my opinion only , i'm not argueing with yours in any way. just putting over my personall point of view.

Brian

[HulaMike]

Your point of view is always appreciated Brian, especially if you posted the pic in the first place. That's your baby, not ours. I have no axe or ego to grind here, I'm WAY too old for that nonsense. I just like exchanging ideas.

[chaser of light]

You guys have no idea how much Im learning just reading you!

:cheers:

[sandman]

I was just thinking , if you put that hat on Mike's avatar and just darkened his beard...................hmmmmmm . TWINS ..:D

Brian

[HulaMike]

Please don't take my grey away! I've worked too long to earn it. Besides I like having grey hair on an otherwise slim, young looking, 6'-5" body....Smunky, are you listening? ;)