Anyway, in the meantime, here is a little diversion to keep the blog juices flowing. Nova Scotia is such an incredibly colorful place. It is not often that i stop to re-envision it in black & white. In fact, i tend to celebrate that color, to revel in it. Of course, color itself can be a subject unto itself, but there is always so much more beyond the color of this place that it is my intention to capture. When i eliminate the color from the scene i am able to reassign the emphasis of an image and see its compositional elements more clearly. I have always tried to impress this idea upon my students, that your images should still hold up compositionally even after removing all the color. But then, some images actually call out for this treatment, making this more that just an exercise in seeing structure. Sometimes colors only distract from the essence of a photograph. Sometimes taking away the color actually adds to the mood and tone i am trying to put forth.
If you have been following my past blogs you will no doubt recognize a few of these images. I am not sure that these black & white treatments necessarily make them "better" than the originals, but they do certainly make them different.
(click on image for larger gallery view)
©David Sorcher 2014
©David Sorcher 2014
Black & White doesn't always mean exactly that by my definition. I usually add some kind of subtle tone when i am converting my images. The above image received a somewhat warmer treatment than usual, reminiscent of the more sepia tones of Afga's Protriga Rapid, an old printing paper which i was quite fond of for many years.
©David Sorcher 2014
©David Sorcher 2014
I find that B&W helps emphasis the mood of this gray and foggy day at the LaHave schooner races. Colors were sparse in the original file anyway so pushing this to B&W helps simplify the images.
©David Sorcher 2014
The ominous feel of the dark clouds in this iPhone pano seem even more foreboding with the removal of color.
©David Sorcher 2014
©David Sorcher 2014
©David Sorcher 2014
©David Sorcher 2014
The form and structure of these early morning spider webs stand out much more clearly once converted to B&W.
©David Sorcher 2014
This solitary moment seems to play much better in B&W for me, elevating and enhancing the mood.
©David Sorcher 2014
©David Sorcher 2014
©David Sorcher 2014
I may eventually publish the above image in full color. It had some nice hues working for it and frankly the subtle tonal shifts of faded and chipped paint on the stern of the dory are fairly downplayed despite working the color channels in the conversion for the best contrast of tones. But i do like the way the B&W version unites the image so that the eye is no longer drawn to the colors of the flora and the over all composition can be viewed better.
©David Sorcher 2014
©David Sorcher 2014
©David Sorcher 2014
I set my tonality in the above triptych using a blue palette to push my blacks to a more blue/black appearance. The colder tone seemed more appropriate for the subject matter. I would encourage folks who are making B&Ws from color files to explore all their options in photoshop. Don't let default settings guide your final results.
©David Sorcher 2014
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