okiedokie... there seems to be an interest in a black and white challenge, so let's get the party started :)
first challenge runs Monday October 10 thru Sunday October 16...
all entries to be taken and posted within those dates...
on Monday October 17 i will pick 5 photos for voting... the winner will get to host the next round of the challenge...
first theme is high contrast...
please tag your photos bw-1
some feedback please...is there supposed to be more of an even amount of darks and lights...I love the photo but not sure about the high contrast part! all feedback welcome!
@la_photographic hi Laura... it's where there's a lot of dark, a lot of light, and very little in between (must remember that - it's a nice simple easy-to-understand explanation :D)... the histogram is generally U shaped, with the peaks at the very left and very right...
@jackies365 hmmm... i love the feel of this photo as well... my eye would be inclined to say it isn't quite high contrast... what does the histogram look like? if it's like a great big U, with the middle part very low and flat, then it may qualify...
this one has a U shaped histogram, but it doesn't feel quite high contrast to me... that said, the middle bit of the histogram while flat, isn't as low as perhaps it should be...
@northy thanks...I can see that the balance between b&w as well as their intensity are part of the high contrast equation...while the histogram is a U shape there is a lot more on the white side of the U! I am still in live with the image, glad I took it and glad I learned a bit about high contrast from you! thanks again.
@daisymiller on the bar that has the date of your picture already posted there are three dots all the way to the right. click on them and highlight the box under the words EMBED CODE. copy that and past here. I hope that is clear
I didn't tag this for the contest because I took it last week, but it may be of some interest. It was not taken per se for a high contrast effect, or even B&W, but processing pushed it that way.
An easy and effective way to make a frame "hi contrast" - the tones below the "mid grey" more black and those above more white, pushing the histogram to the "big U" that @northy talked about above...
Yes, it does require Photoshop, but simply duplicate the final result after conversion, gray scale mapping, sharpening and all the basic tone adjustments on a new top layer. Then on that layer choose a "blending mode" from the "overlay" group, the one above was "linear light." You can get at that from the usual "layers" panel, the drop down box on the top left that has usually chosen "normal." And then go to the "opacity" slider beside it and drop it down from 100% "to taste." Here I think I pulled it back to about 50%. Try it, it adds instant "high contrast pop," and you can indeed use the opacity to control how much you want the whites and the blacks to "clip," the @northy "big U" effect. I find this is much more dramatic than the basic "contrast" slider, and even the "contrast curves" even if you know where to find those. :)
Of course, one might just use Silver Efex Pro from Nik, and its many presets and tonings. The "High Structure" preset, look for it on the left panel, is, I understand, an excellent place to start for a one-click high contrast result, tone mappings, contrast, sharpening in several varieties, all in one action.
I love B&W and will definitely be in. Only concern is that you many have huge amount of posts to filter through, it is not hard to just convert any photo into B&W. I am looking forward to see some good quality shots.
Here's one taken today, so eligible. A classic old 2-6-0 engine although you have to take my word for that since I am not showing you the drive train, built in Patterson NJ, spent its working life along the Panama Canal, and now has found its way back to the Patterson Museum, the old Rogers Locomotive and Machine Company facility.
@daisymiller Most often, it is all about a wide range of tonal values, not really a particular subject, and so an obvious paradigm of B&W is the one @northy is presenting here, High Contrast that takes it to the next stage that de-emphasizes the mid range gray tones, and pushes interest into the dark shadows and the bright highlights. This style works particularly well in B&W, and usually is a complete flop in full color. This is not to say that mid-tones aren't important in many paradigms of B&W, let alone color, but this style pushes that to the side to emphasize the ends, indeed often "clipping" both ends of the histogram.
@tempete hi Tempete... welcome to 365!! to post a picture to a discussion thread, look under where your picture is posted in your project and you will see three dots on the right hand side... click on them, and there will be a pop up box with some code in it... copy that code and paste it into the reply box of thread...
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this one has a U shaped histogram, but it doesn't feel quite high contrast to me... that said, the middle bit of the histogram while flat, isn't as low as perhaps it should be...
this one feels more "high contrast"
Thanks @grammyn for showing me how to place this photo on this discussion thread.
An easy and effective way to make a frame "hi contrast" - the tones below the "mid grey" more black and those above more white, pushing the histogram to the "big U" that @northy talked about above...
Yes, it does require Photoshop, but simply duplicate the final result after conversion, gray scale mapping, sharpening and all the basic tone adjustments on a new top layer. Then on that layer choose a "blending mode" from the "overlay" group, the one above was "linear light." You can get at that from the usual "layers" panel, the drop down box on the top left that has usually chosen "normal." And then go to the "opacity" slider beside it and drop it down from 100% "to taste." Here I think I pulled it back to about 50%. Try it, it adds instant "high contrast pop," and you can indeed use the opacity to control how much you want the whites and the blacks to "clip," the @northy "big U" effect. I find this is much more dramatic than the basic "contrast" slider, and even the "contrast curves" even if you know where to find those. :)
Of course, one might just use Silver Efex Pro from Nik, and its many presets and tonings. The "High Structure" preset, look for it on the left panel, is, I understand, an excellent place to start for a one-click high contrast result, tone mappings, contrast, sharpening in several varieties, all in one action.
I've done a few for this challenge this week, but I think this is the closest I have gotten. Would be interested to see what others think
These are mine.