Biltmore Pond...

[JAC526]

So I took this image from a bridge going across the Pond.

It was shot with my F100 using Fuji Pro 400H. I converted to B/W with Photoshop.

I did some burning and dodging. Let me know what you guys think.


Biltmore_Pond_BW by JChick526, on Flickr

 

[The_Traveler]

way too flat and gray for my taste.

 

[fiziwig]

This might be one of those shots that's better in color. The tones are all pretty much the same. It kind of makes me think I'm looking at trees that have all been coated with ash from a nearby volcano.

Since you have a color original, can you use channel mixing to get some tonal variety into it?

 

[JAC526]

Round two:


Biltmore_Pond_BW_@ by JChick526, on Flickr

My first edit sucks.

 

[Rick58]

much, much better

 

[Rosy]

nicer
i've noticed that when the skies have more clouds the B&W conversion is nicer due to the strong contrast you can create...what editing software are you using?

 

[kundalini]

If that is the pond a few minutes walk west of Biltmore House in Asheville, NC, it is known as "Bass Pond".

 

[JAC526]

much, much better

Thank you. I guess if I keep messing with stuff eventually I'll get better.

 

[JAC526]

nicer
i've noticed that when the skies have more clouds the B&W conversion is nicer due to the strong contrast you can create...what editing software are you using?

I agree totally. Unfortunately for me it was a cloudless day.

I am using photoshop.

 

[JAC526]

If that is the pond a few minutes walk west of Biltmore House in Asheville, NC, it is known as "Bass Pond".

Yes I believe that's the one. Right before we left my wife and I went to the gardens and took some pictures. As we were driving to exit the estate we drove over a bridge with this pond. I pulled off and walked back to the bridge and got this shot.

 

[Rick58]

If this were taken in B&W, I'd say a orange or even red filter would have helped the skys and foliage tremendously , but I don't know enough about B&W conversion to even guess. Darkening the sky would help a lot. You brought out some of the detail in the foliage, but in doing so, you sacrified the little sky tone you had

 

[JAC526]

I think its too overexposed to burn into anything other than light grey. I'm not sure that would help the image much.

 

[Rick58]

You could be right. If there's nothing there, there's nothing there, but even if there are no clouds for contrast, the orange or red filter would at least darken the almost white sky and at the same time pull the contast from the foliage. Just a thought, but I keep forgetting this was shot in color, not B&W.

 

[MK3Brent]

There is no detail in anything.

There's so much pattern and texture of the trees that they're blending in with the small ripples in the water.

 

[JAC526]

Do you mean there is no detail in the reflection?