Clouds around the lake in B/W

timo832000 · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 544 Location: Germany / Cologne

After getting keen on using Silver Efex I started to reprocess some of my older images which I did not like because of the look and tones of their colors.

Here is one of them after conversion to b&w:

"Clouds around the Jaegersee", captured in Summer of 2010 with Pentax K10d & Zeiss Distagon 2.8/35 stitched from 6 single frames.

Timo

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

As you know if you read my comment (did you?), I like the pictures of the Mesurian lake.
Watching this grayscale image it is obvious that the image was conceived as colour photo, because of the limited contrast and the nearness of tones.
In the areas with lots of micro-contrast structure (like the trees), this is not important, because the texture creates the interest.
But in the areas like the sky and the mountains, the absence of colour shades is not compensated by luminance textures.
The result is that delicate shades of blue, green, brown, all look like middle gray now, making that part of the picture look flat.
So this B&W image needs, in my opinion, localized treatment to improve the contrast in those areas.

ChromaticAberration · Joined: 23 Dec 2010 Posts: 819 Location: Portugal

I don't posses Orio's hability to technically judge the image but there is definetly lack of overall contrast, and that is what empowers B&W photography in my opinion.

The scene is stunning by the way. Very good composition and I love the near absent of the human factor.

timo832000 · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 544 Location: Germany / Cologne

Thanks for your comments. Yes, you are right that images is lacking some contrast. And Yes Orio, there is alot of middle grey in there.
So I have tried to make a better conversion. I think there is some more contrast in now, but unfortunately every of my attempts to make a local adjustement which certainly would be the right way, just failed badly. - I still have to learn very much about photo-editing.

So please keep on judging me.

Timo

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

It's improved.
Keep on trying, and if you have Photoshop, use it instead of using the Silver FX plugin.
You always obtain better results with custom work, even if it's more time consuming.

timo832000 · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 544 Location: Germany / Cologne

As a further step I have tried to get a very contrasty colored version of that image by converting the source image from it`s RGB color-space into HSI. After that I replaced the I "Intensity" or "Luminosity" channel by the contrasty b&w image.

So by playing around with different b&w conversions got a color image as result Very Happy

.

I have to say that I like this version very much.

Timo

timo832000 · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 544 Location: Germany / Cologne

Thanks Orio, yes you are right again but Silver Efex for me is an easy way to get some inspiration and ofcourse it`s much faster.

If I did`nt have to go to work I would love to play on those images all day long Wink

Timo

eddieitman · Joined: 12 Apr 2011 Posts: 1246 Location: United Kingdom

Hope you dont mind but i did a little play in Silver EFX and a few extra minutes you can get the contrast boost and enhance the clouds even more to add drama
Something like this
Sorry could only work with the small colour pic would be better on the full image
#1

pich900 · Expire: 2012-12-27

Beautifull scenery and I like also most the colour version Smile

Nordentro · Expire: 2015-01-29