Luminous Landscape Forum
The Art of Photography => User Critiques => Topic started by: JohnKoerner on August 09, 2011, 11:13:49 am
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(http://www.johnkoerner.org/POSTS/slowservice.jpg)
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Hey John, when I saw your title, I thought for a moment you are talking about download speeds ;D
Joking aside, have you tried to convert it into a moody, dark, vignetted, red-filter b&w? This sunny, colorful scene is to cheerful to convey the desolation otherwise so obviously present.
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Interesting.
Do you mean like this?
(http://www.johnkoerner.org/POSTS/slowservice2.jpg)
Or, to go the blue way, this?
(http://www.johnkoerner.org/POSTS/slowservice1.jpg)
I must admit, going the B&W route does capture the mood better ...
Thanks for the suggestion,
Jack
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Hey John, when I saw your title, I thought for a moment you are talking about download speeds ;D
Joking aside, have you tried to convert it into a moody, dark, vignetted, red-filter b&w? This sunny, colorful scene is to cheerful to convey the desolation otherwise so obviously present.
My feelings exactly with this image. But the simple bw conversion here doesn't go nearly far enough. I'd ramp up the mood by 1000% with extreme vignetting revealing just the truck and shack. I think that was what you had in mind Slo. I wouldn't be above having some sun rays illuminating the roof of the shack and the right side of the truck. I might also have some fun illuminating the "groceries" sign or adding a neon "open" sign.
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My feelings exactly with this image. But the simple bw conversion here doesn't go nearly far enough. I'd ramp up the mood by 1000% with extreme vignetting revealing just the truck and shack. I think that was what you had in mind Slo. I wouldn't be above having some sun rays illuminating the roof of the shack and the right side of the truck. I might also have some fun illuminating the "groceries" sign or adding a neon "open" sign.
I have never done B&W conversions before, so pardon my simple efforts LOL
Didn't think about "adding lib" either (http://www.johnkoerner.org/Emoticons/lol.gif)
Thanks for the suggestion.
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I like the BW versions, especially the "blue" one.
I think that may be the truck that LL used to use to deliver the DVD version of the L-L Video Journals before they switched to all download. ;)
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I'm not at my photoshop machine right now so I can't offer samples, but here is another technique that can be used to bring out some old-timey character.
Hopefully you did your B&W conversion with an adjustment layer, so now take that layer and adjust the transparency to bring some of the color back, albeit a bit washed-out.
If you want to give a tonality to that washed out semi-color image, you can click the tint box and tint the B&W layer in any color you want to emphasize or just use a sepia or cyanotype color for an old-timey look.
setting the transparency on that B&W adjustment layer can allow all sorts of neat effects, particularly if you do aggressive B&W conversions sliding the red or yellow sliders all the way black or white. You can also couple that with aggressive saturation adjustments under the B&W. In this case aggressively increasing the red channel and then decreasing the B&W transparency might be neat.
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I like the BW versions, especially the "blue" one.
Thanks Eric!
I think that may be the truck that LL used to use to deliver the DVD version of the L-L Video Journals before they switched to all download. ;)
(http://www.johnkoerner.org/Emoticons/lol.gif)
You guys just won't let sleeping dogs lie, will you? ;D
Jack
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I'm not at my photoshop machine right now so I can't offer samples, but here is another technique that can be used to bring out some old-timey character.
Hopefully you did your B&W conversion with an adjustment layer, so now take that layer and adjust the transparency to bring some of the color back, albeit a bit washed-out.
If you want to give a tonality to that washed out semi-color image, you can click the tint box and tint the B&W layer in any color you want to emphasize or just use a sepia or cyanotype color for an old-timey look.
setting the transparency on that B&W adjustment layer can allow all sorts of neat effects, particularly if you do aggressive B&W conversions sliding the red or yellow sliders all the way black or white. You can also couple that with aggressive saturation adjustments under the B&W. In this case aggressively increasing the red channel and then decreasing the B&W transparency might be neat.
Very thoughtful response, Marc, thank you!
What I did was make a "virtual copy" of the raw file in Lightroom 3, and then messed around with some of the B&W options. I actually just bought 3 new "photo magazines" Sunday ... all of which happened to be "Black-and-White" special features, and so along with Slobodan's (and previously Chrisoph's) suggestion to try B&W, I will be experimenting will all of your suggestions, Marc, and will post any that I think come out interesting.
Thanks for the tips, all!
Jack
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I found the following to be invaluable for black and white conversions.
Go to George Jardine’s blog and watch this video tutorial, its outstanding!
http://mulita.com/blog/?p=1244
Alan
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(http://www.trailpixie.net/temp-image/rundownpickup.jpg)
This is what I like to do to make it look kind of gritty. The right foreground is too sharp and needs to be blurred a bit...the original is too sharp for an old-timey look, but that is easy to fix.
