Process for creating the image, "Unto a Place I Walk"

[ceeboy14]

This is a simple but exceedingly tedious process for getting everything out of a B&W image you ever wanted, and then some. I learned what I know of the process from David Byrne, a British photographer who's won every major salon exhibition in Europe Awards | David Byrne I am nowhere near where David is in using this process and perhaps in three or four years I can at least get close. There are ten slides in the demonstration.

1. The original image post RAW editing:

DBP 1 original image.jpg

2. A Black and Wite Layer Adjustment with the "Blue" slider pushed all the way to the left.

DBP 2 B&W adj blue slider left.jpg

3. A Contrast Layer at 80%

DBP 3 Contrast layer at 80.jpg

4. Exposure Layer Adjustment at minus 2.42 (I've named this layer - "Darks.")

DBP 4 Exposure Layer 1 - darks at -242.jpg

5. Darks Layer inverted (Control I)

DBP 5 Exposure layer 1 inverted.jpg

6. Second Exposure Layer Adjustment - named "Lights" at 88%

DBP 6 exposure layer 2 - lights at 88.jpg

7. Lights layer inverted (Control I)

DBP 7 Exposure layer 2 inverted.jpg

8. Using the masks on the darks and lights layers, set a brush for 10%, soft, and set your color as white as you will be brushig in and not out, color.

DBP 8 Layer brush set to 10% mask color to white.jpg

9. and 10. are details from selected parts of the image. In these, I have just barely scratched the surface of where I eventually went with the image.

DBP 9 Detail of painting in darks and lights top middle.jpg

DBP 10 detail of painting in darks and lights bottom middle right.jpg

Good Luck! I think the end results are well worth the effort but this is not a process you can complete in 20 or thirty minutes of PP. I spent close to 16 hours on this image which can be seen in the B&W gallery..

[Ads]

[timor]

Six hours is still nothing, I would say you are fast. To create good FB print (the way I want) takes longer. Plus costs money.

[ceeboy14]

Boo boo I repaired. 16 hours was the time spent and it was my first effort. The image, Last Bastion was several days in the making. I have Jone Cone print most of my fine B&W work. Exquisite printing but pricey.

[timor]

Quality costs money.

[PhillipM]

I make money by shooting.

Not from behind a PC

[ceeboy14]

I quit working...it was too much work. I shoot for pleasure and on occasion I enter a show or put work in a gallery and make some sales. I don't need to make any more money. I have no debts; I have few needs. Anyway, my tax guy hates it when I screw up the break margin.