I have always admired black and white photography. The ability to convey feeling through only shades of gray is truly amazing. It has been some time since I did any black and white imaging, though I originally started that way with my home darkroom when I was in 9th grade.
One of the reasons that I have not done much black and white work has been the difficulties that have accompanied black and white inkjet printing over the years. However, these problems have clearly been decreasing rapidly. Lightroom and Photoshop CS4 have made converting color images to black and white much more intuitive. I have also been contemplating buying one of the newer printers that, based on all I have seen and read, are quite capable of producing beautiful monochrome prints.
With this in mind, I recently started 'playing' with some of my already processed color images to see what they would look like in black and white and how 'good' a conversion I could do. For an initial try, I rather like what I was able to produce, at least in terms of how they look on the computer monitor.
"Fluidity"
Copyright Howard Grill
"Siren's Song"
Copyright Howard Grill
"Dreamscapes #1"
Copyright Howard Grill
Copyright Howard Grill
11 comments:
I particularly like the first and second shots here Howard. The silky black in the waterfall is quite nice.
Thanks Mark
They are all very good at conveying mood and motion but that first one is a show stopper. I remember what it looked like in color and this totally blows that away.
Jules, thanks, and I find that an interesting comment. I also like that one, as well as the second one better in black and white. As I think about it I like them both better for the same reason. In each color version I tried to use very saturated colors to convey the feel of being on location. In both instances the result, I think, was successful but I always had reservations because, in some ways, while the colors conveyed feel they also had an unnatural appearance. While that didn't bother me, I think some people might let that detract from the image.
These black and white versions seem to remove tat issue of the color being expressive but yet causing some observers to raise an eyebrow.
Agree with everyone the first one is really neat. And I think I like the dreamscapes #1 better in b&w than color.
The timing of your post coincides with my re-reading of some books I have on color correction and b&w conversions, so I was very interested in seeing your b&whites.
My printer is best for matte papers and from what I read, most people like their b&w images printed on glossy. I'm looking forward to your remarks if you experiment with printing these.
Con...my printer is also matte only, though I have been thinking of getting one of the newer printers that automatically change matte and photo black inks. Even though I don't haven't yet purchased the printer I might give it a try on matte paper and see what happens.
I just changed my Epson 4800 over to Photo black ink - I couldn't hold out any longer for a new printer before wanting to try some of the Baryta papers.
Mark...I would really like to know how easy or hard it is for you to get good results
Color is a necessity in this day and age, but unless you are shooting fire or sunsets, I believe a color photo hides the magic that can only be seen in a good black and white photo. The soul seems to be missing.
Visit my new site (so new, I don't have a lot up, but keep in touch. I love to talk to other photographers.
You can access my Third World photos from the site.
http://crisfieldnews.blogspot.com
Some really beautiful black and white work Patty...check out her website at http://www.breadandsalt.org/
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