Korner Kafé

[Fred von den Berg]

 

[joecrumley2]

I really like this shot. But why are the whites all blown out and the shadows with little detail?

 

[Fred von den Berg]

I really like this shot. But why are the whites all blown out and the shadows with little detail?

First off Joe thanks, I'm glad you like the photo. Processing is something I've been working on in several ways since reading a recent thread on the forum about raw and jpeg shooting. I had been doing just jpeg over the last few years but decided to download some software from Sigma to allow me to convert X3F files so that I could shoot raw.

This photo is a hybrid: the initial work done in Sigma Pro and the B&W conversion in the software preinstalled on my MacBook.
The conversion as seen above is the silver filter, which gives the photo a high-key look in the highlights and heaps of contrast in the shadows. I don't think there is that much loss of detail: the blacks aren't crushed and the whites aren't clipped, though it gets pretty close!

Here is another conversion to compare:

This is with the B&W "lighter" filter plus auto B&W, which additionally raised the shadows and lowered the highlights slightly.

I like both but think the wider difference between the shadows and light in the original post helps to support the idea of a quiet and hidden little corner in the city - a hideaway.

 

[smoke665]

I to like the composition, with its interesting quirkiness. I'm not a fan of the processing in the first, preferring the second. As a thought have you considered the possibility of a high key look on this?

 

[waday]

I actually like the processing of the first better, but I’d probably take it a step further and bring up the whites even more haha. I can see this as being a more artsy shot.

 

[joecrumley2]

Yes, photography is all up to interpretation.
My classical training has me trying to render as full an image as possible. The old school is about continuous tone and infinite detail. There are times when an image expresses the subject best with other techniques but street scenes, to me, always look best in full tone.

 

[Fred von den Berg]

I to like the composition, with its interesting quirkiness. I'm not a fan of the processing in the first, preferring the second. As a thought have you considered the possibility of a high key look on this?

Thanks Smoke. The high key suggestion sent me back for another look and I've worked on it a bit already. I have a photography book that is dedicated to B&W and I'll be referring to it over the next few days to see what I can do. The main thing is that the original file is pretty okay, so perhaps I can come up with a halfway decent attempt at a HK rendition.

I actually like the processing of the first better, but I’d probably take it a step further and bring up the whites even more haha. I can see this as being a more artsy shot.

Thanks wade. I think it would lend itself to an "artsy" work over, perhaps I'll get something like that by going high key.

Yes, photography is all up to interpretation.
My classical training has me trying to render as full an image as possible. The old school is about continuous tone and infinite detail. There are times when an image expresses the subject best with other techniques but street scenes, to me, always look best in full tone.

Thanks Joe. I have to eat my words a bit. When I went back to review the file and started working on Smoke's suggestion of high key, I saw just how much loss of detail there actually is in the shadow!

 

[waday]

A quick edit on my phone:

Wait, burned the road a bit...

 

[smoke665]

Actually your image as shot wasn't that far off and I still like it as is. In Lr a few adjustments, and mild "S" tone curve brought out a nice range of tones, from black to white, that would print well.


From there a few more tweaks to a high key, high contrast with an old artsy fartsy feel to it.