B&W Photo C&C please - Contrast/Exposure question

[ottor]

Havent' done many B&W photos, but when the fog closed in on the Perrine Bridge, I couldn't help this one.. The observation I have is that the Blacks are REALLY black and the whites are really white... Is it supposed to be that way? - For the most part, I really like the Pic - I've played with the exposure and contrast and there weren't any changes that improved it in my mind.... If anyone wants to fool with this, I'd have no problem ... Or, would also appreciate your comments if you think it works OK also..

Thanks,

 

[LaFoto]

Have you taken this on black and white film, or is it a digital photo, and if so, was it originally taken in black and white mode, or is it a colour photo originally and we now see a conversion into black and white here?

From what I understand, it is highly desirable to have real blacks and real whites and all the shades of grey inbetween in black and white photography, though the real whites should not be blown out. Which they don't seem to be here, not even in the sky, although it is fairly bright (and shows sensor dust, so it IS digital photography, after all!). I'm no real expert on black and white photography and/or conversions, though, so you may have to wait for the real experts to come and comment.

All I can add to what I've said is that I'd probably try to get rid of the white sky as much as possible, as it feels distracting and kind of overpowering.

 

[ottor]

If I remember correctly, I used the B&W camera settings.. After looking at the sky, I kinna' see what you mean, but sometimes what's fairly dramatic looking in person just dsnt' come off the same in a pic.. Guess that's where PP comes in.. Thanks...

 

[KmH]

Havent' done many B&W photos, but when the fog closed in on the Perrine Bridge, I couldn't help this one.. The observation I have is that the Blacks are REALLY black and the whites are really white... Is it supposed to be that way? - For the most part, I really like the Pic - I've played with the exposure and contrast and there weren't any changes that improved it in my mind.... If anyone wants to fool with this, I'd have no problem ... Or, would also appreciate your comments if you think it works OK also..

Thanks,

I played. How do you like this? Those spots in the sky were probably on your lens, not on your sensor.

 

[dxqcanada]

Hmm, KmH appears to have lowered the contrast ... but kept the snow highlighted.

You may find it easier to control B+W digital images by shooting in color then converting to B+W in post processing.

 

[tsaraleksi]

Those spots in the sky were probably on your lens, not on your sensor.

Spots that appear in the image are always going to be from dirt on the sensor, not on the lens. Because of the nature of how the lens focuses, spots on the lens element will not be close to in focus enough to appear on the image (in fact I've seen pictures from lenses with massively cracked front elements that don't show the cracking and bits of broken glass). The only exception might be extreme wide angle lenses, but that's a weird little exception.

 

[taracary]

Not sure it's better, but it is different. I had a problem with the white whites and the black blacks, so I put a mask layer over it in a sepia tone (using PS) and then altered the opacity of the layers and a color burn to give the proper bleed through. If you weren't married to the black and white image, this gives you an antiqued feel.

Maybe went a little too far on the browns, but you get the idea.