First one of 2008 - The Black Hill

[spkennedy3000]

Happy New Year all!!

Some views from Wales all with zuiko 18mm at f11.
































Comments and critiques very welcome.
Cheers!
Simon

[Attila]

So many people said you are master of B&W photography, I repeat again!
I am so amazed, superb captures!!

[Borges]

Comments and critiques very welcome? For me it's not possible to critize any of your shots - they are masterpieces. You're one of the best landscape photographers I have ever seen.

Michael

[LucisPictor]

Simon, these shots are fantastic (again)!
Actually, you master the Zuiko 18 so well, should you ever lose it, we here in this board should put our money together and buy you another one, just to make sure that you can still show us your captures!

I am overwhelmed by shot #2 and #3! I have never seen flaring used so well. It really works for the pictures.

These scenes remind of "The Lord of the Rings" and this movie shows some of the finest photography ever captured on moving pictures.

[Bob]

Wonderful

[Orio]

Second one is very dramatic, I would say cinematic - are all sunbeams real or did you postwork in any?

[Katastrofo]

Luv all of these, Simon! Your choice of this new profession I'm sure has
been a rewarding one!

Bill

[F16SUNSHINE]

These are brilliant Simon. You pick up where you left off with the B+W. I am truly inspired to shoot every time I see your photos. Thank you
Andy

[Abbazz]

Superb pictures, Simon. I knew that this Zuiko 18mm was a great lens, but you make it really shine -- and I mean shine, like in your second and third pictures

Cheers!

Abbazz

[patrickh]

Amazing, simply amazing. You make me feel like a real nana - why cant I take shots like that?


patrickh

[Richard_D]

Simply stunning - any hints on how to get such great B&W?

[spkennedy3000]

Thanks very much all for your kind words - a few more to come from this beautiful spot.

Carsten - thanks very much!! I will feel better now about taking the lens out in the rain, dropping it off Welsh cliffs etc

Orio, plenty of post in these - all the tricks I know! The flare is real, I don't remember adding any sunbeams.

Bill - my new profession is not photography although I would rather like it to be!!

Richard - 2 and 3 are blends of 2 exposures, one for the sky and one for the foreground. I painted in masks to combine, after each was individually processed.

Then "local contrast enhancement", and "contrast masking" (from luminous landscape tutorials) followed by adding contrast with more mask-painting onto multiple adjustment layers (lots of fun). I use a graphics tablet that makes this type of thing possible, also removes any problems with RSI.

Cheers again all!
Simon

[hacksawbob]

Those are fantastic! I particularly like the last one, are you using CS3 BW conversion?

[Orio]

[Attila]

Can you show original colorful ones ?

[spkennedy3000]

Attila/Orio,

Oh dear - rumbled! It looks as though I did add a sunbeam or two. When I am processing I just work until it looks right and seldom revisit...

You can see that the lens gives a low contrast neutral rendering (I think) which is perfect for post production. I rely heavily on Photoshop to get things right. Also you can see how FILTHY my sensor is


These two exposures were combined:










In this less extreme light only one exposure was required.




Cheers,

Simon

[Orio]

[spkennedy3000]

I will stop at nothing

[Attila]

You made to perfect these separate average shoots, well done. Thank you for teaching us!

[Orio]

Simon's PP is top notch.
He could easily find a job as photographer in any magazine. Today, PP abilities are more important that the photographic stage, especially in the magazine/advertisement business.
Magazine publishers evaluate PP better because a photographer that is so good at PP, can make almost any picture look glorious.

[F16SUNSHINE]

I for one am even more impressed. Digital manipulation is very new for me. Having come from "wet" photography and "zone system" pre-visualizing the final print is so imperative. If this is the "print" you pre-visualized when you took the shots it's really most amazing. Your grasp of the photoshop pallet far exceeds what can be done with traditional methods. But still has a tradition B+W dynamic (on steroids). These types of contributions will make us all better photographers. Once again I'm inspired to shoot and learn more. This forum is turning into a super resource. Many thanks to all.
Andy

[Richard_D]

Simon - thanks for sharing your techniques. Your post processing is superb (and your vision for what you can make out of the scene).