Time to explore the magic of monochrome macro: Cricket

[JBW]

I need all the help I can get please and thank you.

[Wavelength]

Pure glass classic

[JBW]

Pure glass classic

it does have that look

[Shanghai Steve]

Your tonal rendering is very subtle. I am sure it looks great as a full-res image. But the question I immediately asked myself was "Is this particular subject or this aspect of the subject best suited to a monochrome treatment?" I love monochrome but I personally feel it is more suited to man-made objects or living objects with an inherent architectural aspect. It has been a long time since I studied etymology, so I am unsure what colour this cricket is but of course the beauty of many life-forms is their dramatic colouring. I also feel the composition is a tad messy- the lower third does not contribute to the main subject, which is a pity as the top third background is very soft and pleasing.
With this subject, I might have been better to have concentrated on a head-on shot to bring out the 'engineering' of the head. This would allow a more 3d aspect to the image and perhaps given more opportunity to take advantage of the lovely bokeh (or Gaussian Blur) you exploited so well.

[JBW]

Your tonal rendering is very subtle. I am sure it looks great as a full-res image. But the question I immediately asked myself was "Is this particular subject or this aspect of the subject best suited to a monochrome treatment?" I love monochrome but I personally feel it is more suited to man-made objects or living objects with an inherent architectural aspect. It has been a long time since I studied etymology, so I am unsure what colour this cricket is but of course the beauty of many life-forms is their dramatic colouring. I also feel the composition is a tad messy- the lower third does not contribute to the main subject, which is a pity as the top third background is very soft and pleasing.
With this subject, I might have been better to have concentrated on a head-on shot to bring out the 'engineering' of the head. This would allow a more 3d aspect to the image and perhaps given more opportunity to take advantage of the lovely bokeh (or Gaussian Blur) you exploited so well.

the cricket is translucent and moves in and out of greens and blues depending on surroundings.

I could have cloned out some of the bottom leaf.

I did post a head on of this fellow a couple of days ago. Decided on a body shot for today.

Photography is all about personal taste. Mine finds as much beauty in shapes, shadows and hints as in full sharp colours.

In this shot bokeh with a bit of negative structure

[Stagecoach]

Good one Brian,

As for the B&W, some will like it some will not but we know there's a colour one if we want to see it

How it does work is that maybe it concentrates the mind on the structural makeup of the critter more?

[Donald]

I think it is very much a case of choosing the subject carefully to make a B & W. In this case I think it works very well.

[James G]

Hi Brian, this is an interesting 'take' on the original image.
Like a lot of other people, I started in photography shooting black and white because that was basically all that was available. I certainly was photographing nature then, so for me , in a sense this could be seen as a 'retro' or 'nostalgic' treatment. (Back in the 60's colour was very expensive, though colour slide was a good alternative to print.)

The points made in the earlier post about composition and reframing are in one sense valid, but imo more appropriate to a studio controlled situation. In general, live macro in the field precludes this since you cannot control your shooting environment beyond a certain point. You know this anyway.

You are I think 'experimenting' with B&W so keep going. This shot in exemplifies a lot of what I think you need to 'look for' when considering a B&W treatment of this type of subject. This cricket/grasshopper is particularly suitable having elements of a clear well defined structure/shape, with bold/architectural details which enable the insect to be separated from the background with some precision. The tone transformation from colour to B&W is critical to achieve this and is excellent, typified by clear contrast which enhances the detail, but most importantly also separates the main subject from the background. (Back in the day, this was often done using coloured filters!)

If I were to criticise any aspect of the conversion, I would probably suggest trying to increase the contrast to make the insect stand out more. (I know from your earlier post you indicated you were hoping to get more translucence.)

There are other CiCs members such as Donald who 'specialise' in B&W I'll be interested to see what their advice is but for what it's worth, I think this is a pretty good treatment.

[Shadowman]

Nice effort, I'd play with the contrast as suggested. I don't really see any black/white points visible within the composition.

[JBW]

Good one Brian,

As for the B&W, some will like it some will not but we know there's a colour one if we want to see it

How it does work is that maybe it concentrates the mind on the structural makeup of the critter more?

I lived on the north coast of B.C. Canada and worked as a deckhand on a mission boat and as a lighthouse keeper. Eventually I began to see colours galore in the fogs, mists and clouds. Same with this shot.

[JBW]

I think it is very much a case of choosing the subject carefully to make a B & W. In this case I think it works very well.

Thanks, your shots showed me the beauty and power of B&W.

[JBW]

Hi Brian, this is an interesting 'take' on the original image.

Agree with everything except the above. Yes it is the same cricket on the same plant but the shot was taken today.

[JBW]

Nice effort, I'd play with the contrast as suggested. I don't really see any black/white points visible within the composition.

There are a few places that read 0 or 255 but not many.

[James G]

I stand corrected...
further to Johns comment

I don't really see any black/white points visible within the composition.

I suppose I was referring indirectly to the same point. Generally B&W looks stronger? when there are distinct black and white points present in the image.

Lighthouse keepe.... WOW!

[JBW]

I stand corrected...
further to Johns comment

I suppose I was referring indirectly to the same point. Generally B&W looks stronger? when there are distinct black and white points present in the image.

Lighthouse keepe.... WOW!

http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=1430
I was the 'junior' for almost 4 years. A seminal point in my life.

[mknittle]

I like it very much Brian.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Brian This is a nice B&W image on its own and I like it. But I'm still in love with the color image of this critter

[Dave Humphries]

I think that is amazing Brian,

I commented on the great subtle colours of the original, but this really allows the viewer to concentrate their attention on the structure and shapes which the simplification of removing the colour allows.

I think it has a valid place alongside any colour shots.

Very well done, Dave

PS yes I could get picky about some back/foreground aspects you haven't addressed, but you have already acknowledged them.

[ccphoto]

I think everything can translate into a good B&W if handled correctly. In this case, while it will make a good B&W, there are some things you might want to consider in PP. One, the bluish tint actually obfuscates the "translucency" factor. The crop has been discussed and needs no further banging about. The second thing I think you should consider in PP is working a bit more diligently with your mid-tone grays. I did an edit (and would post with your permission) where I addressed both items (and a crop, though I don't think it does a whole lot better than the original) and found a higher degree of that translucent factor you were trying to achieve. I was able to achieve this by pushing up the contrast a bit without losing the mid-tone values. Just a thought.

[tbob]

Brian I would strongly recommend getting NIK Silver Effex to play with. Go crazy with the sliders the first few times as it the best way to learn.

I played with a screen shot in Silver Effex. This is my vision and may not gibe with yours. I wanted to make the image a study of the structure and textures of the cricket. I feel quite few macro images of insects would be suitable for this sort of thing. I did this without your permission, I will remove it if a problem

What I did was darken the midtones, brighten the highlights and darken the shadows. Then I increased the structure on all three (highlights, midtones (the most) and shadows. Then I sharpened it. Really wanted to emphasize the structures May be a bit extreme but i wanted the image to have major impact .