RJ,
Thanks for the tips. I liked your second example a lot.
I also really like your B&W shot. The conversion was well done. The tonality is excellent - everything from bright whites to full blacks and a wide range of tones in between. The subject is also top notch. I like the way the cracked mud frames the shot and draws the viewers attention to the lizard tracks. Very nicely done.
-ChrisWest Chicago, ILChristopher May Fine Art Photography"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams
CopCarSS wrote: miniwyo wrote: Wow Chris.....Truely amazing work...... I only hope to become as good as you one day.....I came across one I took in Arizona that worked out pretty good as a B&W conversion, But I am more of a fan of Selective Desatuaration.Thanks for the very kind words, RJ. And don't cut yourself short, you do some very fine work. Just for curiosity, by selective desaturation, are you talking about shots like this? That's the only shot like that I've ever been able to make work. Do you have any tips for making these work?
miniwyo wrote: Wow Chris.....Truely amazing work...... I only hope to become as good as you one day.....I came across one I took in Arizona that worked out pretty good as a B&W conversion, But I am more of a fan of Selective Desatuaration.
Wow Chris.....
Truely amazing work...... I only hope to become as good as you one day.....
I came across one I took in Arizona that worked out pretty good as a B&W conversion, But I am more of a fan of Selective Desatuaration.
Thanks for the very kind words, RJ. And don't cut yourself short, you do some very fine work. Just for curiosity, by selective desaturation, are you talking about shots like this? That's the only shot like that I've ever been able to make work. Do you have any tips for making these work?
Yes
Really the only Advice I can give is that you just ned to look for something with really good color separation. That makes it easier. When you get into things with too may tones, sometimes you may miss some spots when making your mask. I have tried it numerous times, but have only been able to get a couple good ones in a couple versions of one shot
Original
Version 1
Version 2
But when you get into things where you have lots of the same colors spread out, for example I had one of a Doe Deer in some tall Sagebrush, and the Deer and the Sage are pretty close to the same color so when I used my magic wand, it chose alot more than what I wanted. But in the examples above, in the original, you can see how there is one blue, or one skintone. Notihng else clashes with it. And in your photo, I assume you had the same thing, As you most likely didn't have anything as red as the apple. I saw one a the Fair that he desaturated everything but the girl's pink shirt, and it worked very well. You just kinda have to play with it to know for sure.
Here is my B&W if you don't mind giving an opinion on it..... Canyon Lake
RJ
"Something hidden, Go and find it. Go and look behind the ranges, Something lost behind the ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go." The Explorers - Rudyard Kipling
http://sweetwater-photography.com/
Thanks all, again for the compliments! I always love posting my shots here because they're a little more appreciated. When I post them over at DPReview, the reaction is never quite as enthusiastic (then again, those guys are too busy worrying about what the K20D isn't to notice actual pictures )
Quentin - Those are heaters, and the room was almost a little too warm for my taste. Of course, while I was shooting some of the indoor stuff a cold front came through, and it was cold and WINDY when I went back outside! Suddenly the warm didn't seem over the top. You're also correct about the lights, too. I wish they had been turned on - I think it would have added to the overall feel a little bit, but I take what I can get.
Chuck - To tell a little secret, I actually use Photoshop Elements 6.0 and the embedded B&W convertor therein. It's a really convenient way to play with the individual color channels and see the effects immediately. I'm just glad that I have the opportunity to do this at my leisure in post-processing. I fear that if I had to worry about the correct filters for a given situation, I'd have a lot of flat negatives to work with!
BTW, Rodinal is still my developer of choice when I shoot my 4x5 stuff. I use a Croatian film - Efke 25 - on the large format camera. It's almost too grainless for traditional B&W film, so the Rodinal gives it a nice little kick. I use it at 1:100 to control the contrast a little bit. It's easy to let Efke get too contrasty when using it with stronger dilutions. That reminds me, I really need to get out with the LF gear one of these days.
