I have three black and white floral images to post, two of which are from when @Steve_Kennedy and I were out at the end of May.
I don’t often see a scene and think “that might look nice in black and white,” although I’m trying to be better at “seeing” that. This image was an exception, and I was hoping it would work well without color.
Specific Feedback Requested
I haven’t worked with black and white as much as color, so it’s always an exploration for me. Any comments/feedback most appreciated.
I played with toning this a little warm but in the end decided I liked it better without a tone. Does this work for you as a straight black and white?
Technical Details
NIKON Z 7II
NIKKOR Z 24-200 f/4-6.3 VR at 44.0 mm
1/8 sec. at f/7.1 and ISO 64
Truth in Blending Statement: Seven images blended for DOF.
I really like this, John. The black and white makes it look like frost on the vegetation. Not sure if that’s what you intended. Really beautifully seen as a black and white!
A very nice image, John. I really like the choice of B&W rendering. I like that you have kept the contrast between the three ferns and the rest of the floral rather modest. It creates a very special feeling. A minor issue, but I would have preferred the URC to also be grey instead of almost black.
By turning it monochrome, this is about form and texture rather than the intense green it was. I can’t ID the fern, but the other plants look like Equisetum - an ancient plant that reproduces with spores like ferns, but is the only member of its genus surviving today. I don’t mind that the corners have black in them, but would do the same to the ULC for balance. You could also have a go at bringing up the horsetail stems more if you felt like it. It might emphasize their soft featheriness.
This is a wonderfully eye-catching piece you have made here, John. It caught my attention straight away from the Community page and I have been looking at it on-and-off the past few minutes now. I love the way the ferns pop out of the underbrush - I’m unsure what the other plants are - which really helps to “make” this image stand even stronger. Perhaps this could be further strengthened by darkening the overall image and bumping up the highlights, even if just by a bit. Though I enjoy the lower contrast look here - with the various grays in the piece - I feel it would benefit with a bit more contrast, if only to, as I mentioned, make the ferns even more prominent.
For my own pieces, I have been enjoying a slight warm-tone, which is the same that Brooks Jensen uses for his pieces and for Lenswork as a whole. Of course, it is personal preference, but a slight tone may make this image a bit more interesting to the eye. Nonetheless, I do like it as-is.
A tip for in the future when looking for black and white photographs: look for shifts in overall tonalities, along with separation between the various elements. There are many wonderful subjects out there that fail when converted to monochrome, due to the tones between the foreground and background elements being too similar, therefore making the composition blend together. This, of course, can be altered by a bit in post-processing with digital images, but it is always better to get right in-camera, especially since it can make or break an image.
Hi John, this is a terrific image, what a great catch. I like the B&W treatment just fine. I know B&W can be high contrast, low contrast, high key, low key…I lean towards a model of bringing the life out in the mid tones, which is what you’ve done here.
@Cody_Schultz has some great info and suggestions, and I do like what Brooks Jensen does for the Lenswork images. They are dramatic, and I have tried that approach for my own B&W images, but have never succeeded. Probably because I don’t know the technique…
Thanks for the suggestions (and feedback @Vanessa_Hill and @Steve_Kennedy )! I tried to throw in a dash of everything suggested, and will add the update above. Thanks for any additional thoughts.
I tone most of my BW images, although as you’ll see in the next two posts I have coming I usually tone cool as opposed to warm. Stuart Williams, who was a member of the old NPN, did amazing work with warm toning of BW images; I always admired his work. I’ve added a slight warming to the updated version; hopefully that targets what you were suggesting.
I really like the new warm version, though I think I’m partial to the original. The Silver effect as you mention in Nature’s Jewelry. Now, if you could retain the silver effect of the original on the fern and the warm effect on the rest …
I’ve never developed black and white myself, so am no authority but I love the tones in this image. Absolutely gorgeous! The ferns stand out most beautifully in the midst of the feathery plants, which lend themselves very well to a softer contrast approach. Warm tone version with lightened up corners is really nice and overall, I’m struck by the aliveness that your image succeeds in conveying. To succeed in giving impressions beyond visual impressions is, in my view, the highest purpose of photography and there is nothing I love more than seeing such images.
Beautiful textures - for me, the warm-toned version has more appeal. The gentle contrast is lovely and enhances the impression of softness (even though I know those horsetails are particularly soft!).
I like the composition and prefer the cooler-toned version Overall, I think I’d try for a little more separation the whiter ferns and whatever those other things are.
