Editing process...of a cabin in Pere Marquette, Illinois for C&C

[IzzieK]

I may have misunderstood your workflow also Izzie. I assumed you were desaturating the image from the beginning. What I really like about the method that Manfred described is he uses an adjustment layer to make his conversion, therefore leaving the color data intact. That way he can adjust certain color channels to boost and subdue specific tones while viewing his adjustments in real-time and non-destructively. It really does seem like a great way to convert.

Sorry for the late response...I used to desaturate my image from the beginning but I found other methods later on through here at CiC's postings and found out there are more ways to skin a cat...and I like simple better. I will always experiment one way or the other and get lazy one day...but I like working so even in an image, I will work it to my understanding then dispense what is complicated to the nice short one when the occasion calls for it. I guess most of us get to be the same way no matter what the tasks is...though in creativity, it pays to linger and look and change as one feels. I've learned a lot from you in such a short time. Thanks. and also for the added information.

[IzzieK]

I've copied and pasted these reasons in my notes, Manfred...thank you. I will find some reasons to do more black and white while keeping colours too as they are both processes I'd enjoy doing and tearing apart even just for the heck of it apart from studying. I've never really thought as much of black and white before in another light...thanks for the continuing studies I've learned from you for what...2 years of coming here? maybe less...the more I read, the more I learn...thanks again.

Izzie - I don't do a lot of B&W because I find getting a great looking image in colour is much more challenging than doing so in B&W. For the first few years when I got into serious photography, I was pretty well a B&W shooter only.

I remember that I really loved Ernst Haas's work when I was still in my teens and suspect that this is why I was drawn to colour work. Colour in the wet darkroom is much more difficult and challenging than doing B&W prints. http://www.ernst-haas.com/

As a general rule I tend to go B&W for a few very specific reasons:

1. Simplification - sometimes an image does not work because it is too busy. Taking an sRGB image with its 16 million distinct shades comes down to 256 shades.

2. The "period look" - when I shoot people and places that look like they might have come from the time when photography (or films and television) were primarily B&W, it gives the images a bit of a timeless look. I will use this technique when presenting shots taken in developing countries, where some of the traditions and clothing that go back in time are still in common use.

3. Uncorrectable colour cast - sometimes when shooting in mixed light conditions, the colours are difficult to impossible to correct. B&W doesn't care about colour temperature or white balance, so this is an easy fix.

4. The scene is already highly monochrome. I find that these shots sometimes look better when they are presented as B&W images (and sometimes perhaps not).

5. Night scenes - this is a bit of both a colour temperature and monochrome look in the scene, so more of a blend of points 3 and 4. They can also exhibit a lot of chromatic noise in the sky or shadow detail, but can look effective when converted to B&W, where the noise can enhance an image.


I do find that for the most part, I lose something in the image when I throw away the colour, which is the reason I hesitate in going to B&W shots.

[IzzieK]

The background was dark with little color at the start but after tonal contrast, it became lighter and more colorful. So, in the conversion, the background is more intense than at the start. The main thing i would do is lighten parts of the building while maybe even making the background darker. Lighten/Darken Center instead of Tonal Contrast. The trees nice and dark with maybe a selenium tone would be nice. Film noir is a great SE preset that can be toned down to taste but adds good melodrama to these sorts of houses in the woods shots. In terms of pp before bw, I tend to just make a nice color image first. But, I have been known to use strong effects like those in Nik HDR Efex Pro prior to conversion. No rules!

I have a full set of Nik's Efex filters and what each of them do though I still have to try all of them and been to the film section once and had not been back...when one of my airplane event project made some of them look garish...might start going there to learn ... thank God for digital we do not have to experiment in the dark lab...mine was called a powder room and I hated it...so I did not learn much at the time. I still have the sinus problem to show for it...

Thanks for your thoughts Larry...I appreciate it very much.