PMSteamman - Thanks for the compliment! Using the sliders in Photoshop Elements as I described above is a big secret. Having control over the individual color channels yields a lot of control over the overall picture. It's a lot like using filters, but is a lot more convenient and allows a nearly infinite amount of "tweakability." Beyond that, it's just a matter of trying to pick a scene that will yield a good B&W conversion. When I find one, I try to use good glass (all of these shots were taken with prime lenses, including one of my favorite lenses ever - the Pentax FA 77mm f1.8 Limited), shooting with a tripod, using mirror lock-up, etc. Beyond that, it's just individual taste. I had a cousin ask me why on earth I wanted to add grain to the shots I did! I guess that was just my personal preference in these instances.
Ed - Thanks for the very kind words. I'd be honored to have my shot on your desktop. If you need a bigger version, let me know.
Once again, thanks for all the very nice compliments everyone!
Big Z...
I think they are "professional" shots...just done today instead of 50 years ago.
The waiting room shot is fantastic, and the top ot first shot in the series is going to become my desktop. if thats OK with Chris.
zardoz wrote: Classics! If I had seen them without your story, I would have easily believed they were professional shots taken 50 years ago.5 out of 5 stars for you!
Classics! If I had seen them without your story, I would have easily believed they were professional shots taken 50 years ago.
5 out of 5 stars for you!
23 17 46 11
Those are some of the best black and whites I have seen since O' Winston Link. What is your secret man??
Hey Chris, this set of pictures was not so scary (brrrrr) as some of your others this time of year.
Are you using the Channel Mixer adjustment layer in PS to do your conversions? Much better than just going directly to grayscale. I still have fond memories of Rodinal with PXP instead of TXP, but either one has a very unique look that bears repeating digitally.
I enjoyed the "desolate" station shots, which remind me of my last visits to Chicago Union Station about ten years ago. We took a mid-morning train out to Brookfield for the zoo and there was hardly anybody in the station, as opposed to when we came back in late in the afternoon in the middle of the afternoon commute when the place was packed. Some difference, that's for sure.
...One more comment Chris. It looks like there are steam or hot water raditors inside those waiting room seats. If so, should have heated the room very nicely and comfortable.
Also wouldn't it have been a bit nicer if those {high}, wall lights would have been turned on....At least I believe that's what they are. Would have added to the ambience of the already beautiful shot.
Quentin
mikeyuhas wrote: Excellent work, Chris.It's too bad this gorgeous station is so... desolate.
Excellent work, Chris.
It's too bad this gorgeous station is so... desolate.
Mike,
Thanks for the compliment. There are times when it's humming a little more than it was last night, but it still would have been fun to see it in the glory days.
Wow. Thanks for the very kind words, Zardoz.
CopCarSS wrote: blhanel wrote:Unfortunately, no- I've been too busy with work and family to get out. My wife just had partial knee replacement surgery last week, so hopefully she'll be much more mobile in a couple of weeks, and I'll be free to venture down to the tracks again. On the positive side, my son (whom you met at our short rendezvous at Georgetown) and his wife are now living in our basement, and he's gainfully employed by a gaming company in Iowa City.Bummer. Sorry to hear about Joanie. Is she doing OK? Hope all goes well for her in her recovery.So is your son going to be accompanying you trackside and taking photos, too?
blhanel wrote:Unfortunately, no- I've been too busy with work and family to get out. My wife just had partial knee replacement surgery last week, so hopefully she'll be much more mobile in a couple of weeks, and I'll be free to venture down to the tracks again. On the positive side, my son (whom you met at our short rendezvous at Georgetown) and his wife are now living in our basement, and he's gainfully employed by a gaming company in Iowa City.
Bummer. Sorry to hear about Joanie. Is she doing OK? Hope all goes well for her in her recovery.
So is your son going to be accompanying you trackside and taking photos, too?
