Converting to Mono

Liam, Seashore is based on Gimp but is 'native' for OSX. Gimp for mac runs very slowly due to having to use X11.

I've used Gimp when I was using Debian Linux on my computers.

Thanks for the offer, I may take you up on it.

ps. you can call me andrew or aj if you want.

I don't mind you peeps working on the image for tution purposes

The initial image was a little burnt out in the sky, the image as you see it is the best i could do without losing to much elswhere.

Had a go at this with Joshua's inst., (well good).

Its not a raw, a jpg as not wx t'day for pics, so made do with one I took earlier, not sure how it will appear out there as worried screens differ, had a bit of trouble getting the sky to look interesting and thought in the end I didn't know when to stop!
This is very addictive too, I seem to be glued to this seat

Anyway, sock it to me... steep learning curve!




Tis, Lilly

I like it Lilly, might be a wee bit tempted, to 'clone' out the bit of land on the top right. I used to be a 'pure-ist' but I'm ok now

Very nice job Lilly!
This has lots of punch! Very defined!

I think the forground bulastrade spoils it. I liked the image until I scrolled down on my screen and saw it. Easy enough to crop out.

Using Photoshop Elements, I don't have the Channel Mixer, so I quite often use the following technique, which includes 'toning':

Create new adjustment layer, selecting Hue/Saturation.
In dialogue box, with 'Master' selected, turn saturation to -100.
Then adjust individual colours to suit (the drop down box gives options of Red, Yellow, Green etc). I often increase the lightness of reds and yellows, decrease blues and cyans, replicating a red or yellow filter.

This gives a basic B+W image that you can then adjust contrast using Levels or Brightness/Contrast adjustment layers.

To 'tone' an image, I create a new layer and fill with a warm yellow. I change the blending mode to 'Darken', then adjust the opacity to around 10%. Create another layer, fill with a deep blue, blending mode 'lighten', opacity around 4%. These all depend on the image and the effect you're after - this is really a split toned effect. Please note, I've never actually toned a real B+W print, so I'm not necessarily trying to replicate an actual process - I just like the result.




Also this I did today:



Original Image



Toned

Turning off the Hue/Saturation layer, I found I liked the colour version with toning too!




If you're converting RAW's using Capture One, you can select a Black and White profile, and adjusting the white balance and of course the levels (deselect 'preserve colour balance') will give a black and white result with a fair amount of control. You could then apply these settings to the rest of the images for a quick B+W batch conversion.

Dan

Hi all

I found a great B&W plugin called B/W Styler, might interest some of you folks doing mono conversions but don't have the graphic skills (that includes me) of Matt and Liam, I played with the demo this morning and to say I was impresssed is a bit of an understatment, neadless to say I bought it

http://thepluginsite.com/order/index.htm

Just thought I'd try the C1 method I mentioned above on my image:




Used the output profile 'Phase One Grey Profile 2,2', and just played around with the white balance etc until I liked what I saw. Looked a bit odd when I put the profile back to Adobe RGB though.

Dan

Actually it was opposite for me!
As I scrolled down and saw the unique framing feature of the balustrade I thought "oh cool!"
I like the inclusion of it!

VERY nice photo Lilly. A very good choice for a B&W treatment. You got black, you got white, and you got everything in between. I think you did a very nice job of your conversion. I also like the variety of railings in the picture including in the reflection, the curves, and the straight lines, and the textures. I also like the moderately diagonal curvy centre structure trying to connect with the straight horizon and the straight balustrade. My only quibble would be the very slightly out of level of those two straight elements. Truly minor though. EXCELLENT work and a very interesting composition IMO. Looking forward to more.

Regards

Drew

EDIT: Wish I hadn't mentioned the out of level now, that was just tooooo nitpicky. Sorry

Thank you for all you very positive comments, well chuffed! and encouraging !

I too like my ballustrade to me it kind of balances and stabilises the image.
I did notice it was a bit thicker at the left end and tried to level it but the horizon got worse - so presume it must be fault of Cornish builders!

Anyway, have att. its original for you to see.....




I did like Daniels split toning shots and immediately went into CS2 to select Duotone (is that the same effect?) and found it was greyed out and cd not select it in this image, I had used duotone before on a previous image that was scanned from 35mm mono neg and was working OK.

Has anyone got any ideas why/if it does not work with some type of images?

Lilly

Brian,

B/W Styler is excellent for people like me that can never remember all the techniques (this comes with age unfortunately). They also have, my favourite, Focal Blade for sharpening, ColorWasher, and LightMachine.

All very good products - once you purchase the product the updates are always free.

Mike

HaHa

I know the feeling very well.....er....what were we talking about

You can't select Duotone if your image is in RGB it needs to be in Greyscale first, then you can select Duotone.