I’ve been trying out something a little different recently as part of a FotoBuzz mission on taking black and white images. It’s not simply a matter of converting, but of taking images where the monochrome enhances what the picture is trying to say. I’m not sure if any of these will make the final cut (the boat can’t because I coloured it), but it’s proving an interesting project to work on.
The first (from today) is a standard shot of gulls on the pond. Fairly dull subject matter, but some nice contrasts. I’ve framed it to give it a slightly aged feel. I thought about adding some grain, but shied away from that.
Gulls on Falmer Pond, black and white with vignette
The second is a sailing boat at Rottingdean. I’ve heavily increased the contrasts, and deliberately over-sharpened the image to ‘roughen’ it. I then added a colour filter.
Yacht at Rottingdean, black and white toned blue
The final one was a bland picture of Brighton Pier that I really couldn’t do anything with. It was taken in the middle of the day, the colours were washed out, and even in black and white it lacked punch until I turned it negative which gives this somewhat doom-laden, night-time feel to it. Of the three it’s the most dramatic transformation.
Brighton Pier (black and white negative)
Apart from the colour tint on the boat (which was added in PhotoShop), all the transitions were carried out in Lightroom.
Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D Mark II and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens.
