First attempt at B & W

[Orby]

Old juniper tree on top of the Pajarito Plateau.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii333/cgwilso/Juniper1.jpg

[trmwf]

nice scene but it looks a little out of focus to me or perhaps I just need my glasses adjusted.

Mike

[PlayersZ28]

looks a bit OOF for me too. I think there's too much of the same tones in the B&W version so that no one object really stands out as the focus of the image. Maybe post the color version too when you are looking for comments on B&W conversions.

[Orby]

Here are the before and after photos.

http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii333/cgwilso/Juniper2.jpg



http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii333/cgwilso/Juniper1.jpg

[masterwillems]

The coloured one does it for me.
The snow comes out better in that version and with the sky gives it a colder look and the feeling that you know what you are looking at (you get more information from the scene.)

[Menelaus]

I prefer the color version too.

When I do B/W conversions, I like to separate the colors of the foreground and background. In this, you'll notice that the trees in the distance are white instead of black...makes the foreground pop.

http://i39.tinypic.com/2rnajah.jpg

[Orby]

That looks a lot better. How did you achieve that affect?

[Zoso23]

I prefer the color version too.

When I do B/W conversions, I like to separate the colors of the foreground and background. In this, you'll notice that the trees in the distance are white instead of black...makes the foreground pop.

http://i39.tinypic.com/2rnajah.jpg

im also very interested, would love to hear about your method.

[Menelaus]

If you have Photoshop CS3 or later (I use CS4), there is a very handy B&W conversion tool built in. It's basically a glorified channel mixer. There may being something similar in CS2, but if there is, I've never found it.

Basically, you can isolate colors, and by moving the slider left and right, you can dictate whether that color will be white, black, or inbetween. Like I said earlier, I use contrasting colors for the foreground and background to make the subject pop more.

Here's what that screen looks like:
http://www.photoshopcafe.com/cs3/smith/bw2.jpg

Here's an example of one of mine...the leaves behind the statue were bright green, so by bringing the green channel down to the left, they began to turn black. Bumping up the yellows and reds made the statue lighter. You just have to be a little careful not to crush any darks or blowout whites, but it's pretty intuitive after you've done a few.

http://scottryanphotography.smugmug.com/photos/493359604_kbe9k-L-1.jpg

Hope this answers your questions.

-Scott

[Zoso23]

yeah that doesnt answer my questions, thanks so much for taking the time to explain, ill give it a go and try a few out.
seems like a nifty little trick.
thanks again.

[Orby]

Pretty cool thanks for sharing.