Steppin' Out... PNW- BW- revised

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Archive 2009 · Steppin' Out... PNW- BW- revised

Al B
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p.1 #1 · Steppin' Out... PNW- BW- revised

Some of you may remember the colour version of this capture I took this last
summer at the PNW. Now that I have completed this gallery I went back to this image
which I always felt may have some possibilities in the B &W format.

I'd be curious to hear your comments.

Thanks
Al B

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Link to the coloured version:
http://www.pbase.com/al_b/image/117393926/original

Edited on Nov 06, 2009 at 12:32 PM · View previous versions

Nov 05, 2009 at 05:19 PM

Adrian Cray
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p.1 #2 · Steppin' Out... PNW- BW- revised

Hi Al ,

This version seems to work very well , with a good range of tones throughout the picture . I must have missed the colour version . Perhaps you may wish to post a link thereto ?

Afternote : Thanks for the link , Al . The colour version has the more summery look to it , but the B&W allows you to concentrate more on the detail and different mood conveyed . I think I'll take one of each !

Edited on Nov 05, 2009 at 05:42 PM · View previous versions

Nov 05, 2009 at 05:25 PM

Al B
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p.1 #3 · Steppin' Out... PNW- BW- revised

Adrian Cray wrote:
Hi Al ,

This version seems to work very well , with a good range of tones throughout the picture . I must have missed the colour version . Perhaps you may wish to post a link thereto ?

Hello colonel, great to hear from you! Sorry for being remiss in not posting the earlier colour version link. I have now included a link back to this version. Wonderful to hear from you again. I have been thoroughly enjoying your recent offerings.

Best Al B

Nov 05, 2009 at 05:28 PM

Tim ONeill
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p.1 #4 · Steppin' Out... PNW- BW- revised

Al
The conversion works well for me. The bump in contrast in this shot makes for a sharper sea stack. It is always a trade-off when converting to BW. What you get in drama, you must give away some of the color variations that help identify with the scene. I like it.

Nov 06, 2009 at 12:59 AM

Ray Still
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p.1 #5 · Steppin' Out... PNW- BW- revised

Al

Very nice comp and great conversion here this really works very nicely in B&W

Ray Still

Nov 06, 2009 at 01:45 AM

alichty
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p.1 #6 · Steppin' Out... PNW- BW- revised

Works quite nicely Al - and I can't even see the teeming hordes of unwashed masses we encountered that afternoon

Good call on the BW conversion.

Alan

Nov 06, 2009 at 02:19 AM

JimFox
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p.1 #7 · Steppin' Out... PNW- BW- revised

Hey Al,

I definately like this better in B&W. 2 suggestions. Layer mask just the water, and bring down the blacks or perhaps midtones a bit more. And then for both the color and the B&W, can you recover more of that water detail that is lost in the wave breaks? I think in such a nice shot, having the water lacking detail there ends up sticking out then...

Jim

Nov 06, 2009 at 03:42 AM

ScaryFox
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p.1 #8 · Steppin' Out... PNW- BW- revised

This is quite harsh and contrasty but it suits the scene.
Good vision, Al.
Ute

Nov 06, 2009 at 07:10 AM

Al B
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p.1 #9 · Steppin' Out... PNW- BW- revised

Tim, Ray, Alan, Jim and Ute. Thanks everyone. After I complete my gallery from our trips I usually scout out images for B & W and this one seemed to fit the bill.

Jim - two good suggestions. I was going for a high contrasty image but I do agree there should be a bit more detail that could be recovered in the waves.

Ute - I agree that is why I felt it would be good candidate for the conversion.

Appreciate ALL comments and than you for your continued support of my work.

Al B

Nov 06, 2009 at 11:58 AM

bshamilton
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p.1 #10 · Steppin' Out... PNW- BW- revised

Excellent conversion, Al, works very nicely.
By a small margin though, I prefer the color one. The color contrasts let the rocks stand out from the sea a bit easier, imho. And I love the shades of blues/greens you caught in the surf. Call me contrarian I guess.

Barry

Nov 06, 2009 at 12:27 PM

Al B
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p.1 #11 · Steppin' Out... PNW- BW- revised

JimFox wrote:
Hey Al,

I definately like this better in B&W. 2 suggestions. Layer mask just the water, and bring down the blacks or perhaps midtones a bit more. And then for both the color and the B&W, can you recover more of that water detail that is lost in the wave breaks? I think in such a nice shot, having the water lacking detail there ends up sticking out then...

Jim

Hi Jim,
I like your suggestions. I tried to still maintain the high contrasty image effect. I pulled a bit of the blacks out of the water and reduced the highlights on the white caps as you suggested. Hope you like the difference.

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Al B

Nov 06, 2009 at 12:31 PM

Al B
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p.1 #12 · Steppin' Out... PNW- BW- revised

bshamilton wrote:
Excellent conversion, Al, works very nicely.
By a small margin though, I prefer the color one. The color contrasts let the rocks stand out from the sea a bit easier, imho. And I love the shades of blues/greens you caught in the surf. Call me contrarian I guess.

Barry

Thanks Barry, I do to.

This was not meant to be a comparison but merely another
expression of this scene. I am huge fan of B & W comps so I always like to keep this part of the processing technique current.

Al B

Nov 06, 2009 at 05:32 PM

kschweichhart
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p.1 #13 · Steppin' Out... PNW- BW- revised

Very good job on this, Al, but I can't help I like the color version better.
Karl

Nov 06, 2009 at 08:03 PM

Al B
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p.1 #14 · Steppin' Out... PNW- BW- revised

kschweichhart wrote:
Very good job on this, Al, but I can't help I like the color version better.
Karl

Thanks Karl I like the colour version as well for its strong colour presence. Still the B & W changes the mood of course and offer a more engaging detailed look.

Al B

Nov 07, 2009 at 12:44 PM


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