There is a time for everything...

[NorthernFocus]

Including B/W conversions. One thing that was less than perfect on my recent visit to the polar bears is that the ground was not yet frozen and only had a thin cover of snow. So when the bears dug out a hole to take a nap they got themselves filthy. And dirty polar bears are not very photogenic. There was one pair of otherwise beautiful male bears that put on quite the wrestling match right at the water's edge. But they were filthy creatures. It occurred to me to try conversions on one or two of them to see if they were recoverable.

Posted here are a couple that it seemed to help most. Conversion of the second one turned out to be the most dramatic difference. I fiddled with the color filters to lighten yellow/orange and darken blue/aqua. What say you are they worth the effort? Advice from the B/W experts on how to improve them?

Uploaded large with intent of viewing in light box.

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[tbob]

Personally I do not find the dirt a problem. I prefer the colour versions. The bears plus their habitat make better story for me.

[bnnrcn]

I like the color versions Dan IMO the second BnW might look better with a brighter BG and I would also apply some 'curves' adjustments to the image but actually I wouldn't bother myself as the color version looks very nice and natural.

[Donald]

Dan

If I may.............

I took the second image and did a bit of adjustment in Silver Efex Pro.

• Increased Global Contrast
• Slid up Dynamic Brightness
• Put control points on the bodies of the bears (to limit changes to the fur only):
  
  • increased structure (texture)
  • increased brightness
  
  
• Applied a vignette

Hope you don't mind me showing this, rather than trying to explain it.

Best to go into the Lightbox and toggle to and fro between the two.

[Jimr1961]

Hi Dan,
I'm no b&w expert, but I know what I like. I'm indifferent to the first. Perhaps leaning toward the color. I think the second is an improvement in b&w and Donald's tweaks gives it a wow factor for me.

[Shadowman]

I like the dirty bears as well.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Dan,

I don't think the mono version of #1 improves the dirtiness at all, despite your tweaks in the colour channels which are what I might have done.

The mono version of #2 does have paler dirt, but Donald's version is better still.

HTH, Dave

[GBO25]

How fortunate you are to be able to get shots like these. I also like the colour versions probably because I've never seen polar bears in the wild so have nothing to compare them against. Mind you the pair in B&W do look good.

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Donald, thanks for reworking the image. It definitely looks much better. I don't have Nik software but will poke around and see if I can get similar results with what I have at my disposal.

[FootLoose]

I prefer the colour versions, too Dan. Of the two B&Ws the 2nd works best but I think the background needs to be toned down a bit so that the bears are lighter than sky.

[IzzieK]

I am with the colour side too, Dan...and though Donald's edit is excellent, I still like dirty polar bears.

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks for the input, Greg and Izzie.

[Manfred M]

Dan, in my view, the monochrome conversions lose something that the original images had, in spite of being "dirty".

I definitely find the colour images to be far superior to the monochrome ones.

[Mike Buckley]

I agree with Manfred with regard to your versions but I prefer Donald's version. With more experience making monochrome versions and developing a taste of what you hope to achieve in them, you'll probably be able to make monochromes that are more appealing.

Having said that, my experience is that when people show the color and monochrome versions of an image, almost everyone prefers color versions. That's because most of us see in color and few of us have spent much time exploring the benefits of monochromes. So, my recommendation is that you show your monochromes without showing the corresponding color versions and use the critique to your advantage.

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks for the feedback, Manfred and Mike. I think I'll poke around a bit with PP on both versions for educational purposes. The color versions were nearly SOOC because I had already decided to make the conversion. There should be some color to pull out of the sky as I recall it being really colorful that evening.

[AlwaysOnAuto]

Considering that the polar bears I get to see at the zoo are rarely this active and aren't 'clean' looking either, I prefer the color versions.
Donald's worked picture is nice too.

[John 2]

Psychologically, Mike has hit the nail on the head. Not always true but mono rarely pips colour on a side by side comparison. I prefer the colour versions simply because of the subtlety of the colouring. Like others, when it comes to the mono, Donald's edit has more punch which when you are relying sheer tonality, helps.