First Attempt at BW conversion

[pez31]

I liked the way the light was falling on the grass but knew there was nothing color wise that would lend itself to the image. I took it anyways in hopes of a good conversion. Any thoughts / comments welcome.

Regards,

Phil

[Todd Patten]

Nice composition. I like it in B&W. I would add a bit of contrast to bring out the highlights, accent the bark and darken the darks.

[Tuna]

First, it's a nicely seen photo. Personally, I would crop on the top just below the horizontal branch and any views of the sky.

The conversion looks pretty good. How did you convert? The best method I have found is using the "channel mixing" method. Gives better tonal control than greyscale conversion.

Also, I would recommend a further contrast/levels adjustment to add punch. Shoot for a large tonal range with some definitive, rich blacks and clean whites.

Overall, nice job.

Tuna

[Elysian]

First Attempt at BW conversion

Actually it's not true B&W if you look carefully.

Not a bad shot Pez31, thanks for sharing. ;)

[pez31]

Thanks for the replies and the suggestions.

Tuna I converted this in PS CS while importing my raw file. I took out all saturation and then adjusted the red green and blue channels. In CS when converting from a raw file, you can adjust each RGB channel for hue and saturation. I'm not sure if this is what you were referring to but that is what I did. If there is a better way I would like to know. Thanks for the cropping suggestion. Here is a second attempt with crop and more contrast.

Elysian I'm not sure I understand your comment. Are you referring to the fact that it didn't start out that way or are you seeing a hue cast on your monitor? Let me know.

Regards

Phil

[shesells]

I think it looks like it was shot in black and white. You did a good job in PS. and.. you got the framing/matting excellent in this one. not only that but it's a good shot.
Kit

[Elysian]

Elysian I'm not sure I understand your comment. Are you referring to the fact that it didn't start out that way or are you seeing a hue cast on your monitor? Let me know.

Take a true B&W image in photoshop and you shouldn't see any difference in RGB values. Move your eyedropper tool over any spot and the values for red, green and blue should always be the same. The two histograms should make that clear; you'll notice that the histograms in the B&W converted shot are exactly the same.

I noticed when I looked at your original shot (already before I took it into Photoshop) that it had a slight sepia tone.
To make it more visible I've taken your shot and saturated with a value of +100 and I did the same with the B&W converted image.

There's nothing wrong with sepia of course, but my guess was that you intended for it to be B&W, after all that's what you wrote in the subscription of your thread.

[Tuna]

Tuna I converted this in PS CS while importing my raw file. I took out all saturation and then adjusted the red green and blue channels. In CS when converting from a raw file, you can adjust each RGB channel for hue and saturation. I'm not sure if this is what you were referring to but that is what I did. If there is a better way I would like to know.Phil

It looks very nice, Phil.

As for "channel mixing", it's how I convert all my color digital files (instead of greyscale, desaturation or Lab Color methods). To do it, the image should begin in RGB mode, then you simply go to Image/Adjust/Channel Mixer. Set Red to 60, Green to 40 and leave Blue at 0 to begin with. Check the "Monochrome" box. This will give you a starting point but you can make changes to all the values to see different results. Make sure the total is always 100. Example: R 80, G 60, B (-40). This method will remove any chance of a color tone remaining, which is what may be showing up on some monitors. Afterwards, do standard levels/curves/sharpening/etc.

Tuna

[pez31]

I think it looks like it was shot in black and white. You did a good job in PS. and.. you got the framing/matting excellent in this one. not only that but it's a good shot.
Kit

Thanks Kit,

Thanks for the kind words. My intent from the beginning was black and white, hopefully that aided to looking like it was shot in black and white. I do like the frame on this one, (for now).

Regards

Phil

[pez31]

Take a true B&W image in photoshop and you shouldn't see any difference in RGB values. Move your eyedropper tool over any spot and the values for red, green and blue should always be the same. The two histograms should make that clear; you'll notice that the histograms in the B&W converted shot are exactly the same.

I noticed when I looked at your original shot (already before I took it into Photoshop) that it had a slight sepia tone.
To make it more visible I've taken your shot and saturated with a value of +100 and I did the same with the B&W converted image.

There's nothing wrong with sepia of course, but my guess was that you intended for it to be B&W, after all that's what you wrote in the subscription of your thread.

Elysian

Thank you for clarifying what you meant, that was helpful information. I still fumble around with PS (should take a class) and only know enough to be dangerous. I learned something new.

Regards

Phil

[pez31]

It looks very nice, Phil.

As for "channel mixing", it's how I convert all my color digital files (instead of greyscale, desaturation or Lab Color methods). To do it, the image should begin in RGB mode, then you simply go to Image/Adjust/Channel Mixer. Set Red to 60, Green to 40 and leave Blue at 0 to begin with. Check the "Monochrome" box. This will give you a starting point but you can make changes to all the values to see different results. Make sure the total is always 100. Example: R 80, G 60, B (-40). This method will remove any chance of a color tone remaining, which is what may be showing up on some monitors. Afterwards, do standard levels/curves/sharpening/etc.

Tuna

Tuna

Thanks for the tip on converting to BW. I am posting my second try at my first attempt. Still need to play with the technique.

Regards

Phil

[gahspidy]

Last attempt is very good. You have gotten rid of that colorcast sepia tone that Elysian was pointing out, and which was visible on my screen as well. Nice overall shot .