Landscapes in b/w .. learning

[LarsHansen]

Hi,

I believe this is my first upload of photos here at LL. I'm currently learning the b/w conversion with (a trial) Capture One.

C&C welcome - might be the wrong forum though, as I'm most interested in the technical aspects of b/w conversion in these shots :-)

[sdwilsonsct]

I like the strong elements and contrasting textures in #1.
Hopefully someone knowledgeable will comment on the technical aspects.
Scott

[Michael H. Cothran]

Here's my viewed assessment - I see too many mid tones in the top image, and also in the ground area of the bottom image. These give the images an overall impression of being "flat" and even "lifeless."
I'd recommend beefing up the mid-tone contrast. I believe that will give these images more needed "pizazz."
Be careful not to wash out any more sky in the bottom image when working elsewhere within the shot.

FYI - Tony Kuyper, a knowledgeable Southwest photographer, has created some really nice PS luminosity masks which can be ideal for separating the mid tones. Here is a link to his site. http://goodlight.us/index.html

Visit his Tutorials, and read up on his PS actions for Luminosity masks, and especially the mid-tones. He does charge a $20 "donation" to download, but, in my opinion, it's money well spent. Of course, you can always make your own, but to have them downloaded as Actions, ready-to-go can be priceless timewise. And, of course, there are always other ways & means of dealing with mid tones.

Here's a link to some details on Tony's masks for midt-tones -
http://goodlight.us/writing/magicmidtones/magicmidtones-1.html

[LarsHansen]

Scott - thanks.

I agree, #1 is the most interesting composition.

Apart from contrast and clarity, I've focused on working with the layers in the composition - the shot was a bit tricky because the tonal differences in the layers was weak and the light was far from optimal. So the first simple b/w conversion was not interesting.

In the foreground I've darkened the foliage using yellow filter. I've lightened the wedge in the middle ground which is just naked soil. The forest and sky has also been darkened.

The second one is also an attempt to work with the different groups/elements in the landscape, but the sky has a more prominent role. And I admit that I've seen more interesting skies :-)

Lars   

[LarsHansen]

Michael - thanks for your guidance.

As I wrote to Scott, I've focused on the contrast between the layers. The first conversion attempt ended up in a very flat image with almost only mid tones. So initially I've struggled to bring the layers into play as I wrote to Scott - to me it became more alive. But, of course that's compared to the lifeless first attempt.

I'll try to work with the contrast in the mid tones - I think part of the problem is that there isn't much to work with because of the somewhat dull light it was shot in. Not many shadows, texture etc. If I understand you correctly it's also the overall tonal balance? elements like deeper blacks and crisper highlights? 

Agreed, the bottom image should probably not have been posted yet - I should have put some more effort into that.

They are both shot using a Nikon D40 and the sensor might have limitations with regard to dynamic range in this type of images - especially in the second one.

Thanks for the tip regarding Tony Kuyper, but I don't use PS. I only use the Capture One Pro raw converter and its b/w features. I still have a lot to learn in Capture One and there might be similar masking options, though I'm aware Capture One is not comparable with PS (which is not a raw converter - Adobe Camera Raw?) that have a much richer image editing feature set. Despite the tools, I can definitely learn something from Tonys site and will consider his tutorials.

Lars