Color vs. Mono 50mm f/1.2 ai-s vintage glass..

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Larry S.

Larry S.

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Recent landscape pictures in this forum (Winston Churchill (Sir) and other photographers have been in monotone or B&W. These images have caught my eye for the dramatic way they are shown in a simpler image, devoid of color impact. It’s a throwback to the 60’s when I shot Tri-X, Plus-X and Panatomic-X because it was the only thing I could afford. Loading Nikkor reels and mixing Microdol X was a lot simpler than figuring out LrC ….. yatta yadda.. Fast forward to now..
In October we went to Kitty Hawk, N.C. for vacation. I took along a vintage 50mm manual focus lens to try on my D850… just to have fun. I felt re-connected to a simpler era with my “hybrid” setup. Pick a shutter speed and f/stop, iso auto did the rest.
When I put the shots in the computer I was pleased to see the old glass worked well. Then I saw Winston Churchill’s (Sir) monochromatic waterscape (w/old dock pilings) and… 🤩. I gotta try this! I started thinking “less is, or can be more”. Back in the computer I duplicated the color shot and “monochromed” one. I’m seeing details in the B&W rendering below that I totally missed in the color version. I realize her amazing image was created by another process but the monochromatic option has merits to consider. Ya’ll remember Ansel Adams?
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Larry …

I prefer the monochrome image.

You've 'nailed it' with a full tonal range from white to black with very little in the extremes. The splashes, especially spray against the sky, are clearer in the monochrome.

For me, the loss of the colour in the wood, bolts and beach is unfortunate — can't have it both ways (or maybe we can!).

More, please!

… David
 
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David funny you mention this as today I discovered that PS has some quick actions like convert background to B&W. I tried it on the Leopard image and then tried all the B&W presets. I don’t think it would be that hard to have it both ways.

Larry great work.
 
David Berry said:
Larry …

I prefer the monochrome image.

You've 'nailed it' with a full tonal range from white to black with very little in the extremes. The splashes, especially spray against the sky, are clearer in the monochrome.

For me, the loss of the colour in the wood, bolts and beach is unfortunate — can't have it both ways (or maybe we can!).

More, please!

… David
Click to expand...
Thank you David!
 
BarkingBeansCoffee said:
David funny you mention this as today I discovered that PS has some quick actions like convert background to B&W. I tried it on the Leopard image and then tried all the B&W presets. I don’t think it would be that hard to have it both ways.

Larry great work.
Click to expand...
ThankYou
 
David, Here are two more. Different lens however. Same image, I just duplicated it and converted it to B&W. Again, some detail I didn’t notice in the color image is more apparent in the B&W version. The clouds on the horizon, contrast in sky and beach…. I know a couple photographers that had cameras converted to B&W or infrared. Their images have been striking….
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Last 2 David, Watermen’s work boats near York River. I just now duped and converted this one. The B&W just has more “pop” to my eyes.. The red canopy is just a distraction to the lineup of boats….
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David Berry said:
Larry …

I prefer the monochrome image.

You've 'nailed it' with a full tonal range from white to black with very little in the extremes. The splashes, especially spray against the sky, are clearer in the monochrome.

For me, the loss of the colour in the wood, bolts and beach is unfortunate — can't have it both ways (or maybe we can!).

More, please!

… David
Click to expand...
Me 2! Actually, with a mask you probably could have both. But I'm not that talented in LR yet.
 
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