One of several images I have been experimenting with for effects and visual impact. I have attached both (#1) the original and (#2) the adjusted version.
Does this image work in B&W? Is this and acceptable balance between the blacks and whites? Any and all comments, suggestion are welcome.
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
#2 - the adjusted image, I converted to black & white, cropped just a bit off the top, add levels and contrast adjustment layers and also cloned out a couple of reeds.
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
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The adjusted image is certainly much better. I think you got the tonal variation in the water nicely, Here is a more somber version. I thought the black layer at the very top was too dark but maybe it’s the NPN background.
Thanks Igor. You’re right the one I adjusted definitely has darker darks. One one hand I like the extremes however I also appreciate the detail you have gotten in the darker areas. Gives the image more interest. Definitely something to think about for me, what is the concept I’m am portraying? Good catch.
Linda: The B&W works for me but I actually like the subtle colors of the original. About all I would do with the color version would be to crop away the small strip of land on the top. Well done. >=))>
What a calming scene. I’m in Bill’s camp on enjoying the subtle colors. Also agree with everyone on cropping the top. I brought your original into ACR and adjusted the exposure to bring up the contrast (dropped the exposure a bit, brought up the highlights; that has the effect of increasing contrast and saturation). I cropped to 16:9, as this feels very horizontal; that also helps convey calmness. Hope you don’t mind my messing with it.
Whoa, @Bonnie_Lampley . … .feel free to mess with my photos anytime!. What you have done, in my opinion, is amazingly wonderful. Thank you. I’m not sure if this is the right place to ask, but
when you mentioned working in ACR, do you normally make your edits there or in LR? I have found LR to be way to much for my needs but don’t know if the two programs have the same editing capabilities? Just curious. Thanks again Bonnie.
And to @Bill_Fach and @Igor_Doncov, thank you. . . . .again, for you patience, suggestions and willingness to share with me so many valuable techniques. Take care.
Linda, I enjoy the zen-like simplicity of this image. I think works pretty effectively in color or B&W. If you are going to go the color route, then the rework by @Bonnie_Lampley takes this in a very pleasing direction. I also like @Igor_Doncov B&W rework. What I like about the B&W is that it makes the ripples at the top more prominent than they are in the color version, and that makes the composition more dynamic for me.
Ed, thank you for your kind words. I do agree with both of @Bonnie_Lampley and @Igor_Doncovs’ re-works. All depends on what I want the viewer to enjoy. I’ve spent a good deal of the afternoon working with both of their suggestions and, thanks to their comments, have come up with several different version all with their own feel. Truly great experience for me. Thanks again.
Linda I had tried removing the dark at the very top and wasn’t satisfied with the results. The ripples seemed to be crowding the top. So my solution was to lighten the dark area and bring out more information. Having said that I find myself often going back and forth with that crop. Sometimes I like it and others I do not. That means to me that I’m not confident in my conclusion.
I agree Igor. The ripples were quite a challenge for me. If I got too high they melded together, if I go too low they disappeared. Definitely will go back from time to time to see how the ripples are feeling. I also go back and forth about which image I prefer. For me, it has to do with the mood I’m in at the time. Sometimes I totally want minimalism (black & white - just the essence) and other times I want to see all of the subtle variations in the rocks below the surface, the color blends and how all the shapes flow together. I appreciate you taking the extra time to work with all the different possibilities, thank you.
Linda, I like the subtle tones in the color version. I do think that losing the strip of land at the top and matching that loss at the bottom help the focus and feeling. Bonnie’s enhancements add a nice bit of warmth. The expanding ripple near the bottom is a nice extra.
