ESFotoClix Blog

Sometimes we return from an outing, only to discover that a scene we found compelling did not translate well into a photograph, primarily because of unappealing colors. Temptation to push contrast and saturation in post processing often follows such disappointment, but the product is often too far off the scale to please. It looks better, but it doesn’t come together.

I had such an experience after returning from a Spanish vacation 2 years ago with this image.

Biarritz harbor, Color

What I found compelling about the original scene, namely the rock harbor wall standing against the incoming storm, didn’t seem to come through when I reviewed the image on my computer screen. The scene came across as flat and unappealing. Attempts at color and contrast pumping, which I will spare you here, didn’t make the situation any better, and if anything distracted further from the story I was trying to tell when I snapped the photo. Had I misread the scene? Had I somehow used the wrong composition?

My recent exploration of B&W photography led me to take a second look. In the end, the solution wasn’t about sprucing up the color, but about abandoning it altogether in favor of emphasis on line (the sweeping curve of the rock harbor wall), and texture (the rock structure and the storm clouds). After some tinkering with B&W conversion techniques and a couple of iterations, I arrived at this version of the photograph.

Biarritz harbor, B&W

Another photograph from the same trip led to a different result. In this post-processed version, contrast and color pumping included, the juxtaposition of the old farmhouse (perhaps just a shack) in the foreground vs. the newer home down in the distance as a story-telling approach works nicely in color. However, personally, I found that as dominant as the farmhouse is in the foreground, my eye is drawn to the brilliant colors in the background, and the old structure becomes almost a momentary, incidental hook into the image.

Basque farmhouse, Color

Preferring to accentuate the old farmhouse, I gave B&W a try, this time taking care to selectively add contrast and sharpness to the rock face, further bringing out the texture and shape elements. The result is a moodier, starker image, and one that definitely causes my eye to explore the old structure for more than a second.

Basque farmhouse, B&W

Moral of the story: the next time you are left with a blah color photo, instead of pumping color and contrast, give B&W a try. Make sure you give yourself the greatest flexibility by shooting in your camera’s RAW format, and go ahead and explore what B&W can do for your photographs.

Note: You may want to search through this blog’s archives for past articles I’ve written on this topic to see how I’ve learned through the B&W exploration journey. I also strongly recommend Michael Freeman’s Mastering Black and White Digital Photography, which helped me greatly to see and realize the potential of B&W photography.

In the past I’ve shared how I like using older Nikon (Nikkor) lenses, even though they are fully manual on entry level DSLRs, as in manual focus, “manual” metering. With the coming of my D700 (and D300) I can now enjoy these lenses more thoroughly, since I can now meter with these lenses. Most recently, I’ve been enjoying what I’m learning is quite a find, a AIS 50-135 f3.5. It is a heavy and long lens for sure, but it plays very nicely on my D700, giving some tremendous sharpness and pleasing (to me, anyway) bokeh. Here is one image with very moderate PP, taken this weekend at f/4.

I have found that zooming a full resolution 12MP image to 50% gives me a good idea about image sharpness when I am post-processing the image. Here’s one such crop from the first photo. Note that these are very tiny flowers, and perhaps I should be surprised I am picking up this much detail with “just” 12MP.

Someone has just left me word that the AIS 50-135 f3.5 is a John Shaw favorite. I certainly found during my nature walk this weekend that it comes in very handy for outdoors shooting.