B&W photos for C&C

[Josh220]

I was at the beach taking some sunset pictures for a little practice, and I felt like these would make good B&W shots. Let me know what you think.

1.
(Aperture priority, 65mm, ISO 100, 1/13sec at f/16)

2.

3.

 

[Samanax]

#1 - The horizon is leaning towards the left. Image could use a little more contrast. What's the main subject? The ramp? The sky?

#2 - It's out-of-focus or very soft.

# 3 - Image seems noisy. For this type of shot it might have been better to shoot straight on instead of from an angle.

Might want to try shooting from a different point of view...these appear to be shot from the same height. Try shooting from a kneeling or even prone position to give the shots a different look.

 

[KmH]

Photoshop says the embedded ICC profile is invalid in #1. They look really bad when opened in Photoshop.

Are you shooting with Monotone set in your camera or are you converting to B&W from color images?

#1 really needed a GND filter so you could increase the exposure of the foreground and decrease the blownout open parts of the sky. Good focus.

GND (graduated neutral density) filters are a valuable part of a landscape photographers kit.

#2 is underexposed but the composition is pretty good. 1/13 @ 100mm promotes camera shake. A rule of thumb is: at 100mm you need 1/100 sec, at least.

#3 is also underexposed but again pretty good composition.

 

[Josh220]

Photoshop says the embedded ICC profile is invalid in #1. They look really bad when opened in Photoshop.

Are you shooting with Monotone set in your camera or are you converting to B&W from color images?

#1 really needed a GND filter so you could increase the exposure of the foreground and decrease the blownout open parts of the sky. Good focus.

GND (graduated neutral density) filters are a valuable part of a landscape photographers kit.

#2 is underexposed but the composition is pretty good. 1/13 @ 100mm promotes camera shake. A rule of thumb is: at 100mm you need 1/100 sec, at least.

#3 is also underexposed but again pretty good composition.

They were taken on a tripod, so I felt that the shutter speeds were fine. How different is a GND filter compared to a polarizing filter?

Thanks for the input guys, I'll work on them tonight and repost the new edits.

 

[LarryD]

I'm not much of a B&W fan in this day and age..but sometimes it works..

B&W really needs good contrast to be successful, and in your shots the sky can still be seen to be blown...... perhaps you could have stopped down to bring in the detail, or used some color overlays in post..

I'll stick with composition...

Your number 2 has the potential of wall quality if properly exposed and focused.

The others don't really say much.........

 

[KmH]

How different is a GND filter compared to a polarizing filter?

Check out one of Cokins systems.

Did you happen to try the search feature there at B&H Photo Video, the link I provided for you? Did you happen to click on the feature tab that explains how the GND works. It's a good resource that I use several times a day for technical information as well as being one of the most reliable photo gear online shops in the US.

Go to www.Wikipedia.org and learn what polarized light is and how a polarizing filter works. While you're there you can also check out:
Graduated Neutral Density filters, DOF, Aperture, Shutter Speed, How auto focus works, Exposure compensation, What is RAW, What is JPEG, What is diffraction and on and on.

A GND is a piece of optically clear glass that has about 1/2 of it darkened. You cover the brightest portion of a scene with the darkened portion while leavin gthe dimmer foreground unmodified. It's graduated from very dark at the top and fades to clear near the middle.

A polarizer is the same darkness from top to bottom. BUT, it's polarizing effect is variable relative to the position of the Sun or the direction of the polarizing light that is hitting it. You rotate a polarizeer as you look through the viewfinder to adjust the effect. A polarizer works best when the Sun is below 30 degree's above the horizon and is 90 degrees to the lens axis.

 

[Josh220]

How different is a GND filter compared to a polarizing filter?

Check out one of Cokins systems.

Did you happen to try the search feature there at B&H Photo Video, the link I provided for you? Did you happen to click on the feature tab that explains how the GND works. It's a good resource that I use several times a day for technical information as well as being one of the most reliable photo gear online shops in the US.

Go to www.Wikipedia.org and learn what polarized light is and how a polarizing filter works. While you're there you can also check out:
Graduated Neutral Density filters, DOF, Aperture, Shutter Speed, How auto focus works, Exposure compensation, What is RAW, What is JPEG, What is diffraction and on and on.

A GND is a piece of optically clear glass that has about 1/2 of it darkened. You cover the brightest portion of a scene with the darkened portion while leavin gthe dimmer foreground unmodified. It's graduated from very dark at the top and fades to clear near the middle.

A polarizer is the same darkness from top to bottom. BUT, it's polarizing effect is variable relative to the position of the Sun or the direction of the polarizing light that is hitting it. You rotate a polarizeer as you look through the viewfinder to adjust the effect. A polarizer works best when the Sun is below 30 degree's above the horizon and is 90 degrees to the lens axis.

Yup, I did. Just wanted a bit more clarification. I love B&H too, I am on there every day.
Thanks though, appreciate it.

Back on topic, C&C appreciated.