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The 'blue' one is my favourite, Jack. The dirt by the back tire looks like someone got stuck and 'dug in', then simply walked away from it.
Mike.
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I found the following to be invaluable for black and white conversions.
Alan
Thank you very much.
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This is what I like to do to make it look kind of gritty. The right foreground is too sharp and needs to be blurred a bit...the original is too sharp for an old-timey look, but that is easy to fix.
Superb job Marc!
I can see that there is a whole lot more to producing interesting B&W pics than hitting the "Grayscale" button (http://www.johnkoerner.org/Emoticons/lol.gif)
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The 'blue' one is my favourite, Jack. The dirt by the back tire looks like someone got stuck and 'dug in', then simply walked away from it.
Mike.
Thanks Mike & interesting observation.
Of course, in Florida, it could also just be a fire-ant mound :)
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Very interesting topic on b/w conversions and ideas from all on this great image capture. I too played around with it a bit (probably too much) but I'm reluctant to post here any changes/ideas using another photographer's image without permission. Am I too timid?
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Jack, It's exactly the kind of shot that's one of my favorites. The B&W conversions are excellent. I like the color version almost as well as I like the B&Ws, but there's way too much blue in those clapboards, A click with the middle-gray pointer should fix the problem.
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Hi John, good to "see" you around again!!
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Very interesting topic on b/w conversions and ideas from all on this great image capture. I too played around with it a bit (probably too much) but I'm reluctant to post here any changes/ideas using another photographer's image without permission. Am I too timid?
I think the ideas that have been given here are great as well, Lou, and I am glad you like the image too :)
Please, feel free to show me your own ideas, because that is how I will learn ...
And thank you for taking the time to do so!
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Jack, It's exactly the kind of shot that's one of my favorites. The B&W conversions are excellent. I like the color version almost as well as I like the B&Ws, but there's way too much blue in those clapboards, A click with the middle-gray pointer should fix the problem.
Thank you for the tip too, Russ, and glad you liked it as well.
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Hi John, good to "see" you around again!!
Thanks Kevin & good to see you again too :)
Jack
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Here it is John. I hope it serves as an example of how we all view things differently. When I was working with artist painters I saw how snapshots they took of various scenes varied drastically from what eventually ended up on their canvases. Gone were the telephone poles, trees, roads etc. And trees magically rose from bare fields. Perspectives and colors were changed freely. I've since tried to incorporate that freedom into my photography and sometimes it works, sometimes it leads to "what the hell is that?".
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Wow, totally changed the "feel" of the image.
Went from a "rural, deserted country store" feel to a "haunted house" feel :o
Fascinating imagination and work-up, thanks for sharing your vision!
Jack
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"Haunted" is a good description. To me this place is like the Roach Motel where you check in but never check out.
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Ok, let me into the sand box:
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"Haunted" is a good description. To me this place is like the Roach Motel where you check in but never check out.
You mean the Bates Motel, right? ;D
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Ok, let me into the sand box:
Spectacular!
Of all the renditions that have been put up so far, I would say that Marc's captured more closely "the mood" and "feel" of what I was trying to capture to camera. Lou's "haunted" interpretation was the furthest thing from my mind, while yours Slobodan was a little closer, but still pretty far away from what I was thinking about as well.
That said, I think that is what makes BOTH your and Lou's interpretations of the image so cool, is I would have never thought of these things on my own ... so you both opened my "photographer's mind" up considerably, because I think BOTH of your renditions are spectacular, each in its own way.
Seeing the "creative run" each of you has taken really makes me consider the endless possibilities of other images I have taken as well, so a sincere "Thank you!" for sharing your visions with me.
Jack
PS: Any other interepretations are more than welcome ;D
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Dagnabbit! I wish I could come up with an image that could inspire such a variety of creative reworkings!
It would make a great gallery exhibit to have prints of all of these side by side on the same wall.
Eric
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Great idea. We could probably do it also here on this forum. I'm sure we all could come up with an image to start with for folks to play with.
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Dagnabbit! I wish I could come up with an image that could inspire such a variety of creative reworkings!
It would make a great gallery exhibit to have prints of all of these side by side on the same wall.
Eric
That is a great idea, actually, just to show the limitless potential for creativity there is, when one stumbles upon an interesting composition. In fact, toward this end, I have saved each of these re-workings by Marc, Lou, and Slobodan--as I am trying to emulate what they did on my own, as sort of a training exercise to devolop my PP skills.
So far, I have pretty much just tried to PP my images to make them look exactly like what I see, because I have always pretty much just taken nature shots (or bug shots) where color accuracy and the desire NOT to deviate from the way the subject really looks is the key.
So the whole idea of B&W (and especially this venture into the surreal) is new to me as a consideration, but a fascinating one as well.
Cheers!
Jack