DSLR Photography Forum

I have these posted in the Critique forum but with little comment. I'm assuming it's just a lack of feeling for critique. So I am reposting here to maybe relieve the pressure of a serious response. It is not my intention to push anything into anyones face. I just thought moving this to the "showcase" forum would help people to make a more general comment. Thanks in advance.

As I mentioned to Zig in another thread on the VanDusen topic, I did get a good number of shots that I feel were worth sharing. This particular thread I want to show some of my efforts in B&W aside from the already posted one in VanDusen Botanical Gardens #2 .
I'm not really too familiar with doing B&W conversions. I've been trying to pay attention to past posts on the subject from other members. Anyway, here are a few of my efforts.

Comments encouraged.

I've been looking at your pictures the whole day.... specially #2 and #3... It has been very difficul to make a comment on your pictures... why?

Because you posted in the critique forum and you deserve a constructive critique, and I am not feeling capable to do it... you know I am still learning how to work with B&W convertions... and I am afraid to make a wrong comment... and I don't want to give you a "nice pictures" comment, when I know you are looking for more...

However, now that you posted here, I thought it's unfair not to give to a friend my thoughts, and ask him to take them as so... just my thoughts about his pictures...

#1 the picture itself is a bit confusing... I really don't know if it is because of the convertion (lack of contrast) or because of the soft effect applied specially in the upper part... there are some blown out parts in the pictures... I have learnt that when you have a wider range of colors (so to say) you will have more detail...

#2 This is the one I found more interesting... your convertion covers a wide range of colors and that brings a lot of detail to your picture... there is something confusing in the center... I can't distinguish what it might be... As for me this is the best convertion from the series...

#3 I like the color in your convertion... My idea is that this picture was taken in bright day light... due to that you have a very nice contrast here... There is at the right some places where there is very little detail... well, it is not too much of a problem, since it is the shadow under the tree, but a little more detail wouldn't hurt... Also I think that the tree at the right and the trees in the background are somehow blended because they have the same color...... it would be nice to work on the color of the tree at the right so you can give more depth to your picture... You have very nice detail in the leaves at the left side... I thought as well it might need a bit of sharpening

I wish and I hope my comment is right and helpful...

Irma.

Aha! That first one is my fave as it looks as if it started off in the mind as a monochrome first. This is my mad way of saying that any monos of mine that I've considered successful, were ones that weren't converted to mono but started as being "seen" as mono shots in the mind's eye.
Straight conversions, say of a colour scene which has lots of foliage, for me don't work unless one goes up a format or 2, in which case detail can be brought out. I've found(and this is subjective me) that tone, texture and contrast are the problem areas: in reflective terms, a well-lit green is around "18% grey". So: lots of greens, albeit shades of green, are generally "in mono terms" going to look samey in greyscale.
One then realises that also, leaf size is not a big variable either: so one's commendable colour shot ends up as a blanket of similar tone and texture.
Ways round this are several:
1. Think in large shapes, striking contrasts, repeated motifs/themes/shapes, differing textures.
2. Try and "see" in BW first, stripping away colour or at least bearing in mind that the mind has to work a bit harder separating greyscale tones than colours.
3. Get something monstrous in the foreground: chances are, it'll have a series of lines, textures and tones quite different to mid and far ground. You are helped in the 3rd shot by what appears to be Gunera Mantica, that elephantine rhubarb-creature in the left foreground which looks as if taken from 1 inch away with a wide-angle even though it's 6 feet away.
(This is why i go mental if I can't have access to a wideangle for landies)
4. when processing, resist the urge to convert to greyscale or anything that discards information; reduce saturation instead
5 Filtration: well. yellow/orange/red will respectively add contrast, darken a blue sky and lighten reddy things. They'll also darken foliage; which is effective but unless you've a handle on things this can lead to that quickening of the posterization effect with digital(blacking out).
But...now, a green filter for foliage: it will obviously lighten any greens...BUT, now, if you then increased whole image contrast a tad, you could then use the burn tool set for shadow detail at around 4% on the foliage. Lo and behold, what happens is that vein detail and other dark bits get darker, whilst leaving behind the "paler" bits of the leaves...and you start to see emerge in monochrome much of the detail that would be lost in a straight conversion.
Forgive my lengthy polemic, but i hope it's of some use.
In fact, I'l ljust grab a bit of that gunera with your permission and show you what i mean...back soon...

Yeah, sorry I havent commented, but I dont feel able either.
I know I've posted some b&w t only as I thought looked good. Why I liked them, I hadnt really given much thought to.
I think I'm maybe, personally, drawn to high contrast, red/orange filtering.
Your images arent like that......... I think it's classical music to the ear of the Metal fan, with me being the Metal fan, (though I'm not, actually!).
I'm really not sure, what is, and what isnt right.
Sorry. That really isnt very helpful is it.

B*gger! my keybd is plying me up no;! :x

Thats quite ok Rufus. I understand and it was exactly what I had assumed. I just hope you like them.

Irma. Great help. as well as Zig. FYI the image in #1 is in #2.

OK; note, I've not done this to improve the shot, but only to draw your attention to the gunnera plant texture and some of the background foliage after a contrast boost'n'burn.
I generally start with a light, lo-contrast green-flitered , converted raw and see what happens.

Zig Wrote:So: lots of greens, albeit shades of green, are generally "in mono terms" going to look samey in greyscale.
One then realises that also, leaf size is not a big variable either: so one's commendable colour shot ends up as a blanket of similar tone and texture.

I think that's a good comment, and is basically what I was thinking but couldn't quite put into words. There is a general lack of tonality among the foliage for these to work as monochromes. On the other hand, your recent full-color posts are quite nice!

I see what you mean Zig. Much more tone differences in the broad leaf plant to the left and the weeping willow in back.

Sorry Peto, I'd missed this post somehow.
My first impressions are that I love #1 your filtering makes it look very ethereal and I'm half expecting to see some faeries lounging about.
I also like #2 but I think I would like to see it in colour.
#3 looks way to green for me. The foliage does seem to sort of meld into one another. Could we see it in colour?

Ok, I cant resist.......
Here's my pet red filter;