Extreme Creative MonochromePhoto Processing and Effects

[samogitian]

I am enjoying the work of this photographer who processes his images digitally to extreme effects. Most of the time, I feel like such things are artificial, but not in this case. But I am curious what methods were employed.


https://www.tracingsilence.com/

Are there any good starting points for such processing effects?

[Peano]

Two techniques stand out: pushing contrast, and adding textures. You can download free textures by the tens of thousands -- concrete, parchment, leather, wood, metal, "grunge," etc. You place the texture image on a separate layer (in Photoshop) and either reduce layer opacity or change the blend mode to something like overlay or soft light.

Here's an example using a B&W adjustment layer and then a grunge layer in overlay mode.