As suggested, I am going to start a black and white thread. I am the first to admit that I am not the worlds greatest B&W photographer. Yes, I have room to improve. So, I will kick off this thread with about the only image that converts to mono that I have. Taken with my 7D, I think it is a Stearman, but correct me if I am wrong. So please feel free to add your own images, and constructively give feed back on posted images. If the mods are not happy with this type of thread, please let me know, and I will take it down. Regards Gary
Thank you for starting this thread, Gary. I normally use Silver Efex Pro 2 which is part of the NIK Collection to process my B&W images. One of the features in Silver Efex is the ability restore some of the colour from the original colour image. Here is an image that I processed with Silver Efex: _IMG1904 by Ray Allen, on Flickr and here is the same image with some of the colour restored: _IMG1904_NIK_SE2 by Ray Allen, on Flickr
Camellia processed with NIK Silver Efex. Taken with Canon EOS 20D, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 II IS STM. IMG_0420 by Ray Allen, on Flickr
Sticking with Ray's boat theme this was taken with a 60D and a Royette 135mm @ F16, 10 second shutter, ISO 100 and a 10 stop neutral density filter
In a Japanese garden...Canon EOS-1Ds, Canon EF 28-80mm 1:3.5-5.6. C0EW1268_NIK_SE by Ray Allen, on Flickr
As I said before I am not a B&W shooter. I am not sure if it is not seeing an image in B&W to start with, or if it is a lacking processing skills. Maybe it is a combination of both. I could be pointing my camera at just the wrong things. I do have a few images that I have taken in the past in mono that I like, but they are far and few between. It is nice to see other people's images just to give a little inspiration and ideas. So keep them coming, and hopefully, I will be able to add a few of my own. Gary
Hi Gary, Maybe it is not realising what will make a good B&W image. I spent many years in camera clubs listening to judges evaluating images and when they commented on B&W images there was a common theme. When creating a black and white image there needs to be a black portion and a white portion in each image and that is what I aim to get in my images. B&W images rely on good contrast. An overcast day with nice soft lighting provides great conditions for saturated colours for colour images but the flat lighting and low contrast will not make for a good B&W image. Going out at midday on a bright cloudless day will result in images with harsh dark shadows and possible blown out highlights. Such conditions are not good for colour images but are actually good for B&W images. Very dark shadows will give you your blacks and blown out highlights will give you your whites. So, while some advise that you should put your camera away in the middle of the day, it is a matter of using harsh light to your advantage. Here is an image I took recently at 12:45pm: _IMG3507 by Ray Allen, on Flickr
Thanks for your advice Ray. I am trying to get out on the weekends to have a go at a little more mono images. I do have a few places in mind that I would like to visit. But life is getting in the way at the moment. If I do manage to get out and have some success I will post the results. With Craig's long exposure, that is what I have in mind. Lets see what happens. Gary
Gary why wait for the weekend, when you travel from work to home , take a little time to shoot some street scenes, wander around outside when you get home or if you go for a daily walk. If you have a Mobil phone it comes with a neat camera especially if it is a bright sunny day with no clouds. this gives high contrast and hard edged shadow, perfect weather for black and white photography. I suggest start a portfolio of black and white street shots. This will get your eye in for when you go to somewhere specific .
Here is another of my passions - shooting hot rods and custom cars.1932 Ford. Canon EOS-1Ds, Canon EF 28-80mm 1:3.5-5.6. In case you were wondering...No, that's not the original motor! C0EW0866_NIK_SE by Ray Allen, on Flickr
No, Gary, it's not mine. Those guys spend thousands getting their cars looking the way they do and I don't have that sort of money available to me. I am happy to just look and to take photos. That is how I get my enjoyment.
I was living in the NT in Australia before I called it day on the heat. Since arriving in NZ, I have never seen so many old cars that people drive around on the weekends. I am talking about 1930's sorts of things that have not been customized and have been kept original. I am keeping an eye out for a car show, but none as yet. Nice picture as well. Gary
Low tide at Governors Bay. Just playing around with trying to take images for mono conversion. Regards Gary
