B&W, getting there?

[Picksure]

O.K. Posted the cat shot and got great feed back. This pic is converted to B&W. Either way, b&w pic or conversion is a struggle to learn(for me).
Am I getting it?

Picksure needs your input.

 

[oriecat]

That's pretty good! You must be getting it. One thing, snow is very difficult to get right, so if you really want to practice b&w, maybe try some interiors or non-snow-scenes and I bet you'll be able to get a handle on it all easier.

 

[ksmattfish]

The tonal range looks pretty good on my monitor.

 

[JonMikal]

The tonal range looks pretty good on my monitor.

i agree. i would say you are definately getting this down pat!

 

[Force of Nature]

jup great contrast!

 

[skiboarder72]

what they said ^^^ :thumbup:

 

[Alison]

I think you're doing an excellent job! What method are you using to convert?

 

[Tammy]

sharp, crisp, wonderful tones.... works for me!

 

[danalec99]

sharp, crisp, wonderful tones.... works for me!

Ditto! :thumbup:

 

[Picksure]

Thanks for the input, I've said it before, every little bit helps. Next is to get a keeper in b&w, off the camera.

I think you're doing an excellent job! What method are you using to convert?

Alison, I was just using grey scale (PSP 7), but the conversion was bla. On this pic I upped the contrast, big time, to the point of too much, then the grey scale. Been playin around for a while to find a good conversion method, this seemed to work. Most converted to b&w, IMO do not need to be sharpened.
A small view of the original

Thanks for lookin

 

[LaFoto]

Thanks for putting up the little original photo, now I know how to appreciate your very crisp, very well contrasted b+w version even better. I am quite fond of the harsh contrasts in this one, as fond as I am of the motif as such, and I find the spirals come out even better (as opposed to the vertical lines of the trees in the background, the props and the banisters [do I make use of the correct English words here?]) in the b+w version.
This one works very well for me and I am sure you are on the right path towards b+w (wish I were....).

 

[andycarnall]

Hi Picksure, the picture looks good.

If you're experimenting with converting to B&W (I am to) there are some really good tutorials on http://www.luminous-landscape.com/ for converting to B&W while retaining the flexibility of your original image.

The way I'm using is to use the channel mixer set to greyscale as an adjustment layer http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/b-w_better.shtml this lets you "retrofit" coloured filters to your photo.

Hope this helps

 

[Picksure]

LaFoto, I would never have had interest in b&w without this place.
andy, the links are bookmarked, I will be sure to use them.
Thank-you, both.