I was looking around my garden for something which I thought would look good in B&W which I find quite hard to envisage. I normally do it the other way round - take a photo and when it doesn't work in colour then do a quick conversion to see what it looks like in B&W. I saw the lantern and thought it had lots of detail which would look good in B&W and so used this as my first example. Although I have lost the rusty colours by using High Contrast in Nikefex it brought out the detail of the wood which I quite liked. I will be interested in what you have to say.
@888rachel@sullivar@newbank@golftragic
Pam, this is such a great first example and I think you've hit the nail on the head re b&w thinking. At first I also used it as a fallback, but now, I look at scenes in terms of their potential for b&w. What kind of shapes, textures, lines, form does the scene provide? What I respond to in this image is that lovely balance between the straight lines of the lantern and the softer rounded shapes it's contrasting with. It's also processed in a way that to me fits the subject - you've used contrast, light, and structure to emphasize the elements of the lantern, the grains in the casing, the lines across the glass. My only thought is that you may have tried (and you maybe already did) taking it from a slightly lower POV, so we aren't looking down on it so much. But if you do that, there may be a trade off in the say it's balanced against the background. Thanks for being our first one to post the comparison!
I like all the textures in this one. The textures of the wood stand out. Composition wise....suggestion would be, could you with kit you have get closer in and get more of the detail of the wood? As in not showing the whole lantern but a part of it.
@taffy thanks for your comments Taffy. I did have a shot from a lower pov but the background was too busy and too much to clone out. I must be more conscious of this when taking the shot. I will have to train myself to be able to see if a shot has potential for B&W before I take the shot. I have ordered the book from Amazon and should be here tomorrow. I need to retrain my brain to see things in B&W!
@newbank thanks Ruth for your comments. I did in fact take some closeup shots of the wood grain and the rusty latch. It was only when I put them on PC and they were not sharp did I realise when I took the camera off the tripod I did not switch back on the image stabilization! Doh what a silly mistake to make! Too late to go back and redo the shot as our visitors arrived. So annoying when you make such a basic mistake! I have ordered the book Taffy referred to and am hoping it will help me to see in B&W before I take a shot.
This is terrific Pam. One of the things I really miss with the D800 is not being able to actually shoot in B&W. I always think (or imagine) that it affects the way you think about an image when you see it in B&W in your mind's eye
@pamknowler This subject works really well in b&w Pam. All the textures and lines come out very strongly without the visual distraction of any colour. I really like your POV, it allows the eye to dwell on the shapes and textures of the lovely top of this lantern. Blurring the background has done the same for the different linear formations of the lantern itself. Haven't yet checked out the colour version.
I saw this, and instantly liked the b&w white more than the colour. The textures and lines really pop, and bring out the lovely shape of the lantern. A really great shot!
Pam, this is such a great first example and I think you've hit the nail on the head re b&w thinking. At first I also used it as a fallback, but now, I look at scenes in terms of their potential for b&w. What kind of shapes, textures, lines, form does the scene provide? What I respond to in this image is that lovely balance between the straight lines of the lantern and the softer rounded shapes it's contrasting with. It's also processed in a way that to me fits the subject - you've used contrast, light, and structure to emphasize the elements of the lantern, the grains in the casing, the lines across the glass. My only thought is that you may have tried (and you maybe already did) taking it from a slightly lower POV, so we aren't looking down on it so much. But if you do that, there may be a trade off in the say it's balanced against the background. Thanks for being our first one to post the comparison!