subdued colors vs B&W

subdued colors vs B&W · 05:32 PM

There some development near my house. Lots of tree stumps to make for yet another strip mall.

I had to shoot from the car, kit lens. Cloudy day. Shot about 5 pics before I needed to move on. If I'd had more time I could have gotten closer to that ugly stump... But as far as "landscape" type images...?

Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/750)
Aperture: f/5.6

Also, I was playing around with RAW, and different settings in PS2. I kind of like the subdued colors because the gray skies already give the impression of black and white. The way I was getting Black & White was removing saturation, and I thought it looked flat.

Anyway, I'm not really happy with these (I liked the idea but not the execution), but wanted to learn from the ideas/suggestions of others...

slinky

Alvin · 03-29-2007, 06:21 PM

Hey slinky! I think the shot is missing something in the foreground to give a sense of how deep the field is.

**jfdavis58** · 03-29-2007, 06:51 PM

Landscape=land; crop the sky. Then try contrast masking to gain some mid-tones.

mediaslinky · 03-29-2007, 07:03 PM

OK, I cropped... and tried to move some elements to the foreground.

Still not a spectacular image. I needed the time to walk around and get the right angle. I'm drawn to the splintered stump. Maybe I can return and get another shot. I'm not sure what "contrast masking" is.

Different color treatment, more severe crop.

Last edited by mediaslinky; 03-29-2007 at 07:18 PM.

**jfdavis58** · 03-29-2007, 07:26 PM

I would leave it wide, just crop the sky.

Contrast masking: in Photoshop,
New layer via copy. Desaturate that layer, invert it, apply Gaussian blur of 2-5 pixels. In the layers palette change that layer's mode to overlay; adjust opacity slider to taste.

song_hm · 03-30-2007, 10:20 AM

Originally posted by mediaslinky

... The way I was getting Black & White was removing saturation, and I thought it looked flat.

Anyway, I'm not really happy with these (I liked the idea but not the execution), but wanted to learn from the ideas/suggestions of others...

slinky

Try these:

1) Eyes on Design - Photoshop tutorial
2) Channelmixer @ Digital Outback Photo
3) https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/2495-new-pro-sponsored-pentax.html

mediaslinky · 03-30-2007, 10:40 AM

Thanks, I will.

Was playing some more... This still lacks, but it's closer in feel to what I wanted (artificial desolation). Of course, it opens the question to how much you can do to a photo before it ceases to truly be a photo.

little laker · 03-30-2007, 11:21 AM

I had 1 photo that I really liked however when I made the sky look right thewater looked wrong, and when I made the water look right the sky and land looked messed.
What I ended up doing was pasting the picture with the realistic land and sky over the picture with realistic water and I just deleted the water making it look right.

I have all 3 pictures if you want me to show you what I'm referring to.

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03-29-2007, 06:21 PM	#2
Alvin Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,517	Hey slinky! I think the shot is missing something in the foreground to give a sense of how deep the field is.

03-29-2007, 06:51 PM	#3
jfdavis58 Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: 13 S 0357397-3884316 Photos: Gallery Posts: 887	Landscape=land; crop the sky. Then try contrast masking to gain some mid-tones.

03-29-2007, 07:03 PM	#4
mediaslinky Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Florida Photos: Gallery Posts: 373 Original Poster	OK, I cropped... and tried to move some elements to the foreground. Still not a spectacular image. I needed the time to walk around and get the right angle. I'm drawn to the splintered stump. Maybe I can return and get another shot. I'm not sure what "contrast masking" is. Different color treatment, more severe crop. Last edited by mediaslinky; 03-29-2007 at 07:18 PM.

03-29-2007, 07:26 PM	#5
jfdavis58 Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: 13 S 0357397-3884316 Photos: Gallery Posts: 887	I would leave it wide, just crop the sky. Contrast masking: in Photoshop, New layer via copy. Desaturate that layer, invert it, apply Gaussian blur of 2-5 pixels. In the layers palette change that layer's mode to overlay; adjust opacity slider to taste.

03-30-2007, 10:20 AM	#6
song_hm Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Pennsylvania, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 797	Originally posted by mediaslinky ... The way I was getting Black & White was removing saturation, and I thought it looked flat. Anyway, I'm not really happy with these (I liked the idea but not the execution), but wanted to learn from the ideas/suggestions of others... slinky Try these: 1) Eyes on Design - Photoshop tutorial 2) Channelmixer @ Digital Outback Photo 3) https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/2495-new-pro-sponsored-pentax.html

03-30-2007, 10:40 AM	#7
mediaslinky Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Florida Photos: Gallery Posts: 373 Original Poster	Thanks, I will. Was playing some more... This still lacks, but it's closer in feel to what I wanted (artificial desolation). Of course, it opens the question to how much you can do to a photo before it ceases to truly be a photo.

03-30-2007, 11:21 AM	#8
little laker Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,697	I had 1 photo that I really liked however when I made the sky look right thewater looked wrong, and when I made the water look right the sky and land looked messed. What I ended up doing was pasting the picture with the realistic land and sky over the picture with realistic water and I just deleted the water making it look right. I have all 3 pictures if you want me to show you what I'm referring to.