Topic: LEICA M MONOCHROM : keep sharing pictures, guys, .... (Read 332617 times)

Peter Mellis · « **Reply #401 on:** July 29, 2015, 11:02:20 am »

Allen:
On my monitor your pictures have the kind of tonality that I used to try for (with limited success) in the darkroom. I have always leaned towards b&w and now get pretty decent results printing from conversions, on an Epson 3800; am currently experimenting with a Fuji X100T shooting b&w in camera. While I can't cost justify an MM, I'm beginning to think that I "need" one on the bucket list. That said, how much post-processing are you having to do, to get the results that I am seeing? Are these printing as good as they look on screen?

Almost forgot to add that you have a great "eye". Please keep posting.

drmike · « **Reply #402 on:** July 29, 2015, 11:18:48 am »

Pardon me for butting in but why would you use the in camera B&W conversion in preference to Nik Silver Efex which will be far more subtle in the control that it offers. If you need a B&W preview I think the Fuji lets you choose B&W JPEG output but using FINE+RAW will also give you the RAW file that Nik (for example) could process.

I like B&W as well and thankfully have recovered my ability to see in B&W which I had neglected since returning to photography after a 25 year break.

Mike

Peter Mellis · « **Reply #403 on:** July 29, 2015, 03:10:37 pm »

Drmike:

I agree with you about shooting RAW vs in camera conversion; trying the b&w jpeg route as an experiment to see what the results look like. Either way it's fun to see a b&w image in the viewfinder. When I was shooting a lot of film I could pretty much see/visualize in black and white, but lost the knack over time.
I haven't used the X100T very much yet, but some of the b&w jpegs look pretty decent on screen; it'll be interesting to see how they print.

drmike · « **Reply #404 on:** July 29, 2015, 03:13:38 pm »

I'd be interested to hear about the results. I do sometimes wonder if I am being precious about always shooting RAW but then I always devloped my own film and made my own prints so for me probably not

Allen Bourgeois · « **Reply #405 on:** July 30, 2015, 06:43:13 pm »

Quote from: Peter Mellis on July 29, 2015, 11:02:20 am

Allen:
On my monitor your pictures have the kind of tonality that I used to try for (with limited success) in the darkroom. I have always leaned towards b&w and now get pretty decent results printing from conversions, on an Epson 3800; am currently experimenting with a Fuji X100T shooting b&w in camera. While I can't cost justify an MM, I'm beginning to think that I "need" one on the bucket list. That said, how much post-processing are you having to do, to get the results that I am seeing? Are these printing as good as they look on screen?

Almost forgot to add that you have a great "eye". Please keep posting.

Thanks and as you have probably read already MM files usually need a little sump'm. I have never warmed up to LR or SE. I have both but prefer CS6. It is more like the way I worked in a traditional darkroom. I shoot raw (DNG) and start in camera raw adjusting contrast, density etc. Fine tune it all in CS6. I usually make a print (epson 2880) and make final adjustments from there. If you are a B&W photographer there really isn't a better 135 format digital tool and the price of the original has come down a lot.

drmike · « **Reply #406 on:** July 31, 2015, 03:24:50 am »

May I ask why you adjust contrast etc. in ACR rather than PS where you can undo or edit the changes. Perhaps you are a more decisive person than me

Allen Bourgeois · « **Reply #407 on:** July 31, 2015, 01:50:50 pm »

A few things I have a bit more control in raw especially with perspective, contrast and density then a get it just right in PS and I can always go back to the raw file if I do something that isn't working. And yes I am decisive. I know just how I want my work to look and that is usually at the moment of exposure so I expose for the way I'm going to process so in that regard maybe a bit like the zone system.

drmike · « **Reply #408 on:** July 31, 2015, 02:38:11 pm »

That's interesting because of course (well I assume it's of course) any adjustment you make like contrast in ACR can be made in PS.

However, you have encouraged me to look at using ACR less as a simple converter and more as a creative tool for which I thank you!

The more I learn the more I realise I don't know.

JeanMichel · « **Reply #409 on:** July 31, 2015, 03:15:59 pm »

Quote from: Allen Bourgeois on July 31, 2015, 01:50:50 pm

A few things I have a bit more control in raw especially with perspective, contrast and density then a get it just right in PS and I can always go back to the raw file if I do something that isn't working. And yes I am decisive. I know just how I want my work to look and that is usually at the moment of exposure so I expose for the way I'm going to process so in that regard maybe a bit like the zone system.

Hi,
First, let me say that I enjoy seeing you images, very much. I do not have a Monochrom but do have an M9. Much of my work does end up being printed in black and white and I find the bw conversion controls in LR to be more than sufficient. I also find the ability to create virtual copies extremely useful - the bw version is always a virtual copy. I also find the 'precision' of adjusting controls (brush. gradient...) to be much more human scale, just like in a darkroom, as opposed to the down to a single pixel precision afforded by PS. I now rarely go to PS to refine my images. I mostly use PS to create exact size cmyk versions for images to be included in books, etc. And, I find the LR image catalogue perfect for my needs.

Again, thanks for posting your images.

Allen Bourgeois · « **Reply #410 on:** July 31, 2015, 03:23:34 pm »

To each there own. I do not like to work in LR. Someone asked how I process and I responded. If you like LR then use it. I don't.

The one thing I really like about the MM is how well it performs at ISO 1600 and higher. Most of my street work is at 1600 and 3200 ISO.

Allen Bourgeois · « **Reply #411 on:** August 02, 2015, 12:42:12 pm »

Finally able to get out for a couple of hours. A few from yesterday.

Allen Bourgeois · « **Reply #412 on:** August 03, 2015, 11:34:05 am »

Allen Bourgeois · « **Reply #413 on:** August 10, 2015, 10:34:49 pm »

Allen Bourgeois · « **Reply #414 on:** August 11, 2015, 10:01:32 pm »

Allen Bourgeois · « **Reply #415 on:** August 15, 2015, 09:25:19 am »

Just back from a commercial shoot in the Big Easy. Didn't have a lot of time to shoot for myself but did get some time in so heres some street stuff from NOLA.

Telecaster · « **Reply #416 on:** August 15, 2015, 09:04:59 pm »

Quote from: Allen Bourgeois on August 15, 2015, 09:25:19 am

Just back from a commercial shoot in the Big Easy. Didn't have a lot of time to shoot for myself but did get some time in so heres some street stuff from NOLA.

I love this one.

Love NOLA too!

-Dave-