I don't often do Black and White.... looking for some honest opinions.

[T0MAT01]

I took this at the weekend while I was back in Sussex. The lighting wasn't exactly ideal but the scene through the viewfinder was just begging to be captured, so I happily clicked away.

I've used up both 30 day Lightroom and Aperture trials, so while I'm still undecided on which to get I processed this using iPhoto. Seems fairly good at what it does, but it has certainly opened my eyes as to how good Picasa is... for free! Shame it's not available for mac.

Anyway, here's the photo. I'm a bit of a B/W n00b so I'm after some honest opinions.



(clickable for larger size)

I guess the main question is: should I have brightened it up a touch at the expense of the clouds?

Thanks for looking.

[mudstuff]

It's nice but not dynamic or dramatic enough for me. I'd brighten a bit and dodge and burn the clouds - you could always mask the sky so the brightness changes only affect the foreground. Would likely work well as a HDR as it would add a lot of drama to the sky, especially in b&w.

Nice composition and shot though.

[Steve N]

No personal experience with B+W here, but I know what I like, and I think it looks pretty damned good.

I can't imagine this having anywhere near the impact in colour.

[Liquid101]

Nice shot - but a little heavy.

I think you need some selective tonal control - you coudl have held detail in the foreground, while still adding drama to the clouds.

This is the kind of shot that would be very nice to have a few different interpretations of - fancy posting the RAW file

[kBm]

Originally Posted by T0MAT01

I guess the main question is: should I have brightened it up a touch at the expense of the clouds?

If you can get at the curves adjustment you can do both! The foreground (the field leading to the windmill) is where the interest is. At the moment my eye is drawn straight to the clouds. Its a good shot too.

[jonnypb]

nice effort

i'm drawn to the bright clouds at the top and feel i should be drawn to the windmill and foreground which maybe need to be a bit lighter

[TarMoo]

Nice sky, nice composition, but the "foreground interest" (windmill) lacks detail.

[T0MAT01]

Thanks folks, you've confirmed my suspicions that it needs a bit more playing with!

Originally Posted by Liquid101

This is the kind of shot that would be very nice to have a few different interpretations of - fancy posting the RAW file

Good idea, except that I was only shooting in jpeg at the time.

The link to download the original is here.

Edit away!

[Liquid101]

Can't get into my photobucket account, so i've attached a quick edit, trying to hold detail and keep the drama.

Have to say, it's a great shot - has a wonderful quality about it.

[T0MAT01]

Thanks Liquid. There's a big improvement to the foreground there. I wasn't so worried about the windmill itself becomming more of a silhouette, but I couldn't seem to keep the seed heads from disappearing too.

Something tells me I'll be buying Lightroom sooner rather than later!

[dazza74]

Very nice, really like the composition. I would have only have lifted the foreground a little and think the sky and clouds are spot on.

[tontoshorse]

How did you desaturate? It a nice composition but as said lacks a little punch.

I've found that by increasing the brightness and then the contrast by around twice as much seems to bring out a bit more detail.

failing that I fall back on Scott Kelbys method.

[stevegreen]

Agree with what people have said and I like what Scott has done with it Nice photograph

[T0MAT01]

Originally Posted by tontoshorse

How did you desaturate?

I used the black and white button to desaturate and then played with the exposure, shadow, highlight, white balance and tint sliders until I came up with something that I was happy with. Admittedly it's probably not the best way of going about it!

[Twadger]

A quick go at HDR. Not B&W hope you don't mind.