Classic

[mrk]

f9.0 @ 1/500sec iso200 (55mm)

I wanted to capture a classic moment in a classic way. A Parent and child + 2 dogs enjoying a walk along the beach during a later afternoon sunset. The grain was added for mood and BW conversion done via desaturation and levels adjustment.

Think "classic" and you'll see what I see

 

[Matt]

i like that, i need a bigger monitor though so i can see it in 'uninteruppted'

fancy doing a little how-to on converting to B&W?

 

[mrk]

i like that, i need a bigger monitor though so i can see it in 'uninteruppted'

fancy doing a little how-to on converting to B&W?

Thing about BW conversion is that it is never the same, you would allways need to adjust for each image ebcause each colour image will have a different colour variation, different brightness levels etc and given these differences using the same BW technique will provide variable results!

I usally get it how I like in colour first then desaturate and greyscale then duotone

 

[Matt]

oh well it was worth a try...maybe just a basic 'i do it like this' with a shot as an example then?

/pushy mode off

 

[mrk]

oh well it was worth a try...maybe just a basic 'i do it like this' with a shot as an example then?

/pushy mode off

again would be hard since I don't do BW the same way

 

[Matt]

oh well it was worth a try...maybe just a basic 'i do it like this' with a shot as an example then?

/pushy mode off

again would be hard since I don't do BW the same way

never mind then, i gotta ask!

 

[Pook]

That's a good shot.. sort of makes me think of late summer... walking teh Dog on Rossall beach near Blackpool... warm breeze...

If it makes me think that, it's doing somethging right. I like it. Have you done something to the sun though?

i like that, i need a bigger monitor though so i can see it in 'uninteruppted'

fancy doing a little how-to on converting to B&W?

There are many ways to do that, but someone beat me to it. Look in the tutorial section.. someone's covered that pretty well already.

About your Monitor... Even on my 17 inch it takes up only 2 thirds of the vertical space, and that's not even with explorer maximised... you sure you can't take your screen res higher? On my other monitor, it's actually small... that's only a 19 inch. What's your screen res?

 

[Matt]

my screen is a 1075x678 tft, cant change the resolution i dont think..

if i remove the address bar and goofle tool bar it fits...

 

[mrk]

I didn't really change the sun at all, it was about 7 minutes from fully setting so the glare was at its lowest during a sunset (shot loads of sunsets you can tell hehe) - the peak time was several minutes earlier but there was not enough clouds around to make a nice scenic shot of it so I settled for this

my screen is a 1075x678 tft, cant change the resolution i dont think..

if i remove the address bar and goofle tool bar it fits...

Another tip is to press F11 to go full screen for quick viewing

 

[Matt]

I didn't really change the sun at all, it was about 7 minutes from fully setting so the glare was at its lowest during a sunset (shot loads of sunsets you can tell hehe) - the peak time was several minutes earlier but there was not enough clouds around to make a nice scenic shot of it so I settled for this

my screen is a 1075x678 tft, cant change the resolution i dont think..

if i remove the address bar and goofle tool bar it fits...

Another tip is to press F11 to go full screen for quick viewing

aha!

Top Tip!

mrk you have a PM coming....

 

[Matt]

There are many ways to do that, but someone beat me to it. Look in the tutorial section.. someone's covered that pretty well already.

that was Steve, he has a comprehensive walk through, i just though it would be good to have other methods and techniques to add to it..

 

[Pook]

There are many ways to do that, but someone beat me to it. Look in the tutorial section.. someone's covered that pretty well already.

that was Steve, he has a comprehensive walk through, i just though it would be good to have other methods and techniques to add to it..

He's covered pretty much everything I think... desaturate, convert to greyscale, channel mixing... it's all there... even LAB, which no one ever uses. Personally, I find image/mode/greyscale the most pleasing, with teh best range of tones, but if I were you, I'd just pick an image you know well, and go through all the methods on Steve's guide, and see which you like best.

 

[Marcel]

I actually prefer to use the LAB/Lightness method. Seems to work the best for me in the (few) B&W shots that I've done.
I remember Steve and I had a discussion where neither of us could pinpoint and figure out what actually makes a good B&W shot and why. I'm still convinced it's more to do with stark contrasty colours(shades), and for what I've taken in the past, the LAB mode has given me the results I've required.

At least I think it's the LAB mode...Now where did I put that embarassed smiley?

 

[Steve]

If I like an image I will convert it using all the different methods to see which returns the best results for me. Often the best method varies depending on the image that you start with so there is no quick and easy, golden rule for all unfortunately. It must be said though that any of the methods shown in the tutorial will give a pretty good idea if the image will work in B&W, so I would pick the quickest and easiest (probably channel mixer) and do a "rough" convertion before spending any real amount of time working on an image that might not have the appeal you had hoped.