She's getting around better every day, but will probably be using the walker for another two or three weeks.
My son's interests don't include trains; he's much too busy with a theatrical sideline lately (see link below).
riffrafftheater.com
Brian (IA) http://blhanel.rrpicturearchives.net.
CopCarSS wrote: Brian - Thanks for the kind words. BTW, I haven't seen you post any shots here or at Fuzzy's for awhile. Have you been shooting at all?
Brian - Thanks for the kind words. BTW, I haven't seen you post any shots here or at Fuzzy's for awhile. Have you been shooting at all?
Unfortunately, no- I've been too busy with work and family to get out. My wife just had partial knee replacement surgery last week, so hopefully she'll be much more mobile in a couple of weeks, and I'll be free to venture down to the tracks again. On the positive side, my son (whom you met at our short rendezvous at Georgetown) and his wife are now living in our basement, and he's gainfully employed by a gaming company in Iowa City.
stmtrolleyguy - Thanks for the comments. They were posted when I was getting a little sleepy, too, so I'm glad they came out OK!
Dan - Thanks for the kind words. I think there's a couple of these that I will be printing and hanging up (maybe even at work!)
Bob - No offense taken. This is one of the shots where I added some grain to give it a little more "film-like" feel. Generally speaking, I love the nice clean shots that I get from my K100D, and even go to the lengths of removing digital noise from shots taken at ISO 1600 sometimes. Every once in awhile, though, I kind of like grainy shots. I always liked the look of Tri-X developed in Rodinal for certain subjects - mostly street shooting kind of shots. I thought this shot had that kind of feel to it.
Apart from the grain, I think it's kind of aesthetically pleasing (to me). I like the contrast between the dark girders of the track supporting structure above and the lighter tones of the subterranean passageway below. The pictures on the walls show Union Station in its glory days. The blurred pedestrian adds a sense of movement to the shot. Oh yes, about that pedestrian: I guess we could actually call this a self portrait. There weren't many people out yesterday evening, so I had to provide my own foot traffic. Thank goodness for the self timer on my camera!
Quentin and Jean - Thanks for the kind words! I agree that the picture might have been a little better if the cars had been lit. I'm developing a greater sense of appreciation for the work of O. Winston Link, and the cooperation he had from the N&W. He liked shooting at night because he could control the light a lot better. Had this been his shot, I'm sure he would have placed a flash bulb or two in the cars to illuminate the interiors a little bit. Alas! I'm no OWL, and didn't have permission from the Ski Train folks to be putting flash bulbs in there.
Thanks again for the kind words from all of you!
Wow.....Got my attention Chris....
Love that {waiting room}, inside the depot shot....Beautiful...!
If only those passenger cars would have been lit inside.
Just stopped wife Jean to come in to look and her reaction as I went thru them was "wow"....."very nice"....She appreciates nice photos too.
Our comments...
CopCarSS wrote: Comments and critiques always welcome.
Comments and critiques always welcome.
//short and concise post from work
WOW. Amazing Chris. You truly have the eye for seeing and getting just the shot you want. KUDOS to you! These belong on a calendar or postcard after being hung on the wall.
Dan
Wow. . .looks like some really nice stuff :)
I'll take another look when i'm more awake, and give some better feedback :)
I've been wanting to work on my B&W conversion abilities in Photoshop for awhile now. Having nothing to do tonight, I thought I'd head down to Union Station and take some night shots. Night shots are by nature contrasty, so the conversion process would be a little easier.
The only problem I ran into is that a couple of the shots seemed a little too clean, so I added a little bit of artificial grain to a couple shots. Tri-X in Rodinal they're not, but at least they have a little more character.
Anyways, enough babbling. Here's the shots:
(I guess this is as close as we get to the classic "Mizpah" arch that used to grace the front of Union Station...somehow the RTD arch doesn't seem quite as interesting).
(Shades of Glory Days